Traditional and folk music Books
The Lilliput Press Ltd No Better Boy: Listening to Paddy Canny
Book SynopsisNo Better Boy tells the story of a master of traditional Irish music: the legendary East Clare fiddler Paddy Canny, whose haunting music was remarkable for its virtuosity and sophistication. In the 1950's, when he was in his thirties, and at the pinnacle of his career, Paddy Canny became an international radio star, played solo in Carneige Hall, toured England with the renowned Tulla Ceili Band, and made a much-loved recording. All were extraordinary achievements for a man raised on a marginal farm, where the gramophone records that inspired him were accessible only through the good grace of neighbours. In richly evocative prose, Helen O'Shea distils stories of success and adversity that Paddy Canny told to family and friends, to radio interviews and historians. These stories illuminate the rural life in mid-twentieth-century Ireland, major social and economic changes, and the decline and revival of traditional music and dancing. A compelling story told with passion and insight, this is a book for readers with an interest in Ireland's social history and for music lovers everywhere. No Better Boy includes annotated transcriptions of music played by Paddy Canny and his contemporaries, sourced from archives and personal collections as well as commercial recordings.Trade Review‘A “must-read” for anyone who loves traditional music. Paddy Canny was a master fiddle player who was reluctant to seek attention for his craft. Helen O'Shea's portrait offers insights into his rural background, his musical influences, the peers he engaged with, and how his musical values shaped his style. The book is beautifully illustrated and the musical transcriptions will be welcomed by practitioners who appreciate the nuances in the art form. No Better Boy is a remarkable achievement.’ Liam O'Connor, Director, Irish Traditional Music Archive‘This book is a delight. Helen O'Shea captures intimately the musical, physical and personal landscapes of East Clare as if they were her own. I found myself, my locale, and the people and the music I know and love, illuminated in new and wonderful ways.’ Paula Carroll, Broadcaster and Oral Historian‘The playing on the recording I am hearing is nearly as ebullient and restless as [Michael] Coleman’s, but Canny could squeeze a note to make it cry at nearly the same speed, with an exquisitely tasteful glissando, and he let the subtlest decrescendo fall with a nearly imperceptible slackening of the pace to end a phrase. O’Shea has said just about all that can be said about these matters, and said it well.’ The Journal of Music‘[This] beautifully illustrated tome goes to the heart of the man and his music.’ Fiona McGarry, Clare Champion‘No Better Boy provides a profound and compelling picture of Canny’s life and music, accessible to non-musicians and musicians alike. O’Shea’s prose style bears a certain kinship to Canny’s music, at once lyrical and economical … this is a meticulously researched piece of writing … her diligence as an oral historian must be applauded [and her] command of narrative and imagery leaves such a profound emotional impact. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its depiction of the series of technological and cultural revolutions that reshaped Irish traditional music in the 20th century.’ Matthew Horsley, Tinteán‘Helen O'Shea has written a splendid and multi-layered book, blending text, image and music. The Lilliput Press have produced a very handsome book; it is most attractive to the eye and to the holding hand. Paddy Canny is most fortunate in having Helen O'Shea as his recording angel.’ Peter Beirne'This is a tastefully-written and presented, musically-competent, expert and tender chronicle of an exceptional, pre-Revival-days player who loved his music, and was aware of the limitations living in Ireland implied. It is tremendous that Helen O’Shea now brings it into the light of day. [Her] twenty or so detailed tune transcriptions and much music analysis make tremendous sense of Paddy Canny as a stylist, his technique, and composition and arrangement ingenuity. This makes the work much more than a personal tale set in an evocative historical landscape. It is the story of a musician among his peers, in his community—with his unique music.' Fintan Valley, Companion to Irish Traditional Music'A richly enlightening journey through the life and times of one of Ireland’s most important fiddle players.' Martin Dowling, The Journal of Music'The book is a tremendous accomplishment, and we in the world of Irish trad are all indebted to you.' Steve Jones, musician, Montreal'A wonderful contribution to the social history of traditional music.' Geoff Wooff, musician and uilleann pipes maker'The texture and tone of the prose is like softly woven tweed. Tactile. It’s so gentle and filled with utter respect for the lives lived in that musical locale.' Máire Winters, Galway
£20.90
Karnak House The A-z Of African Love Songs
Book Synopsis
£12.34
University of Hertfordshire Press Gypsies and Flamenco: The Emergence of the Art of
Book SynopsisThis definitive work on the contribution of the Gypsies to the development of flamenco traces their influences on music from their long migration from India, through Iran, Turkey, Greece, and Hungary, to their persecution in Spain. This new updated edition provides fuller explanations of some of the technical terms and an invaluable biographical dictionary of 200 of the foremost Gypsy flamenco artists from its origins to the present day, as well as a discography and videography.
£9.99
Bristol Books CIC Fred Wedlock: Funnyman of Folk
Book Synopsis
£11.40
BÃhlau Verlag Wien Volksmusik in NiederÃsterreich. Pielachtal
Book SynopsisSingen im Pielachtal
£97.74
Boehlau Verlag Singing Song and Sound as Human Acts of Personal and Cultural Agency
Book SynopsisThis book explores various facets of singing, song, and sound as human acts of personal and cultural agency, from the perspective of their emergence in diverse multipart music practices in Europe.
£68.00
The University of Chicago Press Venda Childrens Songs A Study in
Book SynopsisThis text provides a detailed analysis of both the music and the cultural significance of children's songs among the Venda people of the northern Transvaal, South Africa. It examines topics such as role of melody in generating rhythm.
£30.00
The University of Chicago Press Performing Democracy
Book SynopsisBased on fieldwork conducted between 1988 and 1996 with professional Bulgarian folk musicians, this book argues that the performances of traditional music groups may be interpreted not only as harbingers but also as agents of Bulgaria's political transition. It features traditional Bulgarian music, lyrics, notation, and photos.
£83.60
The University of Chicago Press Music Culture and Experience
Book SynopsisThis volume brings together eight of Blacking's most important theoretical papers which reveal his theoretical themes such as the innateness of musical ability and the properties of music as a symbolic or quasi-linguistic system.Table of ContentsForeword Bruno Nettl Acknowledgments The Ethnomusicology of John Blacking 1: Expressing Human Experience through Music 2: The Problem of Musical Description 3: The Music of Venda Girls' Initiation 4: Music and the Historical Process in Vendaland 5: The Study of Musical Change 6: Reflections on the Effectiveness of Symbols 7: The Music of Politics 8: Music, Culture, and Experience A Note on Pronunciation Works by John Blacking References Index
£76.00
The University of Chicago Press Music Culture and Experience Selected Papers of
Book SynopsisThis volume brings together eight of Blacking's most important theoretical papers which reveal his theoretical themes such as the innateness of musical ability and the properties of music as a symbolic or quasi-linguistic system.
£34.20
The University of Chicago Press African Rhythm and African Sensibility
Book SynopsisWe have in this book a Rosetta stone for mediating, or translating, African musical behavior and aesthetics.Andrew Tracey, African MusicJohn Miller Chernoff, who spent 10 years studying African drumming, has a flair for descriptive writing, and his first-person narratives should be easily understood by any reader, while ringing unmistakably true for the reader who has also been to West Africa.Roderick Knight, Washington Post Book WorldEthnomusicologists must be proud that their discipline has produced a book that will, beyond doubt, rank as a classic of African studies.Peter Fryer, Research in LiteraturesA marvelous book. . . . Not many scholars will ever be able to achieve the kind of synthesis of 'doing' and 'writing about' their subject matter that Chernoff has achieved, but he has given us an excellent illustration of what is possible.Chet Creider, CultureChernoff develops a brilliant and penetrating musicological essay that is, at the same time, an intensely personal and even touc
£27.00
The University of Chicago Press In the Time of Cannibals The Word Music of South
Book SynopsisThe workers who migrate from Lesotho to the mines and cities of neighbouring South Africa have developed a rich genre of sung oral poetry - word music - that focuses on the experiences of migrant life. Complete with transcriptions of performances, this book discusses this musical literature.
£30.00
The University of Chicago Press In Praise of Krishna Songs from the Bengali
Book Synopsis
£23.00
The University of Chicago Press African Stars Studies in Black South African
Book SynopsisIn recent years black South African music and dance have become ever more popular in the West, where they are now widely celebrated as expressions of opposition to discrimination and repression. Less well known is the rich history of these arts, which were shaped by several generations of black artists and performers whose struggles, visions, and aspirations did not differ fundamentally from those of their present-day counterparts. In five detailed case studies Veit Erlmann digs deep to expose the roots of the most important of these performance traditions. He relates the early history of isicathamiya, the a cappella vocal style made famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In two chapters on Durban between the World Wars he charts the evolution of Zulu music and dance, studying in depth the transformation of ingoma, a dance form popular among migrant workers since the 1930s. He goes on to record the colorful life and influential work of Reuben T. Caluza, South Africa's first black ragtime
£27.00
The University of Chicago Press Dancing Prophets Musical Experience in Tumbuka
Book SynopsisFor the Tumbuka people of Malawi, traditional medical practices are filled with music. This ethnography explores a health care system populated by dancing prophets, singing patients and drummed spirits.
£28.00
The University of Chicago Press Remains of Ritual Northern Gods in a Southern
Book SynopsisA book on the critical role of music in African ritual which focuses on the Brekete/Gorovodu religion of the Ewe people. It analyzes their practices through a historical and ethnographic study of one of the dominant ritual sites on the southern coast of Ghana: a medicine shrine whose origins lie in the northern region of the country.
£27.00
The University of Chicago Press Fiddling for Norway Revival and Identity Chicago
Book SynopsisThis is a portrait of a fiddle-based folk revival in Norway, investigating the people and events in Norwegian folk fiddling, and tracing the history of Norwegian folk music and the growth and diversification of the folk music revival. It uses a wide anthology of carefully-transcribed folk tunes.
£30.40
The University of Chicago Press Tango Machine Musical Culture in the Age of
Book SynopsisIn Argentina, tango isn't just the national music it's a national brand. But ask any contemporary Argentine if they ever really listen to it and chances are the answer is no: tango hasn't been popular for more than fifty years. In this book, Morgan James Luker explores that odd paradox by tracing the many ways Argentina draws upon tango as a resource for a wide array of economic, social, and cultural that is to say, non-musical projects. In doing so, he illuminates new facets of all musical culture in an age of expediency when the value and meaning of the arts is less about the arts themselves and more about how they can be used. Luker traces the diverse and often contradictory ways tango is used in Argentina in activities ranging from state cultural policy-making to its export abroad as a cultural emblem, from the expanding nonprofit arts sector to tango-themed urban renewal projects. He shows how projects such as these are not peripheral to an otherwise real tango they are the absolu
£76.00
The University of Chicago Press The Tango Machine Musical Culture in the Age of
Book SynopsisIn Argentina, tango isn't just the national music it's a national brand. But ask any contemporary Argentine if they ever really listen to it and chances are the answer is no: tango hasn't been popular for more than fifty years. In this book, Morgan James Luker explores that odd paradox by tracing the many ways Argentina draws upon tango as a resource for a wide array of economic, social, and cultural that is to say, non-musical projects. In doing so, he illuminates new facets of all musical culture in an age of expediency when the value and meaning of the arts is less about the arts themselves and more about how they can be used. Luker traces the diverse and often contradictory ways tango is used in Argentina in activities ranging from state cultural policy-making to its export abroad as a cultural emblem, from the expanding nonprofit arts sector to tango-themed urban renewal projects. He shows how projects such as these are not peripheral to an otherwise real tango they are the absolu
£26.00
The University of Chicago Press DAlbuquerques Children Performing Tradition in
Book SynopsisThis work examines the musical influences of a Malaysia's Portuguese community, whose roots lie in the conquest of Malacca in 1511 by the Portuguese seafarer Afonse D'Albuquerque.
£30.00
The University of Chicago Press Engendering Song Singing and Subjectivity at
Book SynopsisFor Prespa Albanians, both at home in Macedonia and in the diaspora, the most significant events of any year are wedding ceremonies. This account of Prespa weddings combines photographs, song texts and recordings of the wedding music, demonstrating the importance of singing within Prespa society.
£38.00
The University of Chicago Press Gamelan Gong Kebyar
Book SynopsisMichael Tenzer offers a study of Balinese gamelan music, focusing on the pre-eminent 20th-century genre, gamelan gong kebyar. He applies music theory and analysis to this non-Western orchestral genre to discuss composition and structure, as well as looking at the ethographic background.
£57.00
The University of Chicago Press Moving Away from Silence
Book SynopsisIncreasingly popular in the United States and Europe, Andean panpipe and flute music draws its vitality from the traditions of rural highland villages and of rural migrants who have settled in Andean cities. In Moving Away from Silence, Thomas Turino describes panpipe and flute traditions in the context of this rural-urban migration and the turbulent politics that have influenced Peruvian society and local identities throughout this century. Turino's ethnography is the first large-scale study to concentrate on the pervasive effects of migration on Andean people and their music. Turino uses the musical traditions of Conima, Peru as a unifying thread, tracing them through the varying lives of Conimeos in different locales. He reveals how music both sustains and creates meaning for a people struggling amid the dramatic social upheavals of contemporary Peru. Moving Away from Silence contains detailed interpretations based on comparative field research of Conimeo musical performance, rehearsals, composition, and festivals in the highlands and Lima. The volume will be of great importance to students of Latin American music and culture as well as ethnomusicological and ethnographic theory and method.
£85.00
The University of Chicago Press Moving Away from Silence
Book SynopsisIncreasingly popular in the United States and Europe, Andean panpipe and flute music draws its vitality from the traditions of rural highland villages and of rural migrants who have settled in Andean cities. In Moving Away from Silence, Thomas Turino describes panpipe and flute traditions in the context of this rural-urban migration and the turbulent politics that have influenced Peruvian society and local identities throughout this century. Turino's ethnography is the first large-scale study to concentrate on the pervasive effects of migration on Andean people and their music. Turino uses the musical traditions of Conima, Peru as a unifying thread, tracing them through the varying lives of Conimeos in different locales. He reveals how music both sustains and creates meaning for a people struggling amid the dramatic social upheavals of contemporary Peru. Moving Away from Silence contains detailed interpretations based on comparative field research of Conimeo musical performance, rehearsals, composition, and festivals in the highlands and Lima. The volume will be of great importance to students of Latin American music and culture as well as ethnomusicological and ethnographic theory and method.
£38.00
The University of Chicago Press Nationalists Cosmopolitans and Popular Music in
Book SynopsisThis work focuses on the development of a unique style of music - combining the electric guitar with indigenous Shona music - that emerged in Zimbabwe during the 1980s. Turino examines this emergence of cosmopolitan culture among the black middle classes, and how it influenced politics.
£42.75
The University of Chicago Press Gentleman Troubadours and Andean Pop Stars
Book SynopsisFocusing on popular huayno music and the ways it has been promoted to Peru's emerging middle class, the author tells a complex story of identity making and the marketing forces entangled with it, providing crucial insights into the dynamics among art, class, and ethnicity that reach far beyond the Andes.
£28.00
Columbia University Press Klezmer America
Book SynopsisKlezmer is a musical tradition that grows out of Eastern European Jewish culture, and its changes reflect Jews' interaction with other groups as well as their shifting relations to their own history. This title offers an understanding of racial, ethnic, and sexual categories in America.Trade ReviewThere are some fascinating vignettes in this book. -- Shoel Stadlen Times Literary Supplement always engaging and at time groundbreaking. -- David Brauner WasafiriTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Angels, Monsters, and Jews: From Kushner to Klezmer 2. Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe,, and the Making of Ethnic Masculinity 3. Antisemitism Without Jews: Left Behind in the American Heartland 4. The Human Stain of Race: Roth, Sirk, and Shaw in Black, White, and Jewish 5. Conversos, Marranos,, and Crypto-Latinos: Jewish-Hispanic Crossings and the Uses of Ethnicity 6. Transgressions of a Model Minority 7. Asians and Jews in Theory and Practice Conclusion: The Klezmering of America Notes Index
£83.60
University of Illinois Press The Bill Monroe Reader
Book SynopsisKnown as the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe pioneered a different category of music and inspired generations of musicians and fans. This title offers a tribute to the man and the musician who transformed the traditional music of western Kentucky into an international sensation.Trade Review"The best single source for all things Monroe." --Wall Street Journal"[Ewing] neatly winnows out the chaff and gathers into a bundle what emerges as a complete mosaic of the artist. . . . Indispensable. "--Chuck Hicks, Pop Matters"Excellent. . . . Especially intriguing are the various interviews conducted with Monroe throughout his career. . . . Editor's comments following each article are well worth the price of admission in themselves. Ewing's years with Monroe and in-depth research add much to the pieces as he corrects misinformation or expounds upon the history."--Jonathan Colcord, Country Standard Time"Some of the greatest gems, and there are many in this book, are the thoughts and recollections of people who actually picked with Monroe. It is in these stories where we see the clearest image of the man: a curmudgeonly but loveable teacher who lived and breathed to play his mandolin and to help other musicians who wanted to learn bluegrass."--H-Southern-Music
£22.79
University of Illinois Press Musical Journeys in Sumatra
Book SynopsisA fascinating ethnographic record of vanishing musical genres, traditions, and practicesTrade Review"Kartomi's book reaffirms the value of classic ethnomusicological research. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice"This is a delicious book -- to be savoured, appreciated for its richness of detail and admired for its texture and cohesion. An innovative work, of great significant for describing, categorising and analysing Indonesia's traditional musical arts."--Inside Indonesia"The first comprehensive text detailing Sumatran music-dance traditions, based on forty years of fieldwork and scholarship, is, above all, a wonderfully encyclopedic collection of fascinating data and careful, honest description--in short, a classic ethnomusicological text."--Journal of the American Musicological Society"This book deserves credit as a significant contribution in englarging the body of knowledge of Indonesian traditional music."--Indonesia"Kartomi's impressive compendium of data, combined with engaging scholarship, is an important contribution to Asian studies, one that will likely inspire many students and scholars to think about Sumatra in new ways through its history of expressive culture and performance."--The Journal of Asian Studies"Rich in both extremely specific detail (in the form of musical transcriptions and artful play-by-play descriptions of events) and extremely broad theoretical musings about history, acculturation, gender,and pan-Sumatran themes and trends. . . . Here (as in person) Kartomi combines genuine warmth and gregariousness, a keen eye and ear for detail, and a disarmingly pragmatic matter-of-factness about potentially surprising or difficult subjects to fully engage her readers. It all makes for extraordinarily entertaining as well as informative reading"--Journal of Folklore Research"This volume presents a lifetime of writings by a distinguished scholar on the musical arts of Sumatra. Readers get a comprehensive glimpse of the myriad music and dance styles, ritual and religious life, cultural politics, and ecological and gender issues that permeate the island."--David D. Harnish, author of Bridges to the Ancestors: Music, Myth, and Cultural Politics at an Indonesian Festival"Widely recognized as the expert on the music of Sumatra, Margaret Kartomi provides a wealth of information on the music of various regions of the huge and culturally diverse island of Sumatra in Indonesia. No other book comes close to the treasure trove of descriptive data and detail here."--R. Anderson Sutton, author of Traditions of Gamelan Music in Java: Musical Pluralism and Regional Identity
£45.90
MO - University of Illinois Press Bill Clifton
Book SynopsisThe most atypical of bluegrass artists, Bill Clifton has enjoyed a long career as a recording artist, performer, and champion of old-time music. Bill C. Malone pens the story of Clifton''s eclectic life and influential career. Born into a prominent Maryland family, Clifton connected with old-time music as a boy. Clifton made records around earning a Master''s degree, fifteen years in the British folk scene, and stints in the Peace Corps and Marines. Yet that was just the beginning. Closely allied with the Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Mike Seeger, and others, Clifton altered our very perceptions of the music--organizing one of the first outdoor bluegrass festivals, publishing a book of folk and gospel standards that became a cornerstone of the folk revival, and introducing both traditional and progressive bluegrass around the world. As Malone shows, Clifton clothed the music of working-class people in the vestments of romance, celebrating the log cabin as a refuge from modernism tTrade 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
£77.35
University of Illinois Press Building New Banjos for an OldTime World
Book SynopsisBanjo music possesses a unique power to evoke a bucolic, simpler past. The artisans who build banjos for old-time music stand at an unusual crossroads asked to meet the modern musician's needs while retaining the nostalgic qualities so fundamental to the banjo's sound and mystique. Richard Jones-Bamman ventures into workshops and old-time music communities to explore how banjo builders practice their art. His interviews and long-time personal immersion in the musical culture shed light on long-overlooked aspects of banjo making. What is the banjo builder's role in the creation of a specific musical community? What techniques go into the styles of instruments they create? Jones-Bamman explores these questions and many others while sharing the ways an inescapable sense of the past undergirds the performance and enjoyment of old-time music. Along the way he reveals how antimodernism remains integral to the music's appeal and its making.Trade ReviewKlaus P. Wachsmann Prize for Advanced and Critical Essays in Organology, the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), 2018 "The book offers models for researching the art of instrument makers. It shows the need for studying a wide range of crafters to learn about musical history."--Journal of Folklore Research"The book presents a concise overview of banjo history and provides insight into construction trends and the cultural relevance of the instrument. Readers interested in the banjo's place in old-time music and its evolution over the past 50 years will find this book an informative and worthy read."--Old-Time Herald "Jones-Bamman provides a detailed description of the steps involved in building an old-time banjo: from the selection of the wood, to countless design decisions regarding aesthetics, structure, and tone, to choice of hardware, to designing pearl inlays, to the wood finish and final set up. These technical details, explained in the words of the banjo builders themselves, nicely illustrate the evolution of the craft of contemporary banjo building." --Society for American Music Bulletin"This book will be a valuable collection to the library of any banjo maker or player keen to embrace a keener understanding of how their instrument came to be." --Old Time News"Jones-Bamman's book remains unique in its subject matter and approach and a valuable contribution to the deservedly growing body of literature on the instrument." --Popular Music and Society“The issues raised by Jones-Bamman and the information he provides to aid in their discussion have never been brought together in one volume. A significant addition to the literature.”--Bob Carlin, author of Banjo: An Illustrated History“Completely unique in his focus on present-day banjo makers and the cultural significance of the banjo for builders and players today. Jones-Bamman shows us how the banjo taps deeply into conflicting ideas about modernity and the USA’s checkered past.”--Timothy J. Cooley, author of Surfing about Music
£77.35
University of Illinois Press Czech Bluegrass
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Lee Bidgood is the first person to do a serious accounting of the forces, political and artistic, that have contributed to the popularity of this outlier music in this unlikely locale. By putting himself in the narrative, one gets an up close and personal sense of the various aspects of the bluegrass and old-time music wave that has swept across the Czech and Slovakian musical landscapes for years--and still counting." --Tony Trischka, from the foreword "Many readers will appreciate both the high level of insight, and that the text makes its points using only 124 pages. Ethnographic works about contemporary music traditions are needed, and Czech Bluegrass: Notes from the Heart of Europe is a valuable tool, helping those interested in bluegrass music understand the rooting of the style in multiple cultures."--Journal of Folklore Research "Bidgood's personalized analysis adds a significant, scholarly piece to the bigger picture of bluegrass as an international phenomenon."--Bookreporter"This book will be of interest to those curious about the assimilation and adaptation of music forms. . . Readers eager for stories of bluegrass and country music that diverge from the common narrative of these genres being made by and for American Southerners will also appreciate the global approach to these genres." --Journal of American Folklore
£77.35
University of Illinois Press Banjo Roots and Branches
Book SynopsisThe story of the banjo''s journey from Africa to the western hemisphere blends music, history, and a union of cultures. In Banjo Roots and Branches, Robert B. Winans presents cutting-edge scholarship that covers the instrument''s West African origins and its adaptations and circulation in the Caribbean and United States. The contributors provide detailed ethnographic and technical research on gourd lutes and ekonting in Africa and the banza in Haiti while also investigating tuning practices and regional playing styles. Other essays place the instrument within the context of slavery, tell the stories of black banjoists, and shed light on the banjo''s introduction into the African- and Anglo-American folk milieus. Wide-ranging and illustrated with twenty color images, Banjo Roots and Branches offers a wealth of new information to scholars of African American and folk musics as well as the worldwide community of banjo aficionados. Contributors: Greg C. Adams, Nick BambTrade ReviewNicholas Bessaraboff Prize, American Musical Instrument Society, 2020 "Anyone with a strong interest in the early history of the banjo or in the broader history of American instrumental music in oral tradition will want a copy of this fine collection. All the work is imaginative, careful, and thoroughly documented. The essays flow smoothly." --Western Folklore"Banjo Roots and Branches is a comprehensively researched and pathbreaking piece of banjo roots scholarship. " --Music in American Life"Inspired by Dena Epstein, this is the first book to use a holistic approach in exploring the history of the banjo; it is an excellent compilation of articles for those interested in the music of Africa and the Americas."--Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, author of Fiddling in West Africa: Touching the Spirit in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba Cultures"Winans makes a rich addition to the literature. Recommended." --Choice"As far as I know this book has no real equivalents. Several of the essays are pioneering contributions to the esoteric but intriguing field of banjo research and folklore and ethnomusicology generally."--Robert S. Cantwell, author of Bluegrass Breakdown: The Making of the Old Southern Sound"An excellent book with plenty of material for both specialist and casual readers." --Galpin Society Journal"Roots and Branches collects an extraordinary amount of research into the ongoing discovery of the banjo's Byzantine history. . . .Each essay speaks directly to all others, lending the book an unusual level of cohesion for an edited volume." --The World of Music"A significant contribution to our understanding of the history and current significance of the banjo." --Ethnomusicology
£87.55
University of Illinois Press Cultural Sustainabilities Music Media Language
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Cultural Sustainabilities serves as a welcome and industrious collection that highlights not only the importance of sound but also its place in situating our current environmental and ecological plights." --Green Letters"Well-conceived . . . This volume is inspiring in that it offers new ways of looking at cultural sustainability." --Western Folklore"Cultural Sustainabilities is a superb collection of essays that broadly address the intersections of human creative practices and the environments from which they are derived and cultivated." --The World of Music"Written to introduce the reader to the universal practice of 'musicking' and the influence of real-time environmental upheaval on its conception and performance, and the physical and technological systems that support and maintain its integrity, the scope and scale of the literature illuminates the immense challenges of survival in a time of climatic upheaval." --Environmental Values"A must read for those interested in ecomusicology and will serve as a valuable resource for scholars in the Environmental Humanities writ large. . . . Students encountering Cultural Sustainabilities will be inspired to explore, advocate, and create a more equitable and pleasurable 'sound commons.'"--Mark Pedelty, author of A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental Activism"The topic of sustainability is of broad interest across many disciplines and activities in this era of rapid climate change, globalized communications, and musical transformations. Music and sustainability is a new area and there are very few publications on the subject, and none as large and as well conceived as this one. It promises to make a significant addition."--Anthony Seeger, author of Why Suyá Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People"Cultural Sustainabilities is a must read for those interested in ecomusicology and will serve as a valuable resource for scholars in the environmental humanities writ large. . . . Students encountering Cultural Sustainabilities will be inspired to explore, advocate, and create a more equitable and pleasurable 'sound commons.'"--Mark Pedelty, author of A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental Activism
£77.35
University of Illinois Press Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Unexpectedly moving . . . Well-written and researched . . . Goldsmith's sweeping view of twentieth-century popular culture tells a fascinating story of how a regional banjo style journeyed from rural North Carolina to the American mainstream, and of the musician and his iconic composition that took it there." --Journal of American Folklore "Goldsmith packs his narrative with not only numerous facts but interesting anecdotal evidence. . . . All told, the author skillfully succeeds in weaving together an explanation of how Scruggs and his tune became legendary. " --North Carolina Historical Review "Those who are already fans of 'Earl' and his astounding banjo work will certainly want to own this volume. . . . Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Breakdown is a worthy addition to the library of any bluegrass, country, and acoustic-music enthusiast." --Journal of Folklore ResearchTable of ContentsCoverTitleCopyrightContentsAcknowledgments1. Out to Follow Scruggs’s Path2. “I grew up around a banjo”3. The Piedmont’s Rich Musical Soil4. Early Professional Days5. Joining Bill Monroe6. Working as a Blue Grass Boy7. Flatt and Scruggs Build a Career8. Recording “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”9. “Like a Jackhammer” — How the Tune Works10. The Number-One Banjo Player11. The Beverly Hillbillies Welcomes the Banjo12. Riding with Bonnie and Clyde13. Scruggs without Flatt: A Period of Transition14. Scruggs’s Banjo Gains a Cult Following15. Reaping the HarvestNotesIndex
£77.35
University of Illinois Press Industrial Strength Bluegrass
Book SynopsisTrade Review"If you believe that a purpose of volumes such as Industrial Strength Bluegrass is to stimulate thinking about a subject, then Industrial Strength Bluegrass serves its purpose well." --Journal of Folklore Research"If you believe that a purpose of volumes such as Industrial Strength Bluegrass is to stimulate thinking about a subject, then Industrial Strength Bluegrass serves its purpose well." --Journal of Folklore Research"With its extensive notes and sources, this book is a rich resource of information and powerful insights into the people and times that left an indelible mark on bluegrass." --Bluegrass Unlimited"Industrial Strength Bluegrass: Southwest Ohio’s Musical Legacy, both the book and the recording, are major contributions to the field of Appalachian Studies. These works provide a view of the urban Appalachian experience that reveals the story of Appalachian migration, the influence of Appalachian culture in areas like greater Cincinnati and takes us up to the present ways that Appalachian culture still impacts the region and the world beyond." --Urban Appalachian Community Coalition"They have created this lively look at the southern Ohio region and the music that magically materialized when the right people came along. . . . Soundly supported scholarship and down-to-earth accounts from those who were there and made it happen." --Bookreporter.com"My family left Jackson County, Kentucky, in the late 1950s to find work in Ohio. The sounds and songs from home naturally tagged along with us. Riding around in Dad’s truck there as a kid, the first music I remember hearing was the Osborne Brothers and Flatt and Scruggs on WPFB. Industrial Strength Bluegrass brings to life how bluegrass developed in the Cincinnati/Dayton region. I love the vivid stories of how the genre came of age and all the fascinating characters who catapulted it onto the world’s stage."--Dan Hays, former Executive Director of the International Bluegrass Music Association"Essential reading for any bluegrass fan. What a cast—from flawed geniuses, raucously liberated women, and gun-toting business proprietors to Eagle Scouts, professors, and creative artists of the highest order, all mixed together in the same petri dish, all true to themselves and their music. The setting for the first bluegrass college concert, Antioch, as well as where Mike Lilly rode his Harley into the Living Arts Center; Moon Mullins professed, promoted, and ad-libbed commercials with colorful epithets surpassing Barnum’s; motley barrooms became famous nationwide for the quality of the music played there; and, true to their work ethic, bluegrass professionals sprouted everywhere and many rose to national fame. The barroom bluegrass of Southwest Ohio spawned by Appalachian transplants who had taken the 'trail of the bologna rinds' was just as good and often more exciting than the bluegrass of the traveling professionals who first developed the music. When the two met here, it split the bluegrass atom."--Ron Thomason, founder and leader of the Dry Branch Fire Squad"An appealing and accessible musical history that showcases the importance of homegrown regional musical culture. For bluegrass fans and historians of the genre." --Library JournalTable of ContentsForeword: Industrial Strength Bluegrass Neil V. Rosenberg Notes from the Editors Acknowledgments A Southwestern Ohio Bluegrass Timeline 1 Appalachian Migration: Setting the Musical Stage in Southwestern Ohio Phillip J. Obermiller 2 Bobby Osborne Remembers How It Was Bobby Osborne and Joe Mullins 3 All the Way to the Fence: Bluegrass Broadcasting in the Miami Valley Daniel Mullins 4 Taking the Music Home: Bluegrass Recording Studios, Record Labels, and Record Stores Mac McDivitt 5 Sing Me Back Home: Early Bluegrass Venues in Southwestern Ohio Larry Nager 6 Using My Bible for a Roadmap: Sacred Bluegrass Music in the Miami Valley Fred Bartenstein 7 Green to Bluegrass: Reflections on an Unlikely Musical Career Lily Isaacs 8 Buckeyes in the Briar Patch: Southwestern Ohio Bluegrass in the 1970s Jon Hartley Fox 9 The Living Arts Center’s East Dayton Roots Rick Good 10 Bluegrass Music and Urban Appalachian Identity in Cincinnati Nathan McGee 11 Distinctive Qualities of Southwestern Ohio Bluegrass Ben Krakauer Appendix A: Recommended Southwestern Ohio Bluegrass Recordings Appendix B: For Further Reading List of Contributors Index
£77.35
MO - University of Illinois Press Red River Blues The Blues Tradition in the
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewASCAP Deems Taylor Award, 1987. "The opening chapters are among the best things ever published on the blues. It's a thoughtful, substantial, solidly constructed, information packed work, and should be in every serious blues enthusiast's library. But more than that, it is a major contribution to the study of popular culture."--Paul Oliver, Juke Blues"A brilliant and exhaustive study of Afro-American secular music in the Southeast in this century. And it is a broader tradition, and not the blues per se, that is being examined here. . . . Bastin illuminates the importance of black string band traditions, balladry, music derived from minstrel and medicine show traditions as well as sacred forms not just as blues antecedents, but as significant parallel strains to blues in the repertories of many musicians up to the present."--Art Rosenbaum, Georgia Historical Quarterly
£25.19
University of Illinois Press My Song Is My Weapon
Book SynopsisA revealing exploration of the origins and development of People''s Songs, Inc.,'My Song Is My Weaponwon the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. Robbie Lieberman brings to life the hootenannies, concerts, and rallies of the time, paying special attention to the politics of culture of the Old Left. Her analysis of the communist movement culture, coupled with interviews with former members of People''s Songs, sheds new light on Cold War America, the American Communist movement, and the experience of left-wing cultural workers.Trade Review"A spirited and scholarly account of the relationship between the US Communist movement and the folk music revival of the 1940s and 1950s."--Paul C. Mishler, Nature, Society, and Thought"Shows the ways in which the folk music revival of the 1960s and the participatory cultures of the civil rights movement and the New Left drew on the general example and the specific creations of the all-but-forgotten People's Songsters."--George Lipsitz, American Historical Review"Lieberman's vision of a people's music in American culture is arresting, challenging, and refreshing, and it deserves our attention." -- Phillip V. Bohlman, Sonneck Society BulletinTable of ContentsPreface xiii Introduction: Historical Background 3 1. The American Communist Movement Culture 14 2. From the "Final Cornflakes" to the "Ballad for Americans": Communist Musical Culture in the 1930s 25 3. "This Machine Kills Fascists": Communism, Antifascism, and People's Music during World War 2 50 4. "My Song Is My Weapon": People's Songs, the CPUSA, and the Cold War 67 5. "Songs of Labor and the American People" 85 6. "We Were Close to Changing the World": The People's Songs Hootenanny 115 7. "The Fight for Peace": People's Songs and the Wallace Campaign 126 8. "We Will Overcome": The Legacy of People's Songs 149 Notes 167 Index 193
£17.09
University of Illinois Press Voices of a People
Book SynopsisWith notes and annotations that give insight into the larger story of the Jewish experience, this is a study of Yiddish folksongs of several types in both Yiddish and English.Trade Review"Drawing on printed collections and on her own unparalleled knowledge and experience, [Rubin] has produced a book that will charm the scholar and entrance the general reader... [A] wonderfully rich collection." -- Library Journal "An impressive scholarly volume and a surprisingly readable one... [Voices of a People] is certainly a landmark in folklore because of its remarkable combination of scholarship and human understanding." -- Edith Fowke, Canadian Forum "Distinctly revealing and penetrating ... an energetic and lively portrait of every facet of Jewish life." -- Lawrence Cohn, Saturday Review "This highly readable book by the charming and knowledgeable Ruth Rubin should have a wide popular audience... No one who falls under its spell can fail to be moved." -- -- Edson Richmond, Journal of American Folklore
£31.50
University of Illinois Press Come Hither to Go Yonder
Book Synopsis Bob Black was a member of Bill Monroe''s Blue Grass Boys in the 1970s. Black''s memoir of his time with the man he called the Chief offers the unique vantage point of a man who traveled and performed extensively with the Father of Bluegrass at a time when the music had opened up to new audiences--and Monroe had become a living legend. Both role model and taskmaster, Monroe exerted a profound influence on Black and the musicians who have carried on the bluegrass tradition. In addition to Black''s one-of-a-kind story,Come Hither to Go Yonderincludes complete listing of Black''s appearances with Monroe, recollections of the memorable experiences they shared while working together, descriptions of other important musicians and bands, and suggestions for further reading and listening. Offering a rare perspective on the creative forces that drove one of America''s greatest composers and musical innovators,Come Hither to Go Yonderrewards fans of Bill Monroe aTrade ReviewBob Black was named the International Bluegrass Music Association Print Media Personality of the Year for his book (2006). "Black writes clearly, in an easy-to-read and entertaining style. His portrait of Monroe is perceptive and sensitive, valuable because of its close perspective and also because Black has a different take on the man than many previous Monroe documentarians. A must-read for Monroe fans."--Bluegrass Unlimited"Bob gives the reader insights into traveling with the band and life on the road. . . . It is obvious that Bob Black cherishes his time with the Blue Grass Boys and his mentor Bill Monroe. Come HIther to Go Yonder is the fascinating story of bluegrass before the phenomenon of Oh Brother."--Sing Out!"I believe Bob Black is the best playing fiddle tunes of any banjo player."--Bill Monroe"Anyone intersted in bluegrass and Bill Monroe will find Black's reminiscences of his time beneath a Blue Grass Boy hat absorbing."--Tony Russell"Being a bluegrass banjo player and Monroe fan for most of my life, I found it easy to project myself into the situations and encounters that Black describes. . . . This is a stimulating and thoroughly enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone interested in Monroe's music."--Tom Adler, folklorist and bluegrass historian
£17.09
University of Illinois Press Chicago Blues
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!
£27.34
University of Illinois Press The Bluegrass Reader
Book SynopsisIn The Bluegrass Reader, Thomas Goldsmith joins his insights as a journalist with a lifetime of experience in bluegrass to capture the full story of this beloved American music. Inspired by the question “What articles about bluegrass would you want to have with you on a desert island?” he assembled a delicious, fun-to-read collection that brings together a wide range of the very best in bluegrass writing. Goldsmith’s substantial introduction describes and traces the development of the music from its origins in Anglo-American folk tradition, overlaid with African American influences, to the breakout popularity of Ralph Stanley, Alison Krauss, and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. He introduces each selection offering a wealth of additional information, making The Bluegrass Reader both enjoyable and invaluable for new fans of the music as well as for its lifetime devotees.Trade ReviewInternational Bluegrass Music Association's 2004 award for Print Media Personality of the Year. "Will stand for decades as a great reference work and the perfect introductory read for anyone interested in the history of bluegrass and its major figures."--Nashville Scene"The Bluegrass Reader successfully manages to appeal to both the bluegrass insider and the newcomer to the genre, and in the process has given well-deserved new life to some masterful bits of writing."--Bluegrass Unlimited
£17.09
University of Illinois Press Poetry and Violence
Book SynopsisJohn H. McDowell provides an in-depth look at the Mexican ballad form known as the corrido, a body of poetry that draws from violence for its subject matter. Through interviews with male and female corrido composers and performers, plus a generous sampling of ballad texts, McDowell reveals a living vernacular tradition that chronicles local and regional rivalries and spawned the narcocorrido, ballads set in the drug trade and particularly popular along the Rio Grande border. Detailed and rife with social and cultural implications, Poetry and Violence is a compelling commentary on violence as both human experience and communicative action.Trade Review"A brilliant study of a thriving ballad tradition extant in the Costa Chica region. It is written in a clear, coherent, and concise style. The book will appeal to those interested in ethnomusicology, ballad studies, and corrido studies."--Maria Herrera-Sobek, Western Folklore"The rich representations of the composer's voice interwoven with the theoretical overlay of scholarly abstractions, the critique of the (racist) allegations that the African heritage of Costa Chica afromestizos is the source of the patterns of violence, [and] the counterdistinction of the roles of composer, performer, and audience member in relating to the corrido's veracity . . . are all reasons to give McDowell's work 'two thumbs up.'"--Daniel Sheehy, Ethnomusicology"A carefully crafted ethnography. . . . [McDowell] succeeds in making his case for the power of the corrido tradition on the Costa Chica to mediate fundamental cultural issues. . . . A groundbreaking analysis of this oft-interpreted genre."--Manuel Peña, Journal of American Folklore"[McDowell] has uncovered a vernacular tradition that relates to regional rivalries that have centered on land redistribution since the revolution, capital formation, and consolidation of federal authority."--British Bulletin of Publications on Latin America, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain
£19.79
MO - University of Illinois Press Crowe on the Banjo The Music Life of J.D. Crowe
Book SynopsisA musical biography of one of bluegrass's true pioneersTrade ReviewReceived the Best Historical Research in Country, Folk or Ethnic Music Award from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2012. Received the Print Media Person of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), 2012. "This book is superbly written and once you start, you just can't put it down."--Cybergrass"Publication of this book is a major event. . . . Captivating and comprehensive."--Bluegrass Unlimited"For fans and historians, a book on the music and influence of J. D. Crowe was long overdue, and Marty Godbey's Crowe on the Banjo fits the bill wonderfully. This account puts Crowe's importance into clear perspective."--Bob Artis, third-generation mandolinist and member of the Allegheny Drifters "A stimulating and informative narrative of the life and work of J. D. Crowe, a seminal figure in the development of latter-day bluegrass music. Marty Godbey admirably pinpoints the importance of Crowe's influences as a banjo player and band leader and how his sound has become the standard for a sizeable segment of the bluegrass music industry."--Alan Munde, bluegrass banjoist and leader of the Alan Munde Gazette"This book covers it all. It begins with the story of Crowe's introduction to the five string banjo at a Flatt & Scruggs performance, and continues until arriving at the present day New South. . . . A must-read."--Bluegrass Today"Godbey covered the gamut of Crowe's career in her book complete with personal conversations, interviews, old-time photos, a discography, and list of additional reading material."--Kentucky Living Magazine"Bluegrass scholars, performers, and fans should welcome this book. Recommended."--Choice"A finely textured, multivocal account of musical apprenticeship and craft that does justice to the lives of both the biography's subject and its author."--The Journal of Southern History "This book is a major service to J. D. worshipers (like myself!). Thanks, Marty, we will miss you."--Béla Fleck, Grammy-winning banjoist
£15.19
University of Illinois Press Bluegrass Bluesman
Book SynopsisThe life and music of a bluegrass pioneer, in his own wordsTrade ReviewCertificate of Merit for Excellence for Best Research in Recorded Country Music, Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Awards, 2013. Fred Bartenstein (editor), Bluegrass/Media Person of the Year, International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA), 2013. "Mesmerizing . . . especially for lovers of bluegrass."--Booklist "One comes away from this interesting read with a keen understanding of a man who influenced country music, dobro playing in particular, in a way few have. Recommended."--Choice "A fascinating look at the musical culture of the South. . . . Thoroughly Southern, spicy, real, and lots of fun." --Library Journal "The legendary musician provides interesting insight into the ways of his long-time boss, Earl Scruggs." --MountainTimes.com "Graves's name won't ring a bell for many outside musicians' circles, but Burkett "Uncle Josh" Graves helped take bluegrass from southern Appalachia to college campuses and beyond, to the world-music status it enjoys today. . . . Bluegrass Bluesman is unfiltered, off-the-cuff oral history."--The Wall Street Journal"In this welcome memoir, Graves proves himself a born storyteller. . . . Rarely is a guitarist's memoir such a rich read."--Vintage Guitar"Josh Graves inspired hundreds of musicians to pick up the steel bar and slide it over the strings of the Dobro. . . . It's good and fitting that the story of this talented and influential musician is being preserved in his own words." --from Neil Rosenberg's foreword to the book "Because Graves tells his own story in his own voice, readers do truly get a sense for whom Josh Graves was and what he and his dobro contributed to Bluegrass music." --Winchester Sun"Yet another must-read book from the University of Illinois Press."--Bluegrass Unlimited "An excellent autobiography of a highly creative musician. Graves was a first-rate storyteller with a discerning sense of what was important in his many memorable experiences." --John Wright, author of Traveling the High Way Home: Ralph Stanley and the World of Traditional Bluegrass Music"Fred Bartenstein has done a beautiful job in covering the career of one of the great figures in bluegrass. . . . A hard book to put down." --County Sales Newsletter
£16.14
University of Illinois Press The NeverEnding Revival
Book Synopsis In recent years, there has been an upsurge in interest in 'roots music' and 'world music,' popular forms that fuse contemporary sounds with traditional vernacular styles. In the 1950s and 1960s, the music industry characterized similar sounds simply as 'folk music.' Focusing on such music since the 1950s, The Never-Ending Revival: Rounder Records and the Folk Alliance analyzes the intrinsic contradictions of a commercialized folk culture. Both Rounder Records and the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance have sought to make folk music widely available, while simultaneously respecting its defining traditions and unique community atmosphere. By tracing the histories of these organizations, Michael F. Scully examines the ongoing controversy surrounding the profitability of folk music. He explores the lively debates about the difficulty of making commercially accessible music, honoring tradition, and remaining artistically relevant, all without 'selling out.' InTrade Review "Thoughtful and insightful book. . . . Scully's important exploration of the folk music revival ... will only gain in significance as the opportunities for the transmission of folk music increase."--ARSC Journal "For those of us with a fondness for Rounder and all the offbeat music it has brought us throughout the years, this book . . . is a must-have."--Sing Out! “Scully explores many facets of the folk music revival. . . . Well written, well researched.”--Bluegrass Unlimited"With care and grace, Scully details the power struggles, the hirings and resignations, the handwringing and public denunciations that characterize any organization that tries to blend notions of cultural purity with commercial ambitions."--American Studies"A keenly insightful study."--Western Folklore"A clear, intelligent, insightful, and open-minded look into the world of folk music. This well-researched book details the conflicts inherent in a hard-to-define musical genre."--Tommy Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone)"Scully covers new territory in exploring the recent history of folk music in the United States by focusing on Rounder Records and the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance. This book is essential for anyone interested in recent developments in folk music and its role in the aftermath of the folk revival of the 1960s."--Ronald D. Cohen, author of Folk Music: The Basics"This well-researched book fills an important gap in the chronicle of the folk revival. Particularly impressive is Scully's recapitulation of the painful debates about Rounder's commercial survival and the nature of folklore and folk song."--Ed Cray, author of Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody GuthrieTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgements / ix Introduction: Where Have All the Folkies Gone? / 1 1. Folklore, Fakelore, and Poplore: From the Creation of the Folk to the Great Boom and Beyond / 21 2. From Club 47 to Union Grove: The Birth of Rounder Records / 58 3. Surrealistic Banjos and Zydeco Rhythms: Rounder's Broad Aesthetic / 88 4. Toward an Authenticity of Self: Old-Time Music in the Modern World / 114 5. Like Politics in Chicago: The Folk Alliance Strives for Unity / 133 6. Consolidation Blues: Folk Music in Contemporary Markets / 167 Conclusion: Gone to the Internet, Everyone / 211 Notes / 219 Note on Citations / 243 Index / 247 Illustrations follow page 20.
£21.59
University of Illinois Press Bill Clifton
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
£15.19
University of Illinois Press Dont Give Your Heart to a Rambler
Book SynopsisAs charismatic and gifted as he was volatile, Jimmy Martin recorded dozens of bluegrass classics and co-invented the high lonesome sound. Barbara Martin Stephens became involved with the King of Bluegrass at age seventeen. Don''t Give your Heart to a Rambler tells the story of their often tumultuous life together. Barbara bore his children and took on a crucial job as his booking agent when the agent he was using failed to obtain show dates for the group. Female booking agents were non-existent at that time but she persevered and went on to become the first female booking agent on Music Row. She also endured years of physical and emotional abuse at Martin''s hands. With courage and candor, Barbara tells of the suffering and traces the hard-won personal growth she found inside motherhood and her work. Her vivid account of Martin''s explosive personality and torment over his exclusion from the Grand Ole Opry fill in the missing details on a career renowned for being stormy. BarTrade Review"Set in the heyday of bluegrass and country music, Don't Give Your Heart to a Rambler is filled with famous names . . . and sparkles with the excitement of those times."--Bookreporter.com"[Don't Give your Heart to a Rambler] stands as a testament to survival, the will to persist, and the importance of choices in forging a life."--Ted Lehman's Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms"Don't Give Your Heart to a Rambler offers a fascinating look into the world of bluegrass during the 1950s and 60s." --Bluegrass Breakdown"A rare insider's view of Nashville's music scene and of how life with a famous bluegrass musician used to be, this account also gives a good impression of what social roles women were expected to fulfill, no matter how their husbands acted."--popcultureshelf"I've often said I wanted to know more about performers lives, with all their warts showing. Barbara Martin Stephens has achieved that for Jimmy Martin. Human beings are complex. Our stories are never simple, and she has written her story, revealing a life and keeping it true."--No Depression"There is not another book as direct and revealing about the socioeconomic background of a major bluegrass artist. . . . Barbara Martin Stephens has given us a unique and intimate memoir of those years."--Marian Leighton Levy"A fascinating book. . . . There's never been a book quite like this in the bluegrass world."--Ken Irwin“After reading this book, fans should have a broader knowledge of Martin’s flamboyant personality and the complex, conflicted character he displayed away from the spotlight.”—Bluegrass Unlimited "For anyone who has ever yearned to know more about the man behind the boisterous King of Bluegrass personality, Don't Give Your Heart to a Rambler should certainly offer an intriguing perspective."--Bluegrass Today "While the music of Jimmy Martin is documented for the ages, his detailed personal life has never been so thoroughly told until now. Barbara Martin lived with the man, bore four of his children, and served as his manager and booking agent during the glory days when he was known as 'Mr. Good ‘N Country Music.' Brutally honest, this book runs the gamut of emotions giving us a first-person account of one the most talented—yet complicated—performers during the golden years of country and bluegrass music." —Eddie Stubbs, WSM Grand Ole Opry Announcer "Jimmy Martin was a sparkling stylist, both as a singer and a guitarist, a brilliant showman whom few could follow onstage, and a tortured soul who once, when I simply said hello to him at the Grand Ole Opry, threatened to whip my ass right there on the side of the stage. I met Jimmy early in my career and thought I knew him fairly well. After reading Barbara's painfully honest portrayal, however, I realize I hardly knew him at all."--Bill Anderson "I can't say enough good things about Barbara Martin and her influence on bluegrass music. She was an early pioneer with booking and representing her artist partner Jimmy Martin. The new venues she was able to put Jimmy into with his music was not easy in any way because Bluegrass is a music that is only appreciated by being watched and performed. Barbara was on the ground floor of all concerts and shows that was the forerunner of bluegrass festivals as we know them today. Thanks again Barbara for all your hard work, courage, many years of hearing no from promoters and telling us your story with this book."--Ronnie Reno "Barbara Martin has written a fascinating book about her years with Jimmy Martin, the King of Bluegrass. If you are a fan of Jimmy Martin—the artist or the man—buy this book to understand more about both."--Jesse McReynolds
£15.19
