St. Louis Sound: An Illustrated Timeline
by Steve Pick with Amanda E. Doyle
Publisher – Reedy Press (local)
Music & books have always been a major part of my life. I started reading at a young age & I would host pretend radio shows with my friends when we were growing up. The library was a place where I could check out albums and books! I distinctly remember walking home from the Carondelet Branch with books & a Shaun Cassidy album one sunny afternoon. Those were the days.
We all have memories like that. Memories of special things being part of our lives and books & music have always been right at the top of my list. I mention those because St. Louis Sound: An Illustrated Timeline is a book about music. Even better, it’s a book about the St. Louis music scene. The singers, the radio stations, the styles & the roots of all this run as deep as the Mississippi river. Authors Steve Pick along with Amanda E. Doyle poured their hearts & souls into this masterpiece & their obvious love of music can be felt on every page. A coffee table book you’ll be proud to display but won’t want to put down. Every picture tells a story, every story is a piece of history. St. Louis history.
You could read this book from cover to cover. You could do like I did & go right to the year you were born & see what St. Louis sounded like then. 1974, Pavlov’s Dog, page 80 so you can check it out when you pick up the book. Honestly, go to any page in St. Louis Sound: An Illustrated Timeline and you won’t be disappointed. Pictures from the Mississippi River Festival from 1969, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra dating all the way back to 1880 & there’s even a section on Laclede’s Landing when it began in 1977.
If it was music in St. Louis, it’s in this book. I had the privilege of meeting Steve & Amanda once & they are two of the most fun-loving people you’ll ever know. Makes sense they’d host a trivia night. It’s coming up Wednesday, March 4th at Carpenter Library from 7-8. Of course, it’s music trivia! You can go alone or take a team & you can buy signed copies of St. Louis Sound: An Illustrated Timeline there, too.
Don’t miss a chance to get this book, Barnes & Noble has it, St. Louis bookstores carry it or buy it online at reedypress.com. If you’re a history buff, a music lover or a St. Louis native, there’s something in it for you. St. Louis Sound: An Illustrated Timeline, let it get in your ears & eyes.
