Description
Book SynopsisFake booksanthologies of songs notated in a musical shorthandhave been used by countless pop and jazz musicians in both professional and amateur settings for more than half a century. The Story of Fake Books: Bootlegging Songs to Musicians traces the entertaining and previously unknown account of the origins of pop song fake books, which evolved through the bootlegging of a now obscure musical subscription service, the Tune-Dex. The book follows the history of fake books through their increased popularity among musicians to their prosecution by the government and the music industry, resulting in America''s first full-blown federal trial for criminal copyright infringement. Through accounts given by jazz musicians Steve Swallow and Pat Metheny, The Story of Fake Books also reveals the definitive history of the most popular fake book, one that has acquired a legendary status among jazz musicians: an anthology of jazz tunes called The Real Book. Drawing from information in FBI files, entertainment trade papers, and federal court records, author Barry Kernfeld presents pioneering research, which brings together aspects of pop music history and copyright law to disclose this predecessor of current-day battles over pop song piracy.
Trade ReviewThis volume follows the history of fake books from the Tune-Dex subscription service used in the 1940s to the Real Book series now popularly used (the latter described in part by musicians Steve Swallow and Pat Metheny). Kernfeld details how chord symbols and the first fake books originated, the first copyright infringement case against bootlegging, and when authorized fake books began to appear. In addition to the general index, title and song/show indexes are also provided. Kernfeld is a saxophonist, editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and author of What to Listen for in Jazz. * Reference and Research Book News, November 2006 *
The book is meticulously researched and of great interest to students of the American music industry, particularly in the post-Tin Pan Alley era. * VJM's Jazz and Blues Mart, No. 146 (Summer 2007) *
Kernfeld succeeds in his intent to convey the importance of the fake-book and its historic placement contextually in the larger struggle of music piracy. The groundwork has been laid in The Story of Fake Books, and numerous threads of departure for future research have been introduced in this important study. * American Music *
Table of ContentsPart 1 List of Figures Part 2 Editor's Foreward Part 3 Introduction and Acknowledgments Chapter 4 1. The Tune-Dex: A Card Catalogue for the Music Industry Chapter 5 2. The Growth of Cocktail Lounges: Musicians Need Tune-Dex, Too Chapter 6 3. Songs and Copyright and the Invention of Chord Symbols Chapter 7 4. The Tune-Dex Fake Books: Enter the FBI Chapter 8 5. Evidence Given in 4/4 Time Chapter 9 6. Legit Fake Books Chapter 10 7. The Making of The Real Book Part 11 General Index Part 12 Title Index Part 13 Song and Show Index Part 14 About the Author
