Download or read book 100 Books Every Folk Music Fan Should Own written by Dick Weissman and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2014-01-30 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years an almost overwhelming number of books have appeared covering various aspects of American folk music and its history. Before 1970, most comprised collections of songs with a sprinkling of biographical information on noted performers. Over the past decade, however, scholars, journalists, and folk artists themselves have contributed biographies and autobiographies, instructional books and historical surveys, sociological studies and ethnographic analyses of this musical genre. In 100 Books Every Folk Music Fan Should Own, performer and historian Dick Weissman offers a reliable route through the growing sea of book-length studies, establishing for future scholars a foundation for their research. Beginning with early twentieth-century collections of folk songs, the author brings readers to the present by exploring modern studies of important events, critical collections of primary sources, the most significant musical instruction guides, and in-depth portraits of traditional and contemporary American folk musicians. For each title selected, Weissman provides his own brief summary of its contents and assessment of its significance for the reader—whether fan or scholar. Folk music fans, scholars, and students of the American folk music tradition—indeed, any reader seeking guidance on the best books in the field—will want a copy of this vital work.
Download or read book 100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own written by Edward Komara and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-02-07 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Search the Internet for the 100 best songs or best albums. Dozens of lists will appear from aficionados to major music personalities. But what if you not only love listening to the blues or country music or jazz or rock, you love reading about it, too. How do you separate what matters from what doesn’t among the hundreds—sometimes thousands—of books on the music you so love? In the Best Music Books series, readers finally have a quick-and-ready list of the most important works published on modern major music genres by leading experts. In 100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own, Edward Komara, former Blues Archivist of the University of Mississippi, and his successor Greg Johnson select those histories, biographies, surveys, transcriptions and studies from the many hundreds of works that have been published about this vital American musical genre. Komara and Johnson provide a short description of the contents and the achievement of each title selected for their “Blues 100.” Entries include full bibliographic citations, prices of copies in print, and even descriptions of specific editions for book collectors. 100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own also includes suggested blues recordings to accompany each recommended work, as well as a concluding section on key reference titles—or as Komara and Johnson phrase it: “The Books behind the Blues 100.” 100 Books Every Blues Fan Should Own serves as a guide for any blues fan looking for a road map through the history of—and even history of the scholarship on—the blues. Here Komara and Johnson answer the question of not only what is a “blues” book, but which ones are worth owning.
Download or read book Selling Folk Music written by Ronald D. Cohen and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2017-11-29 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selling Folk Music: An Illustrated History highlights commercial sources that reveal how folk music has been packaged and sold to a broad, shifting audience in the United States. Folk music has a varied and complex scope and lineage, including the blues, minstrel tunes, Victorian parlor songs, spirituals and gospel tunes, country and western songs, sea shanties, labor and political songs, calypsos, pop folk, folk-rock, ethnic, bluegrass, and more. The genre is of major importance in the broader spectrum of American music, and it is easy to understand why folk music has been marketed as America's music. Selling Folk Music presents the public face of folk music in the United States via its commercial promotion and presentation throughout the twentieth century. Included are concert flyers; sheet music; book, songbook, magazine, and album covers; concert posters and flyers; and movie lobby cards and posters, all in their original colors. The 1964 hootenanny craze, for example, spawned such items as a candy bar, pinball machine, bath powder, paper dolls, Halloween costumes, and beach towels. The almost five hundred images in Selling Folk Music present a new way to catalog the history of folk music while highlighting the transformative nature of the genre. Following the detailed introduction on the history of folk music, illustrations from commercial products make up the bulk of the work, presenting a colorful, complex history.
Download or read book A New History of American and Canadian Folk Music written by Dick Weissman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2019-09-05 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on his 2006 book, Which Side Are You On?, Dick Weissman's A New History of American and Canadian Folk Music presents a provocative discussion of the history, evolution, and current status of folk music in the United States and Canada. North American folk music achieved a high level of popular acceptance in the late 1950s. When it was replaced by various forms of rock music, it became a more specialized musical niche, fragmenting into a proliferation of musical styles. In the pop-folk revival of the 1960s, artists were celebrated or rejected for popularizing the music to a mass audience. In particular the music seemed to embrace a quest for authenticity, which has led to endless explorations of what is or is not faithful to the original concept of traditional music. This book examines the history of folk music into the 21st century and how it evolved from an agrarian style as it became increasingly urbanized. Scholar-performer Dick Weissman, himself a veteran of the popularization wars, is uniquely qualified to examine the many controversies and musical evolutions of the music, including a detailed discussion of the quest for authenticity, and how various musicians, critics, and fans have defined that pursuit.
Download or read book The Beautiful Music All Around Us written by Stephen Wade and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Beautiful Music All Around Us presents the extraordinarily rich backstories of thirteen performances captured on Library of Congress field recordings between 1934 and 1942 in locations reaching from Southern Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta and the Great Plains. Including the children's play song "Shortenin' Bread," the fiddle tune "Bonaparte's Retreat," the blues "Another Man Done Gone," and the spiritual "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down," these performances were recorded in kitchens and churches, on porches and in prisons, in hotel rooms and school auditoriums. Documented during the golden age of the Library of Congress recordings, they capture not only the words and tunes of traditional songs but also the sounds of life in which the performances were embedded: children laugh, neighbors comment, trucks pass by. Musician and researcher Stephen Wade sought out the performers on these recordings, their families, fellow musicians, and others who remembered them. He reconstructs the sights and sounds of the recording sessions themselves and how the music worked in all their lives. Some of these performers developed musical reputations beyond these field recordings, but for many, these tracks represent their only appearances on record: prisoners at the Arkansas State Penitentiary jumping on "the Library's recording machine" in a rendering of "Rock Island Line"; Ora Dell Graham being called away from the schoolyard to sing the jump-rope rhyme "Pullin' the Skiff"; Luther Strong shaking off a hungover night in jail and borrowing a fiddle to rip into "Glory in the Meetinghouse." Alongside loving and expert profiles of these performers and their locales and communities, Wade also untangles the histories of these iconic songs and tunes, tracing them through slave songs and spirituals, British and homegrown ballads, fiddle contests, gospel quartets, and labor laments. By exploring how these singers and instrumentalists exerted their own creativity on inherited forms, "amplifying tradition's gifts," Wade shows how a single artist can make a difference within a democracy. Reflecting decades of research and detective work, the profiles and abundant photos in The Beautiful Music All Around Us bring to life largely unheralded individuals--domestics, farm laborers, state prisoners, schoolchildren, cowboys, housewives and mothers, loggers and miners--whose music has become part of the wider American musical soundscape. The hardcover edition also includes an accompanying CD that presents these thirteen performances, songs and sounds of America in the 1930s and '40s.
Download or read book Voices of Tradition The 100 Greatest Folk Musicians of All Time written by Barney Dane and published by Richards Education. This book was released on with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the rich tapestry of folk music with "Voices of Tradition: The 100 Greatest Folk Musicians of All Time." This engaging and comprehensive book celebrates the legendary figures who have shaped the folk genre, from the trailblazing works of Woody Guthrie and the poetic brilliance of Bob Dylan to the profound artistry of Joan Baez and the groundbreaking folk revivalists The Weavers. Each chapter delves into the lives and contributions of these iconic musicians, highlighting their unique styles, influential works, and the profound impact they’ve had on folk music and culture. Perfect for folk music enthusiasts, history buffs, and anyone interested in the roots of American music, "Voices of Tradition" is a tribute to the artists who have preserved and enriched the folk tradition. Explore the enduring power and passion of the 100 greatest folk musicians and their timeless contributions to the soundtrack of our lives.
Download or read book Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan written by Lawrence J. Epstein and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010-03-08 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many American folk singers have tried to leave their world a better place by writing songs of social protest. Musicians like Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez sang with fierce moral voices to transform what they saw as an uncaring society. But the personal tales of these guitar-toting idealists were often more tangled than the comparatively pure vision their art would suggest. Many singers produced work in the midst of personal failure and deeply troubled relationships, and under the influence of radical ideas and organizations. This provocative work examines both the long tradition of folk music in its American political context and the lives of those troubadours who wrote its most enduring songs.
Download or read book The Music of American Folk Song and Selected Other Writings on American Folk Music written by Ruth Crawford Seeger and published by University Rochester Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first publication of an annotated monograph by the noted composer and folksong scholar Ruth Crawford Seeger. Originally written as a foreword for the 1940 book Our Singing Country, it was considered too long and was replaced by a much shorter version. According to her stepson, Pete Seeger, when the original was not included "Ruth suffered one of the biggest disappointments of the last ten years of her life. It just killed her . . . She was trying to analyze the whole style and problem of performing this music." Along with her children Mike and Peggy Seeger, he has long desired to see this work in print as it was meant to be read. The manuscript has been edited from several varying sources by Larry Polansky, with the assistance of Seeger's biographer Judith Tick. It is divided into two sections: I. "A Note on Transcription" and II. "Notes on the Songs and on Manners of Singing." Seeger examines all aspects of the relationship between singer, song, notation, the eventual performer, and the transcriber. In Section I, Seeger develops a complex and well-organized system of notation for these songs which is meant to be both descritive (transcription as cultural preservation) and prescriptive (she intended that others would be able to perform these songs). In Section II, she provides an interpretive theory for performance of this music, and suggests how performers might make the songs "their own" through a deep knowledge of the original styles. Ruth Crawford Seeger considered this work to be both a major accomplishment and a central statement of her own ideas on the topic. Larry Polansky is Associate Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, and a well-known composer and theorist on American music. Judith Tick is Professor of Music at Northeastern University and author of the first major biography of Ruth Crawford Seeger.
Download or read book 100 Things Beatles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die written by Gillian G. Gaar and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2013-06 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few music groups have been able to sustain a fan base over half a century that is as significant and devoted as those of the Beatles, and this entertaining guide to all things Fab Four rewards those fans with everything they need to know about the band in a one-of-a-kind format. Packed with history, trivia, lists, little-known facts, and must-do adventures that every Beatles fan should undertake, it ranks each item from one to 100. Fans of any generation will appreciate the songs, albums, places, personalities, and events that are relived and revealed from five decades of Beatles lore.
Download or read book Arlo Guthrie written by Hank Reineke and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2012-06 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arlo Guthrie revisits Guthrie's fifteen-year ride as a recording artist. With a look at Guthrie's life and times before and after this prolific period of his career, this biography is a goldmine of information on the Guthrie family's legacy to American music, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the record industry of the 1970s.
Download or read book Singing Out written by David King Dunaway and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-14 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intimate, anecdotal, and spell-binding, Singing Out offers a fascinating oral history of the North American folk music revivals and folk music. Culled from more than 150 interviews recorded from 1976 to 2006, this captivating story spans seven decades and cuts across a wide swath of generations and perspectives, shedding light on the musical, political, and social aspects of this movement. The narrators highlight many of the major folk revival figures, including Pete Seeger, Bernice Reagon, Phil Ochs, Mary Travers, Don McLean, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Ry Cooder, and Holly Near. Together they tell the stories of such musical groups as the Composers' Collective, the Almanac Singers, People's Songs, the Weavers, the New Lost City Ramblers, and the Freedom Singers. Folklorists, musicians, musicologists, writers, activists, and aficionados reveal not only what happened during the folk revivals, but what it meant to those personally and passionately involved. For everyone who ever picked up a guitar, fiddle, or banjo, this will be a book to give and cherish. Extensive notes, bibliography, and discography, plus a photo section.
Download or read book Folksongs of Britain and Ireland written by Peter Kennedy and published by Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. This book was released on 1984 with total page 844 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A treasure trove for anyone interested in the folklore of the British Isles. Illustrated throughout, this lovely collection contains 360 folk songs from field recordings. Includes melody lines, lyrics, and chord symbols. Melody line format.
Download or read book Popular Musics of the Non Western World written by Peter Manuel and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1988 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emphasizing stylistic analysis and historical development, this unique book is the first to examine all major non-Western music styles, from reggae and salsa to the popular musics of non-Western Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Download or read book Folk Music in the United States written by Bruno Nettl and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 1976 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Folding a River, a collection of elegies, shows a pleasing range of free-verse forms that develop themes sustained throughout: loss, exile, myth, landscape. Kawita Kandpal’s poems are explorations of East–West cultures, taking her into an emo-mythic place not to be found on any map. Kandpal’s mood in Folding a River is melancholy, articulated with intelligence and grace, and her phrasing can rise to the level of proverb: “This time next year you will have evolved into an idea.” In its personal evocations of geographical and linguistic exile from the subcontinent, centered on a lost father, her work recalls that of Li-Young Lee, yet with a feminine perspective often haunting in its own right: “tenderly / taking back the mistakes of men.”
Download or read book First Time Ever written by Peggy Seeger and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A SUNDAY TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZEPeggy Seeger is one of folk music's most influential artists and songwriters. Born in New York City in 1935, she enjoyed a childhood steeped in music and left-wing politics - they remain her lifeblood. After college, she travelled to Russia and China - against US advice - before arriving in London, where she met the man with whom she would raise three children and share the next thirty-three years: Ewan MacColl. Together, they helped lay the foundations of the British folk revival, through the influential Critics Group and the landmark BBC Radio Ballads series. And as Ewan's muse, she inspired one of the twentieth century's most popular love songs, 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. With a clear eye and generous spirit, Peggy writes of a rollercoaster life - of birth and abortion, sex and infidelity, devotion and betrayal - in a luminous, beautifully realised account.
Download or read book 100 Real American Folk Songs written by Wes Burgess, MD PhD and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2023-12-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know songs that stir your enthusiasm, that speak to you, and that you never grow tired of? Every song in this book has been precious to many, many people, and you will find new songs here that you will enjoy hearing and singing for the rest of your life. What's special about THESE folk songs? There are lots of folk song books. But THESE songs are the real thing - the original songs that have been sung for over 100 years because they are so good. These songs came from all around the world to be perfected in America's cities, heartlands, towns, mountains, valleys, and seashores. Many of the original lyrics were forgotten - it took research to find and update these songs, but it was worth it. You'll understand why THESE songs are still the greatest as soon as you see and sing them. What kind of songs are in this collection? This folk collection contains Appalachian songs, Western songs, African American songs, love songs, comedy songs, folk dances, animal songs, songs about growing up and aging, river songs, railroad songs, highway songs, and sailors' songs. This book also has sections on how to pick songs, how to select the right instrument, how to help others sing with you, and the role that folk songs play in American music history. Where and how can I use this book? You can sing these folk songs alone, with a partner, or with a bunch of friends. Sing along at camp and on field trips, retreats, road trips, youth groups, and folk music clubs. Entertain others at picnics, beach parties, birthdays, graduations, meet and greets, and around the campfire. And show off your folk music on cruises, at ski lodges, and on bicycling, kayaking, backpacking, and whitewater rafting trips. People use these lyrics to practice their singing and playing, and to learn new songs. You can sing them on the Internet, in coffee shops, restaurants, street fairs, clubs, festivals, and talent shows. Or join in with pick-up bands, string bands, jug bands, folk bands, country bands, and western bands. Maybe you'd better buy two copies while you're at it. How do folk songs help people? Folk songs teach compassion between all individuals, past and present, and between people and all living things. They encourage us to cooperate and work together to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, many folk songs are no longer sung because they've been out of circulation for too long. When we sing these original folk songs and teach them to others, we give them a new life and new caretakers. Enjoy!
Download or read book All the Years of American Popular Music written by David Ewen and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 1977 with total page 890 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surveys the history of all categories of American popular music from colonial times to the present, with information on the music, composers, performers, and entrepreneurs.
