Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (855 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1619023024 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2015-10-13 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Fascinating Book, Rich With Detail, Texture and Some Great Anecdotes" according to 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 wh. A more fully realized portrait of a character usually considered a villain. 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. Selvin obviously didn't interview Neil Diamond 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 (Ne. stars because of the unfair treatment of Neil Diamond. It is obvious that Mr. Selvin did not interview Mr. Diamond (Ne
Although his name is little remembered today, Berns worked alongside all the greats of the eraJerry 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. His heart damaged by rheumatic fever as a youth, Berns was not expected to live to see 21. Berns died at age 38 from a long-expected heart attack, just when he was seeing his grandest plans and life’s ambitions frustrated and foiled.. In seven quick years, he went from nobody to the top of the popsproducer of monumental r&b classics, songwriter of Twist and Shout,” My Girl Sloopy,” Piece of My Heart,” and others.His fury to succeed led Berns to use his Mafia associations to muscle Atlantic Records out of
The supporting cast includes the best musicians and songwriters of the period, particularly songwriters Leiber and Stoller, Atlantic Records’ Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, and performers Ray Charles and Solomon Burke. --Mark Levine . Sometimes the book reads like an annotated list of recordings and erratically named performers, but if you grew up with the songs, you’ll leave the book happily singing to yourself, though also saddened (this being the blues). The main subject, Bert Berns, wrote or co-wrote many rhythm-and-blues classics, notably “Twist and Shout” and “Piece of My Heart.” Though hardly without clunkers, the extraordinary discography of compositions and productions included here testifies to Berns’ stature. Berns, afflicted with a heart condition since childhood, felt himself doomed and incorporated signature wails of despair in