Why read Just My Soul Responding?

Book cover of Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations

Book description

Brian Ward is Lecturer in American History at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne .; This book is intended for american studies, American history postwar social and cultural history, political history, Black history, Race and Ethnic studies and Cultural studies together with the general trade music.

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Black history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Just My Soul Responding as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Bob Beatty

Author

I’ve spent a lot of time with this remarkable book over the years.

I suppose my greatest takeaway is the way Ward explores music’s meaning from a variety of angles and intersections: musical, economic, legal, racial, gender, class, and generational.

The airwaves could not be segregated; music gave insight into the Black freedom struggle and a shared sense of humanity that helped topple Jim Crow barriers nationwide. I particularly appreciate how Ward unpacks the ways Black audiences shaped the sounds of the era. Black music reflected an optimism and an assertion of racial pride, and you’ll find the modern Civil…

From Bob's list on The best books at the crossroads of music, culture, history, and place.