American Popular Music

Beginning with the emergence of commercial American music in the nineteenth century, Volume 1 includes essays on the major performers, composers, media, and movements that shaped our musical culture before rock and roll. Articles explore the theoretical dimensions of popular music studies; the music of the nineteenth century; and the role of black Americans in the evolution of popular music. Also included--the music of Tin Pan Alley, ragtime, swing, the blues, the influences of W. S. Gilbert and Rodgers and Hammerstein, and changes in lyric writing styles from the nineteenth century to the rock era.

Make music come alive for students in grades 5 and up with American Popular Music! This 96-page book explores how the roots of American music began and developed. From European musical traditions in the seventeenth century to African American music today, this book uncovers a foundation and appreciation of AmericaÕs music. It features genres such as ragtime, blues, Dixieland, swing, big band, musical theater, folk, country western, rock and roll, disco, funk, punk, rap, alternative, and contemporary Christian.

This text provides an overview of the four major areas of American contemporary music: jazz, rock, country, and musical theater. Each genre is approached chronologically with the emphasis on the socio-cultural aspects of the music. Readers will appreciate Joyner's engaging writing style and come away with the fundamental skills needed to listen critically to a variety of popular music styles.

"This is an introductory text for undergraduates taking courses in the history of American popular music"--

Explore the rich terrain of American popular music with the most complete, colorful, and authoritative introduction of its kind. In the fifth edition of their best-selling text, American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman provide a unique combination of cultural and social history with the analytical study of musical styles.

Designed as a broad introductory survey, and written by experts in the field, this book examines the rise of American music over the 20th century - the period in which that music came into its own and achieved unprecedented popularity. Beginning with a look at music as a business, 11 essays explore a variety of popular musical genres, including Tin Pan Alley, blues, jazz, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, folk, rap, and Mexican American corridos. Reading these essays, we come to see that the forms created by one group often appeal to, and are in turn influenced by, other groups - across lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender, region and age.