FINALLY!!! The Long Awaited Book "Hype & Soul" is Ready!

**Neil Rushton** · 08-24-2011, 03:27 AM

Originally Posted by MIKEW-UK

I don't know if the book is hard cover, nor do I know the weight, but I am optimistic the book is worth every cent [[penny). I placed my order today so I'll find out in due course.

However the postage and the exchange rate are a major issue for the US folks...... at todays exchange rate of $1.633, postage to the US is $16.33 alone.....even sent from the UK to a UK address it's £5 [[$8.165) which may be high depending on the weight of the book.... whilst nothing can be done about the exchange rate which has just moved the wrong way for the US guys, I would suggest the postage rates are urgently reviewed as they are very significant and might be trimmed especially for the US folks...

I am one of the publishers of the book. We have reduced the postage rates and are charging less than the actual charge to us for sending to the USA.

Thanks - Neil

**Neil Rushton** · 08-24-2011, 03:46 AM

Have just been looking on screen at the book.

Al's essay about the March On Hitsville he organised to get a Tommy Good record released is hilarious. We used an image of that for the front cover, as it such a good photo and was an event that Al remembers so well, and risked losing his job if it all went wrong.

And a US newspaper interview with The Elgins [[the only one ever done Al reckons) is great memorabilia and tells how they got their new name.

By the way, how come come Motown did not make "Heaven Must Have Sent You" by The Elgins a major USA hit? It's perfect H-D-H. As a 16 years old at school this was one of the Motown records - along with "I Got A Feeling" - Barbara Randolph, "Just A Little Misunderstanding" -The Contours and "Keep On Loving Me" by Frances Nero - that turned a whole generation of us onto Soul music, and the UK "Rhythm'n'Soul" underground into what became the Northern Soul juggernaut.
I met the late Barbara Randolph some years ago at Midem in Cannes [[she was with Eddie Singleton) and tried to explain how much her record meant to me and so many of my friends when we were kids, and how after waiting 3 months to find a copy I was so happy I went home and played it 14 times in a row, much to the irritation of my Dad. Barbara was very kind and courteous but I think she thought I was raving mad!

All The Best,

Neil

**marybrewster** · 08-24-2011, 08:39 AM

It sounds like a lovely book and I send my best wishes of success to Al and Neil; but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. $73.00 for a 288 page hardcover book is pretty much unheard of.....and that's without the shipping cost? Heck, the new Supremes 70's Final Sessions 3 CD set was half that price.

To those that purchase, kudos. I look forward to reading your reviews.

**marv2** · 08-24-2011, 11:46 AM

Hello Neil and welcome to the forum!

Marv

**Roberta75** · 08-24-2011, 11:53 AM

Originally Posted by marybrewster

It sounds like a lovely book and I send my best wishes of success to Al and Neil; but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. $73.00 for a 288 page hardcover book is pretty much unheard of.....and that's without the shipping cost? Heck, the new Supremes 70's Final Sessions 3 CD set was half that price.

To those that purchase, kudos. I look forward to reading your reviews.

Ditto marybrewster. I hope to find it in my local library but like you I wish Mr. Abrams much success.

**kenneth** · 08-24-2011, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by Roberta75

Ditto marybrewster. I hope to find it in my local library but like you I wish Mr. Abrams much success.

Yikes! Just like in weight, I guess those pounds really add up!

**Jimi LaLumia** · 08-24-2011, 01:24 PM

I just recieved the 45 RPM record in the mail yesterday, and I'm very much looking forward to the arrival of the book..

**Jimi LaLumia** · 08-24-2011, 01:27 PM

Neil, with is the amazon/ISBN registration all about?

**Neil Rushton** · 08-24-2011, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by marybrewster

It sounds like a lovely book and I send my best wishes of success to Al and Neil; but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. $73.00 for a 288 page hardcover book is pretty much unheard of.....and that's without the shipping cost? Heck, the new Supremes 70's Final Sessions 3 CD set was half that price.

To those that purchase, kudos. I look forward to reading your reviews.

Hi Mary,

It's not $73 plus shipping costs though.

The cost of the book without the shipping costs is £34.99 which at $1.6 to the £ is $55, not $73.
On pre-orders to the USA we are charging £10 shipping, which is a lot less than the actual cost.
So £44.99 @ $1.6 equals $71.95 which I guess is where the $73 comes in?
Don't forget the first 500 copies of the book come complete with a bonus single, the 1964 Hitsville Tamla Motown Appreciation Society single which has been licenced in from Universal as well as music publishng royalty accounted for. The single has got to be worth £10 to £20 if you were selling it on by itself, and everyone who has placed an advance order has been sent the disc this before the book arrives, and we are picking that postage cost out of the £44.99.
I wish we could ship for free but we can't!

All The Best,

Neil

**bankhousedave** · 08-24-2011, 05:46 PM

Al: It goes without saying that everyone at Bank House wishes you the greatest possible success.

**dickiemint** · 08-24-2011, 06:40 PM

I haven't recived the 45 single yet, have they all been shipped? I ordered july 25th, has anyone ordered after that date and had the 45?

**theboyfromxtown** · 08-24-2011, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by marybrewster

It sounds like a lovely book and I send my best wishes of success to Al and Neil; but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. $73.00 for a 288 page hardcover book is pretty much unheard of.....and that's without the shipping cost? Heck, the new Supremes 70's Final Sessions 3 CD set was half that price.

To those that purchase, kudos. I look forward to reading your reviews.

marybrewster
Maybe you can find some kind benefactor who wants to make you happy! Worth a try don't you think!

Sorry I can't help, I'm already a benefactor!

*smile*

smark21 · 08-24-2011, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by marybrewster

It sounds like a lovely book and I send my best wishes of success to Al and Neil; but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. $73.00 for a 288 page hardcover book is pretty much unheard of.....and that's without the shipping cost? Heck, the new Supremes 70's Final Sessions 3 CD set was half that price.

To those that purchase, kudos. I look forward to reading your reviews.

Well Maxine Ballard Jenkins charged a steep price for her book on Flo a few years back. I think it was about $66? Hopefully this book will be better than what Maxine turned out.

**Roberta75** · 08-24-2011, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by smark21

Well Maxine Ballard Jenkins charged a steep price for her book on Flo a few years back. I think it was about $66? Hopefully this book will be better than what Maxine turned out.

Who is Maxine Ballard Jenkins? Is she kin to Florence Ballard?

smark21 · 08-24-2011, 09:14 PM

Originally Posted by Roberta75

Who is Maxine Ballard Jenkins? Is she kin to Florence Ballard?

Yes, she was Florence's sister. She would marry Milton Jenkins, who was The Supremes [[then Primettes) first manager, Milton Jenkins. In her not very well written book, Maxine reported she had an orgasm at the moment she first met Milton. That must have made quite an impression on him.

**kenneth** · 08-24-2011, 09:25 PM

Originally Posted by smark21

Yes, she was Florence's sister. She would marry Milton Jenkins, who was The Supremes [[then Primettes) first manager, Milton Jenkins. In her not very well written book, Maxine reported she had an orgasm at the moment she first met Milton. That must have made quite an impression on him.

I doubt that any of Florence's fans are interested in those sort of facts. Talk about TMI.

**kalisa** · 08-24-2011, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by dickiemint

I haven't recived the 45 single yet, have they all been shipped? I ordered july 25th, has anyone ordered after that date and had the 45?

dickiemint... I'm not exactly sure when I placed my order, but I believe it was sometime around then. I have received my 45, postmarked July 30 from the UK. I'm in California.

**mr soul** · 08-25-2011, 05:25 AM

Dickiemint...I ordered mine on the 23rd July & hadn't received my copy 2 weeks later, so I emailed Neil Rushton & received a copy a couple of days later.

**rovereab** · 08-25-2011, 06:54 AM

I too am really looking forward to receiving my copy. The 45 is excellent too.

Thanks to a long time SDF chum for alerting me to the pre-order and 45 opportunity.

smark21 · 08-25-2011, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by kenneth

I doubt that any of Florence's fans are interested in those sort of facts. Talk about TMI.

The book suffered from TMI of that sort [[also a story about how the Ballard girls would use kotex when they had their periods), and not enough intersting information about Flo's Supremes years as Maxine was in Detroit living her life while Flo was busy recording, rehearsing and performing.

**stalebagel** · 08-25-2011, 10:05 AM

I swear I have absolutely nothing about anyone's menstrual periods in my book!

**kalisa** · 08-25-2011, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by stalebagel

I swear I have absolutely nothing about anyone's menstrual periods in my book!

>

awwww, I want my $$ back!!!

**marybrewster** · 08-25-2011, 10:59 AM

Outside of the reviews of Precious' book, the main reason I didn't purchase it was the price. To me, it was a blatant effort to rip off Florence Ballard and Supremes fans. She wrote it and released it on the coattails of "Dreamgirls" and Jennifer Hudson's acceptance speech. Now granted, Precious didn't get the great book deal that others have gotten, so maybe that's why the price was a bit inflated, but I thought $66.00 [[or whatever it was) was outrageous.

The problem as I see it, is that we've never had an objective book on Diana or Mary or the Supremes or Motown. Everything is either a love-fest or a hate-fest. By far, my favorite has been Randall Wilson's "Forever Faithful". There was no agenda, IMO, other than to bring facts.

Has anyone picked up that Ian's "Diana" book? What's that all about?

**marybrewster** · 08-25-2011, 11:01 AM

And by far the worst is Ribowsky's "Supremes" book. As a writer, I don't think you need to bring one down to build one up.

I'd love to see a book by Cindy, Scherrie or Susaye. I know they wouldn't paint a picture of sunshine and lollipops, but I think you'd absolutely get an objective point of view, especially from Susaye.

**marybrewster** · 08-25-2011, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by Neil Rushton

Hi Mary,

It's not $73 plus shipping costs though.

The cost of the book without the shipping costs is £34.99 which at $1.6 to the £ is $55, not $73.
On pre-orders to the USA we are charging £10 shipping, which is a lot less than the actual cost.
So £44.99 @ $1.6 equals $71.95 which I guess is where the $73 comes in?
Don't forget the first 500 copies of the book come complete with a bonus single, the 1964 Hitsville Tamla Motown Appreciation Society single which has been licenced in from Universal as well as music publishng royalty accounted for. The single has got to be worth £10 to £20 if you were selling it on by itself, and everyone who has placed an advance order has been sent the disc this before the book arrives, and we are picking that postage cost out of the £44.99.
I wish we could ship for free but we can't!

All The Best,

Neil

Thank you for your reply Neil. Yes, since I am in the US, I used the price of the book [[at 34.99 plus 10.00 shipping, UK, to come up with my $73.00 amount). It sounds like a wonderful book and I wish you and Al and all involved much, much success. Everything I have seen on the book looks lovely, and it's my hope that I can eventually swing the price. It's just at a time when gas is $3.75 a gallon and one bag of groceries is $50.00, a girl has to survive before she can treat herself. Heck, I've even had to resort to Goodwill for stagewear! This dragdiva is thrifty!

Warm regards.

**marv2** · 08-25-2011, 01:28 PM

Any way Maxine Ballard-Jenkins did what most businesses do; take advantage of the timing in the market. I can't fault her for that. She is suppose release her book when there is some sort of demand or interest in the subject. I do not feel she ripped her sister off at all. I think you have to look to another source if you want to know who ripped Florence off.

I think the book "Hype and Soul" is important and highly significant in that it comes from an individual that was there at the start of the "Motown Story". Before all of those groups, Ed Sullivan Shows, CD packages, discussion boards about Motown. It's not a third or fourth party story.

Mary Wilson has written about the Supremes, so that is done. She also contributed to this great new book "Hype and Soul". I will be getting more copies as gifts for family members this Fall. I think I can manage that and still have beer money left over!

**dickiemint** · 08-25-2011, 05:05 PM

kalisa & mr soul
Thank you for your replys, i will drop an e mail to neil rushton, hope you enjoy your 45 and the book when it arrives

**Neil Rushton** · 08-26-2011, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by dickiemint

kalisa & mr soul
Thank you for your replys, i will drop an e mail to neil rushton, hope you enjoy your 45 and the book when it arrives

Hi Richard - Got your message last night while at Steve Cropper show in the UK so had a bit of a Motown/Stax attention clash for a moment!
Sorry you did not get your record. You are on the system as the record having gone out to you immediately you ordered.
So do not know what has gone wrong, but another record gone out to you today.
We try and send all records out the same day we get the orders, so apologies again for the mix-up.

Neil

**Neil Rushton** · 08-26-2011, 06:27 AM

We are getting orders in from all over the World, another one from Australia today.
Shows the global interest in all things Motown.

Neil

**snakepit** · 08-26-2011, 06:30 AM

Ordered my copy last night.....any idea when I can expect it please??

**Neil Rushton** · 08-26-2011, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by Jimi LaLumia

Neil, with is the amazon/ISBN registration all about?

Amazon have picked up on the book from the ISBN registration and advertised it at discounted price. They have not contacted us. Our costings mean it is impossible for us to sell at the prices they would pay. The book will be available from us via our Amazon shop, as is the case with Northern Soul Stories.

Neil

**Neil Rushton** · 08-26-2011, 06:36 AM

Originally Posted by snakepit

Ordered my copy last night.....any idea when I can expect it please??

Your record - and the copy of "Norhern Soul Stories" you also ordered - went out Ist class post today, so as you are in the UK, if Royal Mail do their job properly you will have it tomorrow.

**snakepit** · 08-26-2011, 06:46 AM

Neil,
In sunny Manchester.........so looking forward to receiving the NSS .
Is Hype and Soul due later?
BTW how sad that Esther has passed away...on the verge of publication, and no doubt, featured in the book.

**Neil Rushton** · 08-27-2011, 07:03 AM

Originally Posted by snakepit

Neil,
In sunny Manchester.........so looking forward to receiving the NSS .
Is Hype and Soul due later?
BTW how sad that Esther has passed away...on the verge of publication, and no doubt, featured in the book.

Yes we are waiting for the book start of September from printers, so thought it good idea to send out the TMAS single on receipt of of book.

Yes really said about Esther. Al mentions her several times in the book, including how she was gloing to sack him if the Tommy Good March On Hitsville went wrong [[!) and he was really looking forward to seeing what she made him of the book.

Neil

**snakepit** · 08-27-2011, 07:16 AM

Neil Received my NSS and 45 today.....that 45 will look good on my den wall.....a shrine to Motown!
I had a copy from the original batch.....sure I got it from Sharon Davis when she flogged a few items via Four Tops fan club.
From what I've seen [[dragged off to the shops this am by "She who must be obeyed", ) NSS looks a great book. Only glimpsed the first few chapters, but it is exactly the stuff we need to know about..........the music, the artists, the scene....not individual and personal stories....we've all got those!
Thanks again and can't wait for H&S
Larry

**snakepit** · 08-27-2011, 07:59 AM

Neil
Love the piece about "You're ready now"....exactly my experience at my first Wheel in 1970.........it was THE record, no doubt.
I'd love to know what HDH thougt about your Northern Soul explanation?

**Neil Rushton** · 08-27-2011, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by snakepit

Neil
Love the piece about "You're ready now"....exactly my experience at my first Wheel in 1970.........it was THE record, no doubt.
I'd love to know what HDH thougt about your Northern Soul explanation?

Glad you like NSS. Doing it was a labour of love.
Met Brian and Eddie when we licenced some Invictus tracks for Inferno way back in the late 70's.
I think they thought we were just mad very young UK Soul fans who could not stop asking them about Detroit Soul, and we had somehow got our own record label! They were very surprised we wanted to release "Sliced Tomatoes" - The Just Brothers as part of the deal. I have read since that the sample used by Norman Cook on Fat Boy Slim's "Rockerfella Skank" was dubbed from the subseqent Inferno single!
Eddie and Brian were really pleasant, and they invited myself and Bill Baker [[co-publisher of Hype & Soul") to Jobete's "Yesterday, Today & Forever" recording session in the LA hills which was a real thrill for us. Some original Detroit musicans were playing on it, and I remember them being a bit nonplussed when we asked about their sessions on very obscure Detroit records they had forgotten about. Ironically the YTF album is now rare and in-demand.
As part of another LA trip involving Invictus I was taken to a studio where Paul Riser was working with [[I think) Lamont Dozier.I did not remember/had not taken in at the time that Paul had co-writen the immortal "6 By 6" - Earl Van Dyke, which of course was one of the main rites of passage records for Brit teenage Soul fans. If I had remembered I would have blitzed Paul with questions, including that perennial Northern Soul bit of folklore for the record - "Is there a vocal"? So he had a lucky escape!
I actually found a brilliant unrelesed Chairmen Of The Board track one afternoon playing through tapes at the Gold Forever office in LA, and the next day the tapes had got jumbled up and we could not find track and I had to leave for the airport. It was brilliant, and has not come out on any of the compilations I have seen since. I was absolutely gutted.I still am thinking about it.

Neil

**snakepit** · 08-27-2011, 09:58 AM

Long story, but I nearly got expelled from school because of "6 by 6"....think of white plasterboards, long corriders and felt pens!
[["6 by 6" actually refers to 6 rhthym players and 6 horn players..no vocal.)
I had that YTF album once....some good stuff.
I remember reading a quote from Lamont Dozier about being asked to appear in a club "in the middle of the night" somewhere in England.....
Thanks once again

**Neil Rushton** · 09-01-2011, 03:56 AM

Here's a quick update.

Last night we got a handful of copies of the book to approve. We have done so, and the stock will be delivered to us early next week so we will be able to post out Tuesday or Wednesday to everyone who has ordered.
The book looks amazing and we are thrilled with it.
It is very strange how things work out. These copies turned up around the same time as Al was, sadly, attending Esther Edwards funeral. There are some great pieces on Esther in the book.

Thanks,

Neil

**paul_nixon** · 09-03-2011, 12:12 PM

Looks amazing is an understatement this has to be THE Motown book or indeed music book fo the past decade, fantastic pictures and terrific memorabillia - many things I've never seen before. Beautifully printed and collated - it's a must have for ANY Motown fan - you need to order your copy now if you haven't already, well done Al and Neil......

**motony** · 09-03-2011, 12:37 PM

really looking forward to getting the book.received the 45 bout 3 weeks ago & love it.Martha sure is the best "talker" and for all those critical of Diana Ross being called Diane, well again she refers to herself as Diane after the Supremes speak in unison.

**Neil Rushton** · 09-03-2011, 11:40 PM

Originally Posted by paul_nixon

Looks amazing is an understatement this has to be THE Motown book or indeed music book fo the past decade, fantastic pictures and terrific memorabillia - many things I've never seen before. Beautifully printed and collated - it's a must have for ANY Motown fan - you need to order your copy now if you haven't already, well done Al and Neil......

Thank you very much indeed Paul for the kind comments. As we were working on the book we knew we had something very special, but the finished result is something else, Al has come up with a unique work which radiates love for all things Motown. What I especially like about it that Al's essays provide cutting edge journalism, while the surrounding pages are coffee table chic.

Any plaudits to me should be shared with my co-publisher Bill Baker, and graphic designer Glenn Gunton for the incredible artwork.

Here's some other comments from reviewers -

Andy Peebles, Soul DJ on Smooth: "A brilliant book. This is an important piece of American musical and cultural history."

Ray Ellis, Juke Blues: "This visually stunning book is certainly well worth the wait Chock full of previously unpublished material from the achives of its author. The whole thing is so lovingly put together, a true insight and testament to a unique happening in modern American popular music, the likes of which we are unlikely to be witnessed again."

**Neil Rushton** · 09-04-2011, 12:09 AM

Now we have the book we have checked out the actual postage costs & they are even higher than we anticpated.
So for anyone thinking of orderng a copy, if you do so now pre-publicaton you are getting the benefit of s taking a hit on the real postage cost.

**theboyfromxtown** · 09-04-2011, 02:31 AM

I have just bought ANOTHER extra copy...is the 45 still available?

**Neil Rushton** · 09-04-2011, 05:08 AM

Originally Posted by theboyfromxtown

I have just bought ANOTHER extra copy...is the 45 still available?

Yes, the first 500 books have the bonus single, and that stock is still available.

**scanspeak** · 09-04-2011, 08:04 AM

I received my 45 but alas, I no longer have a way to play vinyl!

**luke** · 09-04-2011, 09:50 AM

SInce the cost of the 45 seems to increase the price of the book, does price come down without it? Book sounds just great!! Hope I can swing it. Any benefacotrs??

**bankhousedave** · 09-04-2011, 05:17 PM

Many congrats, Al and all concerned, on bringing this project to a successful conclusion.

**stalebagel** · 09-04-2011, 07:01 PM

Dave:
Thanks for the kind words.
I really do appreciate your comments.
You and Sue are in the book too -- as you both well deserve to be.
My best to you both.
Al