Monday, June 16, 2014

Southern Soul-Blues by David Whiteis

I came across a fantastic book titled Southern Soul-Blues by David Whiteis, a book that should be read by everyone wanting to know anything about the music we call southern soul.  Unfortunately, hard copy print media including books, newspapers, and magazines are slowly becoming obsolete, but here’s a book that discusses southern soul like you’ve never heard and provides a ton of info.  Mr. Whiteis wrote this book to not only give a snapshot of the current southern soul scene but to also show us about our musical history.  He profiles some great veteran and new artists and has wonderful stories.

In addition to singing, who knew Denise LaSalle could write??  She provided an excellent foreword on “America’s Prodigal Son” and has an interesting way in which she describes the life of the southern soul artist.  I like how she talks about how people in other countries love and respect the music while America has little or no regard for it.  She, as other artists, love America because it is home but we need to wake up and accept the music and give it the respect it rightfully deserves.   Otherwise, southern soul will always be the prodigal son.  That is so deep yet so true.

In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting tidbits from different chapters of Southern Soul-Blues .  I can’t believe the things that I’ve learned about Sir Charles Jones, Willie Clayton, Ms. Jody, and other artists!!

Stay tuned.

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Southern Soul Paradise
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@ssoulparadise