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Change Is Gonna Come : Music, Race & the Soul of America
by Craig Hansen Werner
Mahalia Jackson,
James Brown, Diana Ross, the Righteous Brothers, the Jackson Five,
Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, and Aretha
Franklin--since the early 60s, Black popular music has become
increasingly intertwined with American culture, both drawing from
it and shaping it. From Ray Charles to Ice Cube, Craig Werner
draws lively character sketches of major musicians, intricately
filling in the background historical events.
From the inspirational
soul music of the Civil Rights Movement and the Motown moment
which aided and sped integration in its own way, to the angry
"gangsta" rappers of today who dare to speak the uncensored
truth, the songs are telling us the state of the world, and Werner
helps train our ears to distinguish it. Emphasizing how musicians
of all races have drawn on gospel, jazz, and the blues, A Change
Is Gonna Come is a celebration of cultural tradition and an
illustration of the way it can embrace us all. (Amazon.com)
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