One-Hit Wonders

An Oblique History of Popular Music

Dr. Sarah Hill (Senior Lecturer, Oxford University, UK)

$44.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Academic USA
21 April 2022

Music; Music reviews & criticism; Easy listening, MOR music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups

The one-hit wonder has a long and storied history in popular music, exhorting listeners to dance, to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, to ponder mortality, to get a job, to bask in the sunshine, or just to get up and dance again. Catchy, memorable, irritating, or simply ubiquitous, one-hit wonders capture something of the mood of a time. This collection provides a series of short, sharp chapters focusing on one-hit wonders from the 1950s to the present day, with a view toward understanding both the mechanics of success and the socio-musical contexts within which such songs became hits. Some artists included here might have aspired to success but only managed one hit, while others enjoyed lengthy, if unremarkable, careers after their initial chart success. Put together, these chapters provide not only a capsule history of popular music tastes, but also ruminations on the changing nature of the music industry and the mechanics of fame.

Edited by: Dr. Sarah Hill (Senior Lecturer Oxford University UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic USA
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781501368417
ISBN 10: 1501368419
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 21 April 2022
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sarah Hill is Associate Professor of Popular Music and Tutorial Fellow at St Peter's College, University of Oxford, UK. She is Co-ordinating Editor of the journal Popular Music and Chair of the UK/Ireland branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. She is the author of 'Blerwytirhwng?' The Place of Welsh Pop Music (2007), Peter Gabriel, from Genesis to Growing Up (2010), and San Francisco and the Long 60s (Bloomsbury 2017).

Reviews for One-Hit Wonders: An Oblique History of Popular Music

One-hit wonders are pop's overachieving underachievers, winners-but-losers that stretch categories - up to a point. In this big book of small fries, academics and musicians reckon with the results, from bubblegum to global pop - every musical identity ersatz, every twist and turn a chance to marvel, yet again: How Bizarre. -- Eric Weisbard, Professor of American Studies, University of Alabama, author of Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Popular Music (2014) A fascinating look at the cultural and personal context around one-hit wonders, this collection deftly explains why some of these songs escaped obscurity - and makes excellent cases why others might be best left in the past. -- Annie Zaleski, editor, music journalist, and author of Duran Duran's Rio (2021) in Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series