Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon

Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series

by Stan Hawkins, Sarah Niblock

The career of the prolific pop artist Prince has become inextricably intertwined with the history of popular music since the late 1970s. This multi-instrumental icon, who remains one of the highest-grossing live performers in America, has been called a genius for his musicianship, composition and incredible performances. But Prince holds iconic status for more than his music. Best known for his racial blurring and extravagant sexual persona, Prince's music and visual iconography has always chimed with the ambiguity of subjectivity at any given moment. 'Prince' the sign offers a space for fans to evaluate and reconfigure their attitudes towards their own identities, and towards their position as subjects within the socio-cultural sphere. This much-needed interdisciplinary analysis is the first of its kind to examine critically Prince's popular music, performances, sounds, lyrics and the plethora of accompanying visual material such as album covers, posters, fashions, promotional videos and feature films. Specifically, the book explores how and why he has played such a profoundly meaningful and significant role in his fans' lives.

Genres: Music

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Stan Hawkins is Professor of Musicology and Head of Research at the Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Norway, and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Music, University of Agder, Kristiansand. Since 20013, he has has been commissioning editor for the iconic series, Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series (with Derek Scott).

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

A revisionist hagiography. The fact that this passes for academic work at this point in history should distress all of us. The authors are Trumpian in their writing. They approach the analysis with a pre-ordained theory and manipulate all evidence to fit it. They’ll use any approach to make a square peg fit a round hole, taking quotes out of context and never questioning their own starry-eyed beliefs about the subject. They paint Prince as some feminist saint and queer revolutionary, ignoring any of his many obvious instances of sexism, conservatism, and support of heteronormative values. It hard to believe that these authors matriculated at all. It is obvious that neither there academic advisors, nor their editors knew anything about the subject of their study.