Go, Girl, Go! The Women's Revolution in Music (Omnibus Press) (Paperback)

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Tracing women in pop chronologically, Go, Girl, Go! opens with a chapter covering a very long period (1900-1953) and continues in decade-spanning chapters. Dickerson observes the growth of women's viability and influence from the hardscrabble beginnings of commercial American music to the impact of feminism and such styles as disco to the era when, by his lights, "Country Divas" reshaped pop to the present. A list of top-20-charting albums by women by decade rounds out the presentation. Mike Tribby
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Product Description

Women have been important players in the recording industry from the very beginning, but not until 1996 did they out-chart their male competitors and pull ahead in the race for hits. Go, Girl, Go! provides a nearly 100-year history of women in music, beginning with Lil Hardin Armstrong and Billie Holiday, and continuing up to present-day artists such as Britney Spears and Norah Jones. The book features a thoughtful analysis of the 1996 revolution, along with interviews with artists such as Shania Twain, Pat Benatar, Brenda Lee, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Tiffany, and Tammy Wynette, and executives such as Garth Brooks' ex-manager Pam Lewis, BMI head Frances Preston, Stax Records co-founder Estelle Axton, and Tracey Edmonds of Yab Yum Entertainment.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Music Sales Corporation (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082567316X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825673160
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,386,239 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not even close to a complete history of women in modern music, but interesting,, November 12, 2005

By	J. Marchese (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is obvious that every non-fiction writer is going to come to the table with some biases. It can be curbed, but it can't be helped. And I think James. L. Dickerson came into this book on the women's revolution in modern music with his taste in music firmly in place. It's a book about women in the top twenty pop charts essentially with a lot of stories about the Country charts. Country music and female Country performers. The book also takes a lot of stock in the unprecedented rise of female solo artists on the charts in the 1990's. The concept of the book is fantastic. I loved reading about women in the recording industry both under the lights and behind the stage, but the problem with this book was while it came off as trying to be a comprehensive collection of the movement in women's music, it really just showed Dickerson's bias to music from and of the South. For example, while there are pages dedicated to country music artists that I've never heard of before, there is no mention of the Riot Grrrl movement of the early-mid 90's that began making waves in the underground and perhaps coincidently, perhaps not, preceded the move on the main stream charts in the mid-90's by female artists like Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair. There was also a lot of information on The Bangels, yet next to nothing (aside from the fact that Belinda Carlisle took it off for Playboy) on The Go-Go's who really paved the way for all-girl bands. There is also very little information on female singers of Disco hits and no information on women in the punk and heavy metal genres. Those are just a few examples out of many. However, there is a wealth of information as I said before about Country singers and Top 40 pop singers with some kind of link to South. Perhaps that isn't totally fair, I do think Dickerson did include a fair share of the female hitmakers, just not close to all of them. The book is set up with chronological chapters highlighting many of the stars of the time. It is chock full of interesting material, some new, most not to someone who has been following the music press or reads a decent amount of rock history. I think this would be an excellent book for younger women without a sense of what came before them and what has been accomplished. I also think it's a great reminder that before the mid-90's we weren't hearing back to back female artists on the radio. I only wish this was a complete history of the women's movement in music. As a side note, it is also a big shame that with all the talk of women's movements and women's power in this business, this book was written by a man.