Top Ten: Jubt Avery

Top Ten: Soul Sheets

The characters behind the records you love.
1. "Marvin Gaye: Divided Soul" (David Ritz)
Harrowing yarns from Motown's Trouble Man.
2. Miles Davis "Miles: The Autobiography" (Quincy Trope)
High curse word count from the ever-opinionated Miles.
3. Nina Simone "I Put A Spell On You: The Autobiography Of Nina Simone" (Stephen Cleary)
A hell of a life from Julliard to Liberia.
4. James Brown "The Godfather Of Soul: An Autobiography" 
JB is a man of many titles, but you can add teller of unreliable tales to the list.
5. Ray Charles "Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story" (David Ritz)
Forget the film, the autobiography is a rollicking, hedonistic ride with one of music's great characters.
6. Al Green "Take Me To The River" (Davin Seay)
Southern soul and selective stories.
7. Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson "Mo' Meta Blues"
Meta musings from The Roots' meter man.
8. Charles Mingus "Beneath The Underdog: His World As Composed by Mingus"
Mind expanding musical insights and tangential tales.
9. Frederick Dannan "Hit Men: Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business"
Fascinating industry backgrounder on the corporatisation of the record business.
10. Charlie Gillett "The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock n' Roll"
The definitive backgrounder on the blues.
Also spun:
"Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke" (Peter Guralnick)
"Prince: Inside The Music and The Masks" (Ronin Ro)
"To Be Loved: The Music, The Magic, The Memories of Motown" (Berry Gordy)

Written by Jubt Avery.
Hear him on 'The Boil Up', alongside Kirk James and AWDJ, Thursdays from 8pm on Base FM.


(* this excerpt taken from Issue #4 of the Soultearoa Shakedown fanzine. You can read the full ise, and the back issues, here.)