All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927-77

by Tony Fletcher

A penetrating and entertaining exploration of New York’s music scene from Cubop through folk, punk, and hip-hop.

From Tony Fletcher, the acclaimed biographer of Keith Moon, comes an incisive history of New York’s seminal music scenes and their vast contributions to our culture. Fletcher paints a vibrant picture of mid-twentieth-century New York and the ways in which its indigenous art, theater, literature, and political movements converged to create such unique music.



With great attention to the colorful characters behind the sounds, from trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie to Tito Puente, Bob Dylan, and the Ramones, he takes us through bebop, the Latin music scene, the folk revival, glitter music, disco, punk, and hip-hop as they emerged from the neighborhood streets of Harlem, the East and West Village, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. All the while, Fletcher goes well beyond the history of the music to explain just what it was about these distinctive New York sounds that took the entire nation by storm.

Genres: Music, History, New York, Nonfiction, Pop Culture

513 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2009

About the author

Tony Fletcher is the author of seven non-fiction books and one novel.  His biography of drummer Keith Moon  has been named in many a Best Music Book list, and his biography of R.E.M., updated in 2013 as Perfect Circle,  has been published in over half a dozen countries.   A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths was published in the UK by William Heinemann in September 2012, and by Crown Archetype in the USA in December 2012, with paperback editions following in the corresponding months of 2013. A memoir of his South London schooldays,  Boy About Town , was published in the UK by William Heinemann in July 2013, and is now available as a paperback in both the USA and UK through Windmill Books/Cornerstone Press.

Fletcher gained his entry into music journalism by founding a fanzine at his London school in 1977; by the time Jamming! ceased publication in 1986, it was selling 30,000 copies a month. Along the way he interviewed the likes of Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and U2, as well as dozens of up-and-coming, predominantly independent post-punk acts.

A contributor over the years to a multitude of magazines, newspapers, radio and television shows, primarily in the UK and USA, Fletcher now lives with his family on a mountaintop near the village of Woodstock in New York State. There he runs, skis, maintains his web site www.ijamming.net, serves on his local school board, and plays Hammond B-3 and Rickenbacker in the Catskill 45s, a group that only performs songs from 45 calendar years ago.

Reviews

[Roy Lotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it happens, I bought this book nearly a decade ago, when I was contemplating a dissertation on New York City subway music for an ethnomusicology Ph.D. Well, the dissertation never got off the ground—and this book probably would not have helped much, anyway. But for any fans of NYC or popular music (preferably both), then this is a worthy read.

Though the book only focuses on popular music (Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center are not mentioned), and only covers fifty years, it is nonetheless an ambitious project. Probably nobody alive is an expert on all of the genres discussed in this book. Integrating all of these disparate musicians, producers, record companies, and styles with the greater history of the city is a strenuous act of synthesis. Needless to say, Fletcher mostly skims the surface of all of these topics, giving us the SparkNotes version. Even so, out of these quick summaries, a vital picture emerges of the music ecosystems that have come and gone in the Big Apple.

As was probably inevitable, Fletcher's treatment of the different genres is uneven. He is very good, for example, on the folk revival in Greenwich Village, the early years of punk in CBGB, and the birth of hip-hop in the Bronx. But I found his chapters on Afro-Cuban Jazz and Bebop to be comparatively lacking. Also, in his chapters on commercial music—such as the Tin Pan Alley girl groups—he can lapse into the dense prose of an industry journalist, crowding every sentence with a sea of names. Here is a typical example:

Martinez took the Crows to the Jubilee label, owned by the former band-leader Jerry Blaine since his original partner Hern Abramson left to cofound Atlantic. Blaine had enjoyed enormous success with the Orioles, and his profits were boosted by the fact that he distributed his label through his own Cosnat company—ass he did Red Robin, and others.

Fletcher ends the book with a question: As the city becomes increasingly unaffordable for everyone except corporate lawyers and stock brokers, will it continue to play such an inventive role in popular music? Though Fletcher is optimistic (or was, in 2009), many of the stories told in this book—of, say, arriving in the city with a few spare dollars and a guitar—seem close to impossible now. But, as Fletcher says, the city has proven the doubters wrong many times before, and may very well again. In any case, the wealth of great music recommendations alone is worth the price of the book.

[Jennifer Ozawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really felt like this book was part of a stealth trilogy, along with “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” and “Love Goes to Buildings on Fire”. Each book examines New York music culture and they overlap in some places but mostly talk about entirely different facets. This was my favorite of the three, because it is the most in-depth but never dry or academic.

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars, in fact.

Really well-executed and edited account of the musical movements of the twentieth century as seen from the vantage point of New York City. Trad Jazz, Swing, Latin Jazz, Bebop, Cubop, Jump, Jive, Rhythm & Blues, Doowop, Pop, Folk, Rock, Metal, Glam, Disco, Punk, New Wave, No Wave, Hiphop, Rap ... a complex story and no doubt difficult to condense.

Fletcher's account manages to cover the major movements while backing up the story with the way New York was developing as an urban center. All of which sounds kind of dry and curatorial, but it really isn't.

Harlem teenager Cyde McPhatter would eventually front both the Dominoes and then the Drifters, but started in church, and from there an Apollo talent night...

... The only problem with McPhatter's gospel singing ? He didn't believe in it. "It was never explained to me what religion was all about" ...
With more money available to young people in the postwar years, it was becoming a lot harder for parents to control their children by, quite literally, putting the fear of God into them. And with vocal music proving increasingly popular on the streets and stoops of Harlem, local gospel singers like McPhatter increasingly sought out secular singing opportunities ...
(When record label) Federal sent the group straight into the studio, something unprecedented took place. On the Ward-Marks ballad "Do Something For Me," Mc Phatter sang lead with the gospel delivery of his church upbringing, giving full range to his melismas in the process. But his words were most certainly not dedicated to the Lord. Alternately begging and hustling the object of his affections, he vowed not to "sleep a wink tonight, unless you come over and treat me right," a proposition that required "teasing me" and "squeezing me" until his love would come "tumbling down". At first, the other Dominoes harmonized politely in the background-- until a middle-eight unison that suggested they were no less amorous than their leader.
This was not just secular music; it was sexual music, and it went top ten on the R&B charts.

From Dizzy Gilespie & Charlie Parker through a whole century to Afrika Bambaata and Grandmaster Flash, this is a lot of material to cover, and while no abridged account is going to satisfy everyone, this survey gets the music across. Recommended.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This entertaining well documented history of five decades of music will keep you reading. Starting with latin music, it continues through big band, jazz, bop, r&b, rock and roll, rock, the girl groups, the folk scene, punk, rap, hip-hop. (And more).

Whether you are a music fan or a history buff, the author keeps the rhythm. This is a fascinating look at how styles change, neighborhoods change, but people want music.

Read it ... it was a delightful surprise for me.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this huge tome on New York music, even if it reads slightly like 12 or so novellas, rather than a co-ordinated whole. Some sections are great, really colourful, and full of anecdotes, I think the author is much more enthusiastic about jazz, 70s rock and hip-hop then he is over folk, Dylan, and 50s and 60s pop. The last 2 sections mentioned in particular, almost feel like lists of bands, their line-ups and records. But overall, even with its "all good music is rooted in New York" philosophy, it is well worth checking out. The best bits for me were the moments of colour, the early gigs of the Lovin' Spoonful, the competition in the Harlem jazz scene, MCs defending their sound systems with hand guns during the blackout... that's what this book is about.

Best line - Hilly Kristal of CBGBs on rebooking the Ramones after seeing them... "Uncertain that they could ever be quite so bad again, he promptly rebooked them".

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great retrospective of NYC music. A little light on the early years as 1927-1960 is covered in the first fifth of the book. Has a fairly comprehensive survey of the 70's but lacks in showing how the jazz scene of the streets was really pushing the envelope of the Avante scene. This mix of "high art" and subculture also pervaded the 60s particularly with Terry Riley and John Cale; this could have been fleshed out more. Finally, the salsa scene was totally heating up in the 70s and writing about this would have brought the book full circle back to 1927.

But I'm really just nitpicking. It is a great survey. Combine this book with Will Hermes' Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, and you get a comprehensive look at NYC in the 70s

[Daniel Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty enjoyable survey of NY music progression over 50 years. Understandably, the book had to sacrifice depth for breadth, but I was hoping for more analysis of the overlap between movements - something that basically disappeared after the Brill Building section. I was pleased (and slightly puzzled) by the focus on a band like Suicide or even the Velvet Underground, especially since their importance to the moment is clearly revisionist. Nothing wrong with a bit of perspective to inform your book, but even if this was written in the '90s it would have been a very different piece.

[Salim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book condenses the history of more than a dozen musical periods and styles, each to its own chapter. The synthetic approach gives clear focus to this history and context of each style. The author's ability to present eyewitness accounts as well as primary sources adds lustre to the stories about the music.

[Marie Fouhey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers an amazing number of styles and groups - from jazz through girl groups and folk songs to hip hop. Parts of it are very interesting, especially where the author discusses the links between the social situation and the music, but there is so much covered and he mentions so many names and groups and styles that it gets rather confusing.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this quite a bit. Seems like I've read 4 books covering the CBGB's era recently but I especially enjoyed the chapters on the evolution of disco, hip hop, the west village folk rock scene of the mid-60s, the east village scent of the same period, girl groups, brill building and bebop.

[Tad Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole range of New York music, lovingly rendered. How could I have been so shortsighted, back in the 50s, not to go to the Palladium to hear the likes of Machito and Tito Puente?

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic prelude to Will Hermes's "Love Goes to Buildings on Fire."

[Jennifer Glick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comprehensive, makes me want to attack each genre covered and learn more.