Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music [Hardcover]

Joel Whitburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1991

The first documented history of the music America listened to from the Gay Nineties to the Rockin' Fifties, taken from a variety of popular music charts. Artist Section lists each artist's charted recordings in chronological order, with each recording's highest charted position, date first charted, total weeks charted, original label and number, total weeks in the #1 or #2 position, and much more. Includes a wealth of facts and notes about many recordings and artists of pop's early years. Complete Title Section cross-references all titles alphabetically with significant chart data. 6 inch. x 9 inch..

Product Details

• Hardcover: 660 pages
• Publisher: Record Research Inc. (April 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898200830
• ISBN-13: 978-0898200836
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're interested in pre-Elvis music, this helps a lot, July 7, 2002

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music (Hardcover)

Music charts never tell the whole story as anybody who has followed pop charts of any era will know. They serve as an approximate guide to what music was fashionable at the time.

It is particularly important to note that the economic depression of the thirties meant that a lot of singers chose to do radio broadcasts rather than make a lot of records which few could afford. This explains why Frances Langford (for example) was extremely popular yet had few hits.

The other thing you notice is that then, as now, some of the songs you think would have been massive hits (like Moonlight in Vermont and Georgia on my mind) were only modest hits, while other songs which were massive hits appear to have sunk without trace.

Despite all that, this is a valuable source of information for anybody seriously interested in the music of the pre-Elvis era, although very little music is currently available from the early 1920's or before.

I don't think this book could be improved much. Death dates updated? Nice but hardly essential. Pictures? If you buy the music, you'll probably get a picture of the singer. As to the very early artists, photography was also primitive, so pictures may not be available, unless paintings or drawings are available.

There is one improvement which would be really useful - include all the later hits from 1955 onwards for major artists who had a lot of hits up to 1954. Wouldn't it be great to have the complete hits record of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and other major artists in one volume?

But that's a minor point - the information here is not available anywhere else. It's well worth the price if you're into this sort of music.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reference book for the serious collector., April 27, 2004

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music (Hardcover)

I have owned books by Joel Whitburn for over two decades now. As an avid record collector and someone who is extremely interested in the history of popular music I cannot imagine life without them. Of all of Whitburn's books "Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music" is perhaps my very favorite. This book is unique among the Whitburn offerings in that it begins with a seven page "Chronology of Milestones in Popular Music/Recording History 1877-1954." It is a fascinating look at the history of the recording industry beginning with Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph. You will also learn about the history of the Billboard music charts as well as the beginnings of two of America's most venerable record labels Columbia and Victor.

But the main thrust of any Joel Whitburn book is the chart information. In "Pop Memories" you will find an artist by artist listing of over 12000 records that appeared on various pop music charts from 1890 through 1954. By perusing the pages of this book you will learn about some of the most popular turn of the century artists such as Henry Burr and Billy Murray. You will be amazed at how dominant such long forgotten artists as the American Quartet and Paul Whiteman were in their day. Of particular interest to me was how prolific Bing Crosby was between 1931 and 1954. During that period Crosby had an astounding 340 charted records!!! It is also fun to peruse some of the titles. You learn that things really don't change all that much. My very favorite among these is a 1915 hit by the Peerless Quartet entitled "Cows May Come, Cows May Go, But the Bull Goes On Forever."

You may be a bit put off by the price of a Joel Whitburn book. But believe me if you are a serious collector they are worth every penny. I bought my copy of "Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music" more than fifteen years ago and still refer to it frequently. Very highly recommended!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of All Whitburn's Books, March 24, 2001

By 

Ken Roberts "social historian" (Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pop Memories 1890-1954: The History of American Popular Music (Hardcover)

The information contained in this book is beyond compare. The complete pre-rock and roll era, from 1890 through 1954, is here at your fingertips. The Crew Cuts? Here they are. How about Helen Kane (the 'boop boop a doop' girl)? She's here, too. Nora Bayes? Yup! There she is. And thousands more. This book convinced me to search out the music contained herein-not an easy task-but I obtained much of it, and now I'm hooked. Thank God for the web to help me locate this historical music, and thank God for Joel Whitburn for all of the extremely hard work that he had to put into the making of this book. Artists names, release dates, chart numbers (some fabricated but the good intention is there), label and numbers, and artist info. One word of warning in the purchase of this book-you may find yourself searching out and listening to the hits of 1910, 1927, 1941........