Susan Whitall

Susan Whitall was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Detroit immersed in the iconic rock and rhythm and blues of the Motor City. She became a writer/editor for the legendary Detroit-based rock magazine Creem in the mid-1970s, working in an editorial department that included Lester Bangs, Jaan Uhelszki and Robert Duncan. She has written for the Detroit News since the 1980s. Her most recent book is "Joni on Joni" (Chicago Review Press), out November 6, 2018. Library Journal wrote: This latest in the “Musicians in Their Own Words” series collects 27 newspaper, magazine, television, and radio interviews with singer-songwriter Mitchell (b. 1943). Editor Whitall (Women of Motown) prefaces each entry with context. The interviews span Mitchell’s career from 1966, following the commercial success of her early folk albums and the polarizing jazz albums that ensued, to 2014. The first piece, a 1966 article from the Detroit News, is a vignette of her marriage to Chuck Mitchell and their shared career in Detroit’s folk music scene. Cameron Crowe’s 1979 Rolling Stone interview with Mitchell provides insight into an artist who takes direction from her muse, not her fans. Sylvie Simmons, biographer of Leonard Cohen (I’m Your Man), interviews Mitchell about her creative process in 1988. Later conversations offer a retrospective on the artist’s career and biographical details. VERDICT This fascinating portrait of an artist is highly recommended for Mitchell’s fans and readers interested in the creative ­process. Whitall's first book, “Women of Motown” (Avon, 1995), was an oral history of Motown’s female artists and girl groups. A second, expanded edition of the book came out in 2017 on the Devault-Graves imprint. "Women of Motown" was a look into the struggles and triumphs of many of the female artists Berry Gordy Jr. boasted in his stable, including the bluesy Mable John, who did much better at Stax; the tragic Mary Wells, the teenaged Marvelettes, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Tammi Terrell and the Velvelettes. “Women of Motown” was part of an oral history of rock and roll edited by another Creem alumnus, Dave Marsh. Her second book, "Fever: Little Willie John's Fast Life, Mysterious Death and the Birth of Soul" (2011) traced the tragic life of Willie John, one of the most important artists of the pre-soul R&B era of the 1950's. Willie grew up in Detroit, but the Motor City didn't keep him for long. He recorded his first hit in New York, at age 17 ("All Around the World"), had another smash with "Fever" when he was just 18, and went on to profoundly influence singers including James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.