E. Mark Windle 17 August 2022 As biographers, we are in a privileged position. Rarely do individuals expose their life story, or at least a significant chunk of it, in such detail to another party outside of their immediate family and social circle, perhaps other than in counselling (or to their confessor). Clients welcome usContinue reading “Keeping It Under Wraps. Data Protection for Biographers”
Category Archives: Commentary
Radio Stations, DJs and the 1960s Nashville R&B Scene
E. Mark Windle 1 August 2022. Music historians will argue over the exact origins of the music industry in Nashville, although any stance depends on the genre under debate, and how far back one is willing to go. The predominance of country music is undeniable, with its roots planted in Celtic and European folk songsContinue reading “Radio Stations, DJs and the 1960s Nashville R&B Scene”
Nashville: From Charlie Romans to the Paramount Four
E. Mark Windle 14 December 2021 So, which floats your boat? I’ve been asked a few times now what the rationale was for selecting the particular artists and recordings in House of Broken Hearts: The Soul of 1960s Nashville. The intention of the book was not to be a panacea of Nashville soul music history; moreContinue reading “Nashville: From Charlie Romans to the Paramount Four”
What’s in a Name? Musings of a Ghostwriter
E. Mark Windle 9 March 2022 I wear several hats in my line of work. Over the years I’ve written non-fiction books, blogs and commentaries on music and culture, and contributed to medical and nutrition science texts. There’s a chance if you are immersed in one of these niches that you may have even readContinue reading “What’s in a Name? Musings of a Ghostwriter”
Giving Back: Soul Direction
E. Mark Windle Jan. 2021 By its very existence, the soul scene has a responsibility to hold safe the history of the music it reveres. In various ways, much has been done to achieve this end; and not just through the physical support of soul nights, all-nighters, weekenders and Sunday chill-outs. Numerous websites and socialContinue reading “Giving Back: Soul Direction”
The Carolinas: Of Piedmont Blues, Beach Music and Teenage Radio
E. Mark Windle 29 November 2020 Of course, history books are full of how African American racial and cultural identity was suppressed in the southern states of the US. Even North Carolina, often perceived as one of the more ‘progressive’ states of the South, was not entirely exempt from a reputation of hostility toward blackContinue reading “The Carolinas: Of Piedmont Blues, Beach Music and Teenage Radio”
Southern City Records: Hal and Jean, and the Paramount Four
E. Mark Windle 29 October 2020. Gallatin is a tiny rural town in Sumner County, a mere thirty miles from Nashville. Author Ken Abraham noted in More Than Rivals that Gallatin was a typical segregated main street southern town in the 1960s, with segregated drinking fountains, parks and pools and engagement in sports activities. Working class familiesContinue reading “Southern City Records: Hal and Jean, and the Paramount Four”
House of Broken Hearts: The Northern Soul of a Southern City
E. Mark Windle, 27 July 2020 Regarding what has been pretty much an obsession with 1960s southern soul themes since I started writing around ten years ago, House of Broken Hearts was taken on to resolve one nagging omission. A fair chunk of my travels (virtual and otherwise) has been spent researching the Carolinas, Virginia,Continue reading “House of Broken Hearts: The Northern Soul of a Southern City”
R-E-S-P-E-C-T ! That Woman’s Got Soul!
E. Mark Windle 1 March 2023 Let’s face it. There would be no need for a Women’s History Month over forty years on from inception, if under-recognition of female contributions to culture, society and the workplace wasn’t still a “thing”. The music business is as guilty as any other male dominated industry of inequality andContinue reading “R-E-S-P-E-C-T ! That Woman’s Got Soul!”