There are two versions of the book. The book on this page is the US version. Purchase the US version by going to Borders Books or Barnes and Nobles in the US and Canada.

1. Bee Cool Publishing, London, England, UK. This book can be purchased at book stores in the UK or ordered online at

www.amazon.co.uk

2. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. This book can be ordered online at

                                                    www.press.umich.edu

                                                    www.amazon.com

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 Super Stars, 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 Detroit, LA, and New York music 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 studio albums, and introduced such innovations as the Wah Wah pedal into the Motown recording studio.

Guitars, Bars, and Motown Super Stars, 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 a million seller with a house in 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 during the '60s and the '70s. Coffey made his debut at Motown forging the unmistakable intro to the Temptation's classic "Cloud Nine," before going on to become a regular at Hitsville USA, playing on hits 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.

Reviews and Comments

5 Star Rating - Amazon.com

"... a true account of what it was like for Coffey to have a 'catbird seat" to some of the most incredible music to sweep the nation and the world in the 1960s and 1970s." - Stacy Jenkins, Farmington Observer

"... guitarist Dennis Coffey tells how he escaped Berry 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." - Bookwatch

" If you like the 'Detroit Sound' and listen to oldies radio, you won't be able to put this book down." Art Vuolo, Daily Oakland Press

"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 Super Stars also shows just how frenetic and creative the Detroit music scene was in the 50s and 60s. But it's Dennis Coffey's personal story that's the most gripping: the journey from Motown, to Billboard's Top Ten, to working the line at Chevrolet." - Susan Whitall, Detroit News.   

"I've been picking up books like crazy both through bookstores and order through Amazon. 1. Dennis Coffey, Guitars, Bars, and Motown Super Stars ... 2. Fellow Funk Brother Jack Ashfords ; The View From The Bottom 3. Ray Charles .. man and music .... biography by Michael Lydon. I wanna carry all 3 of these books with me but i can't with my bags." - Chuck D, Public Enemy

Europe and UK Book Cover