American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3

by Larry Starr, Christopher Waterman, Brad Osborn (Contributor)

Explore the rich terrain of American popular music with the most complete introduction of its kind. With the sixth edition of the bestselling text American Popular From Minstrelsy to MP3 , Starr and Waterman help students hear more in the music around them with a cultural and social history of popular music.

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

672 pages, Paperback

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.