Description
Book SynopsisThe book's mission is to document the legends of the Memphis soul music business. Photographer Thom Gilbert set up a photo studio at Royal Studios in Memphis, home of the famed Hi Records that launched the careers of Al Green, Ann Peebles, and dozens of others. The studio's "green room" was filled with soul music royalty: Bobby "Blue" Bland in his signature nautical cap, several of the Hodges brothers who make up the incomparable Hi Rhythm Section were on hand, Stax Records musicians Bobby Manuel, Lester Snell were there actually working on a recording, but pausing to have their portraits taken. Gilbert has captured images of what seems like every living person related to Memphis soul music. From Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recorded spoken word albums on Stax's Respect Records label, to Sam Moore of the indelible soul duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Steve Cropper, B.B. King, Bobby Rush, and many others, including the lesser known but equally vital session players, writers, engineers, publicists who contributed to what is now world renowned as The Memphis Sound.
Trade ReviewIf a picture can speak 1,000 words, then author and photographer Thom Gilbert's Soul: Memphis' Original Sound is comparable to an encyclopedia. Aside from a few brief pages of text, the book consists of more than 200 intimate, pristine portraits documenting the people, places and items responsible for the soulful Memphis sound of the 1960s and '70s. From B.B. King to Isaac Hayes' Cadillac to the Lorraine Motel, Gilbert's book is a history lesson in soul, especially showcasing Stax Records - home to Hayes, Sam And Dave, Otis Redding and others - and Royal Studios, where Al Green, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Syl Johnson and others cut timeless classics. -- Quinn Peterson, Life & Times December 22, 2014 A picture may be worth a thousand words, but 200 images of the artists who define the sound of Memphis defy calculation - at least when photographed by Thom Gilbert. Through the perfection of his lens and the uniqueness of his vision, Gilbert captures the history of Memphis music in the newly released book: Soul: Memphis' Original Sound. December 2014
