Baltimore Sounds - second edition
is back in stock and available on-line!
Only $30.00 plus $5 S&H domestic only USPS, and 6% MD state tax
To Order Online
Here's a sample page from the book:
Heard on the street...
Joe, I want to tell you how grateful I am that you finished the 2nd Edition Baltimore Sounds book. What an undertaking! I know it was a labor of love. What a gift to all of us who were part of a something very special time in regional music history." - Bruce Calvert
"Everyone in town should own a copy of this book!" - Robyn Webb
"Joe: For the amount of work and the sheer accuracy, you should charge more. Well done." - Greg Lardieri
"This is a must have for a history of the Baltimore music scene... really appreciate the write-up he gave (my bands)... (as well as) my friends and their music, love it!" - Bob North
"Yes- revamped- amped up, extended time line thru 2000- more, better, twice as big - get one today! $30.00" - David Wilcox
"I highly recommend Joe Vaccarino's 2nd edition of Baltimore Sounds. If you played in a Baltimore band pre-2000, there's a good chance your name is in this book." - Skizz Cyzyk
Joe, thank you so much for all your hard work, I even showed (the book) to some of my out of town music friends and they love it."
Brian D. Richardson
"Fantastic job! I couldn't put the book down once I bought it."
Richard Walton
"Hi Joe, I've been meaning to write you for quite a while just to say how much I loved Baltimore Sounds. I can't hold onto it. I buy one, lend it out, and the next thing I know it disappears. That's happened twice, so I'm locking my next copy in a safe. Thanks!" - Pete Heyrman
"Kudos to Joe, obviously a labor of love and a Herculean effort. Many thanks for recording this golden era of Baltimore music for posterity. Those of us with grandkids can point to this and say 'we were part of this!' A job well done." - Tom Engle
Here are a few local reviews of the first book:
Vern Ruppert - 2002
Attention musicians, fans, and lovers of Baltimore's entertainment history: After many years of research and in depth study the encyclopedia of local pop musicians, bands & recordings is here! This is the definitive book about Baltimore bands & musical entertainment! If you lived in Baltimore or visited during the years 1950-2000 and enjoyed the local entertainment, this is the book for you!!
Baltimore Business Journal - May 28, 2004
"...the most comprehensive book ever written about Baltimore's music scene..."
Susie Mudd - Music Monthly - June 2004
"...it would take me pages to tell you everything I like about this book, the most important thing is that it was born out of a love for our music (I share that love) and includes so many bands and artists. Congratulations and thank you Joe Vaccarino for caring enough to put out such a wonderful book... This is a must have for every music fan in Baltimore."
Brennan Jensen - City Paper - June 30, 2004
"...To call this decades-spanning documentation of Mobtown musicianship - from the ensembles of A New Day to Zzzap - a "labor of love" is an understatement. For Baltimoreans of a certain age, the tome presents nothing less than a sonic life story: Here are the bands from your wallflower days at local teen-center mixers, your senior prom slow dances, your boogie nights at the local singles lounge, to the celebratory waltz of your wedding reception. From cookie-cutter cover bands to up-and-coming musical pioneers, they're all here."
John Lewis - Baltimore magazine, September 2004
"Anyone interested in the local music scene will enjoy paging through (Baltimore Sounds)... Extensively researched, the book chronicles a vast array of groups, from chart-toping pop acts to bands that barely made it out of the garage. Best of all, Vaccarino uses vintage ads, old business cards, record labels, snapshots, and publicity photos to illustrate the book, and these images show the players in all their grooving, twanging, rocking, and head-banging glory. The photos taken at local high-school gigs are particularly cool. If you were too young to catch the Playmates (formerly the Cruisinaires) at Woodlawn Sr. High School in the early 1970s, here's a chance to get a peak at those shows. And if you were there, you'll be thrilled that someone cared enough to assemble this book."
Style magazine - December 2004
"Where are they now?... An illustrated encyclopedia of Baltimore area pop musicians, bands & recordings from the likes of Gary and the GTO's, Calvert Hall's The Nomads, Paper Cup, Crack the Sky, and Great Train Robbery. Hey, you might even be able to dig up dirt on your brother's old disco band."
Rambling Rose - Baltimore Afro-American - April 2005
"...illustrating the history of bands and individual musicians from Baltimore and the surrounding area, from teenage amateurs to professional hitmakers; from 1950s rhythm and blues vocal harmony groups to 1970s headbangers; and rock, soul, jazz and country. The book includes biographies and discographies with more than 2,000 images of bands, musicians, vintage advertisements and photos of hundreds of popular and rare records..."
Jim Hughes - 2004
"Way to go, Joe V! Fantastic! This is the book we've needed for years! All your research, hard work and investigation has paid off. Now, every musician and fan will be able to see their old friends, favorite bands and what took place in the golden era of rock and roll history. The flavor of the period is captured by the various ads for clubs, teen centers, and favorite hangout restaurants throughout the book. The section on radio stations, personalities and DJ's is a particularly nice touch. We can't relive the past, but through this book we can certainly celebrate the glorious past of the entertainment scene in our area. As for myself, I consider it fortunate to have been a part of it all. As I was reading the advance copy, I couldn't put it down! You, Dear Readers, are in for a real treat. Joe, thanks from all of us, past and present musicians included. Rock and roll never dies!"
And a few words about the second edition:
Rafael Alvarez, author, "Orlo and Leini" - October 2011
"Joe Vaccarino has done Baltimore a service as valuable as the one Harry Smith provided America's burgeoning folkie movement with his fabled anthology. This is history you can use and it's Crabtown through and through..."
Dwight Weems (lead vocalist of Gazze) - June 2015
"Thanks for all you are doing to highlight the Baltimore music scene. I think you will agree that we went thru the best of musical times! Continued success!"
J.J. Gunning (trombone with The Heat & the Cold Sweat Horns, Expensive Hobby, Crack the Sky...) - July 2015
"Whoa... gotta hand it to you, Joe... even this small exercise [recalling my groups] was a rack-my-brain-until-it-hurts chore. Hats off to you for all the work you've done!"
