Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll

by Peter Blecha

Long before the world discovered grunge, the Pacific Northwest was already home to a singular music culture. In the late 1950s, locals had codified a distinct offshoot of rockin' R&B, and a surprising number of them would skyrocket to success, including Little Bill and the Bluenotes, the Wailers, Ron Holden, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Kingsmen, Merrilee Rush, and the Sonics.

With entertaining accounts gleaned from hundreds of interviews, Peter Blecha tells the story of music in the Pacific Northwest from the 1940s to the 1960s, a golden era that shaped generations of musicians to come. The local R&B scene evolved from the area's vibrant jazz scene, and Blecha illuminates the musical continuum between Ray Charles (who cut his first record in Seattle) and Quincy Jones to the rock 'n' rollers who forged the classic jazz-tinged "Northwest Sound." DJs built a teen dance circuit that the authorities didn't like but whose popularity pushed bands to develop crowd-friendly beats. Do-it-yourself enthusiasts launched groundbreaking record companies that scored a surprising number of hit songs.

Highlighting key but overlooked figures and offering a new look at well-known musicians (such as an obscure guitarist then known as Jimmy Hendrix), Blecha shows how an isolated region launched influential new sounds upon an unsuspecting world.

Stomp and Shout was made possible in part by a grant from 4Culture's Heritage Program.
A Michael J. Repass Book

Genres: History, Music

328 pages, Hardcover

Published February 16, 2023

Reviews

[Eldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a worthy read. It does a lot of things. Certainly a good reference to have. Useful on a several levels. It is a history of the NW sound. It begins in the late 40’s, early 50’s with the jazz scene in Seattle. That morphed into a healthy R&B and blues scene, with soul influence during the 1950’s. Then along comes the white kids and more mixed-race bands than anyplace else at the time. The NW sound that emerged had a strong stream of soul and R&B. The drumbeats are unique for the time. Some really good music emerged but then the national vultures began to pay attention, bought some shit up and turned the NW sound into crappy pop. He argues if there had been better and stronger NW music managers, things might have been very different.
He has a chapter on Hendrix and his connection to Seattle. Not just the city but specific connections about what music and experiences he grew up with that was fundamental to much of his later work.
And…..it is an avalanche of detail about the bands. Who played in what, where they went to next and who fought with who and where did they wind up? The same for clubs and venues. Mostly bars and some after-hours places where some of the white kids hung out and got to know the black players, and sometimes got to play with them on stage. Plus, there is a lot about multiple youth clubs where bands played, and kids hung out. Even some detail about the roller rinks. Radio stations and DJ’s get a lot of attention as they were very powerful in what got on the radio.
I played in bands in the mid to late 60's. We came along at the point where there was “some really good music” in play. We were lucky in that. And even though we were a cover dance band, the way we played at the time reads true to what he says was unique in the make-up of the NW sound.

[Will Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad that I read this but I think that Blecha could improve on his writing. He’s really good at collecting facts and he clearly knows a lot. He also seems to have a lot of passion for the city which I appreciate. However, I found myself appreciating the chapters about Jimi Hendrix more than others and I think it’s cause I know who Jimi is, whereas I’ve never heard a single song from the Wailers, Dave Lewis, Paul Revere, etc. I think a part of why I liked the Hendrix chapters more is because Blecha could’ve done better. One thing is that he kind of just listed facts over and over again, not providing a great narrative.

One thing that stood out was the history behind Louie Louie. That song used to be played after the 7th inning stretch at Mariners games (until they switched it for fucking Macklemore meh). I had no idea that it was THE song in the pacnw. Every band had to have that song in their repertoire to be successful.

Reading this book made me wonder about the experiences that our generation are missing out on thanks to technology. Obviously YouTube, Spotify, etc. bring tons of music from around the globe to your fingertips which is amazing, but I wonder if we’re going to start losing regional sounds. I think it’d be sad to lose out on cities having their own sounds.

Overall it’s a decent book if you’re a music nerd from seattle.

[East Bay J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. The northwest music scene in 40s and 50s was at least as vibrant and unique as that in the 80s and 90s with a ton of great bands. I'd have liked more on the Sonics but I learned a lot about the stompers and shouters of the R&B/rock 'n' roll scene in the Pacific Northwest.

[Erik Hanberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catnip for me. Tacoma and an oral music history are a great combo.

[Tyler J Hinds · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.2