Popular music Books

Book SynopsisMusicians rapping in kriolu--a hybrid of Portuguese and West African languages spoken in Cape Verde--have recently emerged from Lisbon's periphery. They popularize the struggles with identity and belonging among young people in a Cape Verdean immigrant community that shares not only the kriolu language but its culture and history. Drawing on fieldwork and archival research in Portugal and Cape Verde, Derek Pardue introduces Lisbon's kriolu rap scene and its role in challenging metropolitan Portuguese identities. Pardue demonstrates that Cape Verde, while relatively small within the Portuguese diaspora, offers valuable lessons about the politics of experience and social agency within a postcolonial context that remains poorly understood. As he argues, knowing more about both Cape Verdeans and the Portuguese invites clearer assessments of the relationship between the experience and policies of migration. That in turn allows us to better gauge citizenship as a balance of individual achievTrade Review"Cutting edge. While plenty of books have raised issues of cultural practice and citizenship, few--if any--focus on expressive culture. Pardue has already established himself as a scholar of hip-hop and he brings a depth and richness of experience from his earlier work on Brazil to see the full challenge that Cape Verdean rappers pose not just to Portugal but to Europe and Europeanness."--Marissa Moorman, author of Intonations: A Social History of Music and Nation in Luanda, Angola, from 1945 to Recent Times"A compelling interdisciplinary study of identity and citizenship among Cape Verdean rappers based in contemporary Lisbon. Building upon his groundbreaking work on Brazilian hip-hop, Pardue shifts his focus across the Atlantic by incorporating nodal points of the Lusophone triangle (Portugal, Cape Verde, and Brazil) that share common histories based on colonialism and slavery, where hybrid cultures have emerged and complex postcolonial entanglements continue to evolve."--Fernando Arenas, author of Utopias of Otherness: Nationhood and Subjectivity in Portugal and Brazil"A sharp analysis. The author makes an accurate diagnosis of the poetics of production of political-cultural and identity-related statements, revealing a politics of difference radically permeated by the weight of the postcolonial memory and history in the contemporary Cape Verdean and Portuguese contexts."--Víctor Barros, University of Coimbra"Cape Verde, Let's Go! is an interesting and worthwhile study of diasporic racial, linguistic, and musical identity. . . . The book's greatest value. . . . is in bringing attention to an area of Europe--and to European colonial system--that is often eclipsed by focus on England, France, and Spain."--Anthropology Review Database

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Book SynopsisWith his trademark mandolin style and unequaled tenor harmonies, Curly Seckler has carved out a seventy-seven-year career in bluegrass and country music. His foundational work in Flatt and Scruggs''s Foggy Mountain Boys secured him a place in bluegrass history, while his role in The Nashville Grass made him an essential part of the music''s triumphant 1970s revival. Written in close collaboration with Mr. Seckler and those who know him, Foggy Mountain Troubadour is the first full-length biography of an American original. Penny Parsons follows a journey from North Carolina schoolhouses to the Grand Ole Opry stage and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, from boarding houses to radio studios and traveling five to a car on two-lane roads to make the next show. Throughout, she captures the warm humor, hard choices, and vivid details of a brilliant artist''s life as he criss-crosses a nation and a century making music.Trade ReviewCertificate of Merit for Best Historical Research in Recorded Country Music, Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards (ARSC), 2017 Named Bluegrass Print/Media Person of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), 2016 "A front row seat to bluegrass history."--Charlotte News & Observer "What emerges from Parsons' narrative is a fascinating life of a performer who deserves to be well known to all scholars and fans of bluegrass music."--ARSC Journal"Those who are interested in the history of bluegrass and old country music must by and read this wonderful book."--Bluegrass Today"Let us shower Penny Parsons and Curly Seckler with roses for their wonderful collaboration on Foggy Mountain Troubadour . Curly Seckler is one of the most beloved and revered of all the first generation country and bluegrass music pioneers. Ms. Parsons not only illuminates Mr. Seckler's storied life but also reports rarified accounts that offer us insight into the humanity that underscored the people, songs, live performances, recordings, and travels surrounding what is now considered to be one of the most mythical bands ever to play: Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Penny Parsons is not only an authentic biographer, she is also a first-rate musical detective."--Marty Stuart"Anyone who has followed the life and career of Curly Seckler will have a hard time putting this book down. . . . [Penny Parsons] has done an amazing and masterful job in documenting the life of one of the great sidemen in Bluegrass."--Country Sales Newsletter"A must read for anyone who would like a window into the world of the American South, the rise of our country music and its early stars, and especially to gain an appreciation for an American musical treasure--Curly Seckler."--Randall Franks, Southern Style"Foggy Mountain Troubadour offers a fascinating look at a long and storied life in music. Bluegrass is one of America's defining art forms, and Parsons uses spirited prose and anecdotes drawn from her adept research to illustrate how Seckler witnessed and helped shape it from the beginning."--Greensboro News & Record"Penny Parsons's well-mined research and articulate journalistic style reveal never-before-documented history that should be of interest to all fans of country and bluegrass music's golden era. Written with Mr. Seckler's full cooperation, this educational and entertaining biography explores the compelling journey of a legendary musical statesman. Along the way, he endured both triumph and tragedy with determination, unshakable faith, kindness, generosity, and humor. This book truly does justice to his amazing legacy."--Eddie Stubbs, WSM Grand Ole Opry announcer "This carefully researched and richly detailed account of Seckler's life and career provides a new perspective on the work of his primary employers--Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. Parsons's labor of love has produced a good read and an invaluable reference."--Jay Orr, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Rarely are sequels better than the originals, but Blues Before Sunrise 2 is a happy exception. Cushing delivers another truly significant contribution to the blues literature."--Edward Komara, editor of Encyclopedia of the Blues "In this entertaining and informative collection of interviews, [Cushing] showcases many facets of the Chicago blues scene." --No Depression"By asking insightful questions and letting the artists speak for themselves, Cushing manages to bring to life the excitement of by-gone eras, and shines a light on the impact of obscure artists as well as known legends across several musical genres . . . Highly recommended!" --Blues Blast Magazine

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Book SynopsisChicago blues musicians parlayed a genius for innovation and emotional honesty into a music revered around the world. As the blues evolves, it continues to provide a soundtrack to, and a dynamic commentary on, the African American experience: the legacy of slavery; historic promises and betrayals; opportunity and disenfranchisement; the ongoing struggle for freedom. Through it all, the blues remains steeped in survivorship and triumph, a music that dares to stare down life in all its injustice and iniquity and still laugh--and dance--in its face. David Whiteis delves into how the current and upcoming Chicago blues generations carry on this legacy. Drawing on in-person interviews, Whiteis places the artists within the ongoing social and cultural reality their work reflects and helps create. Beginning with James Cotton, Eddie Shaw, and other bequeathers, he moves through an all-star council of elders like Otis Rush and Buddy Guy and on to inheritors and today''s heirs apparent like RoTrade Review"[Whiteis's] spot-on assessments of the social and economic forces . . . are as essential as his encyclopedic knowledge of the artists’ backgrounds and discographies."--DownBeat"Whiteis's book offers a lively tour of the music that grew out of the streets and churches and clubs of Chicago and that continues to evolve and shape roots music around the world." --No Depression"Whiteis’ knowledge of and love for his subject is strong and unquestionable and the reader is sure to feel and share the author’s hope that the legacy continues." --Living Blues"Appealing to serious jazz fans, Whiteis’s history serves as a handy reference to Chicago blues." --Publishers Weekly"Whiteis understands the art of keeping readers engaged while he adds to their understanding of the current Chicago blues community. . . . A book well-worth reading." --Blues Blast Magazine"David Whiteis’ writing pulls you in exactly as sounds spilling out of a blues club on a summer night would pull you off the sidewalk to listen. He doesn’t divorce himself from the narrative, which gives this work an intimacy, never letting it dissolve into an academic assignment." --NewCity Lit"Even if you’ve previously read articles or heard interviews with the blues musicians profiled in Blues Legacy before, you are guaranteed to learn something new and interesting about them while reading this well-written and fastidiously researched book by Mr. Whiteis." --Chicago Blues Guide"It captures the changes that have confronted the Chicago blues community but also shows the continuity and affirmation of a viable, dynamic blues tradition. Whiteis remains one of the premier documentarians of the Chicago scene."--Barry Lee Pearson, author of Jook Right On: Blues Stories and Blues Storytellers "In his latest history on Chicago blues, Whiteis is as usual informative and stimulating, while addressing some considerably contentious issues. The author has long demonstrated that he is one of the best writers on blues. He has a way with words that can paint a vivid portrait of his subject or scene."--Robert Pruter, author of Chicago Soul "Whiteis' tale mirrors what fans and blues musicians alike have experienced. That hypnotic calling of the blues. These profiles are essential for all fans to understand the universal calling that these musicians felt." --Blues Music Magazine

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Book SynopsisUnafraid of reinventing her sound and self to meet changing tastes, Denise LaSalle enjoyed success on and off the stage. This memoir of a lifetime in music is the true story of how a girl from rural Mississippi rose up to become the unquestioned queen of soul-blues.Trade ReviewA Chicago Sun-Times Must-Read Book "One of the great achievements of Whiteis’ writing is that he’s managed to imbue the autobiography with a clear sense of her voice. Throughout the book it’s very easy to hear LaSalle speaking the words on the page . . . Denise LaSalle may be Always the Queen; however, her story is not about elevated privilege but one of self-determination, hard work, and a refusal to accept limitations." --Living Blues"Make sure you grab a couple of her recordings to listen to while reading this fascinating volume that comes highly recommended!" --Blues Blast Magazine "LaSalle’s pride in being a songwriter, performer, and producer rings loudly, and she acknowledges that “God has been truly, truly good to me.” This is an empowering story, soulfully told." --Publishers Weekly”I've known Denise LaSalle for many years personally, professionally, and spiritually. Her legacy will live on forever. I am blessed to have been a 'Knight in Her Majesty's court.' Long live the Queen.”—Latimore"LaSalle is by turns rebellious, raunchy, worshipful, and tender. Readers will feel like they're listening to a woman nearing the end of her career share the lessons she learned on her musical journey." --Library Journal​"Reading Always the Queen The Denise LaSalle Story is like eating candy." --Southern Soul Rn"Captivating . . . . LaSalle testifies in Always the Queen, celebrating the freedom and strength of making her own music on her own terms. Though she may have left us, she’s given us this gift of her soulful voice and her moving ways of telling mesmerizing stories." --No Depression”Without the pioneering efforts of Denise LaSalle we probably wouldn't have many of the rap queens/divas we have today. In this book Denise tells all, from writing for romance rags as a teen to cannily carving out a singular career in the male-dominated music biz. Along the way, Denise runs into a string of characters—Ike Turner, Billy 'The Kid' Emerson, Millie Jackson, Bobby Rush, Willie Mitchell, even Bob Dylan. This book is as earthy, funny, and free of BS as one of LaSalle's songs, not to mention both eloquent and moving. David Whiteis, one of our most valuable music historians, clearly loves this Queen of the Blues and has crafted a memoir that would've made her proud. Essential reading for any R&B/soul/blues music lover.”—Jimmy McDonough, author of Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green ”Denise LaSalle went from picking cotton to singing gold. This intimate telling of her story takes us from the Mississippi farm to faraway places. Hers is a story of making it in the record business, hook and crook, firing on moxie, grit, luck—and a voice that always sounded like the truth. Like her singing, this book never loses its grit.”—Robert Gordon, author of Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion "This is a vibrant portrait of a singular blues artist." --Booklist "Even if you aren’t that familiar with LaSalle and only know a couple of her songs, her autobiography is a compelling page-turner, full of twists and turns that comprise her fascinating life and career, which parallel the timeline of music history and civil rights. Her struggles and determination are nothing less than inspiring." --Chicago Blues Guide "For those, who want to get acquainted with the human being behind the music, this is a good “X-ray” book. It brings Denise alive again. She speaks openly about all the issues, problems and also the good sides of her genre." --Soul Express "Always the Queen is LaSalle's victory lap, a catalogue of her successes and memorable moments in a 50-year career of recording and touring." --Chapter 16

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Book SynopsisFirst time in paperback and e-book! The jazz musician-composer-arranger Mary Lou Williams spent her sixty-year career working in—and stretching beyond—a dizzying range of musical styles. Her integration of classical music into her works helped expand jazz''s compositional language. Her generosity made her a valued friend and mentor to the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Her late-in-life flowering of faith saw her embrace a spiritual jazz oriented toward advancing the civil rights struggle and helping wounded souls. Tammy L. Kernodle details Williams''s life in music against the backdrop of controversies over women''s place in jazz and bitter arguments over the music''s evolution. Williams repeatedly asserted her artistic and personal independence to carve out a place despite widespread bafflement that a woman exhibited such genius. Embracing Williams''s contradictions and complexities, Kernodle also explores a personal liTrade Review"Recommended." --Choice"Diligently chronicles the life and times of the extraordinary innovator."--Jazz Times"Kernodle’s Soul on Soul serves as an essential text, working to set the record straight on one of the genre’s most significant—and conspicuously ignored—composers." --DownBeat"The music and life of Mary Lou Williams and [this] admirable biographie ought to be required material in American history, music, and women’s studies courses. Maybe then the jazz Williams created will receive the universal embrace it deserves." --Women's Review of Books

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Book SynopsisPunk rock culture in a preeminently average town Synonymous with American mediocrity, Peoria was fertile ground for the boredom- and anger-fueled fury of punk rock. Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett explore the do-it-yourself scene built by Peoria punks, performers, and scenesters in the 1980s and 1990s. From fanzines to indie record shops to renting the VFW hall for an all-ages show, Peoria''s punk culture reflected the movement elsewhere, but the city''s conservatism and industrial decline offered a richer-than-usual target environment for rebellion. Eyewitness accounts take readers into hangouts and long-lost venues, while interviews with the people who were there trace the ever-changing scene and varied fortunes of local legends like Caustic Defiance, Dollface, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. What emerges is a sympathetic portrait of a youth culture in search of entertainment but just as hungry for community—the shared sense of otherness that, even for oneTrade ReviewRussell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year Award 2022— Russell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year AwardTable of ContentsCoverTitleCopyrightContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. The Rise of Peoria Punk Rock: 1956–19861. Heebie Mesolithic Eon Drizzle2. Creating the Peoria Scene3. Punks Live on Straight Edge4. The Underground Goes Aboveground5. I Was a Mutant Cornchip . . .Part II. Building the Scene: 1986–19926. Great Loser Bands and Loosey-Goosey Backwash Gigs7. What Played (and Didn’t Play) in Peoria8. Public Enemy Number One9. Montage of Madness10. Nazi Punks Fuck OffPart III. The Next Nirvana: 1992–199711. Teenage Airwaves12. For God and Country13. This Is Not a Fugazi Chapter14. Rock over London, Rock On PeoriaPart IV. Tolling of the Digital Bell: 1997–200715. Hidden by Cornfields16. Our CBGB17. Peoria Heights . . . and Lows18. For God and Country (Alternate Take)ConclusionNotesBibliographyIndexBack cover

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This book is very well written. . . . Highly recommended." --Choice"With an unlikely cast of polygamists, conservative Christians, senior citizens, and aspiring stars who end up cookie cutter performers, Johnson’s polemic for and against the Broadway musical (and how all of us use it) cuts to the heart of our post-truth moment."--Todd Decker, author of Show Boat: Performing Race in an American Musical"Refreshing and eye-opening . . . Lying in the Middle is an excellent exploration of what lies behind the musical and it is meant to be." --Kansas History

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A fascinating, detailed history of Americana music. " --Choice"Milward has channeled the fascinating Americana story into 320 flowing and informative pages. Not content to simply recapitulate names, dates and deeds, he frequently provides valuable context and perspectives to the saga." --Bluegrass Unlimited"John Milward has crafted a masterpiece." --Americana Rhythm Music Magazine"Endlessly fascinating." --Americana Highways"With fresh insight and a great sprinkling of anecdotal details, this is a fabulous addition to the canon, enhanced by portraits of the musicians from illustrator Greve. It would be impossible for Milward to pack any more information into this well-researched and comprehensive book. Recommended to anyone and everyone interested in the history of American music. " --Library Journal"Concise, lively, and informative, with many colorful anecdotes adding intriguing detail. Milward's deep knowledge of music history and expertise on roots-music genres make Americanaland an essential addition to the music book canon."--Holly George-Warren, author of Janis: Her Life and Music"There’s a common thread that runs through the great patchwork quilt that's come to be known as Americana Music. John Milward has artfully followed every stitch of that thread and revealed the story behind every patch. In doing so he’s made huge strides in giving this rich genre the legitimacy it deserves."--Larry Campbell​​"John Milward’s Americanaland is a book with a sense of place and rhythm. Both are impeccable. The joy of this veteran music writer’s survey of the music that’s come to be called Americana is that he ranges far, digs deep, and dismisses no sound." --Chapter 16 "Americanaland provides a history, clearly showing a dedicated path through musical eras as it points a path to the future." --Alternate Root ​​"Encyclopedic. Kaleidoscopic. John Millward [offers an] account of a century of American music culminating in what we now call Americana. Countless stories of those who have brought this music that bubbles up from a bottomless well sunk deep in American soil."--Jim Rooney "You won’t read a better book on the origins of Americana music this year and I’d be willing to bet it will be quite some time before there’s anything comparable to it. Americanaland is the book that many of us have been waiting for and Milward has timed his publishing perfectly to tap into the zeitgeist as this great music continues to make inroads around the world." --Americana UK

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Starr's approach is fresh and stimulating. . . . Highly recommended." --Choice "Starr’s deep passion for helping listeners hear the intricate musical patterns of Dylan’s songs and albums provides the foundation for this out-of-the-ordinary guide to Dylan. The best way to read this book, of course, is to have Dylan’s music playing in the background to hear the patterns and sounds Starr encourages us to hear." --No Depression "Compact and cogent, Listening to Bob Dylan is directed to the general public, not musicologists. Starr describes Dylan’s sophisticated development of nuances, musical stress points that shift the tone of his performance and the meaning of his words. " --Shepherd Express Table of ContentsPreface vii 1 Not by Words Alone 1 2 Folksinger, Bluesman, Rocker, Crooner: The Many Voices of Bob Dylan 11 3 His Other Voice: Bob Dylan’s Essential Harmonica 33 4 Bob Dylan as Composer, I: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm 47 5 Bob Dylan as Composer, II: Musical Form 65 6 Accompanying Bob Dylan: Instruments, Instrumentalists, Singers 81 7 Arranging an Album 89 8 Bob Dylan in Live Performance: Documenting a Musical Shape-Shifter 97 9 Bringing It All Back Home (Pulling It All Together) 111 Acknowledgments 121 A Very Selective Bibliography 123 Subject Index 125 Song Index 131

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Reali’s cultural history of the magical, mystical Shoals captures the multifaceted layers of this little Alabama spot that produced so much storied music from artists as diverse as Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, and the Osmond family." --No Depression"A fascinating study of a musical microcosm, reveling in contradictions and debunking myths. " --Kirkus Reviews"Grounded in oral histories and meticulous archival research, Reali's work takes us deep into the story of the Muscle Shoals sound, providing additional complexity and context that helps to answer the question scholars and music enthusiasts have been asking for over half a century: 'Why Muscle Shoals?'" --Carolyn M. Crawford, Director, Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area"Reali’s work successfully shatters misconceptions about soul music and an identifiable Shoals sound." --Library Journal ​​"Reali’s meticulous research--including his use of original oral histories and new archival finds--situates Muscle Shoals’s rich musical history within a broader understanding of its impact on pop music and culture in the United States."--Charles L. Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South"Reali's account is fascinating, essential reading for anyone interested in American music and cultural history." --Shepherd Express"Thanks to a fine effort by the author, readers can now enjoy a well-rounded, succinct history of Muscle Shoals, and many of the musical highlights that have been created there over the last seven decades. A solid addition to the College of Musical Knowledge!" --Blues Blast Magazine"Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals is among the rarest of nonfiction books that require no subtitle. It is one of many details that makes Christopher M. Reali's account an outstanding contribution to the understanding of not only Muscle Shoals and its music but also the wider postwar South." --Journal of Southern History

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Following decades of fan engagement through road diaries and groundbreaking podcast predecessor Radio Zero, Poster Children bassist Rose Marshack has gathered stories and experience for this fast-paced and wide-ranging, but well-balanced rock/tech/spiritual memoir. Hard-won lessons, road stories, tech geekery, entertaining anecdotes and lessons from the Buddha are plentiful. . . . [A] stirring memoir." --Illinois Entertainer"For music fans in Central Illinois, I highly recommend Marshack’s book, which she finished after five years of writing and editing. It’s a phenomenal model of what music journalism should be, exemplified by comprehensive documentation and peer review — plus just enough swear words to keep you chuckling as you reach for the next page." --Pantagraph"For readers interested in the indie music scene, touring life, and female rockers." --Booklist"Reflective, humorous, and rousing, Play Like a Man is an exuberant memoir—a musical and feminist testament." --Foreword Reviews"A funny, warm, honest, and brilliant memoir from the bassist of American indie rock band Poster Children — a work to which all other music memoirs could aspire. . . . One of the all-time best music memoirs." --Louder than War"An inspirational account of changing times. " --Big Takeover“This kind of tour report from a female musician is so rare and essential in documenting women’s role in punk and music history. At the same time, the work that Poster Children did in contributing to the early use of the internet and social media and web design is important to think about around independent music and punk--really, around the music industry in general.”--Rebekah Buchanan, author of Writing a Riot: Riot Grrrl Zines and Feminist Rhetorics“The Poster Children were a smart, stubborn, self-reliant independent band that suddenly found itself surrounded by the ambitious puffery of hopeful tourist musicians. They navigated the problematic ocean of ‘Alternative Music’ that rose up in the 1990s and lived to tell the tale. Rose was central to that mission and should be considered a trustworthy and experienced reporter!”--Ian MacKaye, Fugazi and Minor Threat “I have seen Rose Marshack play with her band the Poster Children many times, and her presence onstage is precisely like her writing, energetic, warm, and completely involved. This memoir is beautiful and frank, and does a fantastic job of bringing the reader into the private thoughts of a woman coming of age in a vibrant music community, immediately finding things to cling to and battles that need fighting. Her story will resonate not just with everyone who lived through this era, but anyone who's ever found their passion and community in music. I admire Rose tremendously and I'm glad she decided to tell us her story.” --Steve AlbiniTable of ContentsList of Tour Reports PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart One. 1980s: CollegeChapter 1. Origin StoryChapter 2. The Scene at CollegeChapter 3. Punk Bands in DormsChapter 4. ComputersChapter 5. Play Like a ManPart Two. 1987-1992: Pre-major Label LifeChapter 6. The Indie Code of EthicsChapter 7. LocalChapter 8. RegionalChapter 9. NationalPart Three. 1993-1996: Major Label LifeChapter 10. Mashed PotatoesChapter 11. RecordingChapter 12. TouringChapter 13. Radio SucksChapter 14. Computer ExperimentsChapter 15. ExpectationsChapter 16. Big ChangesPart Four. 1997: Post Major LabelChapter 17. Online ParticipationChapter 18. Life as a WomanChapter 19. How to Look at ThingsChapter 20. TeachingAppendix: List of Poster Children AlumniNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisLangston Collin Wilkins returns to the city where he grew up to illuminate the complex relationship between place, identity, and music in Houston’s hip hop culture. Interviews with local rap artists, producers, and managers inform an exploration of how artists, audiences, music, and place interact to create a heritage that musicians negotiate in a variety of ways. Street-based musicians, avant-garde underground rappers, and Christian artists offer candid views of the scene while Wilkins delves into related aspects like slab, the area’s hip hop-related car culture. What emerges is a portrait of a dynamic reciprocal process where an artist, having identified with and embodied a social space, reproduces that space in a performance even as the performance reconstructs the social space. A vivid journey through a southern hip hop bastion, Welcome 2 Houston offers readers an inside look at a unique musical culture. Trade Review"A culturally rich topography of Black Houston and its heritage. . . . Wilkins' work stands out for its closeness to the ground, its rootedness in the city's people and places. Welcome 2 Houston goes well beyond the beats and rhymes, and even the cars. It's a lived-in academic portrait of a part of the city often overlooked, a community that, through trials and triumphs, is still tippin'." --Houston Chronicle“In Welcome 2 Houston, Langston Collin Wilkins examines hip hop’s deep connections to space, place, and heritage by weaving interviews, observations, and his own Houston upbringing into a richly informative and emotionally resonant work about an essential part of Black Americana.”--Eric Harvey, author of Who Got the Camera? A History of Rap and RealityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. If You Go Down to Houston Chapter 2. Everybody Inherits the Hood Chapter 3. Still Tippin Chapter 4. Gotta Come Down, Gotta Rep the Hood Chapter 5. TURNIN HEADZ Chapter 6. One City Under God Conclusion Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of jazz is more than a history of the music. The racial and cultural dynamics of American cities created the music, life, and business that was jazz.Burton W. Peretti''s classic study charts the life of jazz culture from its origins in the jook joints of sharecroppers and the streets and dance halls of 1890s New Orleans to the eve of bebop and World War II. As Perett shows, jazz was the epic story of players who transitioned from childhood spasm bands to Carnegie Hall and worldwide touring and fame. It became the music of the Twenties, a decade of Prohibition, of adolescent discontent, of Harlem pride, and of Americans hoping to preserve cultural traditions in an urban, commercial age. Finally, jazz was where black and white musicians performed together, as uneasy partners, in the big bands of Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman.Drawing on archives and the firsthand testimony of more than seventy musicians and singers (among them Benny Carter, Bud Freeman, Kid Ory,Trade Review"Peretti's great success is that he compels into collective form the many individual histories that have come down to us, giving context and resonance to that anecdotal raw material which until this book has been largely the special preserve of the jazz fan."--Journal of American Studies

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Book SynopsisGreat fun, this illustrated, fact-filled trivia guidebook to the first decade of rock & roll, breezily written (but painstakingly accurate), will take the baby boomer down a musical memory lane strewn with genuine "golden-oldies."Trade Review"A nostalgic, trivia-laden book that looks at the early years of rock 'n' roll and the societal context in which it was formed. . . . A fine compendium on the subject, certain to make misty-eyed all those who came of age in the 1950s."--Booklist"[A] perfect bridge between the puff that often characterizes studies of the period and the scholarly tomes that can bore all but the dedicated student of the era."--Chattanooga Times

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Book SynopsisFeatures how the "dark continent" of blues and jazz provided Hollywood with a resonant resource to construct and negotiate the boundaries of American cultural identity. This book contains new work on blackface minstrelsy in early sound movies, racial representation and censorship, torch singers and torch songs, burlesque and strippers, and more.Trade Review"This is a unique volume in that the author confirms the overlap of American cultural forms and racial and gender practices. . . . Appealing as much to cultural historians as to students and scholars of film and musicology, this volume is a must read for those interested in US cultural studies. Essential."--Choice"[An] absorbing and convincing account of white America's fraught, imitative, fascinated, repressive and denial-ridden relationship with black culture."--The Wire"Body and Soul is [Stanfield's] incisive report back from the field of Hollywood films - melodramas, crime films, musicals, comedies - that use, sometimes centrally but more often in crucial but taken-for-granted ways, jazz and blues-inflected music to figure and probe American identity."--Film Quarterly

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Book SynopsisThrough revealing portraits of selected local artists and slice-of-life vignettes drawn from the city’s pubs and lounges,Chicago Bluesencapsulates the sound and spirit of the blues as it is lived today. As a committed participant in the Chicago blues scene for more than a quarter century, David Whiteis draws on years of his observations and extensive interviews to paint a full picture of the Chicago blues world, both on and off the stage.In addition to portraits of blues artists he has personally known and worked with, Whiteis takes readers on a tour of venues like East of Ryan and the Starlight Lounge, home to artists such as Jumpin’ Willie Cobbs, Willie D., and Harmonica Khan. He tells the stories behind the lives of past pioneers, including Junior Wells, pianist Sunnyland Slim, and harpist Big Walter Horton, whose music reflects the universal concerns with love, loss, and yearning that continue to keep the blues so vital for so many.Trade Review"An inside job, a first-hand account that treats the music not as a pile of dusty old records but as a living, breathing art form. By focusing the majority of his detailed profiles on the also-rans rather than the cornerstone artists, Whiteis is able to address the honest realities of the contemporary working blues musician. By reporting from within the funky neighborhood bars in which the venerable music is continually reborn, he ensures that the blues is no museum exhibit."--Mojo"An important document of the thriving Chicago blues scene, this fluidly written book is an essential addition for public libraries with blues and R&B-related collections as well as for academic libraries, especially those with collectiones geared toward the sociology of music and American studies. Highly recommended."--Library Journal"As an active participant in the Chicago blues scene and a Maxwell Street habitué for more than a quarter century, journalist David Whiteis offers some tellingly insightful sociological observations on the intrinsic power of the music and draws on his extensive catalog of interviews over the years to present a kaleidoscopic picture of the Windy City blues world, both on and off stage. . . . Must reading for blues fans everywhere."--Sing Out!

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Book SynopsisA sensitive remembrance of bluegrass dreams and lessonsTrade Review"One cannot overrate the important of either the photographs or the memoir in terms of [Bill] Monroe, who is one of the most important American vernacular musicians of the last century. Highly recommended."--Choice "A welcome addition to the growing list of bluegrass memoirs."--Bluegrass Unlimited"The sense of an era that has passed, of a time now far distant when giants walked the earth and played the Grand Ole Opry is perfectly captured in dozens of rare and relishable on-stage and behind-the-scenes images."--R2"Bluegrass insiders will delight in Lowinger's detailed descriptions of [Bill Monroe's] interactions alongside candid photographs."--Sing Out!"An outstanding job in characterizing Bill Monroe in his stories, and the reader gets a good sense of what the life as a Bluegrass Boy in the mid-1960s must have been like, living and working with Monroe."--Journal of Folklore Research"I've known Gene Lowinger since our early days in the urban bluegrass scene of the sixties. His photographs have always offered unique perspectives on unique subjects. Now they are skillfully melded with personal remembrances of his own singular career as a 'Jewish Blue Grass Boy.'"--David Grisman, mandolinist and composer"A vivid, emotional, and poignant look at a unique era in bluegrass music, captured in words and photographs by a man who not only studied the music, but performed it and toured with the master as a member of his band."--Douglas B. Green (Ranger Doug), guitarist and vocalist of Riders in the Sky and author of Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy"A fascinating meditation on the nature of creativity and mentorship. Intimate and moving, funny and profound, Lowinger's photographs powerfully represent the indomitable Bill Monroe in his last years as a performer."--Erika Brady, author of A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed EthnographyTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 CHAPTER 1. Beginnings, 1942-62 7 CHAPTER 2. Learning Bluegrass, 1963-65 14 CHAPTER 3. Nashville, 1965-66 22 CHAPTER 4. Home to Study Violin, 1966-92 42 CHAPTER 5. Back to Monroe, Bluegrass, and the Violin, 1991-96 57 CHAPTER 6. After Monroe, 1996 to the Present 72 Index 79 Illustrations follow pages 41 and 71

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Book SynopsisA collection that assembles some of the best interviews from Steve Cushing's long-running radio program "Blues Before Sunrise", the syndicated, award-winning programme focusing on vintage blues and R & B.Trade Review"A vibrant account of a bygone era when blues and gospel were at their artistic zenith. . . . Blues before Sunrise 2 is sure to long stand as a prime research source for Chicago bluesaholics." --ARSC Journal". . . it would be difficult to find a figure more responsible for introducing a deeper appreciation of the blues to a wider audience. Blues Before Sunrise: Interviews From The Chicago Scene is not a casual book about the Chicago blues scene, but it is an indispensable one for hardcore fans and scholars." --Chicago Blues Guide"Cushing has provided a massive public service ... with this enthralling volume."--Juke Blues 69"The book is an unqualified "must have" for any blues fan interested in the history of the music."--About.com: Blues"Cushing's interviews are among the best I have ever read. Blues Before Sunrise appeals to blues fans, media scholars, and any reader who appreciates regional voices and good old-fashioned storytelling."--Barry Lee Pearson, coauthor of Robert Johnson: Lost and Found"Sure to fascinate and delight both scholars and general readers, these interviews are full of wonderful material, including some bombshells about who really wrote hit blues songs."--Steve Cheseborough, blues performer and author of Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues"Captures ... lightning in twelve different bottles.--Notes

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative history of the trailblazers of the independent rock 'n' roll record industryTrade ReviewAwarded a Certificate of Merit by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) for Best Research in Recorded Rock and Popular Music, 2010. "Broven ... keeps the text moving right along, his fill-in facts and explanations welcome, his segues from interviewees' words to his own smooth and easy. The author clearly loves the music and holds the achievements of the record people in high regard, but he stays level-headed and avoids overpraising his heroes."--Downbeat"A fascinating new book about the early independent labels of rock 'n' roll underscores again the central role that radio played in turning rock 'n' roll into the musical language of modern American popular culture. Record Makers and Breakers ... is a rich and engaging history of those early years, largely told through the words of the smart guys, hustlers and Runyonesque characters who shaped them". --New York Daily News"Broven has put together a detailed and engrossing study of the independent record labels of the 1940s-70s. . . . An outstanding and important study that goes well beyond comparable predecessors; highly recommended."--Library Journal (starred review)"4 stars. Welcome to a world filled with payola, the mob and jukebox sounds."--MOJO"Covering the convoluted history of the recording industry from the 1940s to the 1960s, [Broven] combines in-depth archival research with fascinating anecdotes about chart-toppers, shady characters and label owners. . . . The impact of conniving entrepreneurs on the musicians and the layering of rich details and digressive detours as Broven traces the transition from R&B to rock make this equal to Roger D. Kinkle’s massive, four-volume Complete Encyclopedia of Popular Music and Jazz.--Publishers Weekly"The depth of factual details is incredible, but it's presented in the style of a rich oral history . . . so as not to lose any of the flavour of their anecdotes. . . . It's a chronicle of the entrepreneurial American spirit, liberally punctuated by the creation of some of the most exciting and innovative music of all time."--Record Collector“Broven is masterful, making Record Makers an essential book for anyone interested in not only American musical culture but American culture, period."--American Songwriter"This is by far the most complete picture painted to date of the independent recording industry and it has the added advantage of illuminating many of the personalities who helped make that tick."--Blue Suede News "A remarkable, carefully documented oral history written as an approachable narrative. . . . Recommended."--Choice "An invaluable addition to understanding American music and indispensable for those into pop music history."--Jazz & Blues Report "Record Makers and Breakers is a big train of a book that follows the rise of blues, R&B, soul and early rock 'n' roll through the lives behind the independent labels. Long though it is, the ride is rich for anyone curious about the business dynamics of popular culture."--New Orleans Magazine "A treasure. John Broven has given the academic world a good dose of old-fashioned shoe leather journalism. This book will be invaluable to scholars studying the music industry and particularly the rock 'n' roll era."--Don Cusic, author of Johnny Cash: The Songs "Record Makers and Breakers is replete with groundbreaking research that more than any other single book explains how the popular music industry worked. A must read about the record industry."--Robert Pruter, author of Doowop: The Chicago Scene and Chicago Soul

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Book SynopsisA long look back at the home of legendary bluegrass festivals and jamboreesTrade Review"Bean Blossom offers much-needed insights into one of the most important bluegrass music festivals. . . . Bluegrass aficionados and Bean Blossom regulars will certainly appreciate the care and attention that Adler has paid to the fan communities that have thrived in Brown County and across the globe."--Notes"A welcome addition to the growing body of literature on the history of bluegrass. A clearly written and accessible book that combines history and folklore and offers an important case study of two twentieth-century musico-social phenomena: the rual country music park and the bluegrass festival."--American Music "An important book in that it weaves together bluegrass music, the changing demographics of the music, the development of the music industry, and the evolving economic elements of staging events in the music park."--Journal of American Folklore"Bean Blossom seems to be the ideal subject for an extended historical study such as this. Loaded with facts and details, the unfolding story is so interesting and engrossing. I read it with delighted recognition and remembrance."--John Wright, author of Traveling the High Way Home: Ralph Stanley and the World of Traditional Bluegrass MusicTable of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Rural Country Music Parks xv 1. Brown County History and Roots 1 2. Origins of the Brown County Jamboree, 1939-41 12 3. The Rund Family's Brown County Jamboree, 1941-51 21 4. Bill Monroe's Brown County Jamboree Park, 1952-57 48 5. Survivals, Revivals, and Arrivals, 1958-66 66 6. Building the Festivals, 1967-68 90 7. The Festival Becomes a Landmark, 1969-71 108 8. The Festival's Golden Age, 1972-82 123 9. Festival People and Lore 145 10. Bill and James Monroe's Festival Park, 1983-97 159 11. Renaissance, Continuity, and Change, 1998 and After 179 Notes 191 List of Interviews 209 Bibliography 213 Index 221 Illustrations follow page 122

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Book SynopsisNegotiating identity in hip-hop cultureTrade Review "Miles White's From Jim Crow to Jay-Z drops squarely into the Bermuda Triangle of critical race studies, gender and sexuality studies, and performance studies with useful new approaches to studying rappers as ambivalent cultural exemplars of black masculine performance."--H-Net Review "Invaluable. . . . Provides a clear example of how interdisciplinary approaches to African American music and culture can provide future scholars with the tools to examine the ever changing and diverse identities within the community."--Black Grooves "White's generative approach and application are ground-breaking, innovative, and ultimately laudable."--Popular Music and SocietyTable of ContentsCoverTitle PageCopyright PageContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1 Shadow and Act: American Popular Music and the Absent Black Presence2 The Fire This Time: Black Masculinity and the Politics of Racial Performance3 Affective Gestures: Hip-hop Aesthetics, Blackness, and the Literacy of Performance4 Real Niggas: Black Men, Hard Men, and the Rise of Gangsta Culture5 Race Rebels: Whiteness and the New Masculine DesireEpilogueAppendixNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe first book devoted entirely to women in bluegrass, this book documents the lives of more than seventy women whose vibrant contributions to the development of bluegrass have been overlooked.Trade ReviewDistinguished Achievement Award, International Bluegrass Musical Association (IBMA), 2015. "A ground-breaking biographical and cultural history."--Publishers Weekly "Henry guides the reader through an historical progression decade by decade, providing a detailed biography for a variety of well-known, lesser-known and obscure females who have devoted some of their lives to bluegrass music. Very highly recommended."--Bluegrass Europe"This impressive history of women in bluegrass clearly indicates women have been a big part of bluegrass since its earliest days, even when they were ignored by the media an fellow musicians. A much-needed addition to the bluegrass canon."--Booklist "A fascinating history of bluegrass music from a female musician's perspective. Wonderfully readable, brisk in its sweeping chronology of a huge topic, and filled with anecdotal gems that bring history to life, this is an enthralling and important book."--Thomas A. Adler, author of Bean Blossom: The Brown County Jamboree and Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Festivals"This terrific book adds significantly to our knowledge of bluegrass music. Part reference and part impassioned argument, Pretty Good for a Girl is filled with extremely interesting narratives and has the firepower to become a great inspiration for a new generation of young women musicians."--Ellen Wright, coauthor (with Roni Stoneman) of Pressing On: The Roni Stoneman Story"A book that's been so needed, on a topic so neglected for so long."--Roots Watch"Determination and drive is a theme pervading this book: these women are significantly engaged in their music making, not as female bluegrass musicians but as bluegrass musicians in general. Highly recommended."--Choice"One of the most important bluegrass books that will be published this decade."--Bluegrass Today "This academically solid and emotionally moving work shows the price that was paid by so many women in creating not only their own place in bluegrass, but in shaping and taking the music to new venues and wider audiences. This work should be a highlight on any list of required books for many years to come, and should be read by everyone in bluegrass--women and men."--Bluegrass Unlimited "A massive, well-researched work that students of music and women's studies will find useful."--Library Journal "Murphy Hicks Henry gives voice to women performers and innovators throughout bluegrass's history."--Bluegrass Today "The humor and passion within Pretty Good for a Girl is evident. . . . [the] purpose is not only to show historical documentation of how bluegrass is not, in fact, a man's music; it's also to give young and current female musicians the determination and stories of women who have all bucked cultural resistance to follow their passions."--Boxx Magazine "Pretty Good for a Girl breaks new ground as a cultural history of women in bluegrass music. Henry also makes an important contribution to women's studies with her analysis of how women made their own way into what has historically been considered a male-dominated genre. Thanks to Henry, scholars can no longer talk about Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs without mentioning the women who also shaped the genre of bluegrass."--West Virginia History "Henry brings a plethora of biographical facts, band and performance histories, discographical data, and personal reflections together between two convenient and fairly-priced covers. As a beginning sourcebook and reference tool it has no peer."--Notes "The musical biographies in this book advance the study of bluegrass music. In addition, through her methods of interviewing and chapter organization, Henry makes a gender an important dimension of bluegrass history. The book plainly displays the role gender has played in bluegrass culture, and how bluegrass people have viewed their music and themselves."--Journal of Folklore Research

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Book SynopsisA member of Muddy Waters'' legendary late 1940s-1950s band, Jimmy Rogers pioneered a blues guitar style that made him one of the most revered sidemen of all time. Rogers also had a significant if star-crossed career as a singer and solo artist for Chess Records, releasing the classic singles 'That''s All Right' and 'Walking By Myself.' In Blues All Day Long, Wayne Everett Goins mines seventy-five hours of interviews with Rogers'' family, collaborators, and peers to follow a life spent in the blues. Goins'' account takes Rogers from recording Chess classics and barnstorming across the South to a late-in-life renaissance that included new music, entry into the Blues Hall of Fame, and high profile tours with Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. Informed and definitive, Blues All Day Long fills a gap in twentieth century music history with the story of one of the blues'' eminent figures and one of the genre''s seminal bands.Trade ReviewBest Blues Book of the Year, Readers' Poll, Living Blues magazine, 2015. Certificate of Merit, Awards for Excellence, Historical Research in Blues, Gospel, or R&B, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2015. "Wayne Everett Goins hasn't simply written a long-overdue biographical portrait of one of modern blues' most influential and gifted stylists; he's given us the context as well, with vivid, indelibly limned vignettes. . . . It brings to life not just musical history, but the feel, flavor and emotional resonance of the times during which this history was lived."--Living Blues“Blues All Day Long is suffused with the same spirit as Rogers’ style of guitar-playing: tasteful, relaxed and stylish. . . . A mature and worthy biography."--De Blueskrant "Great work. Long, long overdue."--Taj Mahal"For blues aficionados, Goins provides a wealth of information on one of the underacknowledged masters of the Chicago sound."--Kirkus"Goins gleans fresh facts and vivid memories from dozens of lively interviews to capture the energy and struggles of the Chicago Blues scene, from Maxwell Street to the Chess Records studios. . . . engrossing."--Booklist"Blues All Day Long is a compelling study of an artist whose trajectory went from informal networks in the black community to the rigid and grueling strictures of the music industry." --Journal of Folklore Research"A great read. I loved it. What a nice tribute to the great Jimmy Rogers."--Charlie Musselwhite"Jimmy Rogers was the most under-appreciated of all the postwar Chicago blues pioneers--until now. Deep, heartfelt, and immaculately researched, Blues All Day Long sets the record straight. A major contribution to blues lore."--Jas Obrecht, former editor, Guitar Player magazine "Blues All Day Long bestows Jimmy Rogers with all the respect and attention he has long deserved for his integral role in the development of classic Chicago blues. Author Wayne Goins is uniquely qualified to tell the story of the man and his music, not only because of his expertise as an academic and as a guitarist, but because of the cultural pride he carries as a native of the same vibrant South Side Chicago turf that was the home of Jimmy Rogers."--Jim O'Neal, blues producer and co-founder of Living Blues magazine and co-editor of The Voice of the Blues "Jimmy Rogers' life and music are critical parts of blues history. He was an affirmation of the beauty of true ensemble playing and the enduring power of simplicity and directness, and his repertoire has become central to the canon. Wayne Goins has done an exhaustive, diligent, and discerning job of shedding light on the contributions of a man who helped define Chicago blues. Both the subject and the treatment are worthy of celebration."--Dick Shurman, blues producer and historian "Since Paul Oliver established the accepted template for blues in regard to timeline, genre, and geographic location, the real work left to blues writers/researchers has been to profile the lives and careers of the individuals who played and sang the blues and those that recorded and distributed the music. With his book Blues All Day Long, Goins adds another valuable tile to the overall mosaic of postwar Chicago blues."--Steve Cushing, host of Blues before Sunrise and author of Pioneers of the Blues Revival

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Her prose is at once engaging and accessible, her thinking rich in theoretical depth and imagination. This is a book that charts new territory at the fused horizons of music, dance, and popular culture studies." --Michael Bakan, author of World Music: Traditions and Transformations"Becoming Beautiful will offer many readers a window into experiences of beauty and redemption enjoyed by ballroom dance practitioners."--Middle West Review"Joanna Bosse, in Becoming Beautiful, plumbs the personal journeys people undertake 'in intimate conversation' with others in the dance worlds they construct. In doing so, she has produced a work of groundbreaking scholarship which is both moving and profoundly insightful."--Ted Solís, editor of Performing Ethnomusicology: Teaching and Representation in World Music Ensembles"Becoming Beautiful is elegantly conceptualized and artfully written. In her focus on predominantly White, Midwestern, middle and upper class suburbanites who self-identify as ballroom dancers--and who for the most part do not play music themselves--Joanna Bosse explores and problematizes salient issues of class, cosmopolitanism, exoticism, the ethnic/racial imaginary, and musicianship to destabilize a host of foundational markers of the ethnomusicological enterprise, including the function and value of music itself. Her prose is at once engaging and accessible, her thinking rich in theoretical depth and imagination. This is a book that charts new territory at the fused horizons of music, dance, and popular culture studies."--Michael Bakan, author of World Music: Traditions and Transformations

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A valuable contribution to our deeper understanding of the rich, intricate, and elaborate culture of the Appalachian mountain region of America."--Civil War Book Review "This book is meticulously researched, a thorough telling of the story of Appalachian dance, beginning with its European, African-American, and Native-American roots, continuing to modern times. Perhaps because he’s a dancer himself, Jamison writes in a very engaging, reader-friendly manner which scholars and hobbyists alike should appreciate. Highly recommended"--Bluegrass Unlimited"Jamison demonstrates how the history of dance is the story of America: immigration, race, trade, culture, identity, fashion, social stratification, and innovation. The closer you look, the more fascinating it all becomes. . . . This book is about dance, true, but it also provides an analogue for so many other things, reminding us, once again, that few forms of art. . . are ever quite what they seem."--Sing Out! "No praise is too high for this book. . . . Essential for anyone interested in American dance history or southern Appalachian culture."--Country Dance and Song Society News"An enjoyable read. Valuable for those interested in dance, music, African American studies, Native American studies, and US history in general. Recommended."--Choice "Phil Jamison has done an admirable job… Hoedowns, Reels, and Frolics is highly informative and entertaining; it would be a worthy addition to the library of any folk dance-- or folk music-- scholar or enthusiast."--Journal of Folklore Research

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Cutting edge. While plenty of books have raised issues of cultural practice and citizenship, few--if any--focus on expressive culture. Pardue has already established himself as a scholar of hip-hop and he brings a depth and richness of experience from his earlier work on Brazil to see the full challenge that Cape Verdean rappers pose not just to Portugal but to Europe and Europeanness."--Marissa Moorman, author of Intonations: A Social History of Music and Nation in Luanda, Angola, from 1945 to Recent Times"A compelling interdisciplinary study of identity and citizenship among Cape Verdean rappers based in contemporary Lisbon. Building upon his groundbreaking work on Brazilian hip-hop, Pardue shifts his focus across the Atlantic by incorporating nodal points of the Lusophone triangle (Portugal, Cape Verde, and Brazil) that share common histories based on colonialism and slavery, where hybrid cultures have emerged and complex postcolonial entanglements continue to evolve."--Fernando Arenas, author of Utopias of Otherness: Nationhood and Subjectivity in Portugal and Brazil"A sharp analysis. The author makes an accurate diagnosis of the poetics of production of political-cultural and identity-related statements, revealing a politics of difference radically permeated by the weight of the postcolonial memory and history in the contemporary Cape Verdean and Portuguese contexts."--Víctor Barros, University of Coimbra"Cape Verde, Let's Go! is an interesting and worthwhile study of diasporic racial, linguistic, and musical identity. . . . The book's greatest value. . . . is in bringing attention to an area of Europe--and to European colonial system--that is often eclipsed by focus on England, France, and Spain."--Anthropology Review Database

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewCertificate of Merit for Best Discography, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2017 "Recommended."--Choice"As part of the 'Music in American Life' series, this book is an essential introduction and study of the music of one of the greatest American composers of the twentieth century." --The Journal of American Culture"Is there a need for a book like this, a compendium of essays by scholars and experts in musicology, music history and sundry ancillary specialties? The answer is an emphatic yes… To return to Irving Berlin, 'ya don’t need any larning' to appreciate this most sophisticated and well educated of American songwriters, but the huge amount of detail and analysis packed into this book enhances that appreciation."--The Washington Times"A Cole Porter Companion is an important addition to scholarship on American musical theatre and popular music. . . . This is a good introduction to scholarly examinations of the work of one of the most beloved American composers."--Indiana Magazine if History"Though centered on one person and his undeniable talents, the compilation explores many different avenues and subtopics, keeping the subject fresh and enjoyable throughout."--Notes"A Cole Porter Companion is simply an indispensable, unadulterated joy of a book--required reading for anyone who loves music, lyrics, the theater, and of course the inimitable Cole Porter--from the non-music-reading fan to the most sophisticated and scholarly musicologist. A landmark volume, bridging the gap between academe and the general listener with a bubbly élan worthy of the master himself."--Maury Yeston"Anything goes?--not in the ruthless world of Tin Pan Alley. Of all the great American Songbook composers, Cole Porter is perhaps the hardest to fit into Broadway's 'Golden Age.' This fine guide suggests how best to do it."--Tim Carter, author of Oklahoma! The Making of an American Musical

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewExtremely stimulating. Clifton's early life, interests, and talents led him into many dramatic situations, which are masterfully described in Malone's biography. Bill Clifton made a wise choice in tapping Malone as his biographer.--Fred Bartenstein, editor of Bluegrass Bluesman: A MemoirA marvelous and wide-ranging biography of Bill Clifton by Bill Malone, the acknowledged dean of country music historians. Malone has added rich detail to our understanding of Clifton's musical context, particularly in bluegrass.--Ronald D. Cohen, co-author of Roots of the Revival: American and British Folk Music in the 1950s

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is important work, bringing the scholarship of sexuality into a fascinating new setting. The project required a rare combination of skills--musical understanding, rich knowledge of present-day Russian culture, and the talents of an ethnographer who can be accepted as a confidant by Russian gay men. The research will never be duplicated, and this book is of great value to scholars of popular music, popular culture generally, and sexuality."--Fred Everett Maus, Department of Music, University of Virginia"I thoroughly enjoyed Roll Over, Tchaikovsky! Amico has produced an intensive, well-argued study that should be read by anyone with an interest in today's Russia."--Eliot Borenstein, author of Overkill: Sex and Violence in Contemporary Russian Popular Culture

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Book SynopsisOne of the earliest performers on WSM in Nashville, Uncle Dave Macon became the Grand Ole Opry''s first superstar. His old-time music and energetic stage shows made him a national sensation and fueled a thirty-year run as one of America''s most beloved entertainers. Michael D. Doubler tells the amazing story of the Dixie Dewdrop, a country music icon. Born in 1870, David Harrison Macon learned the banjo from musicians passing through his parents'' Nashville hotel. After playing local shows in Middle Tennessee for decades, a big break led Macon to Vaudeville, the earliest of his two hundred-plus recordings and eventually to national stardom. Uncle Dave--clad in his trademark plug hat and gates-ajar collar--soon became the face of the Opry itself with his spirited singing, humor, and array of banjo picking styles. For the rest of his life, he defied age to tour and record prolifically, manage his business affairs, mentor up-and-comers like David Stringbean Akeman, and play with theTrade Review"Doubler does a wonderful job of telling Uncle Dave Macon’s story in a way that is interesting, entertaining, informative, and enjoyable." --Bluegrass Unlimited"Providing deep insights into Uncle Dave Macon, his family, and his music, this important biography traces the life of a pioneering American musician whose career spanned vaudeville, radio, recording, and film. Essential reading for anyone interested in American entertainment."--John W. Rumble, Senior Historian, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum​“Drawing skillfully on historical research and family lore, Doubler reveals the many sides of Uncle Dave Macon—performer, recording artist, star of the Grand Ole Opry, mentor, husband, and father. This is an affectionate and absorbing account of a profoundly important early country musician.”--Tony Russell, author of Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost"Dixie Dewdrop is a valuable book, one that country music historians and Uncle Dave's many fans will welcome." --ARSC Journal"Michael D. Doubler has given us a rich and highly nuanced portrait of the complex, highly gifted man who helped put country music on the map. As Macon's great-grandson, Doubler was able to draw on family archives and reminiscences that might otherwise be unavailable, and his excellent writing skills have allowed him to weave this material together into a compelling and entertaining narrative. " --Journal of Folklore Research"An eminently readable chronicle." --Rambles.Net

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewTimothy White Award for Musical Biography, ASCAP Foundation and Virgil Thomson Foundation, 2016 "Mr. Rimler tells an important story, and he presents musical analysis of Arlen’s compositional style in nonacademic terms, so that all readers can grasp how inventive Arlen really was."--Wall Street Journal"An endearing yet clear-eyed assessment of Harold Arlen. . . . For lovers of the Great American Songbook and for anyone who ever dreamed beyond the confines of practicality."--Library Journal "Highly readable, this could easily count as the perfect biography, well-researched but never overladen with detail, the always modest Arlen’s ‘bittersweet life’, in critic John Lahr’s words, elegantly conveyed.”--Peter Vacher, Jazzwise"To the point, simple to grasp, and an engaging read. I was fully drawn to Arlen the man and Arlen the songwriter and by the end sad to relinquish his acquaintance."--Stephen Banfield, author of Jerome Kern"There is still room for a short, stylish book aimed at general audiences, and Walter Rimler's The Man That Got Away: The Life and Songs of Harold Arlen fills that bill as well as it could possibly be filled. The author . . . offers pithy and readable accounts of Arlen's personal and professional lives. If you want to know what Harold Arlen was all about, you'll find it here."--Terry Teachout,The Weekly Standard"Required reading for those interested in American song. Recommended."--Choice"Rimler's study ensures that Arlen's story and his contributions to music will not be forgotten."--Publishers Weekly"Reading Mr. Rimler's sympathetic but unflinching account of Arlen's travails gives one an enhanced admiration for his productivity and the grit and determination that enabled him to produce such jewels amid such turmoil."--Washington Times “Fascinating. . . . Rimler provides countless pieces of information not previously known. . . . Rimler's work remains refreshingly unacademic and is a real pleasure to read."--ARSC Journal "The title of Walter Rimler's study of songwriter Harold Arlen's life and work says it all! Yet, despite Arlen's elusiveness as a man and an artist, Rimler does a fine job of conveying an appreciation for and the context of the composer's memorable musical output. In meticulously researched, cool, readable prose, the author admirably recreates the historical milieu of Arlen's world, placing the composer in the context of the 20th century Broadway and Hollywood songwriting traditions."--Fanfare "Walter Rimler's biography is not only chock-full of information, but with intimate, carefully researched, and heretofore unknown details, making it one of the most entertaining and readable portraits of the wizard Arlen--one of songdom's greatest composers--that has ever been written. This book does a remarkable thing--it allows words to describe music."--Martin Charnin, Tony Award–winning creator and director of Annie "Refreshingly down to earth. The Man That Got Away does what no other single volume has done: it combines a succinct account of Arlen's life with a nontechnical but useful description of his idiosyncratic songwriting style."--Larry Hamberlin, coauthor of Tin Pan Opera: Operatic Novelty Songs in the Ragtime Era

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Book SynopsisIn this new collection of interviews, Steve Cushing once again invites readers into the vaults of Blues Before Sunrise, his acclaimed nationally syndicated public radio show. Icons from Memphis Minnie to the Gay Sisters stand alongside figures like schoolteacher Flossie Franklin, who helped Leroy Carr pen some of his most famous tunes; saxman Abb Locke and his buddy Two-Gun Pete, a Chicago cop notorious for killing people in the line of duty; and Scotty The Dancing Tailor Piper, a font of knowledge on the black entertainment scene of his day. Cushing also devotes a section to religious artists, including the world-famous choir Wings Over Jordan and their travails touring and performing in the era of segregation. Another section focuses on the jazz-influenced Bronzeville scene that gave rise to Marl Young, Andrew Tibbs, and many others while a handful of Cushing's early brushes with the likes of Little Brother Montgomery, Sippi Wallace, and Blind John Davis round out the volume.DiverseTrade Review"Rarely are sequels better than the originals, but Blues Before Sunrise 2 is a happy exception. Cushing delivers another truly significant contribution to the blues literature."--Edward Komara, editor of Encyclopedia of the Blues "In this entertaining and informative collection of interviews, [Cushing] showcases many facets of the Chicago blues scene." --No Depression"By asking insightful questions and letting the artists speak for themselves, Cushing manages to bring to life the excitement of by-gone eras, and shines a light on the impact of obscure artists as well as known legends across several musical genres . . . Highly recommended!" --Blues Blast Magazine

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Book SynopsisDenise LaSalle''s journey took her from rural Mississippi to an unquestioned reign as the queen of soul-blues. From her early R&B classics to bold and bawdy demands for satisfaction, LaSalle updated the classic blueswoman''s stance of powerful independence while her earthy lyrics about relationships connected with generations of female fans. Off-stage, she enjoyed ongoing success as a record label owner, entrepreneur, and genre-crossing songwriter.As honest and no-nonsense as the artist herself, Always the Queen is LaSalle''s in-her-own-words story of a lifetime in music. Moving to Chicago as a teen, LaSalle launched a career in gospel and blues that eventually led to the chart-topping 1971 smash Trapped by a Thing Called Love and a string of R&B hits. She reinvented herself as a soul-blues artist as tastes changed and became a headliner on the revitalized southern soul circuit and at festivals nationwide and overseas. Revered for a tireless dedication to her music and f Trade ReviewA Chicago Sun-Times Must-Read Book "One of the great achievements of Whiteis’ writing is that he’s managed to imbue the autobiography with a clear sense of her voice. Throughout the book it’s very easy to hear LaSalle speaking the words on the page . . . Denise LaSalle may be Always the Queen; however, her story is not about elevated privilege but one of self-determination, hard work, and a refusal to accept limitations." --Living Blues"Make sure you grab a couple of her recordings to listen to while reading this fascinating volume that comes highly recommended!" --Blues Blast Magazine "LaSalle’s pride in being a songwriter, performer, and producer rings loudly, and she acknowledges that “God has been truly, truly good to me.” This is an empowering story, soulfully told." --Publishers Weekly”I've known Denise LaSalle for many years personally, professionally, and spiritually. Her legacy will live on forever. I am blessed to have been a 'Knight in Her Majesty's court.' Long live the Queen.”—Latimore"LaSalle is by turns rebellious, raunchy, worshipful, and tender. Readers will feel like they're listening to a woman nearing the end of her career share the lessons she learned on her musical journey." --Library Journal​"Reading Always the Queen The Denise LaSalle Story is like eating candy." --Southern Soul Rn"Captivating . . . . LaSalle testifies in Always the Queen, celebrating the freedom and strength of making her own music on her own terms. Though she may have left us, she’s given us this gift of her soulful voice and her moving ways of telling mesmerizing stories." --No Depression”Without the pioneering efforts of Denise LaSalle we probably wouldn't have many of the rap queens/divas we have today. In this book Denise tells all, from writing for romance rags as a teen to cannily carving out a singular career in the male-dominated music biz. Along the way, Denise runs into a string of characters—Ike Turner, Billy 'The Kid' Emerson, Millie Jackson, Bobby Rush, Willie Mitchell, even Bob Dylan. This book is as earthy, funny, and free of BS as one of LaSalle's songs, not to mention both eloquent and moving. David Whiteis, one of our most valuable music historians, clearly loves this Queen of the Blues and has crafted a memoir that would've made her proud. Essential reading for any R&B/soul/blues music lover.”—Jimmy McDonough, author of Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green ”Denise LaSalle went from picking cotton to singing gold. This intimate telling of her story takes us from the Mississippi farm to faraway places. Hers is a story of making it in the record business, hook and crook, firing on moxie, grit, luck—and a voice that always sounded like the truth. Like her singing, this book never loses its grit.”—Robert Gordon, author of Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion "This is a vibrant portrait of a singular blues artist." --Booklist "Even if you aren’t that familiar with LaSalle and only know a couple of her songs, her autobiography is a compelling page-turner, full of twists and turns that comprise her fascinating life and career, which parallel the timeline of music history and civil rights. Her struggles and determination are nothing less than inspiring." --Chicago Blues Guide "For those, who want to get acquainted with the human being behind the music, this is a good “X-ray” book. It brings Denise alive again. She speaks openly about all the issues, problems and also the good sides of her genre." --Soul Express "Always the Queen is LaSalle's victory lap, a catalogue of her successes and memorable moments in a 50-year career of recording and touring." --Chapter 16

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Book SynopsisFirst time in paperback and e-book! The jazz musician-composer-arranger Mary Lou Williams spent her sixty-year career working in—and stretching beyond—a dizzying range of musical styles. Her integration of classical music into her works helped expand jazz''s compositional language. Her generosity made her a valued friend and mentor to the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Her late-in-life flowering of faith saw her embrace a spiritual jazz oriented toward advancing the civil rights struggle and helping wounded souls. Tammy L. Kernodle details Williams''s life in music against the backdrop of controversies over women''s place in jazz and bitter arguments over the music''s evolution. Williams repeatedly asserted her artistic and personal independence to carve out a place despite widespread bafflement that a woman exhibited such genius. Embracing Williams''s contradictions and complexities, Kernodle also explores a personal liTrade Review"Recommended." --Choice "Diligently chronicles the life and times of the extraordinary innovator."--Jazz Times "Kernodle’s Soul on Soul serves as an essential text, working to set the record straight on one of the genre’s most significant—and conspicuously ignored—composers." --DownBeatTable of ContentsCoverTitleCopyrightContentsList of illustrationsAcknowledgmentsPrefae to the New EditionIntroduction1. I Dream a World2. Take Me to Froggy Bottom: The Early Musical Years3. From East Liberty (Pittsburgh) to Beale Street (Memphis) to Eighteenth and Vine (Kansas City)4. Until the Real Thing Comes Along: The Andy Kirk Years (1931– 42)5. How Do You Keep the Music Playing?6. Love on a Two-Way Street: Barney Josephson and Moe Asch7. Under the Signs of the Zodiac8. The Calm before the Storm9. The Crossroads10. The Long Journey Back Home11. What a Difference a Day Makes12. A Season of Change13. The Fruits of One’s LaborNotesBibliographySelected DiscographyIndexBack cover

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Book SynopsisThe local and regional shows staged throughout America use musical theater's inherent power of deception to cultivate worldviews opposed to mainstream ideas. Jake Johnson reveals how musical theater between the coasts inhabits the middle spaces between professional and amateur, urban and rural, fact and fiction, fantasy and reality, and truth and falsehood. The homegrown musical provides a space to engage belief and religionimagining a better world while creating opportunities to expand what is possible in the current one. Whether it is the Oklahoma Senior Follies or a Mormon splinter group's production of The Sound of Music, such productions give people a chance to jolt themselves out of today's post-truth malaise and move toward a world more in line with their desires for justice, reconciliation, and community. Vibrant and strikingly original, Lying in the Middle discovers some of the most potent musical theater taking place in the hoping, beating hearts of Americans.Trade Review"This book is very well written. . . . Highly recommended." --Choice"With an unlikely cast of polygamists, conservative Christians, senior citizens, and aspiring stars who end up cookie cutter performers, Johnson’s polemic for and against the Broadway musical (and how all of us use it) cuts to the heart of our post-truth moment."--Todd Decker, author of Show Boat: Performing Race in an American Musical"Refreshing and eye-opening . . . Lying in the Middle is an excellent exploration of what lies behind the musical and it is meant to be." --Kansas History

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Book SynopsisVenerated for his lyrics, Bob Dylan in fact is a songwriting musician with a unique mastery of merging his words with music and performance. Larry Starr cuts through pretention and myth to provide a refreshingly holistic appreciation of Dylan's music. Ranging from celebrated classics to less familiar compositions, Starr invites readers to reinvigorate their listening experiences by sharing his ownsometimes approaching a song from a fresh perspective, sometimes reeling in surprise at discoveries found in well-known favorites. Starr breaks down often-overlooked aspects of the works, from Dylan's many vocal styles to his evocative harmonica playing to his choices as a composer. The result is a guide that allows listeners to follow their own passionate love of music into hearing these songsand personal favoritesin new ways. Reader-friendly and revealing, Listening to Bob Dylan encourages hardcore fans and Dylan-curious seekers alike to rediscover the music legend.Trade Review"Starr's approach is fresh and stimulating. . . . Highly recommended." --Choice"Starr’s deep passion for helping listeners hear the intricate musical patterns of Dylan’s songs and albums provides the foundation for this out-of-the-ordinary guide to Dylan. The best way to read this book, of course, is to have Dylan’s music playing in the background to hear the patterns and sounds Starr encourages us to hear." --No Depression "Compact and cogent, Listening to Bob Dylan is directed to the general public, not musicologists. Starr describes Dylan’s sophisticated development of nuances, musical stress points that shift the tone of his performance and the meaning of his words. " --Shepherd Express "A fascinating, worthwhile study of Bob Dylan as poet, vocalist, composer, and performer. If you’re looking for a guide to Dylan’s methods, his genius, and what’s on the tracks, don’t think twice." --Library Journal (starred review) ​​“In this fresh and expansive book, Starr invites us to reach beyond the Nobel-winning lyrics and finally hear the brilliance of Dylan's work as a performer, arranger, composer, and vocal stylist. Each chapter is a lively, accessible masterclass that will make you return again to even the most familiar songs with a sense of wonder and surprise.”--Sean Latham, editor of The World of Bob Dylan “Larry Starr’s Listening to Bob Dylan is a refreshing addition to the ever-growing literature about Bob Dylan. Unlike most books on the subject, which tend toward extensive biography, exhaustive lyrical analysis, or trivia-based one-upmanship, Starr takes a relatively novel tack: he approaches Dylan as a musician. Drawing upon his decades of popular music study and pedagogy, Starr deftly navigates Dylan’s six-decade career in a manner that is both informative and accessible, but most of all it is a pure joy to read.”--Mark A. Davidson, Archives Director, The Bob Dylan ArchiveTable of ContentsPreface vii 1 Not by Words Alone 1 2 Folksinger, Bluesman, Rocker, Crooner: The Many Voices of Bob Dylan 11 3 His Other Voice: Bob Dylan’s Essential Harmonica 33 4 Bob Dylan as Composer, I: Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm 47 5 Bob Dylan as Composer, II: Musical Form 65 6 Accompanying Bob Dylan: Instruments, Instrumentalists, Singers 81 7 Arranging an Album 89 8 Bob Dylan in Live Performance: Documenting a Musical Shape-Shifter 97 9 Bringing It All Back Home (Pulling It All Together) 111 Acknowledgments 121 A Very Selective Bibliography 123 Subject Index 125 Song Index 131

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Reali’s cultural history of the magical, mystical Shoals captures the multifaceted layers of this little Alabama spot that produced so much storied music from artists as diverse as Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, and the Osmond family." --No Depression"A fascinating study of a musical microcosm, reveling in contradictions and debunking myths. " --Kirkus Reviews"Grounded in oral histories and meticulous archival research, Reali's work takes us deep into the story of the Muscle Shoals sound, providing additional complexity and context that helps to answer the question scholars and music enthusiasts have been asking for over half a century: 'Why Muscle Shoals?'" --Carolyn M. Crawford, Director, Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area"Reali’s work successfully shatters misconceptions about soul music and an identifiable Shoals sound." --Library Journal ​​"Reali’s meticulous research--including his use of original oral histories and new archival finds--situates Muscle Shoals’s rich musical history within a broader understanding of its impact on pop music and culture in the United States."--Charles L. Hughes, author of Country Soul: Making Music and Making Race in the American South"Reali's account is fascinating, essential reading for anyone interested in American music and cultural history." --Shepherd Express"Thanks to a fine effort by the author, readers can now enjoy a well-rounded, succinct history of Muscle Shoals, and many of the musical highlights that have been created there over the last seven decades. A solid addition to the College of Musical Knowledge!" --Blues Blast Magazine"Music and Mystique in Muscle Shoals is among the rarest of nonfiction books that require no subtitle. It is one of many details that makes Christopher M. Reali's account an outstanding contribution to the understanding of not only Muscle Shoals and its music but also the wider postwar South." --Journal of Southern History

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Book SynopsisAs a member of Poster Children, Rose Marshack took part in entwined revolutions. Marshack and other women seized a much-elevated profile in music during the indie rock breakthrough while the advent of new digital technologies transformed the recording and marketing of music. Touring in a van, meeting your idols, juggling a programming job with music, keeping control and credibility, the perils of an independent record label (and the greater perils of a major)—Marshack chronicles the band’s day-to-day life and punctuates her account with excerpts from her tour reports and hard-learned lessons on how to rock, program, and teach while female. She also details the ways Poster Children applied punk’s DIY ethos to digital tech as a way to connect with fans via then-new media like pkids listservs, internet radio, and enhanced CDs. An inside look at a scene and a career, Play Like a Man is the evocative and humorous tale of one woman’s life in the trenches andTrade Review"Following decades of fan engagement through road diaries and groundbreaking podcast predecessor Radio Zero, Poster Children bassist Rose Marshack has gathered stories and experience for this fast-paced and wide-ranging, but well-balanced rock/tech/spiritual memoir. Hard-won lessons, road stories, tech geekery, entertaining anecdotes and lessons from the Buddha are plentiful. . . . [A] stirring memoir." --Illinois Entertainer"For music fans in Central Illinois, I highly recommend Marshack’s book, which she finished after five years of writing and editing. It’s a phenomenal model of what music journalism should be, exemplified by comprehensive documentation and peer review — plus just enough swear words to keep you chuckling as you reach for the next page." --Pantagraph"For readers interested in the indie music scene, touring life, and female rockers." --Booklist"Reflective, humorous, and rousing, Play Like a Man is an exuberant memoir—a musical and feminist testament." --Foreword Reviews"A funny, warm, honest, and brilliant memoir from the bassist of American indie rock band Poster Children — a work to which all other music memoirs could aspire. . . . One of the all-time best music memoirs." --Louder than War"An inspirational account of changing times. " --Big Takeover“This kind of tour report from a female musician is so rare and essential in documenting women’s role in punk and music history. At the same time, the work that Poster Children did in contributing to the early use of the internet and social media and web design is important to think about around independent music and punk--really, around the music industry in general.”--Rebekah Buchanan, author of Writing a Riot: Riot Grrrl Zines and Feminist Rhetorics“The Poster Children were a smart, stubborn, self-reliant independent band that suddenly found itself surrounded by the ambitious puffery of hopeful tourist musicians. They navigated the problematic ocean of ‘Alternative Music’ that rose up in the 1990s and lived to tell the tale. Rose was central to that mission and should be considered a trustworthy and experienced reporter!”--Ian MacKaye, Fugazi and Minor Threat “I have seen Rose Marshack play with her band the Poster Children many times, and her presence onstage is precisely like her writing, energetic, warm, and completely involved. This memoir is beautiful and frank, and does a fantastic job of bringing the reader into the private thoughts of a woman coming of age in a vibrant music community, immediately finding things to cling to and battles that need fighting. Her story will resonate not just with everyone who lived through this era, but anyone who's ever found their passion and community in music. I admire Rose tremendously and I'm glad she decided to tell us her story.” --Steve AlbiniTable of ContentsList of Tour Reports PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart One. 1980s: CollegeChapter 1. Origin StoryChapter 2. The Scene at CollegeChapter 3. Punk Bands in DormsChapter 4. ComputersChapter 5. Play Like a ManPart Two. 1987-1992: Pre-major Label LifeChapter 6. The Indie Code of EthicsChapter 7. LocalChapter 8. RegionalChapter 9. NationalPart Three. 1993-1996: Major Label LifeChapter 10. Mashed PotatoesChapter 11. RecordingChapter 12. TouringChapter 13. Radio SucksChapter 14. Computer ExperimentsChapter 15. ExpectationsChapter 16. Big ChangesPart Four. 1997: Post Major LabelChapter 17. Online ParticipationChapter 18. Life as a WomanChapter 19. How to Look at ThingsChapter 20. TeachingAppendix: List of Poster Children AlumniNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A culturally rich topography of Black Houston and its heritage. . . . Wilkins' work stands out for its closeness to the ground, its rootedness in the city's people and places. Welcome 2 Houston goes well beyond the beats and rhymes, and even the cars. It's a lived-in academic portrait of a part of the city often overlooked, a community that, through trials and triumphs, is still tippin'." --Houston Chronicle“In Welcome 2 Houston, Langston Collin Wilkins examines hip hop’s deep connections to space, place, and heritage by weaving interviews, observations, and his own Houston upbringing into a richly informative and emotionally resonant work about an essential part of Black Americana.”--Eric Harvey, author of Who Got the Camera? A History of Rap and RealityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. If You Go Down to Houston Chapter 2. Everybody Inherits the Hood Chapter 3. Still Tippin Chapter 4. Gotta Come Down, Gotta Rep the Hood Chapter 5. TURNIN HEADZ Chapter 6. One City Under God Conclusion Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Comprehensive, rigorous, and accessible--qualities that don’t always coincide. This book tackles flamenco history, structure, and culture in a way that is professional and compassionate. Literature on flamenco often undiscerningly presents a jumble of facts, hypothesis, suppositions, stories, and legends; this work masterfully untangles these and even-handedly dissects several polemics. One of the most important contributions to the field.”--John Moore, flamenco guitaristTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Part I. History 1 Pre-Flamenco Music 2 The Café Cantante Period, 1860-1920s 3 From Stagnation to Revival Part II. Structure and Forms in Flamenco 4 Structure 5 The Flamenco Repertoire: Description and Analysis 6 Flamenco Lyrics Part III. Flamenco Culture 7 The Contemporary Scene 8 Perspectives on Flamenco Culture Glossary Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisShares anecdotes from musicians, employees, and family members to trace the colourful history of one of America's most innovative record companiesTrade ReviewKennedy eloquently and informatively connects all these pieces together to form a clear, informative, and delightfully entertaining read. He breathes new life into the legacy of Gennett Records and fully enmeshes the readers into a world when then unknown musicians rambled to a dusty Midwestern piano factory to record their music. Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy will surely satisfy an audience of jazz buffs, historians, or anyone seeking a revealing account of a greenhorn music industry. * PopMatters *Kennedy's book comes highly recommended. His writing style is entertaining and informative. By describing the personal characteristics of Gennett's principal owners, the reader can easily keep all of the various characters straight. Further, Kennedy's wide-ranging appreciation for American music makes the reader want to hear these recordings. The Gennetts may not have fully appreciated the music they recorded, but Rick Kennedy makes up for that many times over. * Jazz History Online *Table of ContentsForeword by Ted GioiaGennett Records TimelineIntroduction1. A Music Dynasty in Victorian Indiana2. A New Wind Is Blowing through Chicago3. Jazz Hysteria in the Hoosier State4. Old-Time Music in the New Electronic Era5. When Gennett Records Gets the Blues6. Yet the Music Lives OnSuggested Listening: Fifty Classics by Gennett RecordsNotesSelected BibliographyIndexIndex of Songs

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Book SynopsisNot only the life story of a jazz musician and spokesman but also a commentary on racism and jazz as a social forceTrade ReviewThe Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor . . . does his high esteem justice. Without sacrificing the man's integrity, the book captures Dr. Taylor's wide-eyed enthusiasm for jazz and for his missions to further the music's tradition and expand its audience. * JazzTimes *...Those of us who had the privilege of hearing him speak will recognize how accurately Reed captures his spirit and his enthusiasm for the music to which he dedicated his life. * NPR *This must-read collaboration weaves not only the story of a highly esteemed jazz great and genre ambassador, but it is also a narrative on racism and the social influence of jazz. * Smooth Jazz News *This book (including Dr. Teresa L. Reed's eloquent introduction) captures with great clarity and accuracy the character of this man. Taylor not only always aspired to excellence, he was also humble and generous of word and deed. The Jazz Life of Dr. Billy Taylor provides the backstory of why he must be remembered as one of the major leading lights of America's classical music. * New York City Jazz Record *[C]o-author Reed has done an exemlary job of making the story flow in Taylor's own words. * Jazzwise *Table of ContentsIntroductionChronology of the Life of William Edward Taylor Jr.1. Beginnings: 1921–19382. College Years: 1938–19423. Making Waves: 1943–19464. The Subject Is Jazz: 1946–19585. From "Tobacco Tags" to the Urban Airwaves: 1959–19686. How It Feels to Be Free: 1969–19907. ReflectionsDiscographySelected Publications Authored by Dr. Billy TaylorIndex

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Book SynopsisCombines ethnographic research with music, media, and policy analysis to examine how localized forms of hip hop create social and political spaces where an interracial youth culture can speak to issues of human rights and racial equality.Trade ReviewHip Hop Ukraine portrays the music as a forceful influence on worldwide social and cultural expression. Its origins in the American dispossessed gave a voice to many who identified with a similar race/class/ethnic experience, which has become tailored to local contingencies. Nevertheless, as Helbig suggests, despite the complexity that is hip hop, at times the music is in practice the expression of an individual voice and about how that voice is used to silence others. Thus Hip Hop Ukraine also speaks to that which can become lost in translation. * Slavonic and East European Review *This is a unique and admirable book that traces a complex trail from hip hop created by African migrants in Ukraine through remote African-American infl uences to their origins in Uganda and back again. * Slavic Review *Table of ContentsEthnomusicology Multimedia Series PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Music and Black Identity in the Soviet Union2. Music and Black Experiences in Post-Soviet Ukraine3. Commercial and Underground Hip Hop in Ukraine4. Afro-Ukrainian Hip Hop Fusion5. Hip Hop in UgandaEpilogueGlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisCombines ethnographic research with music, media, and policy analysis to examine how localized forms of hip hop create social and political spaces where an interracial youth culture can speak to issues of human rights and racial equality.Trade ReviewHip Hop Ukraine portrays the music as a forceful influence on worldwide social and cultural expression. Its origins in the American dispossessed gave a voice to many who identified with a similar race/class/ethnic experience, which has become tailored to local contingencies. Nevertheless, as Helbig suggests, despite the complexity that is hip hop, at times the music is in practice the expression of an individual voice and about how that voice is used to silence others. Thus Hip Hop Ukraine also speaks to that which can become lost in translation. * Slavonic and East European Review *This is a unique and admirable book that traces a complex trail from hip hop created by African migrants in Ukraine through remote African-American infl uences to their origins in Uganda and back again. * Slavic Review *Table of ContentsEthnomusicology Multimedia Series PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Music and Black Identity in the Soviet Union2. Music and Black Experiences in Post-Soviet Ukraine3. Commercial and Underground Hip Hop in Ukraine4. Afro-Ukrainian Hip Hop Fusion5. Hip Hop in UgandaEpilogueGlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMark Pedelty's A Song to Save the Salish Sea is an engaging and accessible examination of contemporary environmentalist popular music in the Salish Sea region of the Pacific Northwest. * Journal of the Society for American Music *Invaluable for its capacity to arouse musical activism, A Song of the Salish Sea introduces a group of musicians whose dedication, courage, and longevity stand as an example of how to motivate action through music. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *A Song to Save the Salish Sea offers valuable insight into the ways that a diverse community of environmentally oriented musicians, and musically oriented environmentalists, engage with a variety of key issues. * Notes *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Bellingham's Dana Lyons: The Artful Activist2. Victoria's Raging Grannies: An Unstoppable Force3. North America's Idle No More: The Aural Art of Protest 4. Vancouver's Bobs & Lolo: Raindrop Pop5. Surrey's Artist Response Team: ART for Ecology6. Orcas Island's Irthlingz: Community Art as Activism7. Victoria's Towers and Trees: Together Alone OnlineConclusion: Common Themes and ConnectionsDiscographyBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is a real treasure trove, full of fascinating stories. It acts as a fine example of academic inquiry that creatively probes hip-hop's practices, providing context for the form's usage across the Eastern Bloc.The authors of this edited volume do not romanticize and heroize the genre by automatically equating it with political opposition, a fate often suffered by rock before. Instead, the book has to be given much credit for presenting a very nuanced picture of hip hop's entanglement—or non-entanglement, for that matter—with politics in this wide stretch of the world, past and present. * The Russian Review *The volume represents a valuable and timely contribution to the study of popular culture in central and eastern Europe. Hip Hop at Europe's Edge will not only appeal to readers interested in contemporary popular culture in central and eastern Europe, but also inspire future research on post-socialism's unique local adaptations of global cultural trends. * The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review *The reviewed book is an important contribution to existing scholarship on hip-hop culture. It enhances the history of hip-hop with knowledge of how the idioms of this genre have been adopted and reincarnated through a prism of east European culture. The value of the book should also be weighed in the context of colonial/post-colonial and communist/post-communist studies. The authors show how hip-hop has served social and political needs during the challenging period of transition from communism to capitalism, and how it continues to help newly-independent nation-states define their new status in Europe.Overall, Hip Hop at Europe's Edge is a notable addition to hip-hop and music scholarship. It is increasingly timely, given current geopolitical affairs. * Notes *All in all, with its interdisciplinary approaches, the volume makes an important step in opening up a hitherto overlooked region for the study of hip hop. It is therefore a highly welcome addition to the growing number of publications making research of hip hop in Europe available in English. * Music and Letters *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction / Adriana Helbig and Milosz MiszczynskiPart 1: Hip Hop, Postsocialism, and Democracy1. Rapping into Power: The Use of Hip Hop in Albanian Politics / Gentian Elezi and Elona Toska2. Nothing Left to Lose: Hip Hop in Bosnia-Herzegovina / Jasmin Mujanović3. Russian Rap in the Era of Vladimir Putin / Philip Ewell4. Rap Music as a Cultural Mediator in Post-Conflict Yugoslavia / Alexandra BaladinaPart 2: Hip Hop and Emerging Market Economies5. Diesel Power: Serbian Hip Hop from the Pleasure of the Privileged to Mass Youth Culture / Goran Musić and Predrag Vukčević6. "The Underground is for Beggars": Slovak Rap at the Center of National Popular Culture / Peter Barrer7. Music, Technology, and Shifts in Popular Culture: Making Hip Hop in e-Estonia / Triin Vallaste8. Wearing Nikes for a Reason: A Critical Analysis of Brand Usage in Polish Rap / Milosz Miszczynski and Przemyslaw TomaszewskiPart 3: Hip Hop on the Margins9. Cosmopolitan Inscriptions? Mimicry, Rap, and Rurbanity in Post-socialist Albania / Nicholas Tochka 10. Violence as Existential Punctuation: Russian Hip Hop in the Age of Late Capitalism / Alexandre Gontchar11. Unmasking Expressions in Turkish Rap/Hip Hop Culture: Contestation and Construction of Alternatıve Identities Through Localizatıon in Arabesk Music / Nuran Erol Işik and Murat Can Basaran12. Hip Hop as a Means of Flight from 'Gypsy Ghetto' in Eastern Europe / Michal Ruzicka, Alena Kajanova, Veronika Zvánovcová, and Tomas Mrhalek13. Rapping the Changes in North-East Siberia: Hip Hop, Urbanization, and Sakha Ethnicity / Aimar Ventsel and Eleanor PeersPart 4: Hip Hop and Global Circulations of Blackness14. La haine et les autres crimes: Ghettocentric Imagery in Serbian Hip Hop Videos / Irena Šentevska 15. The Power of the Words: Discourses of Authenticity in Czech Rap Music / Anna Oravcová16. "Keep it 360": (Re)envisioning The Cultural and Racial Roots of Hip Hop through DJ Rhetoric and Ethnography / Todd CraigList of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewMark Pedelty's A Song to Save the Salish Sea is an engaging and accessible examination of contemporary environmentalist popular music in the Salish Sea region of the Pacific Northwest. * Journal of the Society for American Music *Invaluable for its capacity to arouse musical activism, A Song of the Salish Sea introduces a group of musicians whose dedication, courage, and longevity stand as an example of how to motivate action through music. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice *A Song to Save the Salish Sea offers valuable insight into the ways that a diverse community of environmentally oriented musicians, and musically oriented environmentalists, engage with a variety of key issues. * Notes *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Bellingham's Dana Lyons: The Artful Activist2. Victoria's Raging Grannies: An Unstoppable Force3. North America's Idle No More: The Aural Art of Protest 4. Vancouver's Bobs & Lolo: Raindrop Pop5. Surrey's Artist Response Team: ART for Ecology6. Orcas Island's Irthlingz: Community Art as Activism7. Victoria's Towers and Trees: Together Alone OnlineConclusion: Common Themes and ConnectionsDiscographyBibliographyIndex

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