The Americana Song Reader

William Studwell has struck gold again! Providing a heterogenous mixture of songs that mirrors the diversity of the United States and its culture, The Americana Song Reader is an entertaining and informative collection of over 130 historical essays on various American and foreign songs that have had a significant impact on U.S. popular culture. The essays give you basic historical data on the work, refer to any related or affiliated works, and touch upon the cultural context of its creation and popular usage in the United States. Presented in an offbeat, somewhat irreverent, yet scholarly style, the author has once again compiled a reference book that is fun to read. In addition to presenting information useful for reference, The Americana Song Reader contains anecdotes, ironic sidelights, poetry, and allusions to parodies. For ease of use, the book is divided into several sections. These sections, with some representative songs listed, include: Dancing Songs: “After the Ball,” “The Hokey Pokey,” “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” Marching Songs: “March of the Toys,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” Rural and Western Songs: “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “Jessie James,” “The Streets of Laredo” Songs That Excite or Amuse: “An American in Paris,” “1812 Overture,” “The Sidewalks of New York” Songs That Soothe or Bring Tears: “Beautiful Dreamer,” “I'm Always Chasing Rainbows,” “My Wild Irish Rose” Children's Songs: “Hansel and Gretel,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “Sing a Song of Sixpence” Circus Songs: “Barnum and Bailey's Favorite,” “Be a Clown,” “The Flying Trapeze” Drinking Songs: “Auld Lange Syne,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Ninety Nine Bottles of Beer” College Songs: “Iowa Corn Song,” “Notre Dame Victory Song,” “The Whiffenpoof Song” Song title index and author/group index Whether the music comes from New York City, remote rural areas of the South or West, or from Vienna or Paris, all music having some sort of impact on the lives of everyday Americans is in a very true way part of Americana. In The Americana Song Reader, you'll see the songs both as small pieces of the American culture puzzle and, collectively, as a large segment of the music of the country. This newest addition to William Studwell's collection of song readers will delight the general public, musicians, and librarians.

William Studwell has done it again! In The National and Religious Song Reader, the author presents more than 120 enjoyable and informative essays on national, patriotic, and religious songs from around the world. Readers will learn the answers to such questions as: Was "Dixie" actually first performed in New York City? Which 16th-century English composition is referred to by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor? What well-known hymn was written by Martin Luther in 1529? And what is a waltzing matilda anyway? (Hint: It's not a dancing young lady.) Studwell's latest collection follows the form and style of his earlier works, The Popular Song Reader and The Christmas Carol Reader, as he relays interesting facts about each song through anecdotes, humor, poetry, and a generally lighthearted yet scholarly approach. In addition to information about each song and its composer, the author also discusses how the song reflected society at the time and how the song itself has influenced popular culture. The book is divided into four sections: American National Songs: armed forces songs, war songs, national anthems, national marches National Songs From Other Countries: songs from Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Ireland, Israel, Australia General Hymns: religious songs from the 17th century and earlier, and the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries Songs Associated With Religious Events: Easter, Thanksgiving, weddings, funerals The book's readable style is its most important quality as it makes it more approachable than a typical reference book. And vital to its usefulness as a reference book are the indexes--one by song title and another by person or group. Whether used primarily as an enjoyable reference or as an informative reader, The National and Religious Song Reader is bound to provide new insights into familiar songs for all music fans.

Benny Goodman, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, The Dorsey Brothers, Duke Ellington, and Glenn Miller were musical masters of their eras, enchanting and romancing audiences with their timeless classics. Relive these wonderful songs and memories through The Big Band Reader: Songs Favored by Swing Era Orchestras and Other Popular Ensembles, a unique and exciting collection of over 140 songs from over 70 bands that are categorized by themes, preferred numbers, and top songs! Paying tribute to better known swing bands, sweet bands (ensembles favoring softer, more sentimental numbers), and some unheralded bands (good ensembles that did not receive much attention or did not have a well-known leader), this book contains up to four essays relating to specific groups and their popular hits, giving readers historical and informative facts about the songs and the people who performed them.

With roots in Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, New Orleans, the Piedmont, Memphis, and the prairies of Texas and the American West, the musical genre called Americana can prove difficult to define. Nevertheless, this burgeoning trend in American popular music continues to expand and develop, winning new audiences and engendering fresh, innovative artists at an exponential rate. As Lee Zimmerman illustrates in Americana Music: Voices, Visionaries, and Pioneers of an Honest Sound, “Americana” covers a gamut of sounds and styles. In its strictest sense, it is a blanket term for bluegrass, country, mountain music, rockabilly, and the blues. By a broader definition, it can encompass roots rock, country rock, singer/songwriters, R&B, and their various combinations. Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Carl Perkins, and Tom Petty can all lay valid claims as purveyors of Americana, but so can Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, and Jason Isbell. Americana is new and old, classic and contemporary, trendy and traditional. Mining the firsthand insights of those whose stories help shape the sound—people such as Ralph Stanley, John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Chris Hillman (Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers), Paul Cotton and Rusty Young (Poco), Shawn Colvin, Kinky Friedman, David Bromberg, the Avett Brothers, Amanda Shires, Ruthie Foster, and many more—Americana Music provides a history of how Americana originated, how it reached a broader audience in the ’60s and ’70s with the merging of rock and country, and how it evolved its overwhelmingly populist appeal as it entered the new millennium.

Full Circle is a how-to book that will prove you can trigger emotional responses in an individual or group therapy session using the right spiritual cues. You'll learn about the Spiritual Therapy Program and find the answers to general questions about how and where to establish the program. Full Circle also contains 80 thematic lesson plans for use in both group and individual sessions. The lessons are flexible and organized into lists to help you formulate the right agenda for individual dementia patients. In addition, Full Circle has expanded units for higher achieving seniors. You may also want to use the special notes, poetry, and quotations that are pinpointed within the appropriate specific theme for even more startling results. Full Circle's sophisticated approach to therapy will help you cater to the needs of the cognitively impaired elderly to trigger emotional responses and enhance overall quality of life.

When you read Full Circle: Spiritual Therapy for the Elderly, you’ll discover a brand new therapeutic approach—spiritual therapy—to treating elderly patients with cognitive disorders. This handy guide will assist you in starting your own renowned spiritually therapeutic program for dementia patients. Full Circle is a how-to book that will prove you can trigger emotional responses in an individual or group therapy session using the right spiritual cues. In the first ten pages of Full Circle, you’ll learn about the Spiritual Therapy Program and find the answers to general questions about how and where to establish the program. The remainder of Full Circle contains 80 thematic lesson plans for use in both group and individual sessions. The lessons are flexible and organized into lists to help you formulate the right agenda for individual dementia patients. Full Circle divides 70 themes into these easily accessible categories: Feelings: depression, anger, and shame Life Review: aging, children, and change Sensory: hearing, smell, and touch Special Occasions: Easter, Thanksgiving, and memories of Christmas Spiritual: forgiveness, heaven, and peace In addition, Full Circle has expanded units for higher-achieving seniors. You may also want to use the special notes, poetry, and quotations that are pinpointed within the appropriate specific theme for even more startling results. Full Circle's sophisticated approach to therapy will help you cater to the needs of the cognitively impaired elderly to trigger emotional responses and enhance overall quality of life.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Go behind the scenes with an insightful look at horror films—and the directors who create them The Spectacle of Isolation in Horror Films: Dark Parades examines the work of several of the genre’s most influential directors and investigates how traditional themes of isolation, alienation, death, and transformation have helped build the foundation of horror cinema. Authors Carl and Diana Royer examine the techniques used by Alfred Hitchcock that place his work squarely in the horror (rather than suspense) genre, discuss avant-garde cinema’s contributions to mainstream horror, explore films that use the apartment setting as the “cell of horror,” and analyze how angels and aliens function as the supernatural “Other.” A unique resource for film students and film buffs alike, the book also examines Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy and the fusion of science, technology, and quasi-religious themes in David Cronenberg’s films. Instead of presenting a general overview of the horror genre or an analysis of a specific sub-genre, actor, or director, The Spectacle of Isolation in Horror Films offers an imaginative look at classic and contemporary horror cinema. The book examines Surrealist films such as Un Chien Andalou and Freaks, the connections among the concepts of voyeurism, paranoia, and alienation in films like Rear Window, Rosemary’s Baby, Blue Velvet, and The Blair Witch Project; the use of otherworldly creatures in films such as The Prophecy, Dogma, and The Day The Earth Stood Still; and the films of directors George Romero, John Waters, and Darren Aronofsky, to name just a few. This unique book also includes an extensive A-to-Z filmography and a bibliography of writings on, and about, horror cinema from filmmakers, film critics, and film historians. The Spectacle of Isolation in Horror Films examines: “Body Doubles and Severed Hands”—the common ancestry of avant-garde “art” films and exploitation horror B-movies “And I Brought You Nightmares”—recurring themes of psychological terror in Alfred Hitchcock’s films “Horror, Humor, Poetry”—Sam Raimi’s transformation of “drive-in” horror cinema “Atheism and 'The Death of Affect'”—David Cronenberg’s obsessions, interests, and cautionary messages in films ranging from Videodrome to Dead Ringers to eXistenZ and much more! The Spectacle of Isolation in Horror Films: Dark Parades is a unique resource of critical analysis for academics working in film and popular culture, film historians, and anyone interested in horror cinema.