First came Jazz, the Blues, then Rhythm and Blues, then Rock.n.Roll. Yet for African Americans, their brilliant creativity came with a steep price.From the age of slavery through to the 21st Century, Good Time Charleys outlines the defiant rise of American black music against a backdrop of privation, outright racism and the rapacious demands and outrageous behaviour of record producers.With the Mafia controlling juke boxes, Mississippi in the control of white supremacists, the Ku-Klux Klan deciding on where artists could play, eat, drink or travel, and with greedy record executives purloining compositions whilst living high on many black artist.s creative output, the triumph of rhythm and blues is a remarkable story. When what was once called „race music. stormed into the pop charts of white America in the mid-50s, it made millions for the anodyne, white cover artists who hi-jacked rock.n.roll. Yet without her royalties, the woman who built Atlantic Records, Ruth Brown, ended up as a bus driver, whilst Arthur Crudup, the composer of three of Elvis.s greatest hits, dug potatoes before dying in poverty and Roy Brown, composer of Good Rockin’ Tonight, was forced to sell encyclopaedias, as LaVern Baker, her legs amputated, had to carry on performing in a wheelchair to pay her medical bills. Roy Bainton, the successful author of Talk To Me Baby, The Story of The Blues Band, has been a Blues Matters writer from the very beginning. Good Time Charleys: Tough Tales from R&B uncovers the rip-offs, racism and struggle behind the music we love. The Mafia, dodgy producers, slavery, the Ku Klux Klan all figure in the long, hard story of the Blues. All Books Signed by the author PAPERBACK 232 pages photos, a Blues Glossary and a compendium of blues quotations. GOOD TIME CHARLEYS is Exclusive to BM readers at £11.50 post paid. Also available: TALK TO ME BABY £10. Post paid. SPECIAL OFFER: Buy both books for £18. Post paid. Order today from jenny@bluesmatters.com 01656 743406 Mon-Tues only 10am – 4pm More info