From John Philip Sousa to Green Day; from Scott Joplin to Kanye West; from Stephen Foster to Coldplay; The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings; Volumes 1 and 2 covers the vast scope of its subject with virtually unprecedented breadth and depth. Approximately 1;000 key song recordings from 1889 to the present are explored in full; unveiling the stories behind the songs; the recordings; the performers; and the songwriters.Beginning the journey in the era of Victorian parlor balladry; brass bands; and ragtime with the advent of the record industry; readers witness the birth of the blues and the dawn of jazz in the 1910s and the emergence of country music on record and the shift from acoustic to electrical recording in the 1920s. The odyssey continues through the Swing Era of the 1930s; rhythm blues; bluegrass; and bebop in the 1940s; the rock roll revolution of the 1950s; modern soul; the British invasion; and the folk-rock movement of the 1960s; and finally into the modern era through the musical streams of disco; punk; grunge; hip-hop; and contemporary dance-pop. Sullivan; however; also takes critical detours by extending the coverage to genres neglected in pop music histories; from ethnic and world music; the gospel recording of both black and white artists; and lesser-known traditional folk tunes that reach back hundreds of years.This book is ideal for anyone who truly loves popular music in all of its glorious variety; and anyone wishing to learn more about the roots of virtually all the music we hear today. Popular music fans; as well as scholars of recording history and technology and students of the intersections between music and cultural history will all find this book to be informative and interesting.
#2388227 in eBooks 2013-10-08 2013-10-08File Name: B00FQGQDD6
Review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Diana Rigg collectedBy HenkusBeing a long time fan of The Avengers; I want to know everything about my TV heroes.Theres not many a biography to find of Diana Rigg; so I bought this book. Since I read it after Blind in one ear from Patrick Macnee; which is stunning in its detail and honesty; it comes a bit as a disappointment.Kathleen Tracy basicly collected every interview and bits of information she could find (quite some work in itself) and connects it all into a more or less logical order.But its a bit annoying to read all the time from which magazine or source any remark came.It definitively gives you a more or less coherent image of who Diana Rigg was and is; but its not exactly a smooth read.More for the devoted fan like me; Id say.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Informative Bio About a Unique Woman!By pink_icicleJust finished reading this bio of a woman I have admired since she played Emma Peel on THE AVENGERS. The bio rounded out my knowledge of this fascinating woman; and I now have even more respect for her once I finished the book (which I read in one sitting). It helped me to see what a multi-faceted person she is well beyond the role she played so long ago and where she is today.I thought the book was well-written with good continuity. I would definitely recommend this to those who share my fascination with Diana Rigg.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Mrs Peel; were needBy Susan LockyerAnother strange bio-it makes a lot of mention of The Avenger obviously but the only photos are 3 cheese cake type of Rigg and the only photo of Rigg with Patrick MacNee is from a subsequent American series in which he guested and unfortunately didnt do too well-not Riggs fault.