Popular music Books

Book SynopsisIn the decades before the Second World War, popular musical theatre was one of the most influential forms of entertainment. This is the first book to reconstruct early popular musical theatre as a transnational and highly cosmopolitan industry that included everything from revues and operettas to dance halls and cabaret. Bringing together contributors from Britain and Germany, this collection moves beyond national theatre histories to study Anglo-German relations at a period of intense hostility and rivalry. Chapters frame the entertainment zones of London and Berlin against the wider trading routes of cultural transfer, where empire and transatlantic song and dance produced, perhaps for the first time, a genuinely international culture. Exploring adaptations and translations of works under the influence of political propaganda, this collection will be of interest both to musical theatre enthusiasts and to those interested in the wider history of modernism.Table of ContentsIntroduction Len Platt, Tobias Becker and David Linton; Part I. The Mechanics of Transfer and Translation: 1. Berlin/London: London/Berlin: an outline of cultural transfer, 1890–1914 Len Platt; 2. Local contexts and genre construction in early continental musical theatre Marion Linhardt; 3. German operetta in the West End and on Broadway Derek B. Scott; 4. The Arcadians and Filmzauber: adaptation and the popular musical theatre text Tobias Becker; 5. How a sweet Viennese girl became a fair international lady: transfer, performance, modernity Stefan Frey; 6. 'A happy man can live in the past': musical theatre transfer in the 1920s and 1930s Len Platt and Tobias Becker; Part II. Atlantic Traffic: 7. Hullo Ragtime! West End revue and the Americanisation of popular culture in pre-1914 Britain Peter Bailey; 8. The Argentine tango: a transatlantic dance on the European Stage Kerstin Lange; 9. Dover Street to Dixie and the politics of cultural transfer and exchange David Linton and Len Platt; 10. The transculturality of stage, song and other media: intermediality in popular musical theatre Carolin Stahrenberg and Nils Grosch; Part III. Representation in Transition: Stage Others: 11. The Sandow Girl and her sisters: the construction and performance of the healthy female body in fin de siècle musical comedy Viv Gardner; 12. West End musical theatre and the representation of Germany Len Platt; 13. The Tropical Express: an exotic non-stop revue in Nazi Germany Susann Lewrenz; 14. Operetta and propaganda: the politicisation of popular musical theatre in the Third Reich Matthias Kauffmann.

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Book SynopsisJazz Italian Style explores a complex era in music history, when politics and popular culture collided with national identity and technology. When jazz arrived in Italy at the conclusion of World War I, it quickly became part of the local music culture. In Italy, thanks to the gramophone and radio, many Italian listeners paid little attention to a performer's national and ethnic identity. Nick LaRocca (Italian-American), Gorni Kramer (Italian), the Trio Lescano (Jewish-Dutch), and Louis Armstrong (African-American), to name a few, all found equal footing in the Italian soundscape. The book reveals how Italians made jazz their own, and how, by the mid-1930s, a genre of jazz distinguishable from American varieties and supported by Mussolini began to flourish in northern Italy and in its turn influenced Italian-American musicians. Most importantly, the book recovers a lost repertoire and an array of musicians whose stories and performances are compelling and well worth remembering.Trade Review'… wide-ranging, full of intriguing information, and refreshingly straightforward … the glory of Celenza's book is the information it offers - subtle illumination of areas of the subject that I was ignorant of, and I am sure my ignorance is not my sole property. And the fruits of her investigation are the substance of this appreciation of her book … I salute this book for adding information to my mental hoard …' Jazz Lives (www.jazzlives.wordpress.com)'Celenza's extensive research on Italian original sources, clear narration, and exhaustive bibliography will be extremely useful and should stimulate further work.' Francesco Martinelli, Italian American ReviewTable of Contents1. Italians and the origins of jazz; 2. Jazz crosses the Atlantic; 3. Jazz and fascism; 4. Jazz Italian style; 5. A nation divided.

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Book SynopsisSince their first performances in 1960, The Beatles'' cultural influence grew in unparalleled ways. From Liverpool to Beatlemania, and from dance halls to Abbey Road Studios and the digital age, the band''s impact exploded during their heyday, and has endured in the decades following their disbandment. Beatles fashion and celebrity culture, politics, psychedelia and the Summer of Love, all highlight different aspects of the band''s complex relationship with the world around them. With a wide range of short, snapshot chapters, The Beatles in Context brings together key themes in which to better explore The Beatles'' lives and work and understand their cultural legacy, focusing on the people and places central to The Beatles'' careers, the visual media that contributed to their enduring success, and the culture and politics of their time.Trade Review'… this is a solid introduction to the life and times of the most successful musical group in history.' J. F. Lyons, ChoiceTable of ContentsPart I. Beatle People and Beatle Places: 1. Britain at mid-century and the rise of The Beatles Jude Southerland Kessler; 2. The Beatles in Liverpool David Bedford; 3. The Beatles on the Reeperbahn Spencer Leigh; 4. Brian Epstein, Beatlemania's architect Kenneth Womack; 5. Love, love, love: tracing the contours of Tthe Beatles' inner circle Kenneth L. Campbell; Part II. The Beatles in Performance: 6. The love there that's sleeping: guitars of the early Beatles Walter Everett; 7. From dance hall days to stadium tours Chuck Gunderson; 8. Beatlemania! Melissa Davis; 9. The end of the road David Venturo; Part III. The Beatles on TV, Film, and the Internet: 10. From Juke-Box Jury to The Ed Sullivan Show Al Sussman; 11. Projecting the visuality of The Beatles: 'A Hard Day's Night' and 'Help!' David Melbye; 12. Beatletoons: moxie, music, and the media Mitchell Axelrod; 13. Documentary, rockumentary: 'Let It Be' and the rooftop concert Steve Matteo; 14. The Beatles redux: the Anthology series and the video age Walter J. Podrazik; 15. Pop goes the internet Allison J. Boron; Part IV. The Beatles' Sound: 16. Abbey Road Studios Brian Southall; 17. Producing sound pictures with Sir George Martin Kenneth Womack; 18. Rock and Roll music!: The Beatles and the rise of the Merseybeat Anthony Robustelli; 19. Positively Bob Dylan: The Beatles and the folk movement Kit O'Toole; 20. Listen to the colour of your dreams: The Beatles Writ Psychedelic Jason Kruppa; 21. Getting back Robert Rodriguez; 22. On the record!: (Dis)covering The Beatles Jerry Zolten; Part V. The Beatles as Sociocultural and Political Touchstones: 23. The Beatles, fashion, and cultural iconography Katie Kapurch; 24. The rise of celebrity culture and fanship with The Beatles in the 1960s Jeffrey Roessner; 25. Psychedelia, 'swinging London,' and the Summer of Love Kathryn Cox; 26. Leaving the West behind: The Beatles and India Steve Hamelman; Part VI. The Beatles' Critical Reception and Cultural Legacy: 27. Phantom band: The Beatles after the Beatles Jacqueline Edmondson; 28. The Beatles, Apple, and the business of music publishing Stuart Rosenberg; 29. Rebooting Beatlemania in the digital age Joe Rapolla; 30. The Beatles in the new millennium Michael Frontani.

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Book SynopsisComparatively little is known about the musical cultures of the British armed forces during the Great War. This groundbreaking study is the first to examine music''s vital presence in a range of military contexts including military camps, ships, aerodromes and battlefields, canteen huts, hospitals and PoW camps. Emma Hanna argues that music was omnipresent in servicemen''s wartime existence and was a vital element for the maintenance of morale. She shows how music was utilised to stimulate recruitment and fundraising, for diplomatic and propaganda purposes, and for religious, educational and therapeutic reasons. Music was not in any way ephemeral, it was unmatched in its power to cajole, console, cheer and inspire during the conflict and its aftermath. This study is a major contribution to our understanding of the wartime realities of the British armed forces during the Great War.Trade Review'This triumphant blend of cultural and military history hits all the right notes. Emma Hanna provides a highly original exploration of an often neglected but hugely important aspect of the Great War experience: music. A brilliant book which makes a highly distinctive contribution to scholarship on the First World War. Brava!' Jonathan Boff, author of Haig's Enemy: Crown Prince Rupprecht and Germany's War on the Western Front'This wonderful and enriching book restores music to its rightful place as an essential part of how we understand the British experience of the First World War. It reveals the many different ways in which music was part of the everyday life of service personnel, as well as its wider implications, such as military welfare, wartime voluntarism and contemporary debates about the meanings of the conflict.' Daniel Todman, author of Britain's War: Into Battle, 1937–1941'… this [book] remains an important and informative text which offers a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which music was deployed in this conflict. As such, it is likely also to be a useful introduction to the roles of music in military life more generally, including for advanced students with some prior, basic knowledge of the War from the British perspective.' Morag Josephine Grant, H-Soz-Kult'Hanna effectively weaves together cultural and military history to provide a refreshing look at the First World War. The breadth of her study allows her to effectively show the significance of music during the … [this] study is a valuable read not only for those who study the First World War but also for those interested in the diverse ways that music can shape the experience of war.' Theodore Racicot, H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews OnlineTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Music in Britain, 1914; 2. Recruitment and fundraising; 3. Instruments of war; 4. Songs, identity and morale; 5. Captivity; 6. Religion and pastoral Care; 7. Medicine and therapy; 8. The gramophone; 9. Civilian concert parties; 10. Servicemen's concert parties; 11. After the Armistice; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisA People''s Music presents the first full history of jazz in East Germany, drawing on new and previously unexamined sources and vivid eyewitness accounts. Helma Kaldewey chronicles the experiences of jazz musicians, fans, and advocates, and charts the numerous policies state socialism issued to manage this dynamic art form. Offering a radical revision of scholarly views of jazz as a musical genre of dissent, this vivid and authoritative study marks developments in the production, performance, and reception of jazz decade by decade, from the GDR''s beginning in the 1940s to its end in 1990, examining how members of the jazz scene were engaged with (and were sometimes complicit with) state officials and agencies throughout the Cold War. From postwar rebuilding, to Stalinism and partition, to détente, Ostpolitik, and glasnost, and finally to its acceptance as a national art form, Kaldewey reveals just how many lives jazz has lived.Trade Review'This is a book that stakes a claim to telling a new story about the GDR: the history of jazz and its complex relationship with the mechanisms of the state. I do not know of anything that does this, quite like this volume. Clear and wonderfully engaging, this draws on a wealth of new material, interviews, government documents, oral histories, archives of the secret police or Stasi, private holdings, and a huge range of visual records of the time. It is a fascinating read and a case study in the new historiographies to emerge out of the fallen socialist state.' Karen Leeder, University of Oxford'A People's Music adds an important new dimension to our understanding of the history of jazz and everyday life under state socialism. Students of East German history will benefit from the book's close examination of the GDR's cultural politics, while jazz fans will be fascinated by its examination of little-known histories of the music's spread and reception. Readers interested more broadly in the politics of popular music in 20th Century Europe, meanwhile, will find that the book has much to offer.' Timothy Scott Brown, Northeastern University'Kaldewey's A People's Music speaks to readers with academic or general interest in the cultural competition of the Cold War. The book contributes new insight to an already extensive historiography, in itself no small feat, by dissecting the ideological conundrums that jazz posed to Communist states.' Sven Kube, Journal of Cold War Studies'Kaldewey's historical work A People's Music. Jazz in East Germany, 1945-1990 contributes valuable insights into the academic knowledge and discourses in the field of historical jazz research. She is providing a vast amount of new sources and rendering the topic of jazz under state socialism more accessible for international audiences, especially since research on jazz in the former GDR was mainly written in German-until now.' Martin Breternitz, German Society for Popular Music StudiesTable of ContentsList of figures; Selected chronology; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1. Jazz in Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–1945; 2. Jazz in the Soviet Zone, 1945–1949; 3. Jazz in the founding years of the GDR, 1949–1961; 4. Jazz behind the wall, 1961–1971; 5. The rise of new jazz, 1971–1979; 6. 'A national treasure': jazz made in the GDR, 1980–1990; Archival sources; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisLondon 1968:The Unstable Boys are the name on every music insider''s lips and tipped to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This is their chance to hit the bigtime. They don''t know they''re about to be obliterated by a series of tragedies and a chaotic breakup that puts paid to the band''s starry-eyed dreams of stratospheric success. One day you''re the dog''s bollocks; the next day you''re a nobody - fame is a fickle friend.London 2016:Bestselling crime writer Michael Martindale has reached breaking point. Estranged from his wife and children following the very public fallout of his disastrous affair, he is alone, with only his self-pity to keep him warm at night. Until he makes the mistake of publicly declaring his admiration for his teenage musical obsession, the Unstable Boys. When the band''s twisted and feral frontman, the Boy, turns up on his doorstep, Martindale quickly learns that sometimes you should be careful whaTrade ReviewEntertaining * Mail on Sunday *Enjoyable * The Times *A wistful black comedy . . . Nick Kent's sardonic first novel is full of in-jokes about the music business, publishing and the media in London -- Mark Sanderson * The Times Crime Club *

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Book SynopsisAn intimate, vulnerable, and insightful portrait of the bond that grew between two iconic and starkly different American women, Carly Simon's Touched by the Sun is a chronicle, in loving detail, of the late friendship she and Jackie shared.Trade ReviewSimon's book is full of . . . glimpses of the late Mrs Onassis you wouldn't get anywhere else * The Times *Searingly frank * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisNow that the nation''s favourite music magazine is no more, The 10 Commandments draws on the finest selections of Q Magazine''s archives, as well as never-before-seen material, to create the ultimate, outrageous guide to life from the world''s most famous rock stars. This newly expanded edition of The 10 Commandments presents sixty musicians giving their rules to live by - from Noel Gallagher to 50 Cent. ''Thou shalt not play golf'' BONO ''Painting is good for the soul'' IGGY POP ''I''m trying to go back to old-school England with fisticuffs at your local football pitch'' BIG NARSTIE''What makes a perfect gentleman? Leave big tips, baby!'' WYCLEF JEAN ''Make like a boy scout'' STEVIE NICKS ''Do as Madonna says'' NILE RODGERS''A woman should always carry at least $75 on her. You need emergency exit money'' AZEALIA BANKS ''Always be honest to your wife'' JOHN LYDON''Even if you''re set

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Book Synopsis''Insightful and provocative'' What HiFi''An extremely important addition to modern music writing'' Irish TimesAfter discovering a derelict record plant on the edge of a northern English city, and hearing that it was once visited by David Bowie, Karl Whitney embarks upon a journey to explore the industrial cities of British pop music.Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Coventry, Bristol: at various points in the past these cities have all had distinctive and highly identifiable sounds. But how did this happen? What circumstances enabled those sounds to emerge? How did each particular city - its history, its physical form, its accent - influence its music? How were these cities and their music different from each other? And what did they have in common?Hit Factories tells the story of British pop through the cities that shaped it, tracking down the places where music was performed

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Book Synopsis''A true testimonial and epic love letter to the soul saving power of rock & roll . . . Read it and be inspired, as I was'' Bobby Gillespie''Lenny Kaye has illuminated ten facets of the jewel called rock and roll from a uniquely personal and knowledgeable perspective. He draws from a lifetime of inspiration and experience. A youth plugging in his first electric guitar, a fan taking the dance floor, a propelling player, a humble guardian of history, and the writer I have always known him to be'' Patti SmithMemphis, 1954. New Orleans 1957. Philadelphia 1959. Liverpool, 1962. San Francisco 1967. Detroit 1969. New York, 1975. London 1977. Los Angeles 1984 / Norway 1993. Seattle 1991.Rock and roll was birthed in basements and garages, radio stations and dance halls, in cities where unexpected gatherings of artists and audience changed and charged the way music is heard and celebrated, capturing lightning in a bottle. Musician and writer Lenny Trade ReviewI first knew him as a writer. Then guitarist, lifelong friend and collaborator. We have performed side by side on the global stage through half a century and shared his love of the evolution of our mutual vocation. In Lightning Striking, Lenny Kaye has illuminated ten facets of the jewel called rock and roll from a uniquely personal and knowledgeable perspective.He draws from a lifetime of inspiration and experience. A youth plugging in his first electric guitar, a fan taking the dance floor, a propelling player, a humble guardian of history, and the writer I have always known him to be -- Patti Smith * Patti Smith *Lightning Striking is a true testimonial and epic love letter to the soul saving power of rock & roll. Lenny Kaye writes with a guitar player's rhythm and the image strewn fevered prose of a beat poet, sharing arcane knowledge of the joy of a true believer. Read it and be inspired, as I was -- Bobby GillespieLenny Kaye - music scribe, record hound, Patti Smith guitarist, all around good guy - has always been the role model for all us young punk rock pups to get on the good foot and to fight the good fight. Lenny knows that "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll" would of been writ by Shakespeare if the bard had hung out at CBGB in '76. And Lenny is the one rock writer who actually knows how to ROCK! No jestering - God bless Lenny Kaye -- Thurston MooreWritten with a historian's precision and a musician's sense of improvisation, this is a joyful celebration of rock music written by someone who witnessed much of it first hand, as both fan and participant. Tracing roots mined and routes traveled, spotlighting dozens of long forgotten classics along the way, via interstates and back roads, from seedy stages, basements and backroom bars to major venues across the world, the energy and excitement of the music jumps off every page. This is a vivid and wonderful book -- Lee RanaldoWhether or not he was physically present, Lenny Kaye was there for every major shedding of rock and roll's skin, and in Lightning Striking he takes you there with him. The book chronicles episode after episode of mounting excitement, unexpected breakthrough, wild-hair epiphany, triumphant unveiling--followed by the comedowns and consequences. He has a great eye for settings and a great ear for jokes and scuttlebutt in addition to the sounds themselves, which he makes three-dimensional. His knowledge is unparalleled, his writing is evocative and often inspired, his sympathies are broad and his understanding is deep. You could not hope for a better tour guide -- Luc SanteLenny Kaye's passion and experience precedes him. Lightning Striking is both personal discovery and potted history of the scenes, and the winners and losers around which rock music's most important developments formed . . . an illuminating account of rock history from birth to resurrections * Record Collector *

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Book Synopsis''A true testimonial and epic love letter to the soul saving power of rock & roll . . . Read it and be inspired, as I was'' Bobby Gillespie''Lenny Kaye has illuminated ten facets of the jewel called rock and roll from a uniquely personal and knowledgeable perspective. He draws from a lifetime of inspiration and experience. A youth plugging in his first electric guitar, a fan taking the dance floor, a propelling player, a humble guardian of history, and the writer I have always known him to be'' Patti SmithMemphis, 1954. New Orleans 1957. Philadelphia 1959. Liverpool, 1962. San Francisco 1967. Detroit 1969. New York, 1975. London 1977. Los Angeles 1984 / Norway 1993. Seattle 1991.Rock and roll was birthed in basements and garages, radio stations and dance halls, in cities where unexpected gatherings of artists and audience changed and charged the way music is heard and celebrated, capturing lightning in a bottle. Musician and writer Lenny Trade ReviewI first knew him as a writer. Then guitarist, lifelong friend and collaborator. We have performed side by side on the global stage through half a century and shared his love of the evolution of our mutual vocation. In Lightning Striking, Lenny Kaye has illuminated ten facets of the jewel called rock and roll from a uniquely personal and knowledgeable perspective.He draws from a lifetime of inspiration and experience. A youth plugging in his first electric guitar, a fan taking the dance floor, a propelling player, a humble guardian of history, and the writer I have always known him to be -- Patti Smith * Patti Smith *Lightning Striking is a true testimonial and epic love letter to the soul saving power of rock & roll. Lenny Kaye writes with a guitar player's rhythm and the image strewn fevered prose of a beat poet, sharing arcane knowledge of the joy of a true believer. Read it and be inspired, as I was -- Bobby GillespieLenny Kaye - music scribe, record hound, Patti Smith guitarist, all around good guy - has always been the role model for all us young punk rock pups to get on the good foot and to fight the good fight. Lenny knows that "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll" would of been writ by Shakespeare if the bard had hung out at CBGB in '76. And Lenny is the one rock writer who actually knows how to ROCK! No jestering - God bless Lenny Kaye -- Thurston MooreWritten with a historian's precision and a musician's sense of improvisation, this is a joyful celebration of rock music written by someone who witnessed much of it first hand, as both fan and participant. Tracing roots mined and routes traveled, spotlighting dozens of long forgotten classics along the way, via interstates and back roads, from seedy stages, basements and backroom bars to major venues across the world, the energy and excitement of the music jumps off every page. This is a vivid and wonderful book -- Lee RanaldoWhether or not he was physically present, Lenny Kaye was there for every major shedding of rock and roll's skin, and in Lightning Striking he takes you there with him. The book chronicles episode after episode of mounting excitement, unexpected breakthrough, wild-hair epiphany, triumphant unveiling--followed by the comedowns and consequences. He has a great eye for settings and a great ear for jokes and scuttlebutt in addition to the sounds themselves, which he makes three-dimensional. His knowledge is unparalleled, his writing is evocative and often inspired, his sympathies are broad and his understanding is deep. You could not hope for a better tour guide -- Luc SanteLenny Kaye's passion and experience precedes him. Lightning Striking is both personal discovery and potted history of the scenes, and the winners and losers around which rock music's most important developments formed . . . an illuminating account of rock history from birth to resurrections * Record Collector *

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Book Synopsis''A great writer'' Paul Weller''A music journalist of integrity'' Billy Childish''There''s only one Ted Kessler!'' Liam GallagherPAPER CUTS is the inside story of the slow death of the British music press. But it''s also a love letter to it, the tale of how music magazines saved one man''s life. Ted Kessler left home and school around his seventeenth birthday, determined ''to be someone who listened to music professionally''. That dream appeared forlorn when he was later arrested for theft behind the counter of the record shop he managed during acid house''s long hot summer of love. Paper Cuts tells how Kessler found redemption through music and writing and takes us on a journey alongside the stars he interviewed and the work-place dramas he navigated as a senior staffer at NME through the boom-time ''90s and on to the monthly Q in 2004, where he worked for sixteen years before it folded with him at its helm as eTrade ReviewPaper Cuts is a wonderfully funny and moving book about a life devoted to music and music magazines. With all the ensuing chaos that that creates. And the heartbreak and salvation of a life lived in song. Artists notoriously have a fractious relationship with music journalists. Hate them even. But I was always happy to see Ted -- Florence WelchI read Paper Cuts in two sittings, over 24 hours. It's fucking brilliant. The stories! The telling! Ted Kessler's unmistakable voice. The spirit. The heart. Also rattled my consciousness, man -- Terri White, author of Coming UndoneI love how Ted writes: incisive, relatable, funny and sad but shot through with optimism and wise good humour. I'm maybe the perfect audience for his memoir, since I've been harassed in public for having a stupid haircut, experienced the ridiculousness of the interview set-up and also worked in the sitcom-silly world of magazine publishing myself. But it's also a great document of a time when you could find an entry into music journalism with just raw talent and enthusiasm, headed nowhere and having fucked up your life before it's properly begun. Why writing about music could often be a brilliant job, despite the humiliations and disappointments, the pressures and frustrations, and what happens when the twats eventually take over. Ted's encounters with famous names show both sides' vulnerabilities without any bullshit point-scoring ego getting in the way of the story. Which is rare for a music journalist, and what makes him a rare gem -- Miki BerenyiThe world I once inhabited - the world of print, vinyl and face-to-face interviews - vanished in a blast of broadband. It happened so quickly and so silently I almost forget that world had ever existed. Ted Kessler's restless eye for detail conjures it back to boozy, smoky, noisy life. Then he turns it all around and points it into the future. Not just a good book, but an important one -- Frank Cottrell-Boyce, bestselling author and screenwriterTed Kessler is one of the last great swashbuckling music journalists and this account of the crazy boom years to the slow collapse of the print press is fascinating. He is from the from a similar broad minded nest of Bohemians that I was forged and those lines about his upbringing resonated the most. A masterclass of effortless writing about something he genuinely loves -- Baxter DuryPaper Cuts is a rollicking good read. A searingly honest self-appraisal that charts Kessler's turbulent formative years, before hurtling forward into a morass of drugs, dysfunction, dead end jobs, under-achievement and, eventually, petty larceny. There are two rich seams that run through Kessler's life however; the love of music and his innate talent as a writer (and editor). Those talents, and his ability to survive adversity and hardship, are vividly highlighted in this most entertaining book -- Jah WobbleTed Kessler and all the music writer crew that cut their teeth under indie's golden age are as much the songs from that era as the songs themselves. Paper Cuts humanises Ted and his peers whilst taking you back to the largely unsurpassed musical utopia of a late 1980's England. I always thought Ted was posh: clearly not. From disgraced Till Dipper to the gobbyist music writer I know, I found so many parallels with this story. It's really, really good -- Jason Williamson, Sleaford ModsThis is such a brilliantly absorbing and entertaining book about the joys of a life lived in music. As good a left-field guide to the last few decades of alternative pop as you'll find, too. A special book by one of the very best music writers -- Felix White, author of It's Always Summer SomewhereFor 30 years Ted Kessler was in the music press's front row. His hair-raisingly honest, helter-skelter memoir tells you how it all went wrong and why it was worth it anyway. Paper Cuts moves like a great band biography - struggle, triumph, chaos, collapse - only the band is the British music press -- Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth and 33 Revolutions Per MinuteFrom unemployable petty criminal with 'low morals' and a fright-wig, to NME staffer barrelling through the 90s, to editor of the good ship Q (with an iceberg on the horizon), Paper Cuts is a rollicking, deftly-told inside story: of how music can save your life, how magazines really work, how mad The Stars are and how big-wigs ruin everything. Compelling, passionate, bracingly honest, Kessler takes aim at...mostly himself -- Sylvia Patterson, author of I’m Not With The BandTed's funny, knows his stuff. A great writer -- Paul WellerA fabulous, important book, which documents the end of a culturally rich era beautifully... some of the very best music writing I've ever read * Irvine Welsh *

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Book SynopsisThe first full account of legendary music producer Neil Bogart's life and meteoric careerNeil Bogart was the founder of Casablanca Records and made the top acts of all 70's music's defining genres: stadium rock with KISS, disco with Donna Summer & the Village People, and funk with George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic. Written by his close nephew, who draws extensively on family archives and anecdotes, the book will capture all the glitz and glamour of Bogart's disco empire. Bogart literally brought KISS with him out to LA where they had a long but contentious relationship. He had a perhaps too close relationship with Donna Summer, and turned both the Village People and Parliament into superstars. Bogart died of cancer in 1982, but his influence on music reverberates to this day. The man who would become a mega music mogul came from the projects of Brooklyn, New York and an abusive home. Bogart's is a story of redemption, of making it big, and ultimately, of a dream come true. He su

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Book SynopsisFew music groups have been able to sustain a fan base as passionate and dedicated as that of Phish, and this entertaining guide rewards those fans with everything they need to know about the band in a one-of-a-kind format. Packed with history, trivia, lists, little-known facts, and must-do adventures that every Phish fan should undertake, it ranks each item from one to 100, providing an indispensable, engaging road map for devotees old and new.

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Book SynopsisRevel in this commemoration of Elvis'' life in the form of an art book told through the unique vision of legendary designer and illustrator Seymour Chwast.Spearheading a new music form that, combined with an attitude and a look, would change the world, Elvis Presley became one of the most important cultural figures of the second half of the 20th century. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book presents an enhanced portrait of one of America''s greatest celebrities.With text by author Steven Brower (Satchmo: The Life and Art of Louis Armstrong), The Mighty Elvis reminds us of the continuing stardom of one of the most popular American singers of all time. Through Chwast''s illustrations, cartoons, and comics we get to relive his early life, his meteoric rise to fame and how he was affected by, and in turn, affected the world of music in the many genres he mastered. The book covers his first appearances on television, Graceland, his meeting with

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Book SynopsisBefore there was Drake, there was The 6. The genesis and rise of Toronto's Hip Hop culture.Amongst the algorithmic pulsations that remap informational networks at the whim of any giant tech company, hip hop culture produces ways of knowing (and being in) the world that continually disrupt the status quo.Guided by a sense of rawness -- an unsanitized speaking of truth to power -- hip hop culture thrives outside of the formal and institutional settings which are often used to confer importance. Hip hop has no use for such pedestals. Its inherent and purposefully self-critical nature ensures that hip hop is both a widely appealing form for youth protest and a self-calibrating system of quality control.A photographic excavation of Toronto's hip hop archive, ...Everything Remains Raw draws on photographs of Kardinal Offishall, Michie Mee, Dream Warriors, Maestro, Drake, Director X, and others by Michael Chambers, Sheinina Raj, Demuth Flake, Craig Boyko, Nabil Shash, Patrick Nichols, and Stella Fakiyesi to offer a deep dive in hip hop's visual culture. An intentional intersection of the taste-making skills of the DJ and the nuanced particularism of the curator, the book and the accompanying exhibition juxtapose never-before-seen images with photojournalism, street posters, and zines to reframe and enhance popular understandings of this thing called hip hop....Everything Remains Raw accompanies an exhibition organized at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

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Book SynopsisHow many bands have rocked the world solidly for 50 years? Played in front of 1,500,000 people at one concert? Had hit records in every decade since the 1960s? That's right, just one: the Rolling Stones. This book documents the career of the band decade by decade, album by album and member by member, accompanied by 130 images and memorabilia.

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Book SynopsisIt is 1965, and Swinging London is coming into its prime years. The streets are alive with mods and rockers, playboys and good-time girls, all revelling in the blossoming artistic, creative and cultural energies of the decade. Amid the colour and chaos is a boy sporting drainpipe jeans, an immaculately tailored sports coat and a half-inch wide tie. A devoted fan of The Who, he looks the part in his pristine mod gear. As the lead singer of the Lower Third, his talent is shaping itself into something truly special. His name is Davie Jones. In ten years, he will be unrecognisable as fresh-faced boy of 1965, and in just over fifty years, his death will be mourned by millions, his legacy the story of the greatest rock star of all time. And through Bowie's transition from pop group member to solo performer, Phil Lancaster was by his side. As the drummer in Bowie's band, the Lower Third, Phil was there as the singer's musical stripes began to show, and was witness to his early recording techniques, his first experimental forays into drug-taking, and the band's discovery of his bisexuality in shocking circumstances.In this riveting - and often very funny - memoir, Phil tells the story of life alongside the insecure yet blazingly talented boy who became Bowie, at a critical crossroad of time and place in music history. What follows is an intimate, personal and important perspective on the genesis of one of the most iconic musicians of the twentieth century - one that gets under the skin of the man himself, before the personas and alter-egos masked the fascinating figure beneath them. At the Birth of Bowie is essential reading for anyone who knows what happened on Bowie's journey, but wants to understand how, and why, it ever began.

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Book SynopsisThis unique and meticulously researched book will delight both Yes fans and students of the 1960s music scene. It is essential reading for all lovers of the world's greatest progressive rock band, and fans of the genre's finest vocalist - Jon Anderson. Jon Anderson is the enigmatic lead singer and founding member of Yes. He is also a composer, artist, writer, dreamer, lyricist, poet and musician, with a career spanning more than fifty years. Many books have been written about the band, but until now none have covered Jon's early years in his first band, The Warriors, in any sort of detail. David Watkinson takes us on a journey from the Lancashire beat music scene in the early 1960s to the vibrancy of London later in the decade. In the short time The Warriors existed - from 1963 to 1967 - they released a single, appeared on TV and in a movie, and spent a year following in the Beatles footsteps as a working group in Germany. As well as providing a complete history of The Warriors, this book also follows Jon's subsequent career in London, via appearances with Gun and his brief solo career as Hans Christian. He finally met Chris Squire and found a home in Mabel Greer's Toyshop, as that group gradually morphed into Yes during the summer of 1968. The book includes new interviews with Jon and many members of The Warriors, through its various line-up changes, most for the very first time. It also features a newly-researched family tree, never before seen photographs, both of the Warriors and the first line up of Yes, plus many items of memorabilia and an exclusive look into the band’s diaries. It closes with a comprehensive discography and a collectables section.

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Book SynopsisBeat Instrumental summed it up in 1971: 'In a few short months Curved Air have emerged from the unknown depths to become one of the most talked-about bands around. By a combination of record company promotion (ranging from ads to that pretty patterned album) and a word-of-mouth reputation gained from their gigs, the group became a name before they had really done that much. Such a situation can be worrying for a band but Curved Air have the confidence to carry on unaffected.' Propelled into stardom at an exhilarating speed due to clever marketing and virtuosity in their musicianship, particularly violinist Darryl Way, the story of Curved Air in the 1970s is of a band that burned brightly before collapsing well ahead of their time. Fronted by the exotic Sonja Kristina, they supported Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter and B.B. King in huge stadiums, and several famous names passed through their ranks. These included Stewart Copeland who went on to form the Police with Sting. Every line up of Curved Air presented a stellar range of talent across a musically fascinating contribution throughout the decade. This book documents it all - from the groundbreaking albums like Air Conditioning and Phantasmagoria to the line up changes and traumas which caused the band to disband for the first time in 1976.

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Book SynopsisIn her long career, Canadian songstress Joni Mitchell has been hailed as everything from 1960s folk icon to 20th century cultural figure, artistic iconoclast to musical heroine, extreme romantic confessor to outspoken commentator and lyrical painter. While some criticised what they viewed as her seeming dismissal of commercial considerations, she simply viewed her trajectory as that of any artist serious about the integrity of their work. But whatever musical position she took, she was always one step ahead of the game, making eclectic and innovative music Albums like The Ladies Of The Canyon, Blue , Hejira and Mingus helped define each era of the 1970s, as she moved from exquisitely pitched singer songwriter material towards jazz. Her past influence was obvious in the 1980s when hoards of assuming successors (some highly respectable) gathered her exotic breadcrumbs with a view to distilling their illusive compounds, while Joni simultaneously forged ahead. This book revisits her studio albums in detail from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine, providing anecdote and insight into the recording sessions, an in depth analysis along with a complimentary level of lyrical and instrumental examination.

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Book SynopsisWhen Yes ran into problems recording their tenth album in Paris at the end of 1979, it was almost the end. Yet in the 80s, the band rallied, firstly as part of an unlikely collaboration with new wave duo The Buggles, then with 90125, the most successful album of their career, which spawned a number one hit in the USA with 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart'. The band failed to capitalise on this success, however, lingering too long over its successor Big Generator and by the end of the decade, Yes had effectively split into two versions of the same group. With most authors concentrating on the group's 1970s career, Yes in the 1980s looks in forensic detail at this relatively underexamined era of the band's history, featuring rarely seen photos researched by author David Watkinson. The book follows the careers of all nine significant members of the group during a turbulent decade which saw huge highs but also many lows. Not only does it consider the three albums the band itself made across the decade, but also the solo careers and other groups - including Asia, XYZ, The Buggles, Jon and Vangelis and GTR - formed by those musicians as the decade wound towards a reunion of sorts in the early 1990s

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Book SynopsisDepending on who you asked, George Harrison was many different things to different people. There was his songcraft, which won over the affections of producer savant Phil Spector; there was his musicianship, that captured the hearts of blues savants Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett; and then there was his penchant for comedy, which made him an obvious shoo-in for Rutland Weekend Television and Saturday Night Live. But behind these traits stood a fragile man, aching for enlightenment and peace in an industry that strove to rid him of any of it. Keenly aware of this conflict, Harrison was brave enough to commit it to tape on the wistful Dark Horse, a confessional album written against the backdrop of a regrettable American Tour. But Harrison was always ready to brave the conflict, and it served him better to ride it out than to return to The Beatles for an easy paycheque. He was known as ‘The Quiet Beatle’, although this title did him a disservice, considering his intellectual focus and thoughtful nature. Instead, he was arguably ‘The Chameleonic Beatle’, a moniker that only serves to understand the deeply complex guitar player better. And in a deeply complicated decade, Harrison's artistry flourished

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Book SynopsisAfter the singularity of Astral Weeks in 1968, the 1970s were the formative years for the solo career of one of the acknowledged giants of modern music. Van Morrison was one of the music legends who defined the decade, with every album bringing out different aspects to Morrison's vast musical spectrum. His story in the 1970s is a chronicle of a Belfast artist coming to terms with the voice, the call, the dream of America. The decade saw Morrison work through the promise of the land of the blues and jazz, westerns and railroads, big cities and backwoods. It also saw his own spiritual quest and the reimagining of a nordic North European heritage and Caledonian Irish roots alongside the realisation of emigration and exile. Morrison forged a rich and complex artistic catalogue that continues down the years to the present day. Beginning with smash hit Moondance in 1970, his output in the decade continued through Tupelo Honey via Hard Nose the Highway to 1979's Into the Music. By the end of the 1970s, he was again using Europe to recast his music and imagination for another half century in the business, but throughout most of the decade his songs centred on America as he created the foundation of an unparalleled legacy

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Book SynopsisThe mid-20th century saw the birth of a new kind of big band/orchestral music in what came to be called 'Easy Listening'. Like its contemporary, rock 'n' roll, it took the world by storm, introducing romance and chic into a world brutalised by war. While a new generation went wild and sexy, their elders sought to live in a world of civilised values. Easy listening music gave them this in spades. In The Golden Era of Easy Listening Music Derek Taylor comprehensively takes the Easy Listening story from an unlikely beginning with an American army general through to its sub summation into 21st century mainstream popular music. Described and put into historical context are the giants and innovators of easy-listening music from Paul Weston, Mantovani, Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Serge Gainsbourg, Bert Kaempfert, Acker Bilk, Herb Albert, Sergio Mendes to James Last and a host of others. These easy listening giants came from all around the world, bringing to the music throughout the decades a revitalising mix of styles and forms that is being rediscovered and enjoyed as much by the streaming generation of today as it was by the generation of 78 RPM shellac and high fidelity vinyl of its golden era.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisIt is July 4th 2002, two musical British brothers have just touched down in the United States. Mythologised in popular song it is the birthplace of the blues, jazz, soul and rock and roll. In search of their own version of El Dorado, instead of the promise of ubiquitous gold, the prize they seek is great music. The brothers have hatched a plan on how to achieve this, they are going to motor from New England to New Orleans, visiting the great music towns and venues that have shaped America. There is one problem though, they need a car. It has to be a special vehicle, one that taps into the rich cultural heritage they seek. Enter their saviour, Rufus', a used '82 Cadillac Eldorado, the last in a long lineage, and the dream car of a generation. The brothers have very little money, know nothing about car mechanics and have no fixed address in the USA. Can they secure the car and where will the road lead them?For two months they live, breathe, sweat and imbibe the complex cocktail of American musical heritage... Where will the soul of America be found? On the open road? At Al Green!s Gospel Church? At the gates of Graceland? Or in a Downtown Chicago nightclub? Or is the El Dorado they seek lost already? Losing Eldorado - Searching for the Soul of America is the remarkable new book that tells the true story of this epic road trip and the music that made America.

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Book SynopsisFrom Mummers to Madness considers developments in the production and consumption of popular music in England over a period of some two hundred years, which saw dramatic changes in the socio-economic, demographic and cultural life of the country. Popular music, it is argued, was not simply a response to the wider developments that were taking place but contributed to the ongoing process of adaptation and change.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: How can I keep from singing … and dancing? Part 1: popular music in england in the acoustic age, c.1770s to c.1900s Section 1: Nymphs and Shepherds?
Popular music c.1770s – c.1840s Chapter 2 ‘Aive down your prong and stamp along’: Festivals, feasts, and fairs Chapter 3 ‘Between the jigs and the reels’: Popular dance and dancing Chapter 4 ‘I’ll sing you a song and a very pretty one’: Broadsides, ballads and more Chapter 5 ‘Come all you bold heroes, give ear to my Song’: Sport, drink and sex Chapter 6 ‘In Maidstone gaol, I am lamenting’: Crime, punishment and socio-political comment Section 2: Music-hall and its rivals, c.1840s – c.1900s Chapter 7 ‘Sing, sing! Why shouldn’t we sing?’ Popular music in the age of the music hall Chapter 8 ‘Dancing to the organ (in the Mile End Road)’: Dance and Dancing Saloons Chapter 9 ‘Champagne Charlie is my name’: 
 The swell, the Irish and the cockney Chapter 10 ‘A little of what you fancy’: Love, marriage
 and other social problems Chapter 11 ‘The Boers have got my daddy’: Politics domestic and foreign Chapter 12 ‘The Minstrels Parade’: Blackface minstrelsy and the music hall Part 2: english popular music in the age of technology, c.1900s to c.1970s Section 3: Variety and its rivals, c.1890s – c.1950s Chapter 13 ‘Fings ain’t what they used to be’: The strange and lingering death of variety theatre Chapter 14 ‘I wish I could shimmy like my sister Kate’: Dance halls and dancing between the wars Chapter 15 ‘Let’s have a song upon the gramophone’: Manufactured music - records, radio and the cinema Chapter 16 ‘I like bananas’: Popular songs of the 1920s
 and 1930s Chapter 17 ‘Music while you work’ ... and play:Popular music c.1940-1955 Section 4: The empires strike back, c.1950s – c.1970s Chapter 18 ‘Don’t You Rock Me, Daddy-O’: Skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll Chapter 19 ‘Twist and shout’: Illusion and disillusion in the 1960s and 1970s Chapter 20 ‘Woke Up This Morning:’ How we got the(rhythm and) blues – and found some soul Chapter 21 ‘Islands in the Sun’: Calypso to reggae Chapter 22 Conclusion: Mummers to Madness-
the broader picture Appendix
 Late-eighteenth/early-nineteenthcentury tunes General Index Song and Tune Index

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Book SynopsisStephen Botek apprenticed at the side of some of the greats of the jazz era, learning not only about music, but about life. Growing up in small-town Pennsylvania in the shadow of the Dorseys, Botek decides to follow his muse to a future in jazz. He gets mentored by clarinet great Buddy DeFranco and saxophone legend Joe Allard, meets up with greats such as Artie Shaw and Dizzy Gillespie along the way, and follows in Glenn Miller''s footsteps with the Army Air Force Band. A primer on the jazz era, as well as an account of the benefits of apprenticeship, SONG ON MY LIPS not only recounts stories of the greats but takes us backstage, to their studios, and to many of the unique venues of the time. Jazz aficionados and new musicians alike will learn much about the music from this unique life story.

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Book SynopsisStephen Botek apprenticed at the side of some of the greats of the jazz era, learning not only about music, but about life. Growing up in small-town Pennsylvania in the shadow of the Dorseys, Botek decides to follow his muse to a future in jazz. He gets mentored by clarinet great Buddy DeFranco and saxophone legend Joe Allard, meets up with greats such as Artie Shaw and Dizzy Gillespie along the way, and follows in Glenn Miller''s footsteps with the Army Air Force Band. A primer on the jazz era, as well as an account of the benefits of apprenticeship, SONG ON MY LIPS not only recounts stories of the greats but takes us backstage, to their studios, and to many of the unique venues of the time. Jazz aficionados and new musicians alike will learn much about the music from this unique life story.

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Book Synopsis

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