Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.10 (723 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B00GL9T3QQ |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 205 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-06-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
--Mark Levine . Berns, afflicted with a heart condition since childhood, felt himself doomed and incorporated signature wails of despair into his songs, typically “Cry Baby.” As Selvin makes clear, the independent R&B and rock-music business then was sleazy, gangster-ridden, and, like Berns’ life, short in duration. From Booklist Veteran music journalist Selvin focuses on a figure little known to those outside of the music business of the fifties and sixties and delivers an authoritative look at a crucial point in American popular culture. The supporting cast includes the best musicians and songwriters of the period, particularly songwriters Leiber and Stoller, Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler,
His heart damaged by rheumatic fever as a youth, doctors told Berns he would not live to see twenty-one. In seven quick years, he went from nobody to the top of the pops producer of monumental r&b classics, songwriter of Twist and Shout,” My Girl Sloopy” and others.His fury to succeed led Berns to use his Mafia associations to muscle Atlantic Records out of a partnership and intimidate new talents like Neil Diamond and Van Morrison he signed to his record label, only to drop dead of a long expected fatal heart attack, just when he was seeing his grandest plans and life’s ambitions frustrated and foiled.. I don’t know where he’s buried, but if I did I’d piss on his grave.” Jerry Wexler, best friend and mentorHere Comes the Night: Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues is both a definitive account of the New York rhythm and blues world of the early 60s, and the harrowing, ultimately tragic story of songwriter and record producer Bert Berns, whose meteoric career was fueled by his pending doom. Although his name is little remembered today, Berns worked alongside all the greats of the era Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, Burt Bacharach, Phil Spector, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, anyone who was anyone in New York rhythm and blues
Fascinating Book, Rich With Detail, Texture and Some Great Anecdotes A. G. Krakow Like Jon Tiven, I've been waiting for this book for years. THANK YOU JOEL FOR FINALLY GETTING IT TO ALL OF US! First of all, it's incredibly well-written. And because of that, I lost only one day of work staying up way past my bedtime, because this really is a book you cannot put down. The book weaves the story of Berns, and the reason why this genius has been overlooked, with the backstory- which . "A more fully realized portrait of a character usually considered a villain." according to Waxwing Slayne. Most histories of the Brill Building era treat Bert Berns with hissing contempt, but Joel Selvin's fast-paced overview of Berns and his milieu shows you the complex man beneath the bad toupee. Selvin doesn't whitewash Berns' tendency to screw-over his artists, or his mob connections and willingness to use them, but he gives due to the man's joie de vivre, his rapport with musicians, and what nobody. "Selvin obviously didn't interview Neil Diamond" according to The striking cobra. I would normally give this excellent book 5 stars. Mr. Selvin has used the Bert Berns story to weave a magnificent book about the history of rhythm and blues and the record business in New York. I'm only able to give it Selvin obviously didn't interview Neil Diamond The striking cobra I would normally give this excellent book 5 stars. Mr. Selvin has used the Bert Berns story to weave a magnificent book about the history of rhythm and blues and the record business in New York. I'm only able to give it 4 stars because of the unfair treatment of Neil Diamond. It is obvious that Mr. Selvin did not interview Mr. Diamond (Neil probably didn't want to talk about the fact that his caree. stars because of the unfair treatment of Neil Diamond. It is obvious that Mr. Selvin did not interview Mr. Diamond (Neil probably didn't want to talk about the fact that his caree