May 3, 1993
Veteran record producer Wexler, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member who coined the term ``rhythm and blues,'' spent the Depression as an adolescent in the Washington Heights section of New York City, hanging out in pool halls, hunting for rare records, hungering for excitement. Wexler took journalism courses at a college in Kansas but spent years as a window washer in Manhattan. After a stint in the wartime Army, he joined the staff of Billboard. In 1952 he became a partner in Ahmed Ertegun's Atlantic Records, recording such jazz, blues and folk greats as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, Joe Turner, Betty Carter, the Drifters, Etta James and Bob Dylan. This spirited memoir, written with freelancer Ritz, crackles with career highlights and swings breezily through five decades of record-making, focusing especially on the 1950s and 1960s. Readers will enjoy accounts of Wexler's seminal encounters with gifted musicians, but they may wish for deeper development of this hip-merchant's life story. Photos not seen by PW.
May 1, 1993
Any fan of American popular music over the last four decades has heard the work of Jerry Wexler. As producer for such artists as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, and Dire Straits, Wexler never pandered to the latest craze in the music business but crafted adult-oriented records that sound as current today as they did when they were recorded. While anything but humble, Wexler does not gloss over his shortcomings. Bad business deals, personal feuds, and a troubled family life receive as much attention as his phenomenal success as producer and co-owner of Atlantic Records. The forces behind his love of music and will to succeed are vividly outlined in the section on his early years as a pot-smoking jazz hound in Depression-era New York. This lively book succeeds on many levels and belongs in every library where there is an interest in popular culture.-- Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
May 1, 1993
Although not a musician, Jerry Wexler is a towering figure in popular music. As a partner in Atlantic Records, he worked with such legendary musicians as Professor Longhair, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin, producing hundreds of classic soul records. His lifelong passion for the music comes through on every page of his entertaining autobiography. As a Jewish kid growing up in New York during the Depression, Wexler haunted the jazz clubs and record shops of Harlem. After a stint as a "Billboard" reporter (during which he coined the term "rhythm and blues"), he joined Atlantic, which was to become the leading R & B label as well as a major force in jazz and rock (Wexler also worked with Bob Dylan), and remained with it for more than 20 years. When Atlantic was bought by a conglomerate in 1975, Wexler struck out on his own. Far less interesting than the pages devoted to his working life are those about his smothering mother and neglected wife and kids. He admits his family always took a back seat to his work. Music fans should be grateful. ((Reviewed May 1, 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)