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Book SynopsisDespite rhythm and blues culture’s undeniable role in molding, reflecting, and reshaping black cultural production, consciousness, and politics, it has yet to receive the serious scholarly examination it deserves. Destructive Desires corrects this omission by analyzing how post-Civil Rights era rhythm and blues culture articulates competing and conflicting political, social, familial, and economic desires within and for African American communities. As an important form of black cultural production, rhythm and blues music helps us to understand black political and cultural desires and longings in light of neo-liberalism’s increased codification in America’s racial politics and policies since the 1970s. Robert J. Patterson provides a thorough analysis of four artists—Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Adina Howard, Whitney Houston, and Toni Braxton—to examine black cultural longings by demonstrating how our reading of specific moments in their lives, careers, and performances serve as metacommentaries for broader issues in black culture and politics.Trade Review"This incisive, engaging analysis of post-Civil Rights era rhythm and blues culture models the best kind of cultural studies scholarship: resisting the tendencies to view popular culture as a passive reflection of conservative ideologies or to inflate its oppositional effects, Patterson's both/and approach reveals the rich and often contradictory ways in which RB culture navigates the pressures of neoliberal gender and sexual politics." -- Madhu Dubey * author of Signs and Cities: Black Literary Postmodernism *"Contextualizing the music and careers of four seminal late twentieth-century RB artists, Babyface, Toni Braxton, Adina Howard, and Whitney Houston, Robert J. Patterson’s exhilarating book grapples with the 'destructive desires' that compelled these artists’ negotiations of restrictive norms of black American gendered, class, and sexual performance. A work of tremendous intellectual 'whip appeal,' a 'front and center,' 'special brew' of engaged and illuminating interdisciplinary scholarship, Destructive Desires: Rhythm and Blues Culture and the Politics of Racial Equality arrives 'just in time,' and will doubtlessly be savored." -- Michael Awkward * Gayl Jones Professor of Afro-American Literature and Culture, University of Michigan *"New Book Examines Relationship Between RB Culture, Black Aspirations" https://www.georgetown.edu/news/robert-patterson-book-on-tie-between-randb-culture-and-black-aspirations * Georgetown.edu *"Highly recommended." * Choice *"Patterson studies lyrics from various African American rhythm and blues musicians. Through the lyrics, the author examines the big picture behind the words, analyzing hidden meanings and possible political stances throughout the verses and rhythm. Patterson provides an in-depth analysis of four musicians—Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Adina Howard, Whitney Houston, and Toni Braxton—to analyze Black culture and the political climate through the lyrics and melodies of each of the songs discussed throughout the text." * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. Reading Race, Gender, and Sex: Black Intimate Relations, Black Inequality, and the Rhythm and the Blues Imagination 2. “Whip Appeal:” Reading Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds 3. “Freak Like Me:” Reading Adina Howard 4.“Didn’t We Almost Have It All:” Reading Whitney Houston Epilogue Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Acknowledgements Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBruce Springsteen has been cherished by his fans for decades, from his early days playing high school gymnasiums through globally successful albums and huge stadium shows to solo performances in intimate theaters. As his long and illustrious career has evolved, the legendary devotion of his fans has remained a constant. Springsteen fans have become worthy of study in their own right, with books, memoirs, and even a movie documenting their passion and perspectives. But his fans are not monolithic, and surprisingly little attention has been paid to why so many women from across the world adore The Boss. Mary Climbs In illuminates this once overlooked but increasingly important and multi-faceted conversation about female audiences for Springsteen’s music. Drawing on unique surveys of fans themselves, the study offers insight into women’s experiences in their own voices. Authors Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff explore the depth of women fans’ connection to Springsteen and the profound ways this connection has shaped their lives. Reflections from fans enliven each page as readers journey through the camaraderie and joy of concerts, the sorrow and confusion of personal loss and suffering, the love and closeness of community, and the search for meaning and for the self. Viewed through a psychological lens, women fans’ relationship with Springsteen is revealed in all its complexity as never before. Mary Climbs In is an important interdisciplinary contribution to the growing field of Springsteen studies and a must-read for any fan. Trade Review"[Bruce Springsteen is] seen as one of the quintessential writers of male experience, but as this new book explores, his resonance with female listeners is just as complex."— Herpreet Kaur Grewal, The Guardian "This project is an important interdisciplinary contribution to what is now a bona fide discourse of Springsteen studies. It takes a uniquely empirical approach to the subject, and illuminates a once overlooked, but now increasingly important and multifaceted conversation about female audiences for Springsteen’s music."— Jim Cullen, author of Martin Scorsese and the American Dream “I recommend Mary Climbs In to Springsteen fans and music enthusiasts without hesitation; it gets you excited about music and the power of its influence. In a world of competing obligations, putting aside enjoyable activities is easy. Mary Climbs In offers readers an indulgent opportunity to embrace what they love without reservation.”— Psychology of Women Quarterly "In their book Mary Climbs In, Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff – a professor of psychology and a sociologist, respectively – make the case that Springsteen’s music has deep appeal to women, speaking to them on a number of levels and about different subjects...The overall devotion of Springsteen’s fans is also worth noting...[, and] many of the first-person testimonials from fans in Mary Climbs In speak to the depth of this connection."— Steve Pfarrer, Daily Hampshire Gazette “Mary Climbs In offers an important entry in rock music scholarship. In addition to providing a contribution to the burgeoning arena of fan studies, Mangione and Luff afford readers a vital window into the female experience vis-à-vis rock ‘n’ roll.” — Kenneth Womack, author of Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the BeatlesTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 1 Women Fans of Bruce Springsteen: Why Listen to Them and What Might They Tell Us? 5 2 "The Ties That Bind": Becoming and Staying a Fan 21 3 "Hey Little Girl": Women on Springsteen and Women 47 4 Springsteen as Friend or Family Member 71 5 Teacher of Life, Guide of the Spirit 95 6 Walking the Path Together through Darkness: Springsteen as Therapist 119 7 From New Jersey to the World: The Guy on the Boardwalk Becomes a Cultural Icon 151 8 Twenty-First-Century Legacy: What Does the Gypsy See Now? 175 9 "Further on up the Road" 199 Acknowledgments 209 References 215 Discography 225 Permissions 227 Index 000

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Book SynopsisHistories of American rock music and the 1960s counterculture typically focus on the same few places: Woodstock, Monterey, Altamont. Yet there was also a very active college circuit that brought edgy acts like the Jefferson Airplane and the Velvet Underground to different metropolitan regions and smaller towns all over the country. These campus concerts were often programmed, promoted, and reviewed by students themselves, and their diverse tastes challenged narrow definitions of rock music. Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower takes a close look at two smaller universities, Drew in New Jersey and Stony Brook on Long Island, to see how the culture of rock music played an integral role in student life in the late 1960s. Analyzing campus archives and college newspapers, historian James Carter traces connections between rock fandom and the civil rights protests, free speech activism, radical ideas, lifestyle transformations, and anti-war movements that revolutionized universities in the 1960s. Furthermore, he finds that these progressive students refused to segregate genres like folk, R&B, hard rock, and pop. Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower gives readers a front-row seat to a dynamic time for the music industry, countercultural politics, and youth culture.Trade Review“Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower offers a welcome entry into a field of study that is only just beginning to flower.” — Kenneth Womack, author of Living the Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans “The research and writing are exciting; Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower fills an important gap in the historiography of rock music and the sixties.” — Dewar MacLeod, author of Making the Scene in the Garden State: Popular Music in New Jersey from Edison to SpringsteTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Postwar America, the Revolution in Higher Education, and Popular Music 2 “The Sound of the Sixties”: Popular Music and College Campuses 3 “I Blundered My Way Through”: The College Impresario, Fall 1965–Fall 1967 4 “They’re Rockin’ in the Ivory Tower”: Fall 1967–Fall 1968 5 The “Americanization of Rock”: Spring 1969–Fall 1970 Conclusion Appendix A: Bands/Artists at Drew University, 1967–1971 Appendix B: Bands/Artists at Stony Brook University, 1967–1971 Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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