History of Rock & Roll [Library Binding]

David Shirley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Traces the history of rock and roll music from the 1950s to the present day and discusses its changing styles and leading personalities.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-10?This overview gives little sense of the historical context in which the music was created. Rather than using a strict chronological organization, Shirley has chosen to tell individual stories of key personalities straight through?Elvis, Little Richard, etc. For example, after the author follows the Beatles through their 1970 breakup, he starts back in the '50s chronicling the folk movement. This approach is successful in telling the individual stories, but going back and forth across decades from chapter to chapter can be confusing. It is difficult to see connections and draw parallels among things that were happening at the same time. Many bands are covered in short paragraphs that seem to exist only so the groups will receive mention?but why devote two sentences to a dismissive swipe at the group Chicago in a section on jazz influences in rock and not mention Steely Dan at all? Sidebars provide sketches of obscure or neglected figures and rock events. Black-and-white publicity photos are scattered throughout and an appendix lists inductees into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame.?Tim Wadham, Dallas Public Library, TX
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-9. This history of rock can serve only as an overview, but it is bright and well written and hits the high spots. Shirley begins with Elvis and describes how Presley bridged the gap between black music and white music. The author then introduces rock's early wild men--Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry--and moves on to Buddy Holly and some of his less talented peers, such as Fabian and Frankie Avalon. Shirley next looks at members of the British invasion and moves on to rock and roll into the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Although the layout is crisp and clean, too many of the pictures are dark and, for the most part, uninteresting. Too bad, because the book has moments of twitchy excitement that really demand better art. Good for report writers, fun for browsers. Source notes appended. Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Library Binding: 176 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531113329
• ISBN-13: 978-0531113325
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,651,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average, not very detailed., November 23, 2000

By 

"tsmason" (Saint Marys, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Rock & Roll (Library Binding)

I checked this book out from the school library about 2 yearsago...This book is what the title says: The History of Rock and Roll.This book uses big text and a lot of photographs. It doesn't really gointo detail about the artists, but it does mention them and it showsthe evolution of rock and roll really well. One part of the book Ilike is the Suggested Listening section, showing music from the50s-90s. This book covers the beginning of rock and roll all the wayto the grunge era, a little after Cobain's death. If you are lookingfor a book that shows the evolution of rock, this is the book. If youare looking for detailed information on the artists of rock and rollthroughout history, this isn't it.

3 out of 5 stars.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars In Reference to Moshe..., April 30, 2005

By 

Shannon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

This book isn't really that good and doesn't compare to many, many other books about rock and roll out there. Get The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock or "Rock and Roll Year By Year" instead. However, this review is in reference to Moshe's review (below). "Here, There and Everywhere" was released by the Beatles on "Revolver" in August 1966. "Pet Sounds" came out in May 1966.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Umm..., April 17, 2005

By 

Moishe (Florida, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The History of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

Mr. Shirley, how can 1965's "Here, There, and Everywhere" have been influenced by 1966's Pet Sounds?