Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uncle John Shines a Light on the World of Music!, March 25, 2008
With the publication of PLUNGES INTO MUSIC, Uncle John & Co. must have about a baker's dozen of these interesting volumes to their credit. As with the other volumes, MUSIC focuses in on one subject and serves up its usual, crowd-pleasing combination of history, trivia, lists, rankings, quotes and extended articles that so many of us enjoy. If you are interested in the world of music, you'll want to own a copy of this book.
PLUNGES INTO MUSIC is a hefty volume, weighing in at 513 pages. It features, in no particular order, a mixture of isolated facts, short 'quick read' blurbs, 2-3 page articles, extended pieces and very extended articles. An example of this last category would be the three-part Story of Music. Extended articles include Musical Presidents, Stradivarius Violins and Famous Music Producers. Under Quick Reads you'll find MTV Facts, Musical Firsts, Perfect Pitch, Musical Word Origins and Frank Sinatra's 'lucky break.' And Short Articles include Cover Versions, Silly Songs that were hits, Rock 'n Roller Obits, Ancient Instruments, Opera History and the Weird, Weird World of Music.
By this late date, Uncle John has the PLUNGES concept down to a winning formula. PLUNGES INTO MUSIC features something for everyone interested in the subject and trivia buffs in general. You can read this book straight through or, as I did, jump in at any page. Whatever approach you take, you'll find yourself being introduced to some absolutely fascinating material.
Recommended.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderfully fun read for all music fans, June 20, 2008
The BRI (Bathroom Reader's Institute) has been around for a long time with dozens of fun filled trivia subjects in the general series, and now "Uncle John" has been specializing the last couple of years in specific subjects, all great fun to read. The latest, "Plunges Into Music", is a delightful plunge (pun intended) into the world of music and will not disappoint, whether you're a rock fan, opera or country. Even non-musicians will dig this volume.
We get more trivia than we can remember, plus interesting bios on composers, instruments, and album history. It's carefully researched, as all BRI volumes are, but I did spot one boo-boo in the footnotes that run along the bottom of the pages, which makes it fun to point out.
The claim is that a Marty Robbins tune in 1961 was the first to have distorted guitar. I have a CD from jazz guitarist maestro Django Reinhardt that contains a song from the year of his death, 1953, called "Night and Day" that has undeniable and easily heard distortion. Some claim Link Wray's "Rumble", the instrumental hit from the late '50's also had distortion. It certainly has a gnarly tone, fer sure. But that's a very small bone to pick. Like the other volumes, this is a great read from front to back or hit and miss. I also recommend, if you can find it, Dave Marsh's "Rock Book Of Lists", both volumes.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uncle John's MUSIC, July 16, 2008
My husband is a touring singer, musician and music trivia genius - so this was a perfect gift for him! Although I didn't think it could happen, this book actually had some facts that he DIDN'T know! It's a great book if you enjoy music and interesting music facts and stories.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
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