Parking lot rumbles, teen dance riots, and the rise of the Northwest Sound

Long before the world discovered grunge, the Pacific Northwest was already home to a singular music culture. In the late 1950s, locals had codified a distinct offshoot of rockin' R&B, and a surprising number of them would skyrocket to success, including Little Bill and the Bluenotes, the Wailers, Ron Holden, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Kingsmen, Merrilee Rush, and the Sonics.

With entertaining accounts gleaned from hundreds of interviews, Peter Blecha tells the story of music in the Pacific Northwest from the 1940s to the 1960s, a golden era that shaped generations of musicians to come. The local R&B scene evolved from the area's vibrant jazz scene, and Blecha illuminates the musical continuum between Ray Charles (who cut his first record in Seattle) and Quincy Jones to the rock 'n' rollers who forged the classic jazz-tinged "Northwest Sound." DJs built a teen dance circuit that the authorities didn't like but whose popularity pushed bands to develop crowd-friendly beats. Do-it-yourself enthusiasts launched groundbreaking record companies that scored a surprising number of hit songs.

Highlighting key but overlooked figures and offering a new look at well-known musicians (such as an obscure guitarist then known as Jimmy Hendrix), Blecha shows how an isolated region launched influential new sounds upon an unsuspecting world.

Stomp and Shout was made possible in part by a grant from 4Culture's Heritage Program.

A Michael J. Repass Book

Parking lot rumbles, teen dance riots, and the rise of the Northwest Sound

About the Author

Peter Blecha was a founding curator at Seattle's music museum, EMP (now MoPop). He is a staff historian and contributing editor with HistoryLink.org. This is his tenth book.

Reviews

"In a tour de force, Blecha offers all music fans the definitive book about the highly significant but much neglected story of Northwestern U.S. rock."

* Library Journal, starred review *

"[Peter Blecha] adds the voices of Seattle musicians to the story of Northwest Sound."

* Seattle Times *

"Stomp and Shout finally gives a voice to the musicians, promoters, producers, and entrepreneurs who laid the groundwork for the musical explosions to come."

* GRAMMY.com *

"In a well-written and wonderfully illustrated narrative chock-full of first-hand accounts, Blecha tells the story of important northwest rockers."

* Pacific Northwest Quarterly (PNQ) *



Book Information
ISBN 9780295751252
Author Peter Blecha
Format Hardback
Page Count 328
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 590g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 28mm