Sign-In
Cart
Tastykakes, Soul Songs & Shining Stars: Affections and Reflections
Paperback
Letters & EssaysBlues & SoulGeneral Music
Publisher Price: $22.00
Publisher: ZE Books
Published: Apr 28 2026
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.90
Height: 1.30 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
Tastykakes, Soul Songs and Shining Stars is a labor of love, half a century in the making, for music industry veteran Joe McEwen. A Philadelphia native and legendary A&R executive for Columbia, Sire/Warner Brothers, Verve, and Concord Music Group, McEwen now McEwen gathers a lifetime's worth of encounters, essays, and reveries into one radiant collection--a love letter to the rhythm-and-blues and soul music that shaped him.
Its pages are bursting with vivid, compelling, up-front and personal profiles and encounters with a host of important figures: Pops and Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Allen Toussaint, Betty Wright, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Don Covay, and many more. Alongside these portraits are heartfelt musings spanning the 1960s through the '80s, illuminating the creative processes behind the songs that defined a generation.
Interwoven throughout are reflections on basketball, memory, and movement--parallel sources of rhythm, improvisation, and joy. The book culminates in an extended 2024 conversation with esteemed music author and longtime confidant Peter Guralnick (Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke), a fitting finale to a collection that captures the soul of a lifetime in music.
Also in
General Music
Less Noise, More Soul: The Search for Balance in the Art, Technology and Commerce of Music
Flitner, David
Paperback
Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other--And the World
Windolf, Jim
Hardcover
The Little Guide to Dolly Parton: It's Hard to Be a Diamond in a Rhinestone World
Hippo! Orange
Hardcover
David Bowie and the Search for Life, Death and God: A Spiritual Meditation on His Music and Creativity
Ormerod, Peter
Hardcover
A Life in Lyrics: The Official Creative Legacy of Freddie Mercury
Mercury, Freddie
Austin, Mary
Hardcover
Color & Frame - Bible Coloring: Psalms: 63 Coloring Pages with Bible Verses Christian Devotional Book Gift for Women, Adults, Teens & Faith-Based Rela
New Seasons
Publications International Ltd
Paperback
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon: Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops & the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
McGowan, David
Paperback
Musicality: How you too can learn music like a gifted prodigy, unlock your musical instinct, and unleash your inner natural.
Sutton, Christopher
Hardcover
The Last Leaf: Reflections on Late-Life Creativity--And My Longest Love Affair
Nelson, Willie
Hardcover
The Madman's Orchestra: The Greatest Curiosities from the History of Music
Brooke-Hitching, Edward
Hardcover
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
Charnas, Dan
Paperback
Taylor Swift by the Book: The Literature Behind the Lyrics, from Fairy Tales to Tortured Poets
Tatreau, Tiffany
Feder, Rachel
Hardcover
3 Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool
Kaplan, James
Paperback
The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn, Band, and Hard Work
Quinones, Sam
Hardcover
The Spirit of Ani: Reflections on Spirituality, Feminism, Music, and Freedom
Rosen, Lauren Coyle
Difranco, Ani
Hardcover
Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment
Gaines, James R.
Paperback
Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
Goodman, Lizzy
Paperback
What Happened to Your Hair?: How We Played Loud... Loved Proud... and Never Backed Down... Together
Nelson, Gunnar
Nelson, Matthew
Hardcover
Play It! Children's Songs (Level 1): A Superfast Way to Learn Awesome Songs on Your Piano or Keyboard
Kemmeter, Jennifer
Marrone, Antimo
Paperback
Color & Frame - Bible Coloring: Hymns (Adult Coloring Book)
Publications International Ltd
New Seasons
Paperback
Hitchcock and Herrmann: The Friendship and Film Scores That Changed Cinema
Smith, Steven C.
Hardcover
Lift Every Voice and Sing II Pew Edition: An African American Hymnal
Church Publishing Incorporated
Hardcover
We're Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from Cbgb to Gilman and Beyond
McEnaney, Tom
Peraino, Judith A.
Paperback
ATEEZ Coloring Book for ATINY: Relaxation, Fun, Creativity, (Large Print Edition)
Ftw, Kpop
Paperback
Wonder, Love, and Praise Pew Edition: A Supplement to the Hymnal 1982
Church Publishing Incorporated
Paperback
Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to the Band
Lewis, Stephen T.
Hardcover
Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding Your Voice
Pattison, Pat
Paperback
Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves
Riva, Chris Dalla
Hardcover
Unfinished: The Role of the Artist in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Santiago, Lucas Cantor
Hardcover
Sellout: The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994-2007)
Ozzi, Dan
Paperback
A Method for Prayer: With Scripture-Expressions, Proper to Be Used Under Each Head
Henry, Matthew
Paperback
I.W.W. Little Red Songbook: Nineteenth Edition from 1923 with All of the Classic Hits
Hill, Joe
Paperback
The Mysticism of Sound and Music: The Sufi Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan
Khan, Hazrat Inayat
Paperback
And on Piano ...Nicky Hopkins: The Extraordinary Life of Rock's Greatest Session Man
Dawson, Julian
Paperback
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970
Lewisohn, Mark
Paperback