Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers (Music in Ameri... Book

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction 1

Part 1 The Independent Revolution

1 We're Rolling-Take One! 9

2 The Super Indies 21

3 California Booming 33

4 New York: Big City and Little Tiffany 53

5 The Battle of the Speeds and Golden Records' Seeds 73

Part 2 Regional Sounds

6 Riding the Nashville Airwaves 93

7 The Chess Game 116

8 King of Them All 131

9 Behind the Southern Sun 149

10 Louisiana Gumbo 166

Part 3 The Hustle Is On

11 Billboard and Cash Box: Stars and Bullets 187

12 A-Hustle and A-Scuffle at Old Town 208

13 Mercury Rising and the Roulette Wheel 231

14 Tin Pan Alley and Beyond 254

15 Hillbilly Boogie 277

16 West Coast Rockin' and Rollin' 297

17 From Motown to Manhattan: In Almost Perfect Harmony 319

18 Harlem Hotshots and the Black Experience 341

19 On and Off Broadway 358

20 Gold Coast Platters and Stock Matters 379

Part 4 Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay

21 The London American Group: Rockin' around the World 397

22 Teen Scene 415

23 Corporate Takeover and Talent Makeover 439

24 The Payola Scandal and Changing Times 454

25 End of Session: Art Rupe's New Rules at Specialty Records 472

Part 5 Appendixes

Appendix A U.S. Record Sales, 1921-69 483

Appendix B Independent Record Distributors' Network: 1946-48, 1954, 1960 487

Appendix C Pressing Plants, 1946 491

Appendix D Original Postwar Record Labels: Locations, Launch Dates, and Current Owners 493

Appendix E Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Record Men Inductees, 1986-2008 496

Appendix F Record Makers: Biographical Data (Selective) 498

Appendix G Oral History 504

Notes 509

Bibliography 545

Index 557