Press Archive - R&B in DC 1940-1960 - Rhythm & Blues, Doo Wop - Washingtonian magazine
...DC's R&B scene didn't produce a huge number of records that hit the national charts. But Bruder's box set, with its extensive con textual info and illuminating photos and posters, captures just how vital it was as a local phenomenon. "This particular era of music, it was pure-it was fun," says Motley's grandson Morris Clarke, who was close to the musician when he was growing up in Durham. (Motley died in 1998.) "They weren't paid a lot of money to do this. This was real passion."


The collection also offers a cohesive narrative ofa time and place and culture that-as participants pass away and demographic change erodes the city's institutional memory-is fast fading. "1 want everyone to learn about these people and the community that nurtured them in what was a pretty difficult period for the AfricanAmerican community in Washington, DC," Bruder says. "These folks, they accomplished a lot. And no, they didn't have a ton ofnational hits. But they made sorne great music."