Soul: Memphis Original Sound

by Thom Gilbert

Overview

The book's mission is to document the legends of the Memphis soul music business. Photographer Thom Gilbert set up a photo studio at Royal Studios in Memphis, home of the famed Hi Records that launched the careers of Al Green, Ann Peebles, and dozens of others. The studio's "green room" was filled with soul music royalty: Bobby "Blue" Bland in his signature nautical cap, several of the Hodges brothers who make up the incomparable Hi Rhythm Section were on hand, Stax Records musicians Bobby Manuel, Lester Snell were there actually working on a recording, but pausing to have their portraits taken.

Gilbert has captured images of what seems like every living person related to Memphis soul music. From Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recorded spoken word albums on Stax's Respect Records label, to Sam Moore of the indelible soul duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Steve Cropper, B.B. King, Bobby Rush, and many others, including the lesser known but equally vital session players, writers, engineers, publicists who contributed to what is now world renowned as The Memphis Sound.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788897737476
Publisher:	Officina Libraria
Publication date:	11/30/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 12.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Thom Gilbert was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. His work has been seen in Interview, New York Magazine, Gotham, NY Times Magazine, LA Confidential, GQ and Hampton's Magazine. He has won numerous awards including the Hasselblad Masters Series.

This is Mr. Gilbert's first solo book. He calls his portraiture honest. It comprises elements of trust he establishes with his subjects to bring out a moment of their true identity. Mr. Gilbert as already completed a similar approach with the pro surfing world and their culture called Now You See Them as well as a project photographing the people who were closest to Elvis Presley titled Brushing Shoulders with Elvis.

Preface

When Bones Malone, Paul Shaffer, John Belushi and I assembled the Blues Brothers Band we recruited 3 Memphis guitar players - Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper and Matt Murphy.

Matt migrated to the Chicago Urban Blues scene in the 50s and 60s. Duck and Steve provided the musical backbone for many of the Stax artists featured in this historical assembly of beautiful portraits.

Cropper and Dunn brought their talent to the Blues Brothers at once legitimizing our entire existence and furnishing us with the knowledge of their catalog which had us cover 'Soul Man', the Sam and Dave hit that became a number 1 record for us. To me, seeing Sam and Dave live at Expo 67 in Montreal was an epiphany which broadened my understanding of the African American songbook beyond Blues. This book of photographs is essential to any serious scholar of American Music and culture. It is a vibrant companion to the living careers of Sam Moore, Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper plus the many other still working, still playing Stax artists who keep this great body of music alive today. —Dan Aykroyd aka Elwood Blues

Editorial Reviews

If a picture can speak 1,000 words, then author and photographer Thom Gilbert’s Soul: Memphis’ Original Sound is comparable to an encyclopedia. Aside from a few brief pages of text, the book consists of more than 200 intimate, pristine portraits documenting the people, places and items responsible for the soulful Memphis sound of the 1960s and ’70s. From B.B. King to Isaac Hayes‘ Cadillac to the Lorraine Motel, Gilbert’s book is a history lesson in soul, especially showcasing Stax Records – home to Hayes, Sam And Dave, Otis Redding and others – and Royal Studios, where Al Green, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Syl Johnson and others cut timeless classics.

December 22, 2014 - Quinn Peterson

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but 200 images of the artists who define the sound of Memphis defy calculation – at least when photographed by Thom Gilbert. Through the perfection of his lens and the uniqueness of his vision, Gilbert captures the history of Memphis music in the newly released book: Soul: Memphis’ Original Sound.

December 2014