Containing exclusive interviews with Stephane, contributions from his friends and family, much newly discovered evidence on both Stephane and Django and many previously unpublished photographs, Stephane Grappelli: With And Without Django is a slice of music history, a testament to a man who invented his own style of jazz.
Garret Mathews, award-winning columnist for the Evansville, Indiana Courier & Press contacted more than 75 pop singers and musicians who created the music of the '50s and '60s.
Swing It! is a celebration of jive, that exuberant, irrepressible, and entirely infectious spirit found in such good-time anthems as "Are You Hep to the Jive?" "Jump, Jive 'n' Wail," and "Hit That Jive, Jack." It chronicles the rich and colorful history of that quintessentially American sound, taking us on a journey from its pioneers to today's retro swingers through its Golden Era. Along the way it illuminates the hip contributions made by beboppers, jump blues hounds, N'awlins jivesters, the white connection, and women jivesters. Swing It! includes a hilarious, too-hip=for-the-room foreword by Tim Hauser (founder of the Grammy Award-winning Manhattan Transfer_, extensive discographies, a comprehensive A-Z jive glossary, and vintage photos of jive's most charismatic entertainers.
From the classic 1930s sound through today's Retro-Swing movement, this fun-to-browse guide covers every era of Swing. It profiles over 500 band leaders, players, vocalists, sidemen, and composers. You get anecdotal biographies and classic photos, as well as reviews and ratings of recordings that make (or don't make) the cut. Insightful essays on Swing's evolution and the current scene offer an historical perspective not found in other guides. Plus--you'll discover Swing in the movies, hard-to-find-recordings, book, and more.
Suzanne Vega is a poet of the urban streets whose passionate eye catches the motion and vibrant color of the life that surrounds us all. In this volume are her collected writings: poems and stories; song lyrics and overhead conversations; remembrances of times past and faraway countries.
Drawing on exhaustive new research and scores of interviews with the musicians who knew him best, Levinson delves into Dorsey's famously eccentric lifestyle and his oversize appetite for drink, women, and perfection. The first biography on Dorsey in more than thirty years, Tommy Dorsey is a dazzling portrait of the Big Band's brightest star--his tumultuous life, his turbulent times, and the unforgettable music that made him a legend.
Drawing on exhaustive new research and scores of interviews with the musicians who knew him best, Levinson delves into Dorsey's famously eccentric lifestyle and his oversize appetite for drink, women, and perfection. The first biography on Dorsey in more than thirty years, Tommy Dorsey is a dazzling portrait of the Big Band's brightest star--his tumultuous life, his turbulent times, and the unforgettable music that made him a legend.
Respected rock writer Alan Clayson has had full access to the band and traces their history from 60s Andover rock roots to 90s covers, collaborations and corn circles. The Troggs Files also features the first-ever publication of the full transcript of the legendary 'Troggs Tapes', said to have inspired the movie This is Spinal Tap, together with an exhaustive disography and many rare photographs.
The full sad, mad, funny story of the ultimate British garage band.
Now in its sixth year, Da Capo Best Music Writing as become one of the most eagerly awaited annuals of them all. Celebrating the year in music writing through a rich array of essays, missives, and musings on every style of music form rock to hip-hop to R&B to jazz and beyond, it's essential reading for anyone who loves great music and accomplished writing.
Da Capo Best Music Writing has become one of the most eagerly awaited annuals of them all. Celebrating the year in music writing through a rich array of essays, missives, and musings on every style of music from rock to hip-hop to R&B to jazz and beyond, it's essential reading for anyone who loves great music and accomplished writing.
Welcome to the premier volume of a vibrant new annual series--the first-ever anthology of the year's best music writing. Chosen by renowned writer Peter Guralnick from more than one hundred sources, from SPIN to the NEW YORKER to e-zines and alt-weeklies, these thirty-six pieces feature the smartest, edgiest, richest, funniest, and just plain best work from distinguished veterans and fresh new voices.
The Black Chord is a landmark depiction of the cultural cross-fertilization that is the foundation of today's pop. Following a circular path, music has traveled from its roots and extended its branches into popular music only to return and recreate itself: Senegalese rhythms survived slavery and flourished in New Orleans to become jazz and rhythm & blues which informed Jamaican reggae, which influenced New York hip-hop, which in turn--completing the circle--inspired young rap artists in Senegal. This is a centuries-long saga that continues to energize musicians in every genre.
Broadway musicals of the 1960s glittered. The list goes on forever making the 1960s the decade with the largest group of classic musicals. The Broadway musical stage in the 1960s boasted such great stars as Barbra Streisand, Robert Preston, Zero Mostel, Angela Lansbury, Carol Channing, Gwen Verdon, and Barbara Cook. Audiences heard the work of fresh new composers like Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim, and were thrilled by the work of brilliant, mischievous director-choreographers like Bob Fosse and Gower Champion. Melody ruled The Street and songs like "Hey Look Me Over," "Big Spender," "Cabaret," and "If He Walked Into My Life" redefined the very sound of Broadway.
Boogaloo--the synonym of choice among the cognoscenti for rhythm and blues--is a stylish and profound meditation on the art, influence, and commerce of black American popular music. At once deeply knowing and keenly observant, Arthur Kempton reveals the tensions between the sacred and the profane at the heart of "soul music," and the complex centrality of "Aframericans" in the evolution of our mass musical culture. What that culture is all about, who owns it, and who gets paid--these are the issues of moment in his epic narrative.
Always Magic in the Air is a family portrait of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. These songwriters melded black, white, and Latino sounds before multiculturalism became a concept, much less a cliche, integrated audiences before America desegregated its schools, and brought a new social consciousness to pop music.
In 1975, three unlinked events changed the course of rock music: Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music', Patti Smith's 'Horses', and the arrival of the Sex Pistols. Soon, rule #1 became: No more rules. This guide spotlights the renegades who re-wrote the rock scene of the late '70s, '80s, and '90s--and who still change (or break) the rules today. Packed with in-depth histories, bios, reviews, discographies and chart info, Alternative Rock explores the artists who've crossed the line--from punk to hardcore, goth to trip hop--plus cultural scenes, sampling, video, festivals, and more.
American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today is the definitive history of pop vocal groups, encompassing the doo-wop of Dion & the Belmonts; the Motown hits of the Supremes; the surf sound of the Beach Boys; country-rock of Crosby, Stills & Nash; and the slick pop sounds of 'NSync. Each entry details the group's career, key members, and influences. With extensive discographies and rare photos, this one-of-a-kind entertaining reference is filled with musical facts that will fascinate fans and collectors. Updated from its original 1992 edition, published as The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups, this book also chronicles the revival of the vocal groups in the nineties and the new millennium. This is an essential and comprehensive guide to an evolving and ever-popular art form.
This new book reveals the work of nine key singer-songwriters of the 1960s: David Ackles; David Blue; Tim Buckley; Tim Hardin; Fred Neil; Phil Ochs; Tom Rapp; Tim Rose; and Tom Rush. Here are individual tales of creativity and class songs including If I Were A Carpenter, Everybody's Talkin', Song To The Sire, Hey Joe, and No Regrets. The book shows how these nine talented artists each expanded the standard pop blueprint of the day and made a significant contribution to rock music's coming of age. A 32-page colour section features rare and revealing photographs, and a fully annotated and illustrated discography details the recorded output of the nine.
You don't have to be an opera fan to appreciate this beautifully written memoir by world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli. Born among the vineyards of Tuscany, Bocelli was still an infant when he developed glaucoma. Music filtering into his room soothed the unsettled child. By the age of twelve he was completely blind, but his passion for music brought light back into his life.
Here Bocelli reveals the anguish of his blindness and the transcendent experience of singing. He writes about his loving parents, who nurtured his musical interests, the challenges of learning to read music in Braille and of competing in talent shows, his struggles with law school, and his desire to turn an avocation into a way of life. He describes falling in love and singing in piano bars until his big break in 1992, when a stunned Pavarotti heard him sing "Miserere". The international acclaim and success that have followed Bocelli ever since have done nothing to dull his sense of gratitude and wonder about the world. No classical music fan can afford to be without this engaging and humble memoir of a fascinating and triumphant star.
Since the earliest music companies began, more than 110 years ago, many record labels have been owned by retailers, DJs, agents or managers, others by artists or vast media, electronics and film companies. From classical to soul, jazz to rock, folk to rap, every record label has its own successes, its own agenda and its own story.
From the dedicated and extraordinary people who founded them, and the corporations who backed them, acquired them or even closed them down, to the artists who brought them fame and fortune, this fully updated edition of the bestselling The A-Z Of Record Labels explores the colourful history of one of the most important aspects of popular music.
A Century of Jazz is the first-ever chronicle of the major influence in the popular music of the 20th century. Richly illustrated with a wealth of rare photographs and graphic material, and set in the context of popular music generally, A Century of Jazz is the definitive illustrated celebration of jazz history, jazz people, and jazz style.
CARMEN McRAE MISS JAZZ recounts the colorful life and countless musical accomplishments of one of the finest song stylists in jazz.
Carmen McRae is a musical legend, grouped alongside Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as one of the great jazz singers of her time. She was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master in 1993.
In LEARNING TO SING, Clay details what his astonishing success has meant to him. He writes from the heart about his life before and since his instant stardom on 'American Idol', how he changed, and how he struggles to adapt to life in the public eye. He speaks candidly about his lonely childhood: the father who abandoned him, the school bullies who tormented him, the mother who taught him to be strong, and the friends and teachers who--more than they ever knew--kept him going. He describes his new high-profile life in Los Angeles--the awards shows, the free clothes, the unfortunate presence of avocado on all the food. More significant, he reveals what he has discovered from diving into the white-hot center of pop culture: what it takes for him to stay true to himself and remember the lessons he learned growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In LEARNING TO SING, Clay details what his astonishing success has meant to him. He writes from the heart about his life before and since his instant stardom on 'American Idol', how he changed, and how he struggles to adapt to life in the public eye. He speaks candidly about his lonely childhood: the father who abandoned him, the school bullies who tormented him, the mother who taught him to be strong, and the friends and teachers who--more than they ever knew--kept him going. He describes his new high-profile life in Los Angeles--the awards shows, the free clothes, the unfortunate presence of avocado on all the food. More significant, he reveals what he has discovered from diving into the white-hot center of pop culture: what it takes for him to stay true to himself and remember the lessons he learned growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The '90s saw more albums produced and distributed than any other decade. It was a fertile era for new genres, from alt-rock to Afropop, hip hop to techno. Rock critic Robert Christgau's obsessive ear and authoritative pen have covered it all--over 3,800 albums graded and classified, from A+'s to his celebrated turkeys and duds. A rich appendix section ensures that nothing has been left out--from "Subjects for Further Research" to "Everything Rocks and Nothing Ever Dies." CHRISTGAU'S CONSUMER GUIDE is essential reading and reference for any dedicated listener.
Hip-hop is the biggest youth movement in the world today, and leading the way is the new sound of the South, exemplified by platinum and multi-platinum artists like OutKast, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, Ludacris, Ying Yang Twins, and 8Ball and MJG.
This fascinating book reveals where Dirty South hip-hop came from and where it's heading. It explores the hopes, struggles, and frustrations of performers and producers, and guides you to the best in Southern hip-hop on CD and DVD, in magazines, and on the web. If you want to know where the South is taking music, you need this book.
David Crosby, the outspoken founding member of CSNY and The Byrds, turns his wry and unstinting eye to a fascinating, prickly subject: himself.
SINCE THEN is both a self-skewering look at the twists and turns of an impossibly rich life, and Crosby's confident declaration that it's far too soon for him to don the robe and slippers of Generational Elder. As a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he has an unparalleled legacy as singer, songwriter, and musician--and few would object if he were to rest on his laurels. But despite Crosby's history of extravagant excess, he has never forgotten his great good fortune, and never stopped using his enormous gifts in service of his art and the social causes to which he is committed.
David Amram has played and rambled and galloped and staggered through a remarkably broad sweep of American life, experience, and creative struggle. 'The Boston Globe' has described him as "the Renaissance man of American Music." Amram and Jack Kerouac collaborated on the first-ever jazz poetry reading in New York City in 1957 as well as the subsequent legendary film 'Pull My Daisy' in 1959, combining Amram's music with Kerouac's narration. Amram, honored as the first Composer-in-Residence of the New York Philharmonic, as composed over 100 orchestral and chamber works, written two operas, and has collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, Dustin Hoffman, Thelonious Monk, Willie Nelson, Betty Carter, Odetta, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, and Tito Puente.
VIBRATIONS is the story of one boy's adventures growing up on a farm in Pennsylvania, working odd jobs, misfitting in the Army, barnstorming through Europe with the famous Seventh Army Symphony, exiling in Paris, scuffling on the Lower East Side, day-laboring--often down but never out--finally beginning to emerge as a major musical force.
This definitive story of American folk music focuses on how a minority music genre suddenly became the emergent voice of a generation at the end of the Eisenhower years. Go back to a more innocent time of Washington Square jam sessions, Pete Seeger sing-alongs, and Greenwich Village coffee houses. See how the social issues of early rural folk music were adapted by young people in the late Fifties as college students bought guitars and banjos, attended hootenannies, and marched on the Capital for Civil Rights. They neglected their textbooks for copies of Sing Out! and Broadside, and spent their hard-earned cash on the latest Joan Baez album and Limeliters' concert.
From Kingtson Trio's "Tom Dooley" in 1958 to Bob Dylan's electric performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, folk influenced American culture and eventually became absorbed into popular music. The author also explores how authentic folk is now experiencing a second revival, taking its place in our contemporary fascination with roots music.
The voice of Jimmy Scott is one of the world's most mesmerizing instrument, transcending gender and age, vocalizing pure heartbreak. But its beauty was hard-earned, inextricably entwined with personal and professional pain and an almost operatic life story of hardship and tragedy--yet Scott's resilience and optimism have also made his life a story of triumph.
Acclaimed biographer David Ritz, with Scott's cooperation, has created a poignant portrait of a man whose voice cuts to the sadness and hope within us all. FAITH IN TIME, like a haunting melody, is unforgettable.
In over twenty-give portraits, interviews, and essays, music critic John Corbett conducts a wide-ranging tour through the outer limits of contemporary music engaging artists from lands as distant as Sweden, Siberia, and Saturn. With an emphasis on African American and European improvisers, he explores the famous and the little known, from John Cage and George Clinton to Anthony Braxton and Sun Ra. Employing approaches as diverse as the music he celebrates, Corbett illuminates the sounds and theory of funk and rap, blues and jazz, contemporary classical, free improvisation, rock, and reggae.
Stan Cornyn--a key creative force behind the rise of the Warner Music Group--experienced the ultimate highs and lows of the company for more than thirty years. Now, get the inside scoop on top executive decisions, wild stories on iconic musicians, and the outrageous steps Warner took to produce a hit. Populated by celebrities like Dr. Dre, Frank Sinatra, the Grateful Dead, Madonna, Lil' Kim, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, Joni Mitchell, and dozens more, EXPLODING reveals the music business as you've never seen it before.
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT is the life story of Hal Jackson, one of the most important figures in American radio and television. When starting out as a young professional, during the Jim Crow era in Washington, D.C., Jackson was told by management of WINX that no Black man would ever broadcast at their station. He ultimately proved them wrong and was given a time slot at the station--thus beginning a long and illustrious career, filled with an extraordinary series of firsts.
Dixieland to fusion, big band to bebop, take the guesswork out of valuing 50 years of collectible jazz albums with the GOLDMINE JAZZ ALBUM PRICE GUIDE.
Features:
-Over 40,000 listings with accurate pricing in three grades of condition
-Thousands of jazz artists--Dixieland, big band/swing, bebop, progressive, modern, fusion, and more
-Well-illustrated, easy to use alphabetical-by-artist format
