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Soul serenade: rhythm, blues & coming of age through vinyl

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher:
Beacon Press
Pub. Date:
2016
Language:
English
Description
A coming-of-age memoir about a young boy in rural Arkansas who searches for himself and his distant father through soul music
Growing up in rural Arkansas, young Rashod Ollison turned to music to make sense of his life. The dysfunction, sadness, and steely resilience of his family and neighbors was reflected in the R&B songs that played on 45s in smoky rooms.
Steeped in the sounds, the smells, the salty language of rural Arkansas in the 1980s, Soul Serenade is the memoir of a pop music critic whose love for soul music was fostered by his father, Raymond. Drafted into the Vietnam War as a teenager, Raymond returned a changed man, “dead on the inside.” After his parents’ volatile marriage ended in divorce, Rashod was haunted by the memory of his itinerant father and his mama’s long forgotten “sunshine smile.” For six-year-old Rashod, his father’s record collection—the music of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, and others—provided solace, coherence, and escape.
Moving nine times during his childhood, Rashod constantly adjusted to new schools and homes with his two sisters, Dusa and Reagan, and his mother, Dianne. Resilient and tough, while also being distant and punitive, she worked multiple jobs, striving “to make ends wave at each other if they couldn’t meet.” He spent time with his acerbic mother’s mother, Mama Teacake, and her family’s living-out-loud ways, which clashed with his father’s family—religious, discreet, and appropriate—where Rashod gravitated to Big Mama and Paw Paw, his father’s parents.
Becoming aware of his same-sex attraction, Rashod felt further isolated and alone but was encouraged by mentors in the community who fostered his intelligence and talent. He became transformed through discovering the writing of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, and other literary greats, and these books, along with the soulful sounds of the 1970s and 80s, enabled him to thrive in spite of the instability and harshness of his childhood.
In textured and evocative language, and peppered with unexpected humor, Soul Serenade is an original and captivating coming-of-age story set to an original beat.
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ISBN:
9780807057520
9780807057537
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID0143f4a8-686e-ced6-25d9-f0bb84603cac
Grouping Titlesoul serenade rhythm blues and coming of age through vinyl
Grouping Authorrashod ollison
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-03-28 02:11:39AM
Last Indexed2024-03-28 02:24:37AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Ollison, Rashod, 1977-
author_display
Ollison, Rashod
available_at_catalog
North Highlands-Antelope
Rio Linda
detailed_location_catalog
North Highlands-Antelope
Rio Linda
display_description
A coming-of-age memoir about a young boy in rural Arkansas who searches for himself and his distant father through soul music
Growing up in rural Arkansas, young Rashod Ollison turned to music to make sense of his life. The dysfunction, sadness, and steely resilience of his family and neighbors was reflected in the R&B songs that played on 45s in smoky rooms.
Steeped in the sounds, the smells, the salty language of rural Arkansas in the 1980s, Soul Serenade is the memoir of a pop music critic whose love for soul music was fostered by his father, Raymond. Drafted into the Vietnam War as a teenager, Raymond returned a changed man, “dead on the inside.” After his parents’ volatile marriage ended in divorce, Rashod was haunted by the memory of his itinerant father and his mama’s long forgotten “sunshine smile.” For six-year-old Rashod, his father’s record collection—the music of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, and others—provided solace, coherence, and escape.
Moving nine times during his childhood, Rashod constantly adjusted to new schools and homes with his two sisters, Dusa and Reagan, and his mother, Dianne. Resilient and tough, while also being distant and punitive, she worked multiple jobs, striving “to make ends wave at each other if they couldn’t meet.” He spent time with his acerbic mother’s mother, Mama Teacake, and her family’s living-out-loud ways, which clashed with his father’s family—religious, discreet, and appropriate—where Rashod gravitated to Big Mama and Paw Paw, his father’s parents.
Becoming aware of his same-sex attraction, Rashod felt further isolated and alone but was encouraged by mentors in the community who fostered his intelligence and talent. He became transformed through discovering the writing of Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Nikki Giovanni, and other literary greats, and these books, along with the soulful sounds of the 1970s and 80s, enabled him to thrive in spite of the instability and harshness of his childhood.
In textured and evocative language, and peppered with unexpected humor, Soul Serenade is an original and captivating coming-of-age story set to an original beat.
format_catalog
Book
eBook
format_category_catalog
Books
eBook
id
0143f4a8-686e-ced6-25d9-f0bb84603cac
isbn
9780807057520
9780807057537
itype_catalog
Adult Book Non-Fiction
last_indexed
2024-03-28T09:24:37.294Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_catalog
781.644092 O498 2016
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
North Highlands-Antelope
Rio Linda
primary_isbn
9780807057520
publishDate
2016
publisher
Beacon Press
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Journalists -- United States -- Biography
Music critics -- United States -- Biography
Ollison, Rashod, -- 1977-
Soul music -- History and criticism
title_display
Soul serenade : rhythm, blues & coming of age through vinyl
title_full
Soul Serenade Rhythm, Blues & Coming of Age Through Vinyl
Soul serenade : rhythm, blues & coming of age through vinyl / Rashod Ollison
title_short
Soul serenade
title_sub
rhythm, blues & coming of age through vinyl
topic_facet
Biography & Autobiography
History and criticism
Journalists
Music
Music critics
Nonfiction
Ollison, Rashod
Sociology
Soul music

Solr Details Tables

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record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:.b23975799BookBooksEnglishBeacon Press2016230 pages ; 24 cm
overdrive:51c37f17-31d8-4919-9966-109775063b57eBookeBookEnglishBeacon Press2016

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