Popular music Books

Book SynopsisIn what was a momentous year of social change, the Rolling Stones experienced the most significant twelve months of their career. At the start of 1969, they were a successful blues band returning to their rock’n’roll roots after a recent experiment with psychedelia. By December, they had released the classic album Let It Bleed, lost one of their founding members, played an era-defining concert at Hyde Park to half a million people and witnessed a fan stabbed to death at Altamont Speedway. With a notorious 1967 drug bust on their CV and a career finally coming out from under the shadow of their rivals The Beatles, everything – the good, the bad and the ugly – suddenly crystallised for the Stones as the Swinging Sixties stumbled to a close. Rolling Stones 69 is the definitive account of the transformative year that saw the Stones truly earn their reputation as “the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world”.

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Book SynopsisIan Hunter's fifty-year-long career and extensive repertoire of percipient, creative songs have earned him a reputation as a true rock phenomenon. This first part of a two-volume, authorised biography charts Ian's unique musical journey from his formative rock 'n' roll years to his commercial success as the face and voice of legendary Seventies British band, Mott the Hoople. Featuring insider accounts of the group's roller coaster ride and international triumphs via classic records including `All the Young Dudes', `Roll Away the Stone' and MOTT, this captivating book exposes personal trials and tribulations, the bizarre aspects of the rock business and the absurdity of music-related fame. Based on interviews with Hunter, all his Hoople band mates and an impressive cast of supporting characters, Rock 'n' Roll Sweepstakes: Mott's the Story is a fascinating, frank biography of a highly influential band and a special music icon.

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Book SynopsisDefining 'Australian metal' is a challenge for scene members and researchers alike. Australian metal has long been situated in a complex relationship between local and global trends, where the geographic distance between Australia and metal music's seemingly traditional centres in the United States and United Kingdom have meant that metal in Australia has been isolated from international scenes. While numerous metal scenes exist throughout the country, 'Australian metal' itself, as a style, as a sound, and as a signifier, is a term which cannot be easily defined. This book considers the multiple ways in which 'Australianness' has been experienced, imagined, and contested throughout historical periods, within particular subgenres, and across localised metal scenes. In doing so, the collection not only explores what can be meant by Australian metal, but what can be meant by 'Australian' more generally. With chapters from researchers and practitioners across Australia, each chapter maps the distinct ways in which 'Australianness' has been grappled with in the identities, scenes, and cultures of heavy metal in the country. Authors address the question of whether there is anything particularly 'Australian' about Australian metal music, finding that often the 'Australianness' of Australian metal is articulated through wider, mythologised archetypes of national identity. However, this collection also reveals how Australianness can manifest in metal in ways that can challenge stereotypical imaginings of national identity, and assert new modes of being metal 'downungerground'.Trade ReviewThis volume brings together seven chapters by music, media studies, and other researchers from Australia, the UK, and New Zealand, who consider how national identity impacts the scenes, cultures, and practices of heavy metal in Australia. They explore masculine genealogies and trajectories, particularly the key characteristics of heavy metal in its early days in Australia, the development of extreme metal scenes in the late 1980s, and how trajectories of Australian masculinity emerged in contemporary settings and the subgenre of metalcore; local scenes in Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, with discussion of female metal musicians and grindcore; and cultures of resistance in Australian metal, including the Muslim blackened death metal band Hazeen and its response to Islamophobia, and the environmental concerns and ecological anxieties of Australian metal. -- Annotation ©2019 * (protoview.com) *Table of ContentsCritical Introduction: What is 'Australian' about Australian Heavy Metal?; Catherine Hoad PART I: Australian Metal Identities: Masculine Genealogies and Trajectories Chapter 1. Heavy Metal Kids: A Historiographical Exploration of Australian Proto-heavy Metal in the 1960s-70s; Paul 'Nazz' Oldham Chapter 2. 'A Blaze in the Northern Suburbs': Australian Extreme Metal's Larrikinish Lineage; Sam Vallen Chapter 3. 'We're Just Normal Dudes': Hegemonic Masculinity, Australian Identity, and Parkway Drive; Samuel Whiting, Paige Klimentou, and Ian Rogers PART II: Australian Metal Scenes in the East and West Chapter 4. 'I Think Sydney's Pretty Shit': Melbourne Grindcore Fans and Their Others; Rosemary Overell Chapter 5. Frontierswomen and the Perth Scene: Female Metal Musicians on the 'Western Front' and the Construction of the Gothic Sublime; Laura Glitsos PART III: Cultures of Resistance in Australian Metal Chapter 6. Creeping Sharia: An Extreme Response to Islamophobia; Can Yalcinkaya and Safdar Ahmed Chapter 7. 'This is the Funeral of the Earth': The 'Dead-end' Environmental Discourses of Australian Ecometal; Ian Collinson Afterword. Being Metal, Being Australian? Reflections and an Afterword; Karl Spracklen Appendix A. Seminal Australian Metal Albums: A List by the Contributors

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Book SynopsisTake a journey into the extraordinary world of healing sound and embark upon a powerful exploration of the science and magic of crystal singing bowls.Fascinating discoveries in science and medicine are revealing the many ways sound affects us at both a biological and an emotional level. At a time when people are seeking solace and healing as never before, distinguished musician and crystal singing bowl master teacher Jeralyn Glass has penned an intriguing narrative that impactfully shows how you can embrace the healing power of music.Sacred Vibrations shares the remarkable story of the Glass's rise to acclaim as a Broadway and opera singer who graced some of the world's most celebrated stages. We walk with her as she shares her exploration of the healing power of music that traces its roots to primitive humanity. We learn from the wisdom and scientific research of her friends and colleagues who are bringing the study of sound and music to an epic cresce

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Book SynopsisRoger Daltrey is the voice of a generation.That generation was the first to rebel, to step out of the shadows of the Second World War... to invent the concept of the teenager.This is the story from his birth at the height of the Blitz, through tempestuous school days to his expulsion, age 15, for various crimes and misdemeanours within a strict school system. Thanks to Mr Kibblewhite, his authoritarian headmaster, it could all have ended there. The life of a factory worker beckoned.But then came rock and roll. He made his first guitar from factory off-cuts. He formed a band. The band became The Who - Maximum R&B - and, by luck and by sheer bloody-mindedness, Roger Daltrey became the frontman of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.This is the story of My Generation, Tommy and Quadrophenia, of smashed guitars, exploding drums, cars in swimming pools, fights, arrests and redecorated hotel rooms.But it is also the story of how that post-war generation redefined the rules of youth. Out of that, the modern music industry was born - and it wasn't an easy birth. Money, drugs and youthful exuberance were a dangerous mix. This is as much a story of survival as it is of success.Four years in the making, this is the first time Roger Daltrey has told his story. It is not just his own hilarious and frank account of more than 50 wild years on the road. It is the definitive story of The Who and of the sweeping revolution that was British rock 'n' roll.

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Book Synopsis'Bookended by tragedy, shot through with violence, ultimately uplifting' Guardian'An insight into a singular artist' New Statesman'Fierce, funny and indomitable' Observer'My tears were relentlessly pricked by Tricky's memoir' Daily Telegraph Tricky is one of the most original music artists to emerge from the UK in the past 30 years. His signature sound, coupled with deep, questioning lyrics, took the UK by storm in the early 1990s and was part of the soundtrack that defined the post-rave generation.This unique, no-holds barred autobiography is not only a portrait of an incredible artist - it is also a gripping slice of social history packed with extraordinary anecdotes and voices from the margins of society. Tricky examines how his creativity has helped him find a different path to that of his relatives, some of whom were bare-knuckle fighters and gangsters, and how his mother's suicide has had a lifelong effect on him, both creatively and psychologically. With his unique heritage and experience, his story will be one of the most talked-about music autobiographies of the decade.Trade ReviewMy tears were relentlessly pricked by Tricky's memoir * Daily Telegraph *Tricky is that rarity, a famous person genuinely appalled by fame. This book is an insight into a singular artist -- Julie Burchill * New Statesman *Although bookended by tragedy, and shot through with violence and abuse, Hell Is Round the Corner proves an ultimately uplifting read, the testament of a fierce, funny and seemingly indomitable spirit * Observer *

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Book SynopsisA Telegraph Book of the YearA Guardian Book of the YearA Shindig Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the YearAwarded the certificate of merit in the 2023 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for ExcellenceIn 1970, pop was in trouble. The Beatles were no more. Pink Floyd devoted themselves to progressive epics. Led Zeppelin dismissed anything beyond their 'musical statements' as childish frippery. Thankfully, help was on its way.This comprehensive chronicle by music historian Will Hodgkinson explores how an unlikely mix of backroom songwriters, revitalised rockers, actors, producers, teen stars and children turned pop into the dominant sound and vision of the 1970s.While bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were ruling the albums chart, the singles chart was swinging along to the tune of million-selling blockbusters by the likes of Brotherhood of Man, the Sweet and the Wombles. These were the songs you heard on Radio 1, during Saturday-night TV, at youth clubs, down the pub and even emanating from your parents' record player...It was never cool, but it was the real soundtrack of the decade.Against a rainy, smog-filled backdrop of three-day weeks, national strikes, IRA bombings and the Winter of Discontent, this unrelenting stream of novelty songs, sentimental ballads, glam-rock stomps and blatant rip-offs offered escape, uplift, romance and the promise of eternal childhood - all released with one goal in mind: a smash hit.In Perfect Harmony takes the reader on a journey through the most colour-saturated era in music, examining the core themes and camp spectacle of '70s singalong pop, as well as its reverberations through British culture since. This is the pioneering social history of a musical revolution.Trade Review'Will has painted a colourful picture of my life in this business, and in fact paints a colourful picture of the entire '70s in Great Britain.' -- Suzi Quatro'Instead of walking the byways and backwaters of '70s pop, Will Hodgkinson heads straight down the high street. So many of these names that soundtracked everyday life turn out to have been overlooked and their stories undocumented - the results of Hodgkinson's research are hugely entertaining and informative. A terrific read and a valuable book, too.' -- Bob Stanley'Full of bold characters and strange stories, In Perfect Harmony might start out Middle of the Road but it takes audacious left turns all the way. 4/5' -- Mojo'A delightful, perceptive celebration of that decade's chartbusters, which the canon tends to ignore. A splendid, overdue rehabilitation for the era's junkshop geniuses. 4/5' -- Record Collector'Highly entertaining, a treasure trove of primary colours ... awash with startling trivia.' -- Daily Mail'Epic.' -- The Scotsman'What a wonderful book, polished and classy, with a genuine insight into the world of '70s singalong pop and the awesome magic of an unforgettable "tune" .' -- Thereza Bazar'Such a fluid, well-written read ... every page a new surprising story of hits we took for granted.' -- Miki Berenyi'A thorough, accurate and insightful recreation of the times and the tunes ... A wonderful work.' -- Paul Williams'A glorious cavalcade of the sort of acts who are used in BBC Four documentaries about punk and the Winter of Discontent to illustrate the inevitability of Thatcherism - but actually serve to remind us of the ingenuity and sheer wackiness of that much-maligned decade, the 1970s.' -- Travis Elborough'Will Hodgkinson has written a very thorough, thoughtful and hugely entertaining book detailing the cultural and musical heritage of the UK in the 1970s.' -- Barry Blue'An authoritative read.' -- Shindig'An illuminating and marvellously entertaining delight.' -- Hot Press'Definitive.' -- The Times'What better way to treat the music lover in your life than to stuff a copy of this book into their (extra-large) stocking?' -- Louder Than War'The stories shared in Hodgkinson's astounding portrait will make you reassess the entire era.' -- Virgin Radio'The sort of book you never want to end.' -- Pete Paphides'Terrific.' -- Jonathan Coe

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Book SynopsisA Telegraph Book of the YearA Guardian Book of the YearA Shindig Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the YearAwarded the certificate of merit in the 2023 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for ExcellenceIn 1970, pop was in trouble. The Beatles were no more. Pink Floyd devoted themselves to progressive epics. Led Zeppelin dismissed anything beyond their 'musical statements' as childish frippery. Thankfully, help was on its way.This comprehensive chronicle by music historian Will Hodgkinson explores how an unlikely mix of backroom songwriters, revitalised rockers, actors, producers, teen stars and children turned pop into the dominant sound and vision of the 1970s.While bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were ruling the albums chart, the singles chart was swinging along to the tune of million-selling blockbusters by the likes of Brotherhood of Man, the Sweet and the Wombles. These were the songs you heard on Radio 1, during Saturday-night TV, at youth clubs, down the pub and even emanating from your parents' record player...It was never cool, but it was the real soundtrack of the decade.Against a rainy, smog-filled backdrop of three-day weeks, national strikes, IRA bombings and the Winter of Discontent, this unrelenting stream of novelty songs, sentimental ballads, glam-rock stomps and blatant rip-offs offered escape, uplift, romance and the promise of eternal childhood - all released with one goal in mind: a smash hit.In Perfect Harmony takes the reader on a journey through the most colour-saturated era in music, examining the core themes and camp spectacle of '70s singalong pop, as well as its reverberations through British culture since. This is the pioneering social history of a musical revolution.Trade Review'Will has painted a colourful picture of my life in this business, and in fact paints a colourful picture of the entire '70s in Great Britain.' -- Suzi Quatro'Instead of walking the byways and backwaters of '70s pop, Will Hodgkinson heads straight down the high street. So many of these names that soundtracked everyday life turn out to have been overlooked and their stories undocumented - the results of Hodgkinson's research are hugely entertaining and informative. A terrific read and a valuable book, too.' -- Bob Stanley'Full of bold characters and strange stories, In Perfect Harmony might start out Middle of the Road but it takes audacious left turns all the way. 4/5' -- Mojo'A delightful, perceptive celebration of that decade's chartbusters, which the canon tends to ignore. A splendid, overdue rehabilitation for the era's junkshop geniuses. 4/5' -- Record Collector'Highly entertaining, a treasure trove of primary colours ... awash with startling trivia.' -- Daily Mail'Epic.' -- The Scotsman'What a wonderful book, polished and classy, with a genuine insight into the world of '70s singalong pop and the awesome magic of an unforgettable "tune" .' -- Thereza Bazar'Such a fluid, well-written read ... every page a new surprising story of hits we took for granted.' -- Miki Berenyi'A thorough, accurate and insightful recreation of the times and the tunes ... A wonderful work.' -- Paul Williams'A glorious cavalcade of the sort of acts who are used in BBC Four documentaries about punk and the Winter of Discontent to illustrate the inevitability of Thatcherism - but actually serve to remind us of the ingenuity and sheer wackiness of that much-maligned decade, the 1970s.' -- Travis Elborough'Will Hodgkinson has written a very thorough, thoughtful and hugely entertaining book detailing the cultural and musical heritage of the UK in the 1970s.' -- Barry Blue'An authoritative read.' -- Shindig'An illuminating and marvellously entertaining delight.' -- Hot Press

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the Penderyn Music Book PrizeAn Uncut Magazine Book of the Year A Rough Trade Book of the Year A Resident Book of the YearThe story of soul legend P.P. Arnold is one of musical highs, personal lows and extraordinary endurance.From her origins in powerhouse church gospel, the talented singer's performing career began at the age of just seventeen when she joined the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. But little did the young Ikette know that her world was about to be turned upside-down...Upon arriving in London in 1966 to support the Rolling Stones, the shy but vivacious teenager caught the eye of frontman Mick Jagger. He would persuade her to stay in the city and record as a solo artist, ultimately leading to a five-decade career working with everyone from Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, the Small Faces, Nick Drake and Barry Gibb to Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, the KLF, Paul Weller and Primal Scream.However, it has been far from a gilded life for the soul superstar. After being forced into marriage upon becoming pregnant at the age of fifteen, Arnold went on to endure a string of devastating personal traumas. Yet the versatile musician survived it all and has continued to reinvent herself throughout the years -be that as a West End actress, a much-sought-after session singer or a renowned pop vocalist in her own right.Now, for the first time, P.P. Arnold shares her remarkable adventures. This is the long-awaited memoir of a true soul survivor. 'Jaw-dropping.' - Mojo'Powerful.' - Woman's Hour'Explosive.' - Daily MailTrade Review'Brutally honest ... this memoir is a sizzler.' -- Daily Telegraph'Searingly honest account of an extraordinary life ... powerful stuff.' -- Radio Times'A jaw-dropping memoir. Arnold's resilience sparkles throughout. This isn't just surviving, it's flourishing.' -- Mojo'An adroit blend of pathos and self-deprecating honesty. Its occasionally shocking and even heart-wrenchingly tragic in places, but ultimately the book's tone is a triumphant one. 4/5' -- Record Collector'An extraordinary book by an extraordinary artist.' -- Lauren Laverne'Very powerful.' -- Emma Barnett, Woman's Hour'Explosive.' -- Daily Mail'Searingly honest.' -- Daily Express'Nobody could accuse Arnold of pulling her punches ... but it doesn't read like score-settling either. Absorbing.' -- Irish Independent'Not long after arriving in England, I met P.P. Arnold. On reflection, she was just like me. Determined, naïve, in a world we did not understand. We spent a lot of hours at IBC Studios in Portland Place recording new songs that still, today, bring back such amazing memories. I will never forget those times. Pat was on the ascent until the terrible moment of her daughter's passing. This brought Pat to her knees. It was the saddest time. What I think I understand now is what real loss means and Pat understood that long before I did. I relish those times we spent together. Those are some of the great memories.' -- Barry Gibb'Exceptional!' -- Craig Charles

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Book SynopsisA Times Book of the Year An Uncut Magazine Book of the Year A Waterstones Music Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the Year A Louder Book of the Year 'Probably the best Bush book to date.' - Record CollectorKate Bush: the subject of murmured legend and one of the most idiosyncratic musicians of the modern era. Comprising fifty chapters or 'visions', Running Up That Hill is a multi-faceted biography of this famously elusive figure, viewing her life and work from fresh and illuminating angles.Featuring details from the author's one-to-one conversations with Kate, as well as vignettes of her key songs, albums, videos and concerts, this artful, candid and often brutally funny portrait introduces the reader to the refreshingly real Kate Bush.Along the way, the narrative also includes vivid reconstructions of transformative moments in her career and insights from the friends and collaborators closest to Kate, including her photographer brother John Carder Bush and fellow artists David Gilmour, John Lydon and Youth.Running Up That Hill is a vibrant and comprehensive re-examination of Kate Bush and her many creative landmarks.Trade Review'Approaching its subject from inspired angles...probably the best Bush book to date' * 4/5 Record Collector *'Running Up That Hill offers a range of new ways to appreciate the single-minded inspiration that it springs from' * 9/10 Uncut *'Funny and illuminating. A refreshing take on one of our most complex, gifted artists' * 4/5 Mojo *'A very beautiful book' -- Chris Hawkins, BBC Radio 6'An unconventional but insightful biography of the famously reclusive singer songwriter" * Choice Magazine *'A great gift for a music fan' * My Weekly Magazine *'A comprehensive rejection of the caricatures that still cling stubbornly to the subject's name' * The Herald *'(A) celebration of the famously elusive figure" * Woman and Home *'Even familiar stories or well-worn anecdotes come to life... Doyle imbues them with a freshness. A thoroughly enjoyable read.' * Super Deluxe Edition *'The closest we've ever come to understanding the enigmatic, uncompromising Bush on page.' -- Virgin Radio

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Book SynopsisAlbion's Secret History compiles snapshots of English pop culture’s rebels and outsiders, from Evelyn Waugh to PJ Harvey via The Long Blondes and The Libertines. By focusing on cultural figures who served to define England, Guy Mankowski looks at those who have really shaped Albion’s secret history, not just its oft-quoted official cultural history. He departs from the narrative that dutifully follows the Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Oasis, and, by instead penetrating the surface of England’s pop history (including the venues it was shaped in), throws new light on ideas of Englishness. As well as music, Mankowski draws from art, film, architecture and politics, showing the moments at which artists like Tricky and Goldfrapp altered our sense of a sometimes green but sometimes unpleasant land. 'The most illuminating odyssey through lost, hidden or forgotten English pop culture since Michael Bracewell's England Is Mine.' Rhian E. Jones, author of Clampdown: Pop-Cultural Wars on Class and Gender

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Book SynopsisDiscover the fascinating story behind the rise of a new pop icon: Dua Lipa.When Dua Lipa was eleven, her music teacher told her she wasn’t good enough to join her school choir – her husky voice couldn’t reach the high notes.Now, she’s a global star. Her songs are pop anthems, streamed billions of times; she’s collaborated with everyone from Calvin Harris and Miley Cyrus to Madonna and Elton John; she’s won Grammys, BRITs and MTV awards; and she’s the biggest homegrown talent to emerge from the UK music scene since Ed Sheeran and Adele. Dua’s rise has been all the more impressive given that her Kosovan parents arrived in London as refugees, but her determination, hard work and undeniable voice have seen her transcend these humble beginnings, all while remaining fiercely proud of her heritage.In this revealing biography from the publishers of Harry, Ariana and Adele, pop music journalist Caroline Sullivan charts Dua’s incredible journey to pop superstardom. Spanning everything from her mainstream breakthrough to her sold-out Future Nostalgia Tour, and exploring her influences, activism and high-profile personal life, it paints the most complete portrait yet of this icon in the making.

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Book SynopsisTest yourself on 70 years of chart music trivia with this official quiz book!· Which Number 1 song by The Beatles became the biggest-selling single of the 1960s?· Can you name the two Number 1 songs by Lionel Richie and Adele which shared the same title?· In what year did Ed Sheeran make both his Official Singles and Albums Chart debuts?You’ll find these questions and thousands more in The Official Charts' Music Quiz Book, the ultimate challenge for pop music lovers and chart nerds alike. Compiled using the Official Charts Company’s definitive music database, this collection of quizzes spans 70 years of unforgettable music history, making it the perfect gift for music fans of all ages.With individual quizzes dedicated to specific genres (pop, rock, hip-hop and more), legendary artists (from Elvis and Madonna to Rihanna and Ed Sheeran), Christmas Number 1s and more, The Official Charts' Music Quiz Book contains everything you need to set your own challenges for friends and family or put on a musical masterclass at your next pub quiz.

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Book SynopsisThis in-depth biography details Harry's life so far. From his childhood and his journey to fame on the X-Factor to releasing incredibly successful solo music and becoming a fashion icon, this book gets you closer to Harry than ever before.From the start of his career we follow the roller coaster of emotions as One Direction broke up, and we learn how Harry reinvented himself. Free from the shackles of being in a boyband he was able to be the rock star he had always dreamed of being and conquer the US by himself.Not content with being one of the world's biggest popstars, Harry has also cultivated a career as a film star, kicking off with a starring role in box-office hits like Dunkirk before going on to become a member of the iconic Marvel universe and, in 2022, taking the lead in My Policeman and Don’t Worry Darling. Now, as universally acknowledged fashion royalty, he has hosted the Met Gala with Serena Williams and Lady Gaga and regularly models for Gucci. In 2021 he released his beauty brand, Pleasing, and he has even partnered with the meditation app Calm to record a story designed to help listeners drift off. His new album Harry’s House soared to the top of the charts in both the UK and the US, and his 2022 tour 'Love on Tour' has sold out globally. In short, his phenomenal success shows no signs of slowing down. Get to know the iconic singer in greater depth with this book that gets you to the heart of a very modern pop star – a must read for all of Harry's fans.Also available:Ariana: The Biography (9781782439745)Adele: To 30 and Beyond: The Unauthorized Biography (9781789294361)Britney: The Unauthorized Biography (9781789294590)

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Book SynopsisThe story of pop legend Dusty Springfield from the people who knew her, from her troubled childhood to 60s mod queen and enduring music icon. Dusty Springfield was one of our greatest pop singers. From 60s hits like ‘I Only Want to be With You’, ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ and ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ to her 80s collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys and beyond, she was a musical pioneer and the very essence of authentic white soul. A member of the US Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame, international polls have named Dusty among the best female pop artists of all time.Twenty-five years after her passing, she continues to fascinate and inspire. This classic biography is based on over forty-five original interviews with close friends and people who worked with her, including Sir Tom Jones, Lulu, legendary arranger Ivor Raymonde, and the late, great Atlantic Records trio, Jerry Wexler, To

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Book SynopsisHailing from Manchester, England, sophisticated pop purveyors 10cc hit the ground running with their 1972 debut single, 'Donna'. Their pedigree reached back to bassist Graham Gouldman's '60s' song writing successes including The Yardbirds' `For Your Love' and The Hollies' 'Bus Stop'. Guitarist and recording engineer, Eric Stewart, was already a bonafide pop star having sung the global 1966 hit, 'Groovy Kind of Love', for his group The Mindbenders. When the pair teamed up with drummer/singer Kevin Godley and multi-instrumentalist/singer, Lol Creme, the combination wrought a legacy of four albums. They included the ambitious The Original Soundtrack and ten hit singles, including the ground-breaking 'I'm Not In Love,' that were rich in eclectic boundary-pushing pop that earned 10cc comparisons to The Beatles while still occupying a unique position in music. Departing in 1976, Godley and Creme moved on to create genre-defying experimental albums, while Gouldman and Stewart continued their run of hit singles and albums with a new 10cc line-up. Their final album was 1995's, Mirror Mirror, a highly respectable full stop on the influential band's colourful and innovative discography. This book examines every released recording by both Godley & Creme and 10cc, including the band's debut album under their early name, Hotlegs.

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Book SynopsisTomasz Stańko is arguably the greatest jazz musician Poland has ever produced. His career spanned almost 60 years until his death in 2018. A visionary trumpeter and composer, a protégé of Krzysztof Komeda and a colleague of musicians from Poland, Sweden, Norway, Britain, Cuba and the USA, his impact on jazz internationally was profound, proving that jazz was not exclusively an American art form but truly world-wide. In 2014 he was awarded the Polytika Passport in Poland, the Prix du Musicien Européan in Paris and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. The book is a no-holds-barred extended interview with broadcaster Rafał Księżyk originally published in Polish by Wydawnictwo Literackie.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Born Twice Chapter 2: First Cigarette, First Bottle Chapter 3: Komeda Chapter 4: Poetry and Jazz Chapter 5: Stańkomania Chapter 6: A Proust-reading Boxer Chapter 7: ‘I was Marlene Dietrich’ Chapter 8: Jazz in the Ruhr Area Chapter 9: ‘The Full Catastrophe!’ Chapter 10: Green Face Chapter 11: Bending the Note Chapter 12: Whistling in the Temple Chapter 13: A White Black Man in Communist Poland Chapter 14: At Remont Chapter 15: Purple Liquor Chapter 16: ‘Hamulczyki, namulczyki, amulczyki’ Chapter 17: Short-cut Chapter 18: Empathy for the Devil Chapter 19: A Peruvian and a Minor Sixth Chapter 20: View from the high-wire Chapter 21: The Feminist Chapter 22: A Prim, Bluish Man Chapter 23: Maldoror’s War Song Chapter 24: Thoughts on Simplicity Chapter 25: Theme for Trumpet Chapter 26: Children and the Vampire Chapter 27: From Afar Chapter 28: A Certain Kind of Vitality A Chronology/Time Line of Tomasz Stańko’s Life and Works Discography

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Book SynopsisThe brand of jazz that developed in the Kansas City area in the period from the late 1920s to the late 1930s is recognised as both a distinct stylistic variation within the larger genre and a transitional stage between earlier forms of African-American music, such as ragtime and blues, and later, more modern forms, up to and including bebop. Kansas City’s brand of jazz has been described as “the most straightforward and direct style which has been developed outside New Orleans,” by Hughues Panassié and Madeleine Gautier in their Dictionary of Jazz. Kansas City jazz has inspired the creation of a museum and has been the subject of a feature-length film, Robert Altman’s 1996 “Kansas City,” and even a sentimental rock song, “Eternal Kansas City” by Van Morrison. The first comprehensive work on the subject in over 15 years, this book draws on new research to delve deeper into music of the American Midwest that evolved into Kansas City jazz, and includes profiles of individual musicians who developed very different styles within or beyond the framework of the sub-genre. Kansas City Jazz focuses on the broader themes and the stories of the major personalities whose individual talents came together to create the larger whole of Kansas City’s distinctive brand of jazz.Table of Contents1. Prologue 2. Roots: Ragtime, Minstrelsy and Tent Shows 3. From Stomp to Swing: From Tuba to Bull Fiddle 4. Bennie Moten and His Competitors 5. Rhythm: From Banjo to Guitar, 2 Drums to Trap Set 6. From Bennie to Basie 7. Riffs and Jams 8. From Boogie-Woogie to Bop 9. Tenor Legacy 10. Shouters and Singers 11. Trumpets 12. Trombones 13. The Clouds of Joy and the Lady Who Swung the Band 14. Alto 15. The Rockets That Didn’t Quite Take Off 16. Bird Takes Flight 17. Jay McShann and the Last of the Great Kansas City Bands 18. Evil is Banished

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Book SynopsisThe music that would come to be known as hip-hop was born at a party in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Now, fifty years later, it's the most popular music genre in America. Just as jazz did in the first half of the twentieth century, hip-hop and its groundbreaking DJs and artistsnearly all of them people of colour from some of America's most overlooked communitiespushed the boundaries of music to new frontiers, while transfixing the country's youth and reshaping fashion, art, and even language.And yet, the stories of many hip-hop pioneers and their individual contributions in the pre-Internet days of mixtapes and word of mouth are rarely heardand some are at risk of being lost forever. Now, in The Come Up, the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Abrams offers the most comprehensive account so far of hip-hop's rise, a multi-decade chronicle told in the voices of the people who made it happen.In more than three hundred interviews conducted over three years, Abrams has captured the stories of the DJs, executives, producers, and artists who both witnessed and themselves forged the history of hip-hop. Masterfully combining these voices into a seamless symphonic narrative, Abrams traces how the genre grew out of the resourcefulness of a neglected population in the South Bronx, and from there how it flowed into New York City's other boroughs, and beyondfrom electrifying live gatherings, then on to radio and vinyl, below to the Mason-Dixon Line, west to Los Angeles through gangster rap and G-funk, and then across generations.Abrams has on record Grandmaster Caz detailing hip-hop's infancy, Edward Duke Bootee Fletcher describing the origins of The Message, DMC narrating his role in introducing hip-hop to the mainstream, Ice Cube recounting N.W.A's breakthrough and breakup, Kool Moe Dee recalling his Grammys boycott, and countless more key players. Throughout, Abrams conveys with singular vividness the drive, the stakes, and the relentless creativity that ignited one of the greatest revolutions in modern music.The Come Up is an exhilarating behind-the-scenes account of how hip-hop came to rule the worldand an essential contribution to music history.

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Book SynopsisThe Journal of Beatles Studies is the first journal to establish The Beatles as an object of academic research, and will publish original, rigorously researched essays, notes, as well as book and media reviews. The journal aims are; to provide a voice to new and emerging research locating the Beatles in new contexts, groups and communities from within and beyond academic institutions; to inaugurate, innovate, interrogate and challenge narrative, cultural historical and musicological tropes about the Beatles as both subject and object of study; to publish original and critical research from Beatles scholars around the globe and across disciplines. The Journal of Beatles Studies establishes a scholarly focal point for critique, dialogue and exchange on the nature, scope and value of The Beatles as an object of academic enquiry and seeks to examine and assess the continued economic value and cultural values generated by and around The Beatles, for policy makers, creative industries and consumers. The journal also seeks to approach The Beatles as a prism for accessing insight into wider historical, social and cultural issues.

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Book SynopsisMescalito Riding His White Horse was inspired by several interviews conducted with Peter Rowan, legendary bluegrass musician, over a period of a few months during 2021. Peter never really followed the path of rock superstar - he was more interested in the alchemical process of music. In discovering this magic, I have felt myself projected across time, place, and identity and tried to put that experience into words. Except for the quoted interviews, which were transcribed as spoken, what follows is a combination of autobiography mixed with my visions and dreams. Some were imagined. All were real.

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Book SynopsisDive into the enchanting world of Taylor Swift with this captivating celebration, filled with inspiring quotes, fascinating facts, and behind-the-scenes trivia for every dedicated fanBringing together inspiring quotes, superfan-level facts and a treasure trove of trivia, this little book is your backstage pass to the enchanting world of Taylor Swift Whether it's the relatable lyrics, the cathartic bridges or the songwriting genius behind it all, there's just something about Taylor's music that has captivated a global fandom. No matter what era you're in, her resilience, determination and unique talent for storytelling will encourage you to stand tall, speak now and define your own reputation. Exploring her extraordinary journey from a small-town girl to one of the most successful and empowered artists of the twenty-first century, A Little Bit of Taylor Swift features: - a powerful dose of fearless words from the woman herse

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Book SynopsisThe Beatles. Bob Dylan. The Beach Boys. Using timelines derived from release dates, studio sessions and personal encounters, Play It Hard traces the paths of influence during a 3-year period when these artists cross-pollinated via recordings, rivalry, rumours and drugs - changing music forever.

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Book SynopsisOriginating from the Latin for deity or goddess, our concept of what a 'diva' might be - or should be - has evolved in richness and complexity. Delving into the personas of performers from Sarah Bernhardt to Rihanna, this book looks at what it has meant to be a diva, and what unites and defines these unique artists. Opening with 19th-century opera stars and 20th-century silent-screen sirens, it then focuses on different aspects of divadom: from Hollywood icons such as Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Davis cultivating their image to the activism of artists such as Billie Holiday and Miriam Makeba; from the acumen shown by Dolly Parton and Beyonce to the development of radical new musical identities by Madonna, Missy Elliot and Lady Gaga; from new ways of performing gender and sexuality by Tina Turner, Freddie Mercury and Grace Jones to the tensions between public and private experience by the likes of Amy Winehouse and Liza Minnelli.Trade Review‘…a glorification of female power, and, ultimately, an exquisite reminder of the many shapes of fame and their effects on society.’ Cindy Marcolina, Broadway World, 4th August 2023Table of ContentsIntroduction: Redefining the Diva, Kate Bailey -- A Star is Born: Creating the Diva, Keith Lodwick -- Backlash Blues: Voice for Change, Jacqueline Springer -- Rule the World: Status, Power, Freedom, Veronica Castro -- Express Yourself: Rebel Reinventon, Lucy O'Brien -- I Want to Break Free: Liberating the DIVA, Sasha Geffen -- By Myself: Negotiating the Public and the Private, Miranda Sawyer

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Book SynopsisThe definitive account of the pop cult capital of the UK by Dave Haslam, one of Manchester’s top DJs and journalists. Manchester, a predominantly working-class city, away from the nation’s capital, has been at the margins of English culture for centuries. The explosion of music and creativity in Manchester can be traced back from Victorian music hall and the jazz age, to Northern Soul and rock and roll, through to acid house and Oasis. But its roots are in Manchester’s history as a melting pot of popular idealism and dissent, from the industrial revolution on, via film, theatre, comedy and TV. And for Manchester, read England and the world. Dave Haslam is uniquely placed to tell this story – Manchester, England is as witty, erudite and passionate as you would expect from a man who can say, again and again, "I was there". Like Jon Savage’s England’s Dreaming, this is the last word on the abiding centre of 40 years of UK pop culture.Trade Review* ‘About bloody time. The city that gave us every significant band of the lasty 20 years has finally made it into print. ****' Uncut * A serious book about the city's pop heritage was inevitable and Dave Haslam's Manchester, England does the job admirably. Awesome.' NME * ' Filled with a personal love of music and urban life and Saturday nights.' Andrew O'Hagan * 'Excellent' Mojo

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Book Synopsis‘ An extraordinary history… The range of voices breathing new life into past events is vast’ **** Mojo ‘ The Morrissey and Marr recollections are particularly revealing’ The Word The Buzzcocks. Joy Division. The Fall. The Smiths. The Stone Roses. The Happy Mondays. Oasis. Manchester has proved to be an endlessly rich seam of pop-music talent over the last 30 years. Highly opinionated and usually controversial, stars such as Mark E. Smith, Morrissey, Ian Brown and the Gallagher brothers have always had plenty to say for themselves. Here, in John Robb’ s new compilation, Manchester’ s gobbiest musicians tell the story of the city’ s thriving music scene in their own words. When the Buzzcocks put on the Sex Pistols at Lester Free Hall in 1976, they kickstarted a musical revolution and a fervent punk scene exploded. In 1979 the legendary Tony Wilson founded Factory Records, the home of Joy Division/New Order and later the Happy Mondays. The Hacienda, the Factory nightclub, became notorious in the late 1980s as a centre of the influential Madchester scene, led by the Mondays and the Stone Roses, with a unique style and sound of its own. Then, from the ashes of Madchester rose ü ber-lads Oasis, the kings of Britpop and the biggest UK band of the 1990s. John Robb is a leading music journalist and the author of the bestselling biography of the Stone Roses. His other books include Punk: An Oral History, The Charlatans … We Are Rock and The Nineties: What the F**k Was That All About? He lives in Manchester.Trade Review'John Robb spent a year shoving a recorder under the nose of seemingly everybody on the Manchester music scene. From these interviews he has pieced together an extraordinary history.' ****'Manchester's musical heritage eulogised in its players own words.' ****'John Robb spent a year shoving a recorder under the nose of seemingly everybody on the Manchester music scene. From these interviews he has pieced together an extraordinary history.' **** 'Manchester's musical heritage eulogised in its players own words.' ****

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Book Synopsis1979. The dawn of Thatcher’ s Britain. It’ s a country crippled by strikes, joblessness and economic gloom, divided by race and class - and skanking to a new beat: 2-Tone. The unruly offspring of white boy punk and rude boy ska, the new music’ s undeniable leaders were The Specials. Bursting out of Coventry’ s concrete jungle, their lyrics spoke of failed marriages, petty violence, crowded dance floors, gangsters and race hate - but with a wit that outshone their angry punk forebears. On stage they were electric, and at the heart of this energy was the vocal chemistry of the ethereal Terry Hall and Jamaican rude boy Neville Staple. In 1961, aged only five, Neville was sent to England to live with his father – a man for whom discipline bordered on child abuse. Growing up black in the Midlands of the Sixties and Seventies wasn’ t easy, but then Nev was hardly an angel. His youth was marked by scuffles with skins, compulsive womanising, and a life of crime that led from shoplifting to burglary and eventually borstal and Wormwood Scrubs. But throughout there was music, and now Nev tells how a very bad boy became part of the most important band of the Eighties. He remembers sound system battles; the legendary 2-Tone tour with The Selecter, Madness and Dexy’ s – and their clashes with NF thugs. He recalls the band’ s increasing tensions and eventual split; his subsequent foray into bubblegum pop with Fun Boy Three; and a new found fame in America, as godfather to bands like Gwen Stefani’ s No Doubt. Finally he reflects on The Specials’ reunion and how even now, thirty years on, they can’ t help tearing themselves apart.Raucous and charming Original Rude Boy is the story of a man who done too much, much too young. Neville Staple was a frontman with The Specials, a member of the hugely successful pop trio Fun Boy Three and now tours the world with own his own ska act The Neville Staple Band. Visit him at: www.nevillestaple.co.uk Tony McMahon is a journalist and TV producer living in south London.Trade Review‘A fascinating but harrowing tale of an uneasy life’‘There’s a charm –and often downright cheek- in everything this “Rude Boy –made-good” has done… There’s more than enough colourful behaviour to keep you smiling’‘The book offers an insightful account of 1970s Britain; a time crippled by joblessness and economic gloom, but also uplifted by the new sound of the time: 2 Tone.’‘ A fascinating but harrowing tale of an uneasy life’ ‘ There’ s a charm – and often downright cheek- in everything this “ Rude Boy – made-good” has done… There’ s more than enough colourful behaviour to keep you smiling’ ‘ The book offers an insightful account of 1970s Britain; a time crippled by joblessness and economic gloom, but also uplifted by the new sound of the time: 2 Tone.’

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Book SynopsisThis book is a satirical and sometimes surreal self-help guide, which as well as challenging the orthodox perception of the Beatles' status, presents an oppressed minority with a complete defence strategy for dealing with any Fab Four fans reluctant to give peace a chance. By breaking Beatles' fans down into seven key groups, the author offers an invaluable insight into the mindset of each individual strain. Why would anyone claim to enjoy the Beatles' music? What's in it for them? (The reasons the Nostalgic Impolitic, for example, will choose to become a fan will vary greatly from those of the Latecomer or the American. They all long to fit in, but where and with whom?) Once you learn to identify which fan type is harassing you, simply follow the advice suggested in this book for dealing with that particular strain, and before you can say Pet Sounds, the fan will be retreating in defeat. The groundbreaking research expounded in these pages is also recommended reading for any form of Fab Four fan (apart from the Beatle Head), who may be interested in learning how to distinguish between articulate, cutting edge rock 'n' roll and bombastic bubblegum claptrap.Trade Review'Gary Hall has written one of the most entertaining music books you'll read all year... merciless and hugely funny.' The Guardian 'Irreverent, scurrilous and beautifully written.' Musician 'Fab Four fans be warned, someone's onto you and he's done his homework.' Record Collector 'It had to be written by a scouser, to avoid World War three... and has to be read by all Beatles fans.' Manchester Evening News 'This is no mere Beatle bashing book, but a tearfully funny, so-sharp-it-hurts, visceral volume. A startlingly good read.' GuitarTable of ContentsPrologue / Introduction / 1 The Grade One / 2 The Grade Two / 3 The Culture Vulture / 4 The Nostalgic Impolitic / 5 The Latecomer / 6 The Music Industry - A Fab Four Fantasy Land / 7 The Musician / 8 Avoiding The Beatles' Music in The Public Place / 9 The American / 10 Let it Be... Naked (Not a Pretty Sight) / 11 Bongo Bailey - The Early Years / 12 The Beatle Head / 13 Compassion, Context and Communication / 14 The 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' Rites of Passage / Epilogue /Afterword to the Revised Edition

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Book SynopsisAlthough musical tributes play a significant role within contemporary culture and despite their relative longevity as a form of entertainment, little serious research has been published on the subject. This book makes an important contribution to the understanding of the phenomenon of the tribute band by linking it to other types of imitative entertainment such as 'ghost', cover and parody bands. It also demonstrates the impact of a changing cultural Zeitgeist on the evolution of popular music tributes, showing how music tributes can be related to other examples of retrospection. These influences are linked to the impact of new technology in making the art of paying tribute possible, showing how certain developments have created the musical equipment and apparatus for self-promotion, marketing and communication with fans. Whilst critical opinion on this type of entertainment remains divided, the author challenges negative responses through an interrogation of critiques of imitative cultural practices within a broader historical and cultural framework. The diversity of the homage industry is highlighted and the book avoids concentrating solely on well-known tributes, looking too, at the work of those operating in the 'alternative' tribute scene. The book explores the working life of musicians involved in the 'bargain basement' end of the live music industry, using interviews and first hand observations to show the trials and tribulations of paying homage. Finally, through an examination of the audience at tribute events, fandom and associated social and psychological aspects of participation are explored.Trade Review'Some say the past is a foreign country; Georgina Gregory offers a exhaustive guidebook to the musical outlands where rock's back catalogue becomes reanimated Her spirited and insightful examination of tribute bands celebrates these critically overlooked ensembles as much more than just stand-ins for the 'real thing.' The subtle typology she elaborates furthermore illustrates the diversity of goods in the semiotic supermarket: how a sound-like need not be a look-alike; and how a tribute group can cross not only genre but gender, too.' David Sanjek, Professor of Music, University of Salford 'Georgina Gregory has shone a spotlight on the little-studied world of tribute bands and their fans. Her brightly-written book serves up a heady and original interdisciplinary potion, a mix of cultural studies, (firmly grounded) contemporary history, ethnography and other ingredients. She makes the importance of the phenomenon abundantly clear, while providing engaging portrayals of its eccentricities and explaining the difficulties encountered in bringing it in from the margins of popular music studies. Insights into the relationships between notions of the artist and the craft worker, the textual and the performative, the original and the reproduction, the artiste and the fan, heritage and memory, are transferable to related areas of cultural history and its 'uses'. This splendid, enthusiastic, articulate book deserves to be widely read and discussed, within and beyond an extensive academic constituency.' John K. Walton, IKERBASQUE, Department of Contemporary History, University of the Basque Country, Leoia, Bilbao, SpainTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. Tribute Bands in Context 3. From 'Ghost' and Cover Bands, to Pop Parody and Tributes 4. Establishing a Typology 5. Getting Established and Maintaining a Career 6. The Value of Paying Tribute: Critical Responses 7. Fandom and Collective Participation

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Book SynopsisAlthough musical tributes play a significant role within contemporary culture and despite their relative longevity as a form of entertainment, little serious research has been published on the subject. This book makes an important contribution to the understanding of the phenomenon of the tribute band by linking it to other types of imitative entertainment such as 'ghost', cover and parody bands. It also demonstrates the impact of a changing cultural Zeitgeist on the evolution of popular music tributes, showing how music tributes can be related to other examples of retrospection. These influences are linked to the impact of new technology in making the art of paying tribute possible, showing how certain developments have created the musical equipment and apparatus for self-promotion, marketing and communication with fans. Whilst critical opinion on this type of entertainment remains divided, the author challenges negative responses through an interrogation of critiques of imitative cultural practices within a broader historical and cultural framework. The diversity of the homage industry is highlighted and the book avoids concentrating solely on well-known tributes, looking too, at the work of those operating in the 'alternative' tribute scene. The book explores the working life of musicians involved in the 'bargain basement' end of the live music industry, using interviews and first hand observations to show the trials and tribulations of paying homage. Finally, through an examination of the audience at tribute events, fandom and associated social and psychological aspects of participation are explored.Trade Review'Some say the past is a foreign country; Georgina Gregory offers a exhaustive guidebook to the musical outlands where rock's back catalogue becomes reanimated Her spirited and insightful examination of tribute bands celebrates these critically overlooked ensembles as much more than just stand-ins for the 'real thing.' The subtle typology she elaborates furthermore illustrates the diversity of goods in the semiotic supermarket: how a sound-like need not be a look-alike; and how a tribute group can cross not only genre but gender, too.' David Sanjek, Professor of Music, University of Salford 'Georgina Gregory has shone a spotlight on the little-studied world of tribute bands and their fans. Her brightly-written book serves up a heady and original interdisciplinary potion, a mix of cultural studies, (firmly grounded) contemporary history, ethnography and other ingredients. She makes the importance of the phenomenon abundantly clear, while providing engaging portrayals of its eccentricities and explaining the difficulties encountered in bringing it in from the margins of popular music studies. Insights into the relationships between notions of the artist and the craft worker, the textual and the performative, the original and the reproduction, the artiste and the fan, heritage and memory, are transferable to related areas of cultural history and its 'uses'. This splendid, enthusiastic, articulate book deserves to be widely read and discussed, within and beyond an extensive academic constituency.' John K. Walton, IKERBASQUE, Department of Contemporary History, University of the Basque Country, Leoia, Bilbao, SpainTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. Tribute Bands in Context 3. From 'Ghost' and Cover Bands, to Pop Parody and Tributes 4. Establishing a Typology 5. Getting Established and Maintaining a Career 6. The Value of Paying Tribute: Critical Responses 7. Fandom and Collective Participation

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Book SynopsisIn his short life, Parker was one of the most influential musicians in jazz, and together with Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, he was the main architect of the modern jazz revolution of the 1940s known as bebop. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, and with a tangled private life, Parker died young, and a legend grew up about his tragic genius. "Chasin' the Bird" is a completely revised and expanded edition of the short biography of Charlie Parker by Brian Priestley, first published in 1984, which quickly established itself as the most succinct, accurate and readable book on Parker. This edition, which is twice the length of the original, incorporates material which has come to light since the first edition was published. It also provides an expanded discussion of performances and recordings, with a complete discography, notes and bibliography.Trade Review'Brian Priestley is one of the most accomplished jazz historians, critics, and biographers, and Chasin' the Bird is an indispensable gem--an ideal introduction to a major figure in 20th century music and an inventive interpretation of Parker's life and art that will also engage veteran jazz lovers. The comprehensive discography is a major bonus, making this a handbook every Bird chaser will relish.' Gary Giddins, author of Weather Bird and (forthcoming) Tain't What You Do Brian Priestley has not just chased but captured the elusive Bird, illuminating the turbulent life and marvelous music with human and musical insight.' Dan Morgenstern, Director, Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies, author, Living with Jazz 'Brian Priestley's Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker serves as the best overall book on Parker since Gary Giddens' photo-driven Celebrating Bird of 1987.' New York SunTable of ContentsChapter One - Birdland Chapter Two - Body And Soul Chapter Three - The Jumpin' Blues Chapter Four - Now's The Time Chapter Five - Parker's Mood Chapter Six - Celebrity Chapter Seven - I Remember You Chapter Eight - The Song is You Chapter Nine - Confirmation Discography

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Book SynopsisThe history of Soul music has been defined, first and foremost, by a succession of exceptional vocalists. It is impossible to conceive of the genre without them. This does not mean, however, that those who back singers, those who play instruments - bassists; drummers; guitarists; keyboardists; saxophonists - were reduced to nothing other than walk on parts. If Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding were able to move audiences, then their band members and arrangers, the likes of King Curtis and Booker T. Jones, played a key role in creating tracks that had commensurate emotional depth and technical ingenuity. These lesser known figures have heightened our listening pleasure. In Soul Unsung Kevin Le Gendre celebrates the contribution of players of instruments to soul. He analyses, in forensic detail, the inspiring creativity and imagination that several generations of musicians have brought to black pop, and highlights how they have broadened its sound canvas by adopting unusual stylistic approaches and embracing the latest available technology. Furthermore, the book offers insights into the state of contemporary soul and its relationship with jazz, rock and hip-hop. It is precisely because soul has not evolved in a vacuum that it has a canon that is enviably rich in variety. Soul Unsung shines a light on the plethora of mesmerising sounds that constitute this heritage and explains why they affect the listener as much as a great singer. Placing the focus squarely on the band, Le Gendre sets out to change perceptions of one of the great forms of expression to have marked popular culture in the 20th century, so that those who play are given, alongside those who sing, their rightful place in the pantheon of contemporary music.Trade ReviewAshley Kahn is a music journalist, concert producer, and professor of music history and criticism at New York University; his books include A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature AlbumTable of Contents1 Introduction 2 What is this thing called Soul? 3 Aged in soul 4 The Soul-jazz continuum 5 The Soul-funk continuum 6 The Soul-rock continuum 7 A recipe from Memphis 8 A half a teacup of bass 9 A pound of fatback drums 10 Four tablespoons of boiling Memphis guitar 11 Just a little pinch of organ 12 A half pint of horn 13 We gonna tell you right now 14 One final Ingredient 15 A recipe not from Memphis 16 Universoul sounds: Part One 17 Universoul sounds: Part Two 18 Soulful house/Techno soul/Hip-hop soul 19 Divorcing Neo To Marry Soul 20 Soul is stranger than fiction 21 A Memphis aftertaste

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Book SynopsisBuddy Holly occupies an enigmatic position in pop and rock music history, partly because of his premature death at the age of 22 in a plane crash in February 1959. Designated in Don MacLean's hit "American Pie" as 'the day the music died', this enabled him to be included in the trope 'the death of rock 'n roll', alongside the less drastic musical demises of Elvis Presley (joined army), Chuck Berry (imprisoned), Jerry Lee Lewis (disgraced) and Little Richard (joined priesthood). The view that Holly belongs only to the 1950s has often obscured the originality of his music. In an era when the music world was divided into hard rockers, soft pop balladeers and hardcore Nashville country & western singers, his songs transcended the boundaries. Equally innovatory was his use of the recording studio as a laboratory, a place to experiment with sounds. In addition, the two guitars, bass and drums line-up of his group the Crickets was the major contributor to the small group template for generations of rock musicians down to the present day. As well as becoming an influence on other musicians in a conventional sense, Buddy Holly has had his own lengthy musical and cultural afterlife.From the vantage point of 2009, a half century after 'the day the music died', Holly has been the longest-serving member of the rock immortals club, those singers and musicians for whom death seemed to inaugurate a new phase of their career. He has been re-embodied in a biopic, a stage show, in iconic images and numerous reissues of his recordings. While he cannot rival Elvis Presley in terms of sightings (nobody, I think, believes Buddy is still alive) or in terms of 'virtual' performance with his old band, he has been re-embodied in a biopic, a stage show, in iconic images and numerous reissues of his recordings. This book is partly based on the author's 1970 study in the "Rockbooks" series. But it aims to provide a new perspective on Buddy Holly by discussing his career and art in the context of his unique contribution to the swiftly-evolving music scene of the late 1950s and his posthumous 50 year multi-media career through films, stage-shows and copious reissues of his oeuvre.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1 The West Texas Musicscape and Buddy Holly's Musical Ideolect 1950-1955 Chapter 2 A Studio Career: Nashville -Clovis -New York 1956-1959 Chapter 3 On Stage 1956-1959 Chapter 4 The Recordings 1955-1959 Chapter 5 After The Day The Music Died - Memorialising Chapter 6 After the Day the Music Died - Presence and Representations Timeline

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Book SynopsisBrian Wilson is a musical genius. Ever since British press agent Derek Taylor launched a publicity campaign with that theme to promote the landmark LP Pet Sounds in 1966, some variation of that claim has been obligatory when discussing the significance of the Beach Boys' founder and chief composer. Originally designed to liberate Wilson from his outmoded image as a purveyor of sun-and-surf teen pop so the symphonic sophistication of his music might be properly appreciated, the assertion has been repeated so often in the forty-plus years since as to render it virtually meaningless. Indeed, if anything, the label today seems an albatross around the man's neck, inasmuch as Wilson's slow-but-steady reemergence as a working musician since 1998 after three decades of mental illness and drug abuse, has been freighted with expectations that he again produce something as epochal as Good VibrationsA" to justify the adoration he inspires in impassioned defenders. Brian Wilson interrogates this and other paradigms that stymie critical appreciation of Wilson's work both with the Beach Boys and as a solo artist.This is the first study of Wilson to eschew chronology in favor of a topical organization that allows discussion of lyrical themes and musical motifs outside of any prejudicial presumptions about their place in the trajectory of his career. The meanings of Brian Wilson's work have tended to be determined by the well-known storyline of his rise, fall, and redemption.A" From abused child to seemingly unstoppable hit-maker to eccentric with a living-room sandbox to the 300-pound Orson Wells of rockA" to the heavily medicated Icarus figure with the full-time Svengali psychiatrist to his current incarnation as a fragile, elder-statesman survivor, Brian Wilson has, quite simply, lived the most celebrated bizarre life in pop music. Its sheer Shakespearean proportions have overshadowed a beauty and gentleness of spirit that is as vibrant in Farmer's DaughterA" (1963) as it is in recent efforts such as Live Let LiveA" (2008).While no one would disagree that Wilson peakedA" in 1966 with Pet Sounds his current CD, That Old Lucky Sun (2008), finds him creating beautiful music steeped in Americana that deserves discussion on its own terms rather than as a coda to the accomplishments of his gold-record youth.Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Introduction: Beyond Biography, Beyond Superlatives Chapter One: 'I Hear the Sound of a Gentle Word': Lyrical Themes and Gestures Chapter Two: 'A Companion for Your Lonely Soul: Musical and Sonic Motifs Chapter Three: 'I'm the Pied Piper: The Peculiar Appeal of Brian Wilson Notes Discography Works Cited

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Book SynopsisThis book explores how funk emerged in the mid-1960s at the very apex of the civil rights movement and shows how this music mirrored the broader changes taking place within the African-American community at a crucial political time and continues to this day to underpin remix culture. It traces the extent of the Brown legacy, musically, culturally and otherwise articulating decisive links between Brown's work and the DJ culture that embraced it so emphatically that Brown is now considered to be the most widely sampled African-American recording artist in history; indeed, we seem to have reached a point where many of Brown's refrains - the screams, the horn stabs, the "funky drummer" breakbeats - have been sampled so often as to have seemingly become part of the public domain. Traversing the past forty years of popular music, the book explores how the ubiquitous presence of Brown's groove, the affective and transformative capacities of a grunt or a well-timed "Good God" or punctuating scream take over where language fails and compel even the most sedate listener to take to the floor.Table of Contents1. A Musical Future 2. The Early Years 3. The Soul Era 4. The Foundations of Funk 5. The Godfather of Post-Soul

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Book SynopsisSince her death in 2003, Nina Simone has continued to be revered as a cultural icon and role model for scores of fans and fellow musicians. Much of her fame derives from her association with the civil rights movement, for which she wrote such classic songs as 'Mississippi Goddam', 'Four Women' and 'Young, Gifted and Black'. The defiance and affirmation of such anthems was accompanied by an equal dedication to songs of melancholy, yearning and spiritual questing. Placing Simone and her music firmly within the socio-historical context of the 1960s, this book also argues for the importance of considering the artist's entire career and for paying greater attention to her music than is often the case in biographical accounts. Simone defied musical categories even as she fought against social ones and the result is a body of work that draws upon classical and jazz music, country blues, French chanson, gospel, protest songs, pop and rock tunes, turning genres and styles inside out in pursuit of what Simone called "black classical music". The book begins with a focus on the early part of Simone's career and a discussion of genre and style.Connecting its analysis to a discussion of social categorization (with particular regard to race), it argues that Simone's defiance of stylistic boundaries can be seen as a political act. From here, the focus shifts to Simone's self-written protest material, connecting it to her increasing involvement in the struggle for civil rights. The book also provides an in-depth account of Simone's 'possession' of material by writers such as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Sandy Denny and Judy Collins, while exploring the relationship between the personal and the political. In considering material from the Simone's lesser-known work from the 1970s to the 1990s, the study proposes a theory of the "late voice" in which issues of age, experience and memory are emphasised. The book concludes with a discussion of Simone's ongoing legacy.Trade ReviewNina Simone, a twentieth-century musical giant, has been astonishingly neglected - by listeners, critics and scholars. Richard Elliott explains why, but his wonderful book does far more: with enviable depth of analysis and breadth of cultural reference, he summons Simone's music to a rendezvous with history that its significance, power and beauty always promised. An event, in every sense.' Richard Middleton, Emeritus Professor of Music, Newcastle UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Categories 2. Politics 3. Possession 4. Lateness 5. Legacy Conclusion Bibliography and Discography

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Book SynopsisOn 2 February 1959, a musical about the life and times of heavyweight boxing star Ezekiel Dhlamini (known as 'King Kong') opened in Johannesburg to a packed audience that included Nelson Mandela. King Kong was not just South Africa's first ever musical, but one that grew out of a collaboration between black people and white, and showcased an all-black cast. It was an instant hit, bursting through the barriers of apartheid and eventually playing to 200,000 South Africans of every colour before transferring to London's West End. Pat Williams, the show's lyricist, was at the time an apolitical young woman trying to free herself from the controls and prejudices of the genteel white society in which she lived. Here she recounts her experience of growing up in a divided South Africa, her involvement in the musical, and its lasting impact both on herself and on the show's cast, many of whom went on to find international fame, like South African jazz legends Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Her memoir takes the story up to the present day. It is both a vivid evocation of a troubled time and place as well as a celebration of a joyous production, in which a group of young people came together in South Africa's dark times - to create a show which still lives on today.

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Book Synopsis'Enormously enjoyable' Sunday Times 'Genial and entertaining' Daily Telegraph 'A joyous celebration of the founding fathers of British youth culture' Alwyn Turner, author of All in it Together and Little Englanders With their draped suits, suede creepers and immaculately greased hair, the Teddy Boys defined a new era for a generation of teenagers raised on a diet of drab clothes, Blitz playgrounds and tinned dinners. From the Edwardian origins of their fashion to the tabloid fears of delinquency, drunkenness and disorder, the story of the Teds throws a fascinating light on a British society that was still reeling from the Second World War. In the 1950s, working-class teenagers found a way of asserting themselves in how they dressed, spoke and socialised on the street. When people saw Teds, they stepped aside. Musician and author Max Décharné traces the rise of the Teds and the shockwave they sent through post-war Britain, from the rise of rock 'n' roll to the Notting Hill race riots. Full of fascinating insight, deftly sketching the milieu of Elvis Presley and Derek Bentley, Billy Fury and Oswald Mosley, Teddy Boys is the story of Britain's first youth counterculture.Trade Review[An] enormously enjoyable history of the Teddy boys ... plenty of historians have mentioned them in passing, but none has ever investigated them with Décharné's enthusiasm and attention to detail -- Dominic Sandbrook, 'Book of the Week' * Sunday Times *In his genial and entertaining Teddy Boys, rock journalist Max Décharné takes a calm look at the phenomenon and strips away the myths that coloured it * Daily Telegraph *Excellent ... Décharné's book is a loving reclamation of an important youth type ... Most of all, in focusing on the late Forties and early Fifties, Teddy Boys illuminates a fascinating and still under-explored period in British youth culture and social history. -- Jon Savage, 'Book of the Day' * New Statesman *Max Décharné's book delves into the vanished world of the 1950s Ted just before it slips from living memory, presenting contemporaneous reports and eyewitness accounts with empathy and enthusiasm * Financial Times *Taking in everything from the birth of rock 'n' roll to the Notting Hill riots, [Teddy Boys] takes us back to an era when working-class teenagers first began to assert themselves in the UK ... Décharné's cultural history offers a fresh take on one of the most maligned youth cultures in 20th-century British history * Herald ***** [A] rise-and-fall chronicle of the New Edwardians, from the early-'50s cosh boys to the Notting Hill Riots of 1958 ... offers repeated riches in its lovingly curated assemblage of news articles and interviews that reveal how this working-class cultural revolution was reinterpreted, co-opted and demonised * Mojo *A joyous celebration of the founding fathers of British youth culture, and a great slice of social and cultural history -- Alwyn TurnerReclaiming a youth cult that from the very outset was besmirched by the gutter press of Fleet Street and continues to be associated more with thuggish behaviour than peacockish dandyism, Max Decharne traces the rise and fall of a peculiarly English street-wise style that found a soundtrack in American rock 'n' roll and that lit up the grey, bomb damaged streets and sedate dance halls of post-war Britain in truly glorious fashion -- Travis ElboroughPraise for Max Décharné -- :Décharné writes attentively and with authority about the ping-ponging of scenester phrases between genres, and from closed circles of cognoscenti to the wider world * TLS *Décharné, a musician and songwriter, has written extensively on music, crime and noir, and his great gift is to connect his encyclopaedic knowledge of more recent slang to that of the past. His mind is a trivia-trap of the first order * New York Times *The strength of Mr. Décharné's account is its zest ... he has an infectious enthusiasm for the peculiarities of English vocabulary * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisIf we remember them at all, the Sheffield pop group Pulp are remembered for jolly class warfare ditty 'Common People', for the celebrity of their interestingly-named frontman, for the latter waving his arse at Michael Jackson at the Brit awards, for being part of a non-movement called 'Britpop', and for disappearing almost without trace shortly after. They made a few good tunes, they did some funny videos, and while they might be National Treasures, they're nothing serious. Are they? This book argues that they should be taken seriously - very seriously indeed. Attempting to wrest Pulp away from the grim jingoistic spectacle of Britpop and the revivals-of-a-revival circuit, this book charts the very strange things that occur in their records, taking us deep into a strange exotic land; a land of acrylics, adultery, architecture, analogue synthesisers and burning class anger. This is book about pop music, but it is mainly a book about sex, the city and class via the 1990s finest British pop group.Trade ReviewThis book is a small marvel. Even within the most ambiguous cultural flowering, something transcendent is cached. Owen Hatherley knows this. Possessed of an architect's clarity and a modernist's astringent vision, he draws forth the the paradoxical and brilliant core of Britpop, and restores Pulp's contradictory genius to its proper place in history. Behind the Blairite swagger of Cool Britannia and the spackle of commercial spectacle, Hatherley finds the truth of pop culture and social antagonism, entangled with the glory and oddity of Pulp's musical career and evanescent fame. Elegant about the songs, lucid about the band's warped trajectory, and incisive about the politics of daily life coiled within the sound and lyrics and moment, Hatherley chronicles the adventures of the Sheffield gang and their "class war casanova" who came forth as the truth of a deeply false moment, bad faith you could dance to, a dialectical verdict on a singular passage in time. (Joshua Clover)

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE 2018 In the 1950s and 1960s, Memphis, Tennessee, was the launch pad of musical pioneers such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Al Green and Isaac Hayes, and by 1968 was a city synonymous with soul music. It was a deeply segregated city, ill at ease with the modern world and yet to adjust to the era of civil rights and racial integration. Stax Records offered an escape from the turmoil of the real world for many soul and blues musicians, with much of the music created there becoming the soundtrack to the civil rights movements. The book opens with the death of the city’s most famous recording artist, Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash in the final days of 1967, and then follows the fortunes of Redding’s label, Stax/Volt Records, as its fortunes fall and rise again. But, as the tense year unfolds, the city dominates world headlines for the worst of reasons: the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.Trade Review'This book is for anyone who has an interest in music and American history, and as you read about the happenings in 1960s America, it is impossible not to see the parallels with present day USA. This gives added depth and meaning to the story Cosgrove tells, and lifts Memphis 68 far above the plethora of music titles out there on the bookshelves' * Scots Magazine *'There are few writers who so clearly and powerfully evince the relationship between popular culture and politics . . . This is a book that grabs you from the off. Cosgrove writes about the music with a passion and fire which is infectious' * Scots Whay Hae *'As ever, Cosgrove's lucid, entertaining prose is laden with detail, but never at the expense of the wider narrative. Hinging on that Memphis destination, he traces the savage dichotomy at the city’s heart: it was the site of multi-racial soul imprint Stax, but also the places where Martin Luther King was killed. A heartbreaking but essential read, and one that feels remarkably timely' * Clash Magazine *

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Book SynopsisReveals the importance of the jazz craze in France between the two world wars and the French construction of jazz as a "black music" - an exoticization which had wide-reaching effects on the artistic output of the African diaspora and on contemporary perceptions of black writers, musicians and film makers. What are the cultural implications of Louis Armstrong's 1960 visit to Africa? Why are so many postcolonial novels in French fascinated with jazz? In defining jazz as "black music", France's "jazzophilia" has had wide-reaching effects on contemporary perceptions of the artistic and political efficacy of black writers, musicians, and their aesthetic productions. Scoring Race explores how jazz masters Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane became touchstones for claims to African authorship and aesthetic subjectivity across the long twentieth century. The book focuses on how this naturalization of black musicality occurred and its impact on Francophone African writers and filmmakers for whom the idea of their own essential musicality represented an epistemological obstacle. Despite this obstacle, because of jazz's profound importance to diaspora aesthetics, as well as its crucial role in the French imaginary, many African writers have chosen to make it a structuring principle of their literary projects. In Scoring Race Pim Higginson draws on race theory, aesthetics, cultural studies,musicology, and postcolonial studies to examine the convergence of aesthetics and race in Western thought and to explore its impact on Francophone African literature. How and why, Pim Higginson asks, did these writers and filmmakers approach jazz and its participation in and formalization of the "racial score"? To what extent did they reproduce the terms of their own systematic expulsion into music and to what extent, in their impossible demand for writing(or film-making), did they arrive at tactical means of working through, around, or beyond the strictures of their assumed musicality? Pim Higginson is Professor of Global French Studies at the University of New Mexico,Albuquerque.Trade ReviewScoring Race is a significant contribution to French world literary criticism, francophone postcolonial studies, and African cultural studies. * WASAFIRI *Contribution majeure aux études culturelles africaines....L'écriture est assurée et énergique, le propos clair, la démonstration sans fioritures, l'approche transdisciplinaire (anthropologie, théorie littéraire, critique, philosophie- épistémologie, herméneutique, métaphysique). * NOUVELLES ÉTUDES FRANCOPHONES *Scoring Race will be of interest to those examining the racially fraught relationship between jazz, its colonial and postcolonial audiences, and the critics, novelists, and filmmakers who incorporate it in their works as they attempt to maneuver with, or outmaneuver, an iconic but ambiguous musical heritage. * STUDIES IN 20TH & 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE *Higginson constructs his argument carefully and meticulously, each chapter building on the previous one. This is a book that actually rewards a linear reading from cover to cover. [...] While students of literature will find immediate value in Higginson's close readings, both jazz scholars and those seeking to better understand the working of race in French intellectual life would find much of interest in these five, dense, chapters. * Journal of the African Literature Association *Table of ContentsIntroduction. Scoring Race: Music, Writing and Difference in a French Context Jazz Fictions and the French Novel: Four Cases Querying Jazz: Early Francophone African Engagements with the Racial Score Challenging the Score: Francophone African Reconfigurations of Jazz Today Black Bodies, Black Sounds: Film and the Racial Score Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBetween 1965 and 1972, political activists around the globe prepared to mount a revolution, from the Black Panthers to the Gay Liberation Front, from the Yippies to the IRA. Rock and soul music supplied the revolutionary tide with anthems and iconic imagery; and renowned musicians such as John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan were particularly influential in the movement. This is the definitive account of this unique period in modern history; a compelling portrait of an era when revolutionaries turned into rock stars, and rock stars dressed up as revolutionaries.Trade ReviewPeter Doggett's weighty tome is a treasure trove of countercultural anecdotes and reportage. * * New Statesman * *Tells the story in an exemplary way. * * Financial Times * *Doggett has mastered hundreds of interviews, contemporary accounts and documents to put together this meticulously researched, scholarly and often gripping portrait of an era. * * Sunday Telegraph * *Doggett's encyclopaedic account of Sixties counter-culture is a fascinating history of pop's relationship with politics, examining the establishment's skill at assimilating rock 'n' roll rebellion into the mainstream. * * Independent * *Doggett has a brisk, readable style, with an astute eye for the idiosyncrasies of the period. * * Telegraph * *...a fresh and near-definitive slant on a subject you might have thought had been picked clean by journalists and historians. * * Time Out * *Peter Doggett's There's a Riot Going On is a lot of fun, but it also needs to be read by anyone who wants to understand the significance of the 60s or the role of pop culture. It is a very important book and I am sure I will go back to it numerous times. * * Mark Kurlansky, author of 1968 and Salt * *An impressive account. * * Observer * *Doggett examines the era with brilliant, creative meticulousness, song by song, riot by riot, poem by poem, dispelling myths...and uncovering truths...until you get caught inextricably up in the whirlwind of the greatest decade on record. Absolutely unmissable. * * Maxim * *Doggett's voluminous record unveils the hippie dream of remaking the world as mere fashion. * * Sunday Herald * *

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