Rock On Almanac: The First Four Decades of Rock 'N' Roll : A Chronology [Paperback]

Norm N. Nite (Author), Dick Clark (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992

For the millions of fans who enjoy the facts and history as much as the music, and for the industry professionals who need quick facts, here is an updated edition of a popular chronology covering four decades of rock music. Includes a Foreword by Dick Clark and more than 400 dazzling photographs of stars, groups, and album covers. More than 25,000 copies of Rock On books sold.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Certain recording artists and music-industry people (e.g., Fats Domino, The Supremes, The Beatles, Tina Turner, the founder of Motown and its former owner Berry Gordy Jr.) have made enormous contributions to the history of rock 'n' roll. Nite's book attempts to cover all those contributions in chronological fashion from the 1940s to the 1980s. However, as useful as it may appear, this book is nothing but a botched job of listing just about everyone who has ever been in the music business, with no special attention given to musical legends. Though readers may enjoy reminiscing about each year's "Debut Artists," "Top Song Hits," and "Grammy Winners" (despite the fact that American Music Award winners are neglected), listings like "Important 'News' Highlights," "Top TV Shows," "Academy Award Winners," and "Sports Winners" are often irrelevant to the book's focus. In addition, there are photographs, reputedly never-before-seen, that are no such thing. For Nite, this book may have been a stroll down memory lane , but it lacks both clarity and depth and is not entertaining. Try instead Michael Ochs's Rock Archives: A Photographic Journey Through the First Two Decades of Rock 'n' Roll ( LJ 12/84). Though its time frame is smaller, it is both entertaining and resourceful.
- Reginald E. Pruitt, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

A popular chronology covering four decades of rock music--with a foreword by Dick Clark and more than 400 dazzling photos of stars, groups, and album covers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Harper Resource; 2 edition (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062731572
• ISBN-13: 978-0062731579
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT REFERENCE BOOK, December 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rock On Almanac: The First Four Decades of Rock 'N' Roll : A Chronology (Paperback)

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST,TOP 20 POP SONGS OF EACH MONTHS,ESSENTIAL FOR RADIO PROGRAMMING.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Reference, January 9, 2002

By 

Roger Lusk (Apo, AE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock On Almanac: The First Four Decades of Rock 'N' Roll : A Chronology (Paperback)

The best reference book on the subject of Rock and Roll Music. The reader or researcher is informed about members of groups, time lines, and record labels without being served up up too much un-necessary knowledge.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but some clear errors, January 20, 2012

By 

Toxic Chili "Rocking around the internet" (Bristol) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock On Almanac: The First Four Decades of Rock 'N' Roll : A Chronology (Paperback)

This book provides a great resource for artists, recordings and rock and roll news for various years throughout the 4 decades 1950-1989. But there are a few errors with incorrect dates?? (although I guess this could be debated and some incorrect artist information). Overall its a good buy and if you are looking for a book with this information in it, this is probably the one.

On a negative, pretty much all this information is available on sites such as wikipedia, rockalmanac.com, and can be found without searching too hard.