American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3 Includes two CDs (Paperback)

by Larry Starr (Author), Christopher Waterman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book is far and away the best on the topic. I can think of no competitor that comes close to its accessibility and thoroughness."--Louis Niebur, University of Nevada, Reno
"This text engages students on their own 'turf,' so to speak, drawing parallels between past and present-day musical genres and providing fascinating discussions of technological advances crucial to the development of popular music. It prompts students to consider the historical and contemporary sociocultural factors that undergird racial constructions and shape the ways in which American popular music has been created and consumed in the United States and abroad."--Melvin Butler, University of Virginia
"A tremendous accomplishment. A vast array of styles and contexts are skillfully brought together in a coherent and thoroughly readable narrative, and the authors' delight in their subject matter is palpable on every page. For the student, teacher, or general reader interested in pop, this book unquestionably becomes the definitive survey text."--Daniel Sonenberg, University of Southern Maine, in the Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter (on the previous edition)


Product Description
In American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Second Edition, Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman examine popular music in the United States from its beginnings into the 21st century, offering a comprehensive look at the music, the cultural history of the times, and the connections between them. Using well-chosen examples, insightful commentaries, and an engaging writing style, this text traces the development of jazz, blues, country, rock, Motown, hip-hop, and other popular styles, highlighting the contributions of diverse groups to the creation of distinctly American styles. It combines an in-depth treatment of the music itself--including discussions of stylistic elements and analyses of musical examples--with solid coverage of the music's attendant historical, social, and cultural circumstances. The authors incorporate strong pedagogy including numerous boxed inserts on significant individuals, recordings, and intriguing topics; coverage of early American popular music; and a rich illustration program. Detailed listening charts explain the most important elements of recordings discussed at length in the text. The charts are complemented by two in-text audio CDs and--new to this edition--an iMix published at iTunes, which makes most of the songs immediately available to students and instructors.

Features of the Second Edition

* Integrates full color throughout
* Provides more coverage of women artists, with new material on women in rock 'n' roll in Chapter 8 and a box on Queen Latifah in Chapter 14
* Reorganizes the discussion of post-1970s music: disco is now included with mainstream 70s pop, while hip-hop is treated in two chapters (12 and 14) in order to emphasize its significance and diversity
* Adds new material on the recent alternative country music explosion
* Includes new developments in music technology in the thoroughly revised concluding chapter
* Offers revised and more vivid visual elements, including more than 100 new photos (most in full color) and an illustrated timeline
* Provides redesigned listening guides, enhanced by an iMix published at iTunes (accessible at www.oup.com/us/popmusic)
* Supplemented by a Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/popmusic (containing both student and instructor resources) and an Instructor's Manual and a Computerized Test Bank on CD
* FREE with the purchase of this book: a 6-month subscription to Grove Music Online (www.grovemusic.com)--a $180 value

Remarkably accessible, American Popular Music, Second Edition, is ideal for courses in American Popular Music, the History of Popular Music, Popular Music in American Culture, and the History of Rock 'n' Roll. Its welcoming style and warm tone will captivate readers, encouraging them to become more critically aware listeners of popular music.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 530 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (December 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019530053X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195300536
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,087 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Available Text, March 28, 2008

By	Peter K. Winkler - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been teaching University courses in popular music for over 35 years, and I've looked at all the textbooks (there were none when I began teaching). Indeed, I've been asked by publishers to be an outside reviewer for a number of them, including this book.
This is the best on the market, hands-down. It is well-organized, highly readable, with intelligent analyses of well-selected examples. It brings in recent scholarly work in the field of popular music studies without getting bogged down in postmodern cultural studies lingo. The high price goes with the territory; it includes two CD's, and there are lots of photos (which cost money to put in a book).
My only complaint is that the coverage of pre-rock and roll pop is fairly brief (though it is well-informed); since this is the period that interests me the most, I wish there were more, but I imagine there was pressure from the publishers to focus on rock and roll and what followed after.

3.0 out of 5 stars educational if you're a youngster (17 or younger), May 4, 2009

By	Lisa G. Cunningham (Fairfax, Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This text covers the advancement of music from the 1920s through the 1980s but really just skips too much. I feel as if there were so many important group and cultural effects that were never discussed and that this book was a good overview, but should not be read alone when studying the mutations of music. If you are 17 years old and have never heard of Duke Ellington, Count Baise, Woody Guthrie, George Clinton and the P-Funk, Talking Heads, and Michael Jackson (pre-too many nose jobs and white pigmentation or have only heard "Billie Jean", "Thriller","Beat It", and "Smooth Criminal"--yes, Michael did the original and so much better than Alien Ant Farm, folks) then sure, this book will teach you a lot. But if you grew up listening to classical, protest folk, funk, rock, new wave, and r&b, then this book will be a waste of money.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't receive all that was advertised, April 17, 2009

By	Pebbie (Washington GA) - See all my reviews

Received the book. It was to have two CDs, but I only received one!!!