Wake Me, Shake Me

New York City in the early ’60s was a musical melting pot, in which folk, R&B, rock and roll, blues, girl groups and Brill Building pop produced a wealth of great artists and records. This book tells their story. Using numerous new interviews with major figures from the time as well as contemporaneous trade magazines and other sources, author Mitchell Cohen captures this rich (but often underestimated) musical era's history and sounds. He chronicles the arrival of new artists on the scene — bands like the Lovin' Spoonful, the Young Rascals, the Blues Project, the Shangri-Las and the Vagrants — as well as solo artists from Dion to Darin to Dylan and the local producers, songwriters and label executives who all helped shape the music. He also explores the role TV, radio and the press all played to show not only what was going on, but how it was being promoted, exploited and attacked. An acclaimed music journalist and former record company talent scout, Cohen lived in New York when all this was happening and adds his own memories to those he interviewed. The result is illuminating, entertaining and sure to be both informative and nostalgic for anyone who remembers songs like “Do You Believe in Magic,” “Groovin’,” “Good Lovin’,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Summer in the City,” “Chapel of Love” and “In the Midnight Hour.” Includes an extensive, annotated discography of albums and 45s and a bibliography. Older music fans will find that this book details a lot of what they might have long forgotten about one of the most vibrant and influential eras in American rock and roll. It adds to the scholarship regarding New York culture and will send readers scurrying to play these old songs.