American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3

by Larry Starr, Christopher Waterman

In American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Second Edition, Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman examine popular music in the United States from its beginnings into the 21st century, offering a comprehensive look at the music, the cultural history of the times, and the connections between them. Using well-chosen examples, insightful commentaries, and an engaging writing style, this text traces the development of jazz, blues, country, rock, Motown, hip-hop, and other popular styles, highlighting the contributions of diverse groups to the creation of distinctly American styles. It combines an in-depth treatment of the music itself--including discussions of stylistic elements and analyses of musical examples--with solid coverage of the music's attendant historical, social, and cultural circumstances. The authors incorporate strong pedagogy including numerous boxed inserts on significant individuals, recordings, and intriguing topics; coverage of early American popular music; and a rich illustration program. Detailed listening charts explain the most important elements of recordings discussed at length in the text. The charts are complemented by two in-text audio CDs and--new to this edition--an iMix published at iTunes, which makes most of the songs immediately available to students and instructors.
Features of the Second Edition
* Integrates full color throughout
* Provides more coverage of women artists, with new material on women in rock 'n' roll in Chapter 8 and a box on Queen Latifah in Chapter 14
* Reorganizes the discussion of post-1970s music: disco is now included with mainstream 70s pop, while hip-hop is treated in two chapters (12 and 14) in order to emphasize its significance and diversity
* Adds new material on the recent alternative country music explosion
* Includes new developments in music technology in the thoroughly revised concluding chapter
* Offers revised and more vivid visual elements, including more than 100 new photos (most in full color) and an illustrated timeline
* Provides redesigned listening guides, enhanced by an iMix published at iTunes (accessible at www.oup.com/us/popmusic)
* Supplemented by a Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/popmusic (containing both student and instructor resources) and an Instructor's Manual and a Computerized Test Bank on CD
* FREE with the purchase of this book: a 6-month subscription to Grove Music Online (www.grovemusic.com)--a $180 value
Remarkably accessible, American Popular Music, Second Edition, is ideal for courses in American Popular Music, the History of Popular Music, Popular Music in American Culture, and the History of Rock 'n' Roll. Its welcoming style and warm tone will captivate readers, encouraging them to become more critically aware listeners of popular music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Read For School, Textbooks, College, School

530 pages, Paperback + 2 CDs

First published December 6, 2006

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for my *gasp* American Popular Music course. Except I had the second edition which I do believe had a lot more Latin music content.
It was a bit dry at times, but then again if you had to read the entire thing in two weeks you'd get pretty sick of it too. All in all it was pretty interesting and I learned alot from it. The CDs are also nice if you're open to expanding your music tastes.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

How does one write a textbook about popular music and not include One Direction?

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book last year as part of the American Popular Music MIT course. I took an extended break and then OpenLibrary started having issues when I came back to finish. This textbook provided deep insight into the history of American music over the decades with recommended listening. It occasionally got a bit too invested in the structure of songs to fully captivate a casual learner.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read most of this book for a music history class I was taking. It is well written, informative, and really interesting. I've actually gone back to it several times to look up specific topics. It is a great reference book!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it very well written and rather comprehensive. I believe that it is a textbook aimed toward those with some musical education; however, not being one, I still found it easy to follow.

[Erika Schoeps · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read a little book of this textbook for class, but then I ended up finishing it because it felt like a waste of money to buy a book and then not finish it.

A basic, helpful walk through of American Popular Music. Not always the most entertaining, but certainly useful. I really enjoyed the focus on race in relation to popular music trends. Recommended for anyone who wants to get serious about studying music, even if you're going into classical or jazz.

[Chantaal · Rating 3 out of 5]

BOOM, done. Five week online music course, SEE YOU NEVER.

As someone who loves music but never really studied it, this was a very interesting text to read for my Appreciation of American Popular Music class.

Otherwise, it's a bit dry and if you're not really into the history (or aren't reading it for class) then it's tough to slog through. Interesting, but tough.

[Tiennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my History of American Music Class. It was very informative and interesting. Enjoyed learning more about music and musicians and the political/cultural/social issues surrounding each genre during their popularity.

[Toya Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about the broad spectrum of music that is out in the world. Gives a great basic understanding however, has very generational disconnection in the verbiage and how to relate to the targeted audience.

[Nichole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for an American Popular Music course. Informative text, but like most textbooks, too dry to be interesting.