http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/2564815127

Icons of R & B and Soul [Two Volumes] an Encyclopedia of the Artists Who Revolutionized Rhythm

Drawn from a mosaic of influences, including folk, gospel, and blues, R & B represents both everything that came before and nothing that was heard before. This is the music that bridged the gap between audiences and helped, at the very height of racism in America, to dismantle racial barriers. So much of today's music is derived directly from the highly influential and critically important sounds of R & B that without it we would have never known the classic soul of the late '50s and '60s, the glory days of the genre. Similarly, rock n' roll as seen through the eyes of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley.

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