Book excerpt: "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" more than any other song, introduced black Rhythm & Blues music to mainstream American audiences & propelled the Rock 'n' Roll revolution. The Spaniels, five teen-agers from Gary, Indiana, wrote & originally performed the song. Four decades later, Richard G. Carter brings GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART, GOODNIGHT: THE STORY OF THE SPANIELS (AUGUST PRESS, ISBN 0-9635720-2-4, May 15, $12). The Spaniels were largely forgotten or overlooked, but they survived. They give a bittersweet account of the heady days of R&B & Rock 'n' Roll & the exploitation of performers by the record business. The Spaniels add their voices to a growing debate: Have pioneering black recording artists received just financial due for their efforts? Listen to James "Pookie" Hudson, possibly the greatest lead singer of that genre of '50s music, tell his life story. And there's bass singer Gerald Gregory, whose "Do, do, do, do, do" anchored (& gave a comic touch to) "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight." The Spaniels made other hits in the '50s & '60s, including: "Baby It's You" & "You Gave Me Piece of Mind." "Pookie had one of the hippest styles of all the do-wop groups ... And Gerald (Gregory) would be leaning over Pookie's shoulder with that deep voice...He'd shake the room."-- Aaron Neville... "They were before their time."--James Brown. Order from August Press, Box 802, Sicklerville, NJ 08081, 609-728-4062.