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Musical World: Modern World History as You've Never Heard it Before
From Billie Holliday to Aretha Franklin, Fela Kuti to Donna Summer, Elton John to Michael Jackson - it turns out that 38 classic tunes reflect and encapsulate the key historical moments of the 20th and 21st century.
Musical World features music from a vast range of genres including Jazz, Rock n Roll, Disco and Hiphop. Jeffrey Boakye, teacher, historian and broadcaster, explores the roots and wider impact of these genres, touching on why they were celebrated or seen as problematic, their political and cultural impact, and their ongoing legacy today.
Featuring a dance that lead to a new sense of sexual liberation, feminism, the Vietnam war, the carving up of the African continent, antisemitism, HIV, homosexuality and the impact of disco, and a football anthem. . .
It will make you cry, question and gasp - this is a brand new view of world history - memorable, outspoken - hitherto unspoken!
Musical World features music from a vast range of genres including Jazz, Rock n Roll, Disco and Hiphop. Jeffrey Boakye, teacher, historian and broadcaster, explores the roots and wider impact of these genres, touching on why they were celebrated or seen as problematic, their political and cultural impact, and their ongoing legacy today.
Featuring a dance that lead to a new sense of sexual liberation, feminism, the Vietnam war, the carving up of the African continent, antisemitism, HIV, homosexuality and the impact of disco, and a football anthem. . .
It will make you cry, question and gasp - this is a brand new view of world history - memorable, outspoken - hitherto unspoken!
- GenresNonfictionMusic
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2023
2 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 28, 2025
Yoko Ono wrote Imagine, apparently! Someone ought to inform John Lennon. Oh wait - he can't respond. If he could, he may have had something to say about this falsehood. He may also have asked the author to mention the Double Fantasy album, half of which actually *was* written, performed and rightfully credited to Yoko. He may also have asked the author to mention that The Beatles refused to play for segregated audiences, toured with Little Richard (who adored them) and were the first male group to record a Motown cover in the UK (source: Tune In by Mark Lewisohn.) But no, white British means bad.
Do They Know It's Christmas is naive and ignorant! How much has the author raised for child poverty? It came from a good place.
Is Freddie Mercury really just a vehicle to explain what AIDS is? Wow.
No balance, just political bias. Would have been nice to learn something about actual music rather than the author's dislike of successful white artists. Yes, many were influenced by black music, but they've never denied it. White musicians have also influenced black people, but let's not mention that (a perfect example would have been mentioning Rod Temperton, a white British man, who created Thriller alongside Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.)
I made my daughter return this garbage to the library pronto. Even TikTok would have given her more accurate information.
Do They Know It's Christmas is naive and ignorant! How much has the author raised for child poverty? It came from a good place.
Is Freddie Mercury really just a vehicle to explain what AIDS is? Wow.
No balance, just political bias. Would have been nice to learn something about actual music rather than the author's dislike of successful white artists. Yes, many were influenced by black music, but they've never denied it. White musicians have also influenced black people, but let's not mention that (a perfect example would have been mentioning Rod Temperton, a white British man, who created Thriller alongside Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson.)
I made my daughter return this garbage to the library pronto. Even TikTok would have given her more accurate information.
December 18, 2023
Book 90 of 2023 is yet another smash hit from Jeffrey Boakye.
MUSICAL WORLD, the follow up to Musical Truth is another selection of the best of the best when it comes to music, all with Jeffrey's wit and charm oozing through the writing.
A must for school libraries everywhere and the perfect read for music lovers regardless of their age.
MUSICAL WORLD, the follow up to Musical Truth is another selection of the best of the best when it comes to music, all with Jeffrey's wit and charm oozing through the writing.
A must for school libraries everywhere and the perfect read for music lovers regardless of their age.
July 29, 2023
I don’t know if you have heard anyone say music makes the world go round? It might seem like an odd concept but don’t worry, it has nothing to do with science and everything to do with the power of music. Stop to think about it for just a moment and you will soon realise that music is part of our everyday lives, it is everywhere, it is in every country, every culture and it’s important. So important in fact that we can actually use it to make a soundtrack to history. Jeffrey Boake, in his latest book Musical World shows us how. His history is of the 20th and 21st centuries, our centuries, and his soundtrack is comprised of artists that most will recognise even if the songs are not familiar. I am quite sure it will encourage many to go and listen too!
Featuring artists as diverse as Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Michael Jackson as some of the performers of the 38 songs included the music itself ranges from jazz to rock n’ roll. There is disco and hip hop too. Plus, there is a history of the music itself, delving into its roots, hoping to understand why it was, and is, popular as well as why at times it was celebrated and then problematic. For each artist and their track a question is posed. Billie Holliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ asks “When do we need music to remember? The answer ~ when a truth is difficult to comprehend. New sun Dorma, a song many will be familiar with, helps to answer the question “Does music help us understand different cultures?” A fascinating way to view world history.
Featuring artists as diverse as Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Michael Jackson as some of the performers of the 38 songs included the music itself ranges from jazz to rock n’ roll. There is disco and hip hop too. Plus, there is a history of the music itself, delving into its roots, hoping to understand why it was, and is, popular as well as why at times it was celebrated and then problematic. For each artist and their track a question is posed. Billie Holliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ asks “When do we need music to remember? The answer ~ when a truth is difficult to comprehend. New sun Dorma, a song many will be familiar with, helps to answer the question “Does music help us understand different cultures?” A fascinating way to view world history.
January 1, 2024
I don’t know if you have heard anyone say music makes the world go round? It might seem like an odd concept but don’t worry, it has nothing to do with science and everything to do with the power of music. Stop to think about it for just a moment and you will soon realise that music is part of our everyday lives, it is everywhere, it is in every country, every culture and it’s important. So important in fact that we can actually use it to make a soundtrack to history. Jeffrey Boakye, in his latest book Musical World shows us how. His history is of the 20th and 21st centuries, our centuries, and his soundtrack is comprised of artists that most will recognise even if the songs are not familiar. I am quite sure it will encourage many to go and listen too!
Featuring artists as diverse as Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Michael Jackson as some of the performers of the 38 songs included the music itself ranges from jazz to rock n’ roll. There is disco and hip hop too. Plus, there is a history of the music itself, delving into its roots, hoping to understand why it was, and is, popular as well as why at times it was celebrated and then problematic. For each artist, and their track, a question is posed. Billie Holliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ asks “When do we need music to remember? The answer ~ when a truth is difficult to comprehend. New sun Dorma, a song many will be familiar with, helps to answer the question “Does music help us understand different cultures?” A fascinating way to view world history.
Featuring artists as diverse as Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Michael Jackson as some of the performers of the 38 songs included the music itself ranges from jazz to rock n’ roll. There is disco and hip hop too. Plus, there is a history of the music itself, delving into its roots, hoping to understand why it was, and is, popular as well as why at times it was celebrated and then problematic. For each artist, and their track, a question is posed. Billie Holliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ asks “When do we need music to remember? The answer ~ when a truth is difficult to comprehend. New sun Dorma, a song many will be familiar with, helps to answer the question “Does music help us understand different cultures?” A fascinating way to view world history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews