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Swing it! : the Andrews Sisters story

The Andrews Sisters - Maxene, Patty, and LaVerne remain the best selling female vocal group of all time, charting more top 10 Billboard hits than Elvis or the Beatles and placing hits on the Billboard Top 40 charts 113 times in 15 years. In 1937, as America pulled itself out of the Great Depression only to face the ominous clouds of war looming over Europe and East Asia, a young and vivacious trio of sisters from Minneapolis burst upon the music scene with tight harmonies framing perfectly syncopated rhythms. They would revolutionize and forever change popular music. With their first hit "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon", the sisters essentially vocalized the big band sound of the era. They went on to introduce a vocal form of boogie-woogie, originally a piano style, and were responsible for bringing various forms of ethnic music into the mainstream of American popular culture. The trio's popularity soared throughout the 1940s, with hundreds of recordings, live shows, radio performances, and appearances in 17 Hollywood musicals. But they are perhaps best remembered for their tireless devotion to entertaining troops overseas during World War II. In 1953 the Andrews Sisters disbanded under the pressures of fame, changing music styles, and sibling rivalry, reuniting once again in 1956 to record and tour throughout the 1960s. But theirs have always been known as the voices that defined an era.

The Supremes : a saga of Motown dreams, success, and betrayal

This is the first comprehensive biography of the most successful girl group in pop history, as told by the author of the acclaimed biography of Phil Spector, "He's a Rebel".A sprawling parable of ambition, scheming, money, sex, and betrayal, "Nothin' But Heartaches", is the definitive story of the most successful female band of all time. Drawing on first-hand, intimate recollections by friends, associates, and other Motown contemporaries - many never before interviewed - Ribowsky uncovers the truth behind the Supremes, overturning false notions about the band which were perpetuated by the recent film "Dreamgirls".Ribowsky's in-depth account includes new details on Diana Ross' cutthroat rise to top-billing of the group - focusing on her relationship with Motown president, Berry Gordy - and the tragic story of Florence Ballard's decline into depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse, culminating in her sudden death at the age of thirty-two.He also takes an inside-the-studio look at how timeless classics like "Baby Love", "Where Did Our Love Go?", and "Stop! In the Name of Love", were conceived and recorded on the Motown 'assembly line' of smash hits, and examines why the Motown 'brand' was more important to Gordy than its loyalty to true rhythm & blues.In a narrative that deftly combines personal testimony, history, and expert analysis, Ribowsky not only tells the full, heartbreaking story of the Supremes' meteoric rise and bitter disintegration, but shows why Gordy's revolutionary concept of 'blacks singing white' was essential to the modern evolution of music.

And so I sing : African-American divas of opera and concert