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It's Better To Cry

It's Better To Cry magazine cover

“It’s Better to Cry” by E. Mark Windle

A new book exploring the connection between rare northern soul and the beach music scene of the 1960s in the south eastern states...

What the blurb says....

“1960s south east USA. A time characterised by racial tension and oppressive Jim Crow laws, but also of a political uprising leading to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and gradual desegregation. For white teenagers this brought easier access to race music and a new dimension in cool: the sound of soul and R&B. Even before the mid sixties, radio stations with wide broadcasting capabilities were promoting national acts to every corner of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia. Neighbourhood friends, high school students and college bands were inspired to create their own brand of soul to play in the beach pavilions, inland waterway dance clubs, sock hops, frat parties and campus venues.

These blue-eyed and integrated beach bands, soul influenced garage bands and vocal groups have long been embraced by the northern soul scene of the UK and Europe. Their music provides a whole other subgenre for rare soul enthusiasts to investigate. This book brings the era to life, exploring this vibrant music scene in the south east states through interviews, record label scans and previously unseen band photographs. It will serve as an invaluable reference source for northern soul collectors, beach music fans and indeed anyone who wishes to dig deeper into the history of sixties soul music, beyond the well documented stories of Berry Gordy, Ahmet Ertegun and the major labels.....”

What the author says....

Comprehensive published literature and online resources exist on the soul of the south east states, such as Greg Haynes’ Heeey Baby Days tome and his ongoing online work, Jason Perlmutter‘s Carolina Soul website or Rick Simmon’s Carolina Beach Music: the Classic Years. I wanted to build further on this work. Specifically, I wanted to present the interface between the rarer end of northern soul and 1960s beach / R&B of the Carolinas, Virginia and neighbouring states.

The Rivieras at Tanglewood Country Club, Winston-Salem NC, 1967. Permission of Nat Speir.

Bands on the hit list included Anthony and the Aqua Lads, Bob Meyer and the Rivieras, The Tempests, The Embers, The Delacardos, The Appreciations, Bob Collins and the Fabulous Five, The Berkshire Seven, The Greater Experience, The Generation, Athens Rogues, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, The Soulmasters, Lost Soul, Gene and the Team Beats, The Chashers, Ron Moody and the Centaurs, The Spontanes, Novas Nine and The Soul Six. Tracking down surviving artists for interview took a huge amount of detective work. However as a result the histories of many of these acts are now documented for the first time, with a few suprises revealed, as well as some myths dispelled. Other important stateside individuals who assisted in this venture included label representatives, managers, promoters, archive specialists, press photographers and local beach fans who lived through it all.

Scotty Todd and the Soul Six. Permission of Tim Newell / Jack Kelly.

On the other side of the Atlantic, well known and respected DJs and collectors on the northern scene have contributed in different ways, helping to show how, when and where these records were introduced to an eager audience on UK shores. The chapters are illustrated with dozens of label scans of local and national label releases, artist publicity pictures, personal photos of the bands, tour bus pics, copies of label contracts, booking letters and much more.

7” acetate of Anthony and the Aqualads. Permission of Mark Dobson.

This book should be of interest to soul fans from a range of backgrounds, but particularly those from the latter days of Wigan Casino, Stafford’s Top of the World and to the present.

Now available (B&W only) for purchase online at:

http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/4118924-it-s-better-to-cry

100% of all profits to the UK reg. Charity Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.



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Mark I'd love to know more about the process of getting the book published via Blurb.  What did you design it on - the layout etc - and how do you go about getting it to Blurb?  They obviously print off copies as and when, I just bought one and they said it would go to print in an hour.

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Is the book in colour or B&W ... I'm a bit confused ... Or do you get to choose !!!

Do you simply "add to cart" .....

Am I over analysing this

Andy

 

 

B&W only & you do simply "add to cart"   It then takes you through to payment details etc.

 

It's easy peasy ... even I did it 

 

Regards

 

Ali 

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Is the book in colour or B&W ... I'm a bit confused ... Or do you get to choose !!!

Do you simply "add to cart" .....

Am I over analysing this

Andy

 

It's black and white Andy but don't you find the concept quite exciting?  You can write a book, send the publishers a master copy and when you sell one, they just print it off!  No more minmum print runs.  I'm seriously planning something now...

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It's black and white Andy but don't you find the concept quite exciting?  You can write a book, send the publishers a master copy and when you sell one, they just print it off!  No more minmum print runs.  I'm seriously planning something now...

It does seem pretty cool to be able to do that

Andy

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Hi folks, thanks for the interest and hope you enjoy the book. More than happy to discuss self publishing but I will take this to freebasing as a separate thread, probably more appropriate there. Regarding version available for sale, only b&w available at present for a couple of reasons, one being that the charity which all the profits go to get a much bigger slice because of cheaper print costs. I had a big dilemma on this. That said I do have some colour versions versions coming in but will be a month or two off.

Thanks for all the interest, Mark.

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I purchased the book .. eventually ... well done Mark you did a fantastic job .. a thoroughly enjoyable and informative read. I take my hat off to you for investing the time and energy to record the details of such a musical legacy.

 

I would urge you all to go get a copy

 

Andy

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Thanks Andy, glad you liked it. Have just arrived back UK-side from Charlotte NC. Met up with Nat Speir from the Rivieras and Van Coble from The Tempests (they were a big help in the book for stories and contacts), good ole guys with some more great stories to include in the next edition! Nat and his wife Trish took us around Charlotte, unfortunately most of the old sixties beach music clubs in Charlotte are knocked down now to make way for skyscrapers (likewise all the original beach Pavillions along the coast are pretty much gone) but we did at least manage to locate The Cellar. 

 

Postage is £4.99 for a two week delivery to the UK. Other shipping details are at the bottom of the web page. This is set by the company, as the book is print on demand in the Netherlands (or the US if stateside), so has to be posted from there. 

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Me, the family and Nat Speir trying to find the old Cellar venue. Seems like the last brick building on this side of Charlotte, tucked away behind a parking lot and a load of skyscrapers....

 

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And a random one of the Stax museum bogs in Memphis...

 

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On 30/04/2013 at 20:42, Windlesoul said:

Me, the family and Nat Speir trying to find the old Cellar venue. Seems like the last brick building on this side of Charlotte, tucked away behind a parking lot and a load of skyscrapers....

 

 

 

Nice photo's Mark (even the one in the bogs :lol: )

 

Haven't had chance to read the book yet, as I've been up to my eyeballs with work & studying  :(  

 

Now that my studying is out of the way, and I've got a nice long weekend ahead, I'm really looking forward to starting the book  :thumbup:   

 

Once again, well done for getting this off the ground  :thumbsup:

 

Have a lovely bank holiday 

 

Ali x 

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Quick update, as well as the colour and B&W softback options, I have just uploaded a colour PDF version tonight which can be purchased at the Blurb website. You'll find it here (select PDF / softback as appropriate):

 

https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/4222235-it-s-better-to-cry-colour-version

 

Just another option. Tried to do ebook conversion but unfortunately the (early) software package I used can't handle the process.

 

Mark

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Hi folks, in an effort to present this work through every media known to man, just a wee note let y'all know I've started a blog which will eventually include all the book content and much more besides, can be found at...

 

southernsoulcollector.blogspot.com

 

Hope you enjoy it!

 

Cheers, 

Mark

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