Popular music Books

Book SynopsisBacktrack is the star-studded account of Tessa Nilesâ 30 years of working alongside the greatest names in rock and pop; the story of a young girlâs quest to discover her true voice as she charts her rise to become one of the most respected session singers in Britain. Follow Tessa as she records with superstars.

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Book SynopsisFrom Kumina to Mento, Ska to Rocksteady, Reggae to Dancehall, Roots to Ragga – this is the authentic story of Jamaican popular music, told for the first time by Jamaicans. In Jamaica, Reggae is more than music – it is the nation’s main collective emotional outlet and its chief cultural contribution to the world. Reggae Routes examines the ways in which this uniquely popular music expresses the dreams, desires and realities of the Jamaican people, capturing the `glad to be alive’ spirit which makes Jamaican music so popular worldwide. Jamaican music can be roughly divided into four eras, each with a distinctive beat – ska, rocksteady, reggae and dancehall. Ska dates from about 1960 to mid-1966, rocksteady from 1966 to 1968, while from 1969 to 1983 reggae was the popular beat. The reggae era had two phases, `early reggae’ up to 1974 and `roots reggae’ up to 1983. Since 1983, dancehall has been the prevalent sound. The authors describe each stage in the development of the music, identifying the most popular songs and artists, highlighting the significant social, political and economic issues as they affected the musical scene. While they write from a Jamaican perspective, the intended audience is `any person, local or foreign, interested in a intelligent discussion of reggae music and Jamaica.’ A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of historical radio charts from 1960 to 1966 and a provocative reggae all-time top 100 chart. Copiously illustrated with period photos, record jackets and a variety of music memorabilia, this is the best book ever written on reggae.

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Book SynopsisExplains how to balance feminine, stop-them-in-their-tracks glamour with sign-on-the-dotted-line business power; how to get past barriers that exist because of gender, race, or age; how to find a marriageable man who'll support your biggest dreams (while keeping other women at bay); and how to have the most fun of your life while doing it.

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Trade ReviewRiveting -- Wall Street Journal "A biting, in-depth chronicle of Nashville's most tumultuous era told through the voices of iconic artists who used their music to accomplish significant changes in the music industry." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Offers a look at the how the 'outlaw' music of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson shook up Nashville in the late '60s and '70s... Author Streissguth has country music bona fides: He also wrote Johnny Cash: The Biography. -- USA Today A riveting look at how how three Texans joined forces to liberate Nashville from its company-town ways in the 1970s. It is a small group portrait, tightly focused and well told by Michael Streissguth. -- Wall Street Journal Outlaw is an entertaining, authoritative account of Nashville's rebel years. -- popmatters.com "Compulsively readable..." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Streissguth goes widescreen with this look at the social and musical ferment that produced the Seventies outlaw-country movement... [he] skillfully portrays Sixties Nashville's studio politics and their gradual loosening up, alongside a city where post-Sixties social change took its time arriving. -- Rolling Stone

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Book SynopsisHeart, fronted by Ann and Nancy Wilson, has given fans everywhere classic, raw, and pure badass rock and roll for more than three decades. In this book, they recount a journey that has taken them from a gypsy-like life to the frozen back roads of Vancouver, where they got their start as a band, to the pinnacle of success - and sometimes excess.Trade Review"Righteously entertaining...[it] shows just what it's like to be a woman who rocks, then and now." -- New York Daily News "Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson-better known as the faces and voices of Heart-look back on the personal and professional struggles and triumphs that define their legacy as one of rock's pioneering female-fronted, creatively autonomous acts." -- USA Today "Thorough and entertaining...[Kicking and Dreaming is] satisfying for its breadth and spirit...the Wilsons write movingly and with a sense of humor." -- Miami Herald "An interesting duet that details precisely how women truly rock." -- Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisA smart, funny, and refreshing memoir from Mark Hoppus, the vocalist, bassist, and founding member of pop-punk band blink-182.This is a story of what happens when an angst-ridden kid who grew up in the desert experiences his parents? bitter divorce, moves around the country, switches identities from dork to goth to skate punk, and eventually meets his best friend who just so happens to be his musical soulmate.Bassist, songwriter, and vocalist for renowned pop-punk trailblazers blink-182, Mark Hoppus, tells his story inFahrenheit-182. A memoir that paints a vivid picture of what it was like to grow up in the 1980s as a latchkey kid hooked on punk rock, skateboards, and MTV; Mark Hoppus shares how he came of age and forms one of the biggest bands of his generation. Threaded through with the very human story of a constant battle with anxiety and Mark?s public battle and triumph over cancer,Fahrenheit-182is a delight for fans and also a funny, smart, and relatable memoir for anyone who has wanted to quit but kept going.

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Book SynopsisAn oral history of the modern punk-revival?s West Coast BirthplaceOutside of New York and London, California?s Bay Area claims the oldest continuous punk-rock scene in the world. Gimme Something Better brings this outrageous and influential punk scene to life, from the notorious final performance of the Sex Pistols, to Jello Biafra?s bid for mayor, the rise of Maximum RocknRoll magazine, and the East Bay pop-punk sound that sold millions around the globe. Throngs of punks, including members of the Dead Kennedys, Avengers, Flipper, MDC, Green Day, Rancid, NOFX, and AFI, tell their own stories in this definitive account, from the innovative art-damage of San Francisco?s Fab Mab in North Beach, to the still vibrant all-ages DIY ethos of Berkeley?s Gilman Street. Compiled by longtime Bay Area journalists Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor, Gimme Something Better chronicles more than two decades of punk music, progressive politics, social consciousness, and di

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Book SynopsisTaking up where Early Jazz (OPB, #6.95) leaves off, this second volume of Gunther Schuller''s history of jazz considers the swing era - the age of dance bands and radio shows. Tracing the origins of swing and its effects on American musical and social life, he assesses the distinctive sounds of great bandleaders like Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Woody Herman, instrumentalists such as Art Tatum, Cab Calloway, and Pee Wee Russell, and such vocalists as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Peggy Lee.Trade Review`Hardly anyone else can write on jazz with such authority...indispensable to serious jazz lovers...A monumental contribution to jazz literature.' New York Review of Books`a magisterial achievement...a masterpiece and a source of pure joy' Washington Post Book World`A touchstone of jazz literature...The most thorough and authoritative study ever undertaken on the period.' Philadelphia Inquirer'Reading it is like listening to one of those hugely learned men with the gift of the gab, like Bronowski or A.J.P. Taylor, talking about his favourite subject. Every observation is backed by evidence, every generalisation judiciously qualified, every side-issue detailed in a footnote, but it is all done without a trace of pomposity. The real enjoyment in reading The Swing Era, as in reading Johnson's Lives of the Poets, comes from being taught more about something you love by an erudite, courteous and generous mind.' Dave Gelly, Jazz, Issue 12

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Book SynopsisThe Beatles as Musicians is a comprehensive, chronologically ordered study of every aspect of the group's musical life--composition, performance, recording and reception histories--in its transcendent late period, from 1966 to 1970. Richly authoritative interpretations are interwoven through a documentary study of many thousands of audio and other sources.Trade ReviewThe Beatles As Musicians is a well-researched, serious-minded scholarly work that stands easily as the best volume of its genre. Students enrolled in music education programs at the university level will benefit tremendously from many of professor Everett's astute observations and advanced theories concerning the music of The Beatles. As a college-level textbook, this book rates an A+. * Goldmine *Table of ContentsMap: The Beatles in London PRELUDE: One-Way Ticket, Yeah ONE: Another Kind of Mind There: The Meaning of Within (1966) INTERLUDE: I Know When It's a Dream TWO: Yellow Matter Custard, Green Slop Pie (1967) THREE: So Let It Out and Let It In (1968) FOUR: Let It Be (1969-1970) POSTLUDE: Whatever Happened To...? APPENDIX A: Instruments Played by the Late-Period Beatles APPENDIX B: Musical Friends of the Late-Period Beatles Table of Chord Functions Glossary of Terms Notes References Index of Names and Song Titles Index

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Trade Reviewreadable and engaging. * Thomas Kelly, Sunday Business Post *This excellent book draws on 10 years of interviews with some of the key figures in hip hop's emergence and development ... a gripping study. * James Wilsdon, Times Higher Education Supplement *[Katz's] book manages to be both lively and academic - some achievement. * Susan Elkin, The Stage *DJs, researchers working in various areas (popular musicology, cultural studies, American studies, etc.) and the casual reader with an interest in hiphop will all find much to engage them in this book. Katzs fanatical enthusiasm permeates the works scholarly tone, producing an informed narrative which remains vigorous at all times and leads the reader through almost 40 years of musical evolution with great momentum yet careful control. In his introduction to the book, Katz says that DJ Cash Moneys response on being told of the project was that we [the hip-hop DJ community] need you to get this right (12). It seems that in writing Groove Music he has done just that. * Rowan Oliver, Journal of Music, Technology & Education *Groove Music is a well-researched historical account of the legacy and cultural influence of hip-hop DJs that will prove useful to any scholar or student of popular music. Not only is Katzs book a compelling contribution to hip-hop scholarship, it is witty and accessible enough to serve as freeiration for future turntablists and current practitioners discovering their own roots. * Michael Lee Austin, College Music Symposium *Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip Hop DJ should be considered a foundational reading for anyone wanting to understand the context for the hip-hop DJs historical emergence, evolution and contemporary position in American musical culture ... Groove Music is to be lauded for supporting the legitimacy of hip-hop DJ culture--something that hip-hop DJs have struggled to educate music listeners about since hip-hop's beginnings. * Stephen Bischoff, Journal of Popular Culture *A thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and well-written narrative history of [hip-hop's] practices ... Katz's book is an important contribution towards our understanding of the many facets of hip-hop culture ... Groove Music's insightful and intelligent consideration of the world of the hip-hop DJ will be a landmark for years to come. * John Paul Meyers, Notes *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Breaks and The Bronx, 1973-1975 ; 2. Mix and Scratch: The Turntable Becomes a Musical Instrument 1975-1978 ; 3. Out of the Bronx and into the Shadows 1978-1983 ; 4. Expansions 1983-1989 ; 5. Turntablism 1989-1996 ; 6. The Art of War: The DJ Battle 1991-1996 ; 7. Legitimacy 1996-2002 ; 8. Falling Barriers 2002-2010 ; Conclusion ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis is a comprehensive instructional text and reference guidebook on the art and craft of jazz composition and arranging for small and large ensembles. It is written from the perspective of doing the work using music notation software, and contains many practical and valuable tips to that end for the modern jazz composer/arranger.Trade ReviewJazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age is a must have for any musician who plans to be a jazz musician. As composition and arranging are integral parts of developing a sound and style as a jazz artist, this book covers the basic considerations that will provide the skills to allow this to happen. Richard and Mike have left no stone unturned in laying out the fundamentals of composition and orchestration. This is a great book compiled by two fantastic musicians. I've already learned several things on the first read-through, and am looking forward to going back for more. * Bob Mintzer *Richard Sussman and Michael Abene have created an all encompassing look into the techniques and methods for realizing a musical arrangement in the 21st century. However, what really sets this book apart is the great care the authors take to emphasize that the only true guide for any musician is one's inner ear and creative instincts, thus constantly encouraging the reader to assume ultimate responsibility and ownership of the creative process. * Gil Goldstein *Unique and cutting edge. Just when it seemed the subject had no new approaches to uncover come Sussman and Abene. Grounded with solid basics and served up in the language of today's computer-enhanced music world. An extraordinary, must-have reference for all arrangers from the beginner to the seasoned pro. * Gary Anderson, Arranger / Orchestrator for TV & Film *This is one of the most comprehensive books ever written on the subject and the detailed helpful hints on using Finale or Sibelius make it THE book to use in this new century. This textbook is invaluable for college teachers and their students. * Richard DeRosa, Professor of Jazz Composition and Arranging, University of North Texas *A comprehensive book--both musically and technologically--for the 21st-century jazz composer-arranger, written by two masters of the art. * Bill Kirchner, jazz musician/producer/historian/educator, and editor of The Oxford Companion To Jazz *Table of ContentsContents ; Preface ; -What This Book Covers ; -How to Use This Book and Companion Website ; Acknowledgements ; Section I - Overview and Basic Information ; Chapter 1 - Introduction ; Chapter 2 - A Brief Overview of MIDI and Music Software ; Chapter 3 - Basic Information ; Chapter 4 - Fundamental Musical Considerations ; Chapter 5 - Introduction to Music Notation Software ; Section II - Arranging For Small Jazz Ensemble ; Chapter 6 - Overview of Small Ensemble Writing/Rhythm and Rhythmic Notation ; Chapter 7 -Melody & Melodic Development (3-4 Horns) ; Chapter 8 - Basic Harmonic Concepts (3-4 Horns) ; Chapter 9 - Reharmonization of Approach Tones (3-4 Horns) ; Chapter 10 - Melodic Reharmonization and Counterpoint (3-4 Horns) ; Chapter 11 - Form and Planning the Arrangement/Instrumentation ; Chapter 12 - Dynamics & Articulations ; Chapter 13 - The Rhythm Section ; Chapter 14 - Completing the 3-4 Horn Arrangement ; Chapter 15 - Notation Software: Generating Parts, Page Layout, & Printing ; Chapter 16 - Arranging For 5-6 Horns - Harmony and Chord Voicings ; Chapter 17 - Form and Planning the Arrangement (5-6 Horns) ; Chapter 18 - The Soli and Shout Chorus ; Chapter 19 - Completing the 5-6 Horn Arrangement ; Section III - Arranging For Large Jazz Ensemble ; Chapter 20 - Overview of Large Ensemble Considerations ; Chapter 21 - Unison & Octave Writing/Monophonic Texture ; Chapter 22 - Concerted Writing For Brass ; Chapter 23 - Concerted Writing For Saxes ; Chapter 24 - Big Band Instrumental Subdivisions ; Chapter 25 - Form and Planning the Arrangement ; Chapter 26 - Modern Harmonic Concepts & Voicing Techniques ; Chapter 27 - More on Modern Harmony, Melodic Reharmonization, & Counterpoint ; Chapter 28 - Woodwind and Brass Doubles and Mutes ; Chapter 29 - Line Writing and Polyphony ; Chapter 30 - The Soli Section (Big Band) ; Chapter 31 - The Shout Chorus (Big Band) ; Chapter 32 - Arranging For Vocalists and Instrumental Soloists ; Chapter 33 - Completing The Big Band Arrangement ; Chapter 34 - Review of Music Notation Software Techniques ; Appendices (On the Companion Website) ; A. Summary of Basic Arranging and Voicing Principles ; B. List of Recommended Scores and Recordings for Study ; C. Bibliography ; Index

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Trade Reviewan extremely thorough, in-depth, and insightful analytical study. It is a major addition to the field of jazz studies * Benjamin Bierman, Journal of Jazz Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction and Acknowledgements ; 1. The Quintet ; 2. Analytical Strategies ; 3. E.S.P. ; 4. Miles Smiles ; 5. Sorcerer ; 6. Nefertiti ; 7. Miles in the Sky and Filles de Kilimanjaro ; 8. The Quintet and Its Legacies

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Book SynopsisWhy Jazz? is a Q&A handbook for novice listeners, a concise history of jazz's major figures and trends, and a plain-English guide to many musical techniques. As in his jazz reviews for NPR's Fresh Air, Whitehead packs a lot of information into compact, accessible prose.Trade Reviewa lovely short introduction to the subject * Times Literary Supplement *Jazz and cinema, the two definitive art forms of the 20th Century, have led an often troubled co-existence. Play the Way You Feel traces the frequent missteps and occasional triumphs of jazz in film with the deep knowledge, superior taste, and acerbic wit we have come to expect from Kevin Whitehead. An essential book for all jazz fans, and a necessary corrective for anyone whose knowledge of the music is based on what they have learned at the movies. * Bob Blumenthal, author of Jazz: An Introduction to the History and Legends Behind America's Music *A revelation! From the bad to the beautiful, Kevin Whitehead brilliantly illuminates each frame to show us why jazz in the movies matters in all its incarnations. He masterfully guides us through this rich and complicated story, making connections that reveal deeper meanings and aha moments that change our view of jazz, film and ourselves. * Dominique Eade, Jazz Vocalist and Teacher, New England Conservatory *With remarkable precision and polish, he traces the lineaments of each genre, discerns the significance of key figures, explains the anatomy of sound, and sketches the important venues-making this a useful reference for a puzzled or curious audience. * Books and Culture *An admirably concise primer in Q&A format that covers lots of11round without being preachy. * Financial Times *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; ENDNOTES; GLOSSARY; SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING; DISCOGRAPHICAL NOTES

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Book Synopsis"From the field cries and work chants of Southern Negroes emerged a rich and vital music called the country blues, an intensely personal expression of the pains and pleasures of black life. This music-"

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Book SynopsisFor fifty years and more than two thousand shows, the Grateful Dead have been earning the deadication of more than a million fans. Along the way, Deadheads have built an original and authentic American subculture, with vivid jargon and rich love, and its own legends, myths, and spirituality.Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads is the first map of what Jerry Garcia calls the Grateful Dead outback, as seen through the eyes of the faithful, friends, and family, including Bill Walton, Elvis Costello, Tipper Gore, Al Franken, Bob Bralove, Dick Latvala, Blair Jackson, David Gans, Bruce Hornsby, Rob Wasserman, and Robert Hunter. Skeleton Key puts you on the Merry Pranksters'' bus behind the real Cowboy Neal, uncovers the origins of Cherry Garcia, follows the dancing bear on its trip from psychedelic artifact to trademarked icon, and unlocks the Dead''s own tape vault.Informative reading for the new fan or the most grizzled tourhead, Skeleton Key

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Book SynopsisJill Furmanovsky has photographed legendary rock musicians for more than 50 years, including Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Blondie, The Clash, The Ramones, The Pretenders, Joy Division, Leonard Cohen, Amy Winehouse and Oasis. In 2024 she received a Lifetime Achievement award from Amateur Photography magazine; the Legend of the year award from So.Co for Image of Music Awards; and the Abbey Road ICON award. Noel Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Oasis, the band that defined the era of Cool Britannia. In August 1994 Oasis's first album, Definitely Maybe, entered the UK charts at number one and received widespread critical and commercial success, as did their next two albums, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) and Be Here Now (1997). The band split in 2009 but are reforming for a worldwide tour in 2025.

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Book Synopsis''Vintage Sharon . . . fiery and passionate'' - HEAT''The formidable Mrs O is just as honest and open in this second instalment of her life story as the first . . . a real page-turner'' - WOMAN''Shazza goes even deeper to reveal the secrets behind the headlines'' - LOOK''Like Extreme, Survivor is eye-wateringly frank, and very funny'' - EVENING STANDARDSharon Osbourne''s life has always been full of drama, heartbreak and passion. When she completed her bestselling first book, Extreme, she had hoped to find some peace and stability after her rollercoaster years. It was not to be. In Survivor, her brand-new memoir, she reveals what really happened next. From famous celebrity feuds, to her eventful experiences on The X Factor, to her turbulent relationship with her father and the tragic impact of his death, Sharon remains as frank and insightful as ever. Never afraid to admit to herTrade ReviewVintage Sharon . . . fiery and passionate * HEAT *The formidable Mrs O is just as honest and open in this second instalment of her life story as the first . . . a real page-turner * WOMAN *Shazza goes even deeper to reveal the secrets behind the headlines * LOOK *Like Extreme, Survivor is eye-wateringly frank, and very funny * EVENING STANDARD *

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Book SynopsisThe bumpin’ book for hip-hop disciples (a.k.a. fiends), songwriters, all other writers, pop culture fans, linguists, and parents who are just trying to figure out what their kids are saying.The inventive sounds of hip-hop (which became America’s number two music genre in 2001, outselling country) have echoed far from their Bronx beginnings of twenty years ago. Making its way from Compton sidewalks to suburban malls, garnering commentary from The Wall Street Journal alongside Vibe, hip-hop by definition delivers its messages in the most creative language possible. Celebrating hip-hop’s boon to the realm of self-expression, Hip Hoptionary™ translates dozens of phrases like “marinating in the rizzi with your road dawg” (relaxing in your car with your friend), including:• Big bodies: SUVs or luxury vehicles• Government handle: registered birth name• 411: the latest scoop or information

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Book SynopsisIn To a Young Jazz Musician, the renowned jazz musician and Pulitzer Prize—winning composer Wynton Marsalis gives us an invaluable guide to making good music-and to leading a good life.Writing from the road “between the bus ride, the sound check, and the gig,” Marsalis passes on wisdom gained from experience, addressed to a young musician coming up-and to any of us at any stage of life. He writes that having humility is a way to continue to grow, to listen, and to learn; that patience is necessary for developing both technical proficiency and your own art rather than an imitation of someone else’s; and that rules are indispensable because “freedom lives in structure.” He offers lessons learned from his years as a performer and from his great forebears Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and others; he explores the art of swing; he discusses why it is important to run toward your issues, not away; and he talks about what to do w

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