Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars

By Dennis Coffey and Coffey Dennis

Book Overview

"Guitarist Dennis Coffey was in that elite band of musicians who helped to create the Motown Sound."
---Edwin Starr

"There can never be enough stories told from the vantage point of Motown's fabled Snake Pit, from one of the journeyman musicians working behind the scenes. Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars also shows just how frenetic and creative the Detroit music scene was in the '60s and '70s. But it's Dennis Coffey's personal story that's most gripping: the journey from Motown, to Billboard's Top Ten, to working the line at Chevrolet."
---Susan Whitall, Detroit News; author of Women of Motown

Under Berry Gordy, Motown was a place where studio musicians usually stood in the shadows, unlike the solo stars whose names appeared on the albums. Gordy held a tight rein on his musicians, forbidding them from playing for other record companies and denying them credit on his records.

In Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars, author and guitarist Dennis Coffey tells how he slipped Gordy's draconian rules and went on to success as both a Motown musician and a million-selling solo artist. He offers a fascinating backstage look at the Detroit, L.A., and New York music scenes in the '60s and '70s, with side trips to the smoky clubs and funky studios where the Motown sound was born.

Coffey is credited with creating a lot of that sound, including the famous guitar intro to the Temptations' classic "Cloud Nine." He played on hundreds of Motown albums, and introduced such innovations as the Wah Wah pedal into the Motown recording studio.

Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars is an entertaining and amusing memoir of one of the most dynamic and influential periods in contemporary pop culture, and a unique insight into the ups and downs of the studio guitar-for-hire. It's also a look at the dizzying rags-to-riches-and-back-again career of a rock musician who went from million-seller with a house in the Hollywood Hills, and ultimately back to his roots in the Detroit area. A must for fans of Motown, rock, and you-are-there pop-culture history.
From "rock & roll kid" to honorary member of Motown's elite rhythm section the Funk Brothers, Dennis Coffey was one of Detroit's most in-demand session guitarists. After leaving Motown, Coffey became a regular at Hitsville USA, playing on records for Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Junior Walker. Most recently he appeared in the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472113992
• ISBN13: 9780472113996
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

this book is a stone cold Trip

Dennis Coffey had a distinctive sound on Guitar and he made a name for himself and he got out of the trappings and stronghold that Berry Gordy had on his crew. this Book takes you from Detriot where Motown originated out to LA were it went through a major change. this book is a trip and covers alot of ground and packs alot of punch. one of the most honest and strong solid read books that you gotta read and once you do , you won't wanna put it down.

Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstarts

We need more memoirs like this. It takes you back through rock and soul glory years, from the perspective of one of the hundreds of musicians who weren't really "superstars" but were stars simply trying to make a living and make great music. Coffey's rise as a rock and Motown guitarist, his forced move along with all the Motown gang to LA by Barry Gordy, and his subsequent fall from the upper echelon of the American music scene to working on a Chevrolet assembly line reads like a great rags to riches to rags novel. A nice plus is the complete discography and a section where he tells us what guitar he used on different songs.

A different perspective than most

Under Berry Gordy Motown became a place where studio musicians usually stood in the shadows of solo stars promoted in his studios, for Gordy held stringent contracts which prevented his musicians from playing for other record companies and often denied them credit on his records. In Guitars, Bars, And Motown Superstars, guitarist Dennis Coffey tells how he escaped Gordy's tight hold on music to become a success as both a Motown musician and solo artist - and his backstage look at the Motown experience provides quite a different perspective than most. This is no fly-by-night artist: Coffey was one of Detroit's most important session guitarists in the 1960s and 80s and played for many superstars: his insights are a 'must' for any enthusiast of the Motown scene.

A superbly written and hilarious account of a funk legend

This is one book you just can't put down. It grabs you and takes you on a funk-filled roller coaster ride through LA, NY, Detroit, and all points in between!Dennis Coffey comes to life and brings you along for the ride of a lifetime. Exploring Detroit in the 60's and 70's, he talks about the rise of Motown Records, his gigs, shows, and tells the stories that only an insider like him can tell. With wit and charm, he often makes you laugh out loud, and you catch yourself imagining just what it was like to be making history. This is the kind of biography and story telling that we need more of. The session players like Dennis have all sorts of great stories because the people they are, and the people they worked with, are so far above extraordinary that it makes for great reading. Pick this book up, but be warned, you won't put it down anytime soon.