same as abov

As rock 'n' roll recedes into the past, what actually was rock 'n roll becomes less and less clear. The Sound of the City, first written some thirty years ago, remains the best book on the subject. Period. I know. I was there listening to it all as it unfolded.

Gillett weaves the various forms together -- vocal group, jump blues, southern pop gospel, urban big band blues, rockabilly -- and constructs a means to understand it as a musical movement.

An important strength is the emphasis on location and record label, something few younger critics understand today. We called it all rock 'n' roll then, although as Gillett relates, it all turned into blues for teenagers.

The Sound of the City remains the best overall description of the music of the 1946-1964 era.