One of the most innovative and ambitious books to appear on the civil rights and black power movements in America, Just My Soul Responding
also offers a major challenge to conventional histories of contemporary
black and popular music. Brian Ward explores in detail the previously
neglected relationship between Rhythm and Blues, black consciousness,
and race relations within the context of the ongoing struggle for black
freedom and equality in the United States. Instead of simply seeing the
world of black music as a reflection of a mass struggle raging
elsewhere, Ward argues that Rhythm and Blues, and the recording and
broadcasting industries with which it was linked, formed a crucial
public arena for battles over civil rights, racial identities, and black
economic empowerment.
Combining unrivalled archival research
with extensive oral testimony, Ward examines the contributions of
artists and entrepreneurs like Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, James Brown,
and Berry Gordy to the organized black struggle, explaining what they
did for the Movement and―just as important―why they and most of their
peers failed to do more. In the process, he analyses the ways in which
various groups, from the SCLC to the Black Panthers, tried―with very
mixed results―to use Rhythm and Blues and the politics of celebrity to
further their cause. He also examines the role that black-oriented radio
played in promoting both Rhythm and Blues and the Movement, and
unravels the intricate connections between the sexual politics of the
music and the development of the black freedom struggle.
This
richly textured study of some of the most important music and complex
political events in America since World War II challenges the belief
that white consumption of black music necessarily helped eradicate
racial prejudice. Indeed, Ward argues that the popularity of Rhythm and
Blues among white listeners sometimes only reinforced racial
stereotypes, while noting how black artists actually manipulated those
stereotypes to increase their white audiences. Ultimately, Ward shows
how the music both reflected and
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