Ready for a Brand New Beat
How "Dancing in the Street" Became the Anthem for a Changing America

On the way to answering the question of how Dancing in the Street became an anthem for a changing America, Mark Kurlansky explains how the song came to be recorded, goes into the history of Motown music and producer Berry Gordy, and races across the civil rights era of the Sixties. I have to confess,......more

As a soixante-huitard who spent several years showing up for protests and attending Black Panther rallies, Kurlansky's latest book was a trip down memory lane. The music of the era inspired, energized and motivated us. We loved Motown, not because it was political in an overt way like Dylan or Baez,......more

Interesting pop history of the song "Dancing in the Street," with an overview of race relations, the history of Motown, and Detroit thrown in. Could probably have been tightened up into an excellent long-form piece of music journalism, but was a little baggy as a book. Still, some fascinating stuff......more

While this was a readable history of the parallels between the civil rights movement and popular music of the time (especially Motown), Kurlansky wasn't able to unify it all into a persuasive theme. One thing I didn't find out was how Dancing in the Street became THE anthem for a changing America. H......more

This is an excellent Rock n Roll history! Rock n Roll history is twentieth century history. African American history is American history. I love how this book has so much information all connected in a web to a single record. I had no idea “dancing in the streets” was seen as a controversial protest......more