Thought We Were Writing the Blues: But They Called It Rock & Roll

"Thanks to the many detailed quotes from McCoy herself, this book has the vibrancy missing from other, drier books written about the period. McCoy's tales of the Brill Building era paint a fascinating picture as she encounters and gains the respect of all the male movers and shakers of the business. A genuine first-hand account of the music scene in pre-60s New York and how McCoy paved the way for writers such as Carole King and Ellie Greenwich." Kingsley Abbott for Record Collector Magazine. "She knew how to hang in there with the big boys. Women didn't have a place, so she made a place for herself." singer Maxine Brown. Nearly everyone has heard a Rose Marie McCoy song, but few know her name, even though many of the over 850 songs she had written were recorded by some of the biggest names in the business. Elvis Presley, Nat "King" Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Ike & Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee; the list goes on and on. And she did it as an independent songwriter, without the backing of a music publisher to promote her work. Quite a feat for a poor black farmers daughter from Arkansas.