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Long before the world discovered grunge, the Pacific Northwest was already home to a singular music culture. In the late 1950s, locals had codified a distinct offshoot of rockin' R&B, and many would skyrocket to success, including the Wailers, Ron Holden, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Kingsmen, Merrilee Rush, and the Sonics.With entertaining accounts gleaned from hundreds of interviews, Peter Blecha tells the story of music in the region from the 1940s to the 1960s, a golden era that shaped generations of musicians to come. The local R&B scene evolved from the area's vibrant jazz scene, and Blecha illuminates the musical continuum between Ray Charles and Quincy Jones to the rock 'n' rollers who forged the classic jazz-tinged "Northwest Sound." DJs built a teen dance circuit that pushed bands to develop crowd-friendly beats.