Florida Soul - by John Capouya (Paperback)

About the Book

John Capouya draws on extensive interviews with surviving musicians to re-create the exciting atmosphere of the golden age of soul, establishing Florida as one of the great soul music capitals of the United States.

Book Synopsis

Florida Historical Society Charlton Tebeau Award

University of Tampa College of Arts and Letters Outstanding Scholarship or Creative Work Award

When recalling the roots of soul music, most people are likely to name Memphis, Detroit, New Orleans, Muscle Shoals, or Macon. But Florida also has a rich soul music history--an important cultural legacy that has often gone unrecognized. Florida Soul celebrates great artists of the Sunshine State who produced some of the most electric, emotive soul music America has ever heard.

This book tells the story of Ray Charles's musical upbringing in Florida, where he wrote his first songs and made his first recordings. It highlights the careers of Pensacola singers James and Bobby Purify and their producer, Papa Don Schroeder. Florida Soul reveals how Hank Ballard created his international hit song "The Twist" after seeing the dance in Tampa and profiles Gainesville singer Linda Lyndell ("What a Man"). Miami's Overtown and Liberty City neighborhoods produced Sam Moore of the legendary duo Sam and Dave, Willie Clarke and Johnny Pearsall of Deep City Records, and singer Helene Smith. Miami was also the longtime headquarters of Henry Stone, whose influential company T.K. Productions put out hits by Timmy Thomas, Latimore, Betty Wright, and KC and the Sunshine Band. Stone's artists and distribution deals influenced charts and radio airplay across the world.

Born in the era of segregation with origins in gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz and reaching maturity during the civil rights movement, soul music is still enjoyed today, still very much a part of our collective culture. John Capouya draws on extensive interviews with surviving musicians to re-create the excitement and honor the achievements of soul's golden age, establishing Florida as one of the great soul music capitals of the United States.

Review Quotes

"Compelling. . . .Given how much great regional American soul music remains to be rediscovered, analyzed and archived, Mr. Capouya is to be commended. The casual fan will enjoy dipping in and out of these stand-alone stories; the hard-core fanatic will relish wading deep into the musical waters."--Wall Street Journal

"Entertaining and colorful . . . Assures that the Sunshine State gets its due alongside the musical hubs of Detroit, Memphis, and New Orleans."--Publishers Weekly

"Capouya adds a significant entry to the scholarship on soul music. . . . Throughout these profiles, a portrait of how racial segregation and post-Civil Rights Act integration in Florida affected both black and white musicians emerges. . . . Essential."--Library Journal

"[Capouya] looks at the music not only as entertainment but as an expression of the culture and history that surrounded it."--Tampa Bay Times

"As Mr. Capouya brings the epoch, the genre and its creative music-makers to life, he shapes eloquent personality portraits that bring us inside the lives and minds of dozens of individuals we would not otherwise get to know."--Florida Weekly

"Prove[s] that Florida does--and always did--have a whole lot of soul."--Creative Loafing Tampa

"An engaging and informative read. . . . An important resource on a music scene that's never been fully documented within a single volume, adding greatly to our understanding of American music."--Black Grooves

About the Author

John Capouya is associate professor of journalism and writing at the University of Tampa. His previous book, the biography Gorgeous George: The Outrageous Bad-Boy Wrestler Who Created American Pop Culture, is being adapted into a feature film.