Souled American: How Black Music Transformed White Culture

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Billboard Books, 2005 - Music - 368 pages
From Jim Crow to Eminem, white culture has been transformed by black music. To be so influenced by the boundless imagination of a race brought to America in chains sets up a fascinating irony, andSouled American, an ambitious and comprehensive look at race relations as seen through the prism of music, examines that irony fearlessly—with illuminating results. Tracing a direct line from plantation field hollers to gangsta rap, author Kevin Phinney explains how blacks and whites exist in a constant tug-of-war as they create, re-create, and claim each phase of popular music. Meticulously researched, the book includes dozens of exclusive celebrity interviews that reveal the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of sharing the limelight. Unique, intriguing, Souled Americanshould be required reading for every American interested in music, in history, or in healing our country’s troubled race relations. • Combines social history and pop culture to reveal how jazz, blues, soul, country, and hip-hop have developed • Includes interviews with Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, B. B. King, David Byrne, Sly Stone, Donna Summer, Bonnie Raitt, and dozens more • Confronts questions of race and finds meaningful answers • Ideal for Black History Month

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Contents

Acknowledgments_9
11
CHAPTER
24
CHAPTER
52
Copyright

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About the author (2005)

Kevin Phinney, an entertainment journalist based in Austin, has written for theAustin American- Statesman, Premieremagazine, and theHollywood Reporter. Currently, he is cohost of KGSRFM’s morning drive-time program, Kevin & Kevin.

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