Popular music may be viewed as primary documents of society, and America's Musical Pulse documents the American experience as recorded in popular sound. Whether jazz, blues, swing, country, or rock, the music, the impulse behind it, and the reaction to it reveal the attitudes of an era or generation. Always a major preoccupation of students, music is often ignored by teaching professionals, who might profitably channel this interest to further understandings of American social history and such diverse fields as sociology, political science, literature, communications, and business as well as music.
In this interdisciplinary collection, scholars, educators, and writers from a variety of fields and perspectives relate topics concerning twentieth-century popular music to issues of politics, class, economics, race, gender, and the social context. The focus throughout is to place music in societal perspective and encourage investigation of the complex issues behind the popular tunes, rhythms, and lyrics.
By:
Kenneth J. Bindas
Imprint: Praeger Publishers Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: No 33
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 19mm
Weight: 737g
ISBN: 9780313274657
ISBN 10: 0313274657
Series: Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture
Pages: 328
Publication Date: 21 September 1992
Recommended Age: From 7 to 17 years
Audience:
College/higher education
,
A / AS level
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Preface Introduction: The Importance of Music to People by Rudolf E. Radocy Politics Popular Music as Politics and Protest by Jerome Rodnitzky ""Blues What I Am:"" Blues Consciousness and Social Protest by Fred J. Hay Proud to Be an American: Patriotism in Country Music by Melton A. McLaurin ""Still Boy Meets Girl Stuff:"" Popular Music and War by Jeffrey C. Livingston Class Social and Geographic Characteristics of Country Music by James E. Akenson The Music of the Dispossessed: The Rise of the Blues by William Barlow Emerging from America's Underside: The Black Musician from Ragtime to Jazz by Burton W. Peretti Race, Class, and Ethnicity among Swing Musicians by Kenneth J. Bindas Rock and Roll and the Working Class by James R. McDonald Rock is Youth/Youth is Rock by Deena Weinstein Economics Music as a Commodity: Effect and Influence by Scott J. Hammond The Development of Tin Pan Alley by Craig H. Roell Small Business and the Recording Industry by Martin Laforse The Business of Popular Music: A Short History by Patrick R. Parsons Taking Care of Business: The Commercialization of Rock Music by George M. Plasketes Race The African-American Contribution to Jazz by William Howland Kenney, III The Day Hank Williams Died: Cultural Collisions in Country Music by Nolan Porterfield Swing and Segregation by Charles Nanry The Role and Image of African-Americans in Rock and Roll by Charles R. Warner Gender Equal Time: A Historical Overview of Women in Jazz by Linda Dahl Women and Country Music by Karen Saucier Lundy One Voice: The Legacy of Women Singers in Popular Music by Therese L. Lueck Lyrical Sexism in Popular Music: A Quantitative Examination by Virginia W. Cooper Social Context The Ragtime Controversy by David Joyner Debating with Beethoven: Understanding the Fear of Early Jazz by Kathy J. Ogren Sounds of Seduction: Sex and Alcohol in Country Music Lyrics by Charles Jaret and Jacqueline Boles The Homogenization of Early Rock and Roll by Richard Aquila Conclusion: Impact of Popular Music in Society by John Orman Index"
KENNETH J. BINDAS is Assistant Professor of History at West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia. His academic specialization is cultural history, in particular, music history. His publications on the role of popular music in American society have appeared in The Western Historical Quarterly and The Historian, among other journals.
Reviews for America's Musical Pulse: Popular Music in Twentieth-Century Society
?The book is ambitious in its coverage of musical genres and time periods--some essays begin with turn-of-the-century issues; and styles such as ragtime and tin pan alley are examined in addition to strong sections on jazz, blues, rock and country. For such a wide scope and purpose, this book succeeds admirably. . . . I do recommend this book highly. It is very readable, will work well in the classroom and--because of its scope--can also serve as a helpful reference and review for pop music/culture scholars.?-Popular Music and Society
