Bill Dahl :: Collection of Work

Boxed sets I've worked
on include:

Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
Nothing But Good 1952-1962 (Bear Family)

The Complete Motown Singles Vols. 1-12A 1959-1972 (Motown/Universal)
The entire history of Motown, beautifully presented in state-of-the-art packaging (complete with repro 45).
Each five or six-CD collection (12 so far!) contains A and B sides of every single released that particular year (1971 and 1972 were so prolific that they're split over two boxes apiece). I co-wrote the liner notes with British Motown historian Keith Hughes and Universal's Harry Weinger, co-producers of the series.

Various Artists
Doo Wop Vocal Group Greats (Shout! Factory)

Ray Charles
Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection (Rhino)

Various Artists
The British Beat: Best of the ‘60s (Shout! Factory)

Various Artists
American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1965 (Evidence)

Motown: The Golden Years takes a vivid, entertaining look at the historic rise of Berry Gordy’s musical empire, paying loving tribute to the legendary artists and seminal recordings that made the Detroit record company’s cozy headquarters at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. live up to its vaunted billing as “Hitsville U.S.A.”

At 352 pages with more than 200 photos-including a 32-page color section featuring the amazing candid photos of former Motown promotion guru Weldon McDougal III, whose fascinating anecdotes are scattered strategically throughout the text-the 8.5 x 11 softcover book covers the careers of Motown superstars Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Martha & the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Temptations, Junior Walker & the All Stars, Mary Wells, and Stevie Wonder. There are also comprehensive bios of the many other unforgettable vocalists who helped to create Motown’s far-reaching legacy from the label’s 1959 inception to its 1972 defection to Los Angeles: Edwin Starr, Jimmy Ruffin, Brenda Holloway, the Contours, the Velvelettes, the Andantes, the Originals, the Spinners, Barrett Strong, Kim Weston, and many more, including the groove-heavy Funk Brothers, Motown’s peerless house band, and several of the producers who shaped the almighty Motown sound. More than 50 Motown greats were interviewed in all, in all cases offering exciting first-person accounts of their fabled careers.

No wonder Gordy’s fabulous enterprise became the most successful black-owned independent label of the 1960s. These are the stars and music that shaped a generation!

The Book:

Record labels for which I've written notes:

Universal/Hip-O Select
Rhino/WEA
Motown
Shout! Factory
EMI/Capitol
Sony/BMG/Legacy
Fuel 2000
Bear Family
Collectors' Choice Music
Concord Music
Ace
Sundazed

Select Sampling of Single & Double CD Sets

Buddy Holly
Down the Line Rarities (Universal)

Jerry Lee Lewis
Gold (Hip-O/Mercury)

Bo Diddley
Gold (Geffen/Universal)

Luther Ingram
If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want to Be Right: The Best of Luther Ingram (Airline)

Barbara Lynn
The Jamie Singles Collection 1962-1965 (Jamie/Guyden)

Billie Holiday
The Definitive Collection (Verve)

Jimmy Smith
The Definitive Collection (Verve)

Fats Domino
Greatest Hits: Walking to
New Orleans (Capitol/EMI)

Lloyd Price
Rocks (Bear Family)

Shirley & Lee
Rock (Bear Family)

Ruth Brown
The Definitive Soul Collection (Atlantic/Rhino)

Big Joe Turner
The Definitive Blues Collection (Atlantic/Rhino)

Dinah Washington
Gold (Verve)

The Persuaders
Thin Line Between Love and Hate/The Persuaders (Collectors' Choice Music)

Wilson Pickett
The Definitive Collection (Rhino)

Jackie Wilson
The Ultimate Jackie Wilson (Brunswick)

Little Willie John
The Early King Sessions (Ace)

Bill Haley & His Comets
Rock Around The Clock (Universal/Geffen)

Carl Perkins
Dance Album
(Varese Sarabande)

Chuck Berry
Blues (MCA/Chess)

King Curtis
King of the Sax (Fuel 2000)

Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Space Guitar: The Essential Early Masters
(Varese Sarabande)

Tyrone Davis
The Best of (Rhino)

Fats Domino
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

B.B. King
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

John Lee Hooker
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

Lightnin' Hopkins
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

Elmore James
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

Ike Turner
Blues Kingpins
(Virgin/The Right Stuff)

(Also compiled entire
Blues Kingpins series)

“Most ‘Hitsville’ biographers confine their discussions to the label's stars, but in Motown: The Golden Years, Bill Dahl takes a more democratic approach, bringing to light lesser-known artists unjustly ignored in other works. The result is an entertaining book that also manages to break new ground.

...A sharp writer, Dahl fashions entries that are rich in detail and observation.”

—Goldmine

Jamie/Guyden
Great American Music
Delmark
Brunswick
Blue Bella
Airline
Earwig
Collectables
Westside
Varese Sarabande
Empire Musicwerks

Howlin' Wolf
Moanin' at Midnight: The Memphis Recordings (Fuel 2000)

The Everly Brothers
The Essential Cadence Singles
(Varese Sarabande)

Chuck Willis
Chuck Willis Wails! The Complete Recordings, 1951-1956 (Sundazed)

Bobby Patterson
Soul Is My Music! The Best of Bobby Patterson (Sundazed)

Bobby Darin
The Hit Singles Collection (Rhino)

Johnny Cash
The Essential Sun Singles
(Varese Sarabande)

Bobby "Blue" Bland
The Anthology (MCA)

Roy Orbison
The Complete Sun Sessions
(Varese Sarabande)

Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis's Finest Hour (Verve)

Magic Sam
The Essential Magic Sam–The Cobra and Chief Recordings 1957-1961 (Fuel 2000)

Joe Tex
25 All-Time Greatest Hits
(Varese Sarabande)

Major Lance
The Very Best of Major Lance
(Epic/Legacy)

Albert King
Blues Masters: The Very Best of Albert King (Rhino)

Various Artists
Chess Blues Guitar: Two Decades of Killer Fretwork 1949 to 1969 (Chess)

Otis Redding
Dreams to Remember: The Anthology (Rhino)

The Delfonics
The Definitive Collection (Arista)

Otis Clay
The Best of Otis Clay—The Hi Records Years (The Right Stuff/CEMA)

Syl Johnson
The Best of Syl Johnson—The Hi Records Years (The Right Stuff/CEMA)

Major Lance
Everybody Loves A Good Time: The Best of Major Lance (Sony/Legacy)

Roy Head
Treat Her Right: The Best of Roy Head (Varese Sarabande)

Buddy Guy
The Very Best of Buddy Guy (Rhino)