TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Ladies and gentlemen," the gargoyle of an emcee announced to his rapt studio and vast TV audiences, "as everybody knows, whenever any new musical trend..." (more)
Key Phrases: Rock Around the Box, The Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis Presley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Long before American Idol captivated audiences, rock music was practically everywhere on TV, starting with Bo Diddley and his sexually encoded lyrics on The Ed Sullivan Show in the mid-1950s and crescendoing to MTV and VH1, which "made" pop-rock icons like Michael Jackson and Madonna. In a series of engaging essays, Austen, editor of Roctober magazine, debates the role of rock on the small screen as an audience magnet, mass culture monolith and subversive tool. He charts the simultaneous rise of rock on the airwaves and rock on TV through standards like Your Hit Parade, American Bandstand and Soul Train, as well as through guest spots on Saturday Night Live and other non-musical venues; and explains how Elvis Presley and the Beatles became overnight stars through TV audiences who never attended a live concert. Austen leaves no Rolling Stone unturned in this rich, compelling discourse on how rock became a magnetizing (some would claim insidious) force on American TV. From bop and R&B to rock, punk, hip-hop and rap, Austen has a handle on the entirety of the rock phenomenon and how it infiltrated American homes via the tube. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Sprawling, high-definition retrospective of pop music on the tube." —Giant

"Fans of Chuck Klosterman's insightful pop culture skewering will love Jake Austen's Tv-a-Go-Go." —Zink

"Takes up the cause of nearly every pariah music elitists love to pillory." —Time Out Chicago

"Engaging." —Chicago Tribune

"Impressive . . . Not only informative but a heck of a lot of fun." —Chicago Sun-Times

"Austen leaves no Rolling Stone unturned in this rich, compelling discourse." —Publishers Weekly

"A wonderful romp through rock TV . . . with an ideal tour guide at hand." —Chicago Journal

"A cool, behind-the-scenes history. A fascinating reference." —Indie-music.com

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Chicago Review Press (July 1, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 1556525729 ISBN-13: 978-1556525728 Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #362,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
"Ladies and gentlemen," the gargoyle of an emcee announced to his rapt studio and vast TV audiences, "as everybody knows, whenever any new musical trend has evinced itself in the popular field, the first area to find out about it in advance is Harlem." Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Rock Around the Box, The Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis Presley, Steve Allen, Colonel Parker, Stage Show, United States, African American

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	66% buy the item featured on this page: TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol 3.9 out of 5 stars (8) $18.95
	12% buy American Bandstand: Dick Clark and the Making of a Rock 'n' Roll Empire 3.9 out of 5 stars (9) $15.25
	11% buy Station To Station : The Secret History of Rock & Roll on Television 4.5 out of 5 stars (4) $23.95
	9% buy Dick Clark's American Bandstand 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Rector seems to be talking about a different book, July 31, 2006 By  Harold Lime (San Francisco) - See all my reviews I just finished reading TV A-Go-Go and don't recall any "claims of being the definitive book on its subject," as Mr. Rector claims. In fact, Mr. Austen's introduction states "Obviously,a comprehensive overview of all rock on TV is imposible... No one writer could cover everything and nobody would want to read a book that did." Apparently Mr. Rector wanted an encyclopedia of rock on TV, rather than a series of entertaining essays with thought-provoking theses. I'm sorry he didn't get what he wanted, but this was a very worthwhile read. Further, I could find no claim in the book "that punk rock only became popular after Fear appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1981." In fact, Austen writes: "After polling more than a hundred musicians, zine editors, and fans active in hardcore, none of them cited Fear's Saturday Night Live appearance as their point of entry into the scene (the most frequently cited TV moment that led pollsters to punk/hardcore was actually Devo on Saturday Night Live in 1978)... One reason may be that very few people were watching SNL at that point... the evidence of its realness--the downtime between songs, the lack of distance between audience and artists, and the imperfect performance--may have been unappealing to those not familiar with the hardcore experience." Mr. Rector should talk about the book that exists, not the book he's (for better as well as worse) imagining. 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars enormously entertaining, August 3, 2005 By  Kim Cooper "Editrix, Scram Magazine & Lost in... (Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Essential, witty and thoughtful guide to the history of televised rock and pop, from regional dance party shows to Ed Sullivan, punk's invasion of the SNL set to Michael Jackson's metamorphosis into a pop icon. Jake Austen, who oversees the brilliant obsessives who make up the staff of Roctober Magazine, both loves and understands the mass media, and subjects it to an incisive yet affectionate analysis that's as entertaining as it's rare. The result is an enormously entertaining and informative book, recommended for anyone who's curious about the intersections between music and the idiot box. 4.0 out of 5 stars Rock around the dial, August 13, 2008 By  John Lazar - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This is an extremely well-researched book, although not every subject covered here appeals to me (PARTRIDGE FAMILY, MAKING THE BAND, AMERICAN IDOL). Nevertheless, there's something here for every rock music/TV fan, including a whole chapter on rock `n` roll cartoons! I enjoyed the coverage of Elvis Presley and The Beatles -- two subjects that have been covered to death, but in this case the author offers perceptive insights. While I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson (though I respect his stature in rock music history), the chapter on him is one of the strongest entries in the book. I also appreciated the author's defense of the underrated contributions of The Monkees, as well as his on-target appraisals of TV hosts Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, Dick Clark, Mike Douglas, Don Cornelius, and Carson Daly. In time, rock `n' roll music thrived on television, despite the uneasy alliance between the two. Television has repeatedly sabotaged and diluted the very essence of this rebellious art form. Television has also been responsible for presenting us with many moments of pure gold. TV A-GO-GO does a commendable job of chronicling this facet of music history, examining the legendary, the surprisingly good, the idiosyncratic, and the awful acts (and programs that showcased these acts) that have flashed across television screens for the past five decades.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars Where is this guy coming from? I'm three-quarters of the way through this thing and I still don't know where this author is coming from. Read more Published on September 16, 2007 by J. Slott 5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading Jake Austin (publisher of "Rocktober," the finest retro-Rock & Roll magazine since the death of "Kicks") has really done us all a great service with this book. Read more Published on November 18, 2005 by Graham R. Lewis 5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of pop culture archaeology. Jake Austen not only captured what was important in the partnership between television and rock music down through the years, but he does so in entertaining fashion. Read more Published on October 17, 2005 by Kenneth K. Burke 1.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth Your Money TV-a-Go-Go : Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol by Jake Austen is about the history of rock music on television from the 1950's to the present day. Read more Published on October 1, 2005 by Charles J. Rector 5.0 out of 5 stars Genius My older siblings were into Kenny Loggins and Bread, and when they wanted to rock, it was Elton John, or maybe Queen. Read more Published on August 4, 2005 by Nathan Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556525729
• ISBN-13: 978-1556525728
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #362,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Rector seems to be talking about a different book, July 31, 2006

By	Harold Lime (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

I just finished reading TV A-Go-Go and don't recall any "claims of being the definitive book on its subject," as Mr. Rector claims. In fact, Mr. Austen's introduction states "Obviously,a comprehensive overview of all rock on TV is imposible... No one writer could cover everything and nobody would want to read a book that did."
Apparently Mr. Rector wanted an encyclopedia of rock on TV, rather than a series of entertaining essays with thought-provoking theses. I'm sorry he didn't get what he wanted, but this was a very worthwhile read.
Further, I could find no claim in the book "that punk rock only became popular after Fear appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1981." In fact, Austen writes: "After polling more than a hundred musicians, zine editors, and fans active in hardcore, none of them cited Fear's Saturday Night Live appearance as their point of entry into the scene (the most frequently cited TV moment that led pollsters to punk/hardcore was actually Devo on Saturday Night Live in 1978)... One reason may be that very few people were watching SNL at that point... the evidence of its realness--the downtime between songs, the lack of distance between audience and artists, and the imperfect performance--may have been unappealing to those not familiar with the hardcore experience."
Mr. Rector should talk about the book that exists, not the book he's (for better as well as worse) imagining.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enormously entertaining, August 3, 2005

By	Kim Cooper "Editrix, Scram Magazine & Lost in... (Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Essential, witty and thoughtful guide to the history of televised rock and pop, from regional dance party shows to Ed Sullivan, punk's invasion of the SNL set to Michael Jackson's metamorphosis into a pop icon. Jake Austen, who oversees the brilliant obsessives who make up the staff of Roctober Magazine, both loves and understands the mass media, and subjects it to an incisive yet affectionate analysis that's as entertaining as it's rare. The result is an enormously entertaining and informative book, recommended for anyone who's curious about the intersections between music and the idiot box.

4.0 out of 5 stars Rock around the dial, August 13, 2008

By	John Lazar - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an extremely well-researched book, although not every subject covered here appeals to me (PARTRIDGE FAMILY, MAKING THE BAND, AMERICAN IDOL). Nevertheless, there's something here for every rock music/TV fan, including a whole chapter on rock `n` roll cartoons! I enjoyed the coverage of Elvis Presley and The Beatles -- two subjects that have been covered to death, but in this case the author offers perceptive insights. While I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson (though I respect his stature in rock music history), the chapter on him is one of the strongest entries in the book. I also appreciated the author's defense of the underrated contributions of The Monkees, as well as his on-target appraisals of TV hosts Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, Dick Clark, Mike Douglas, Don Cornelius, and Carson Daly.

In time, rock `n' roll music thrived on television, despite the uneasy alliance between the two. Television has repeatedly sabotaged and diluted the very essence of this rebellious art form. Television has also been responsible for presenting us with many moments of pure gold. TV A-GO-GO does a commendable job of chronicling this facet of music history, examining the legendary, the surprisingly good, the idiosyncratic, and the awful acts (and programs that showcased these acts) that have flashed across television screens for the past five decades.