front cover of Blues Before Sunrise 2
Blues Before Sunrise 2
Interviews from the Chicago Scene
Steve Cushing
University of Illinois Press, 2019
In this new collection of interviews, Steve Cushing once again invites readers into the vaults of Blues Before Sunrise, his acclaimed nationally syndicated public radio show. Icons from Memphis Minnie to the Gay Sisters stand alongside figures like schoolteacher Flossie Franklin, who helped Leroy Carr pen some of his most famous tunes; saxman Abb Locke and his buddy Two-Gun Pete, a Chicago cop notorious for killing people in the line of duty; and Scotty "The Dancing Tailor" Piper, a font of knowledge on the black entertainment scene of his day. Cushing also devotes a section to religious artists, including the world-famous choir Wings Over Jordan and their travails touring and performing in the era of segregation. Another section focuses on the jazz-influenced Bronzeville scene that gave rise to Marl Young, Andrew Tibbs, and many others while a handful of Cushing's early brushes with the likes of Little Brother Montgomery, Sippi Wallace, and Blind John Davis round out the volume.Diverse and entertaining, Blues Before Sunrise 2 adds a chorus of new voices to the fascinating history of Chicago blues.
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Doowop
The Chicago Scene
Robert Pruter
University of Illinois Press, 1996

Robert Pruter's classic look at black doowop in the Windy City moves from street corners to South Side clubs to the studios at Chess Records to recapture the doowop scene of the 1950s. Pruter combines long-lost material from fanzines to the Chicago Defender with in-depth interviews to chronicle legendary African American vocal groups like the Flamingos, the Moonglows, the Spaniels, and the El Dorados. But Pruter also delves into the neighborhood scene that produced the likes of the Quintones and Five Chimes, and returns non-recording acts to their rightful place in Chicago music history. 

Rich with detail and including an irreplaceable discography, Doowop offers doowop obsessives and fans of early rock 'n' roll and R&B a must-have look at the genre.

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