/LC.GIF&client=easterncarolinaedu)
Supremely American : popular song in the 20th century : styles and singers and what they said about America / Nicholas Tawa.
| Author/creator | Tawa, Nicholas E. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2005. |
| Description | xvi, 331 pages ; 22 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Preliminary considerations. The 19th century's close ; The African-American input ; The new breed of songwriters ; Going after the public ; Song in the public consciousness -- A closer look at the jazz age. Zeroing in on the 1920s ; Shouters and crooners ; The natural world of popular song ; Songs: earnest and with feeling ; The torch song ; Novelties and dance songs ; Disaster strikes -- Swing time. Entertainment circles ; The swing era begins ; The transformation of the singer ; Songs for the recovery ; Novelties and other one-of-a-kind songs ; Serious songs ; Light love songs ; The more sober love songs -- Change: different music cultures come to the fore. The generational cold war ; Getting music to young people ; African-American music ; Country and western ; Folklike music ; Rockabilly and the start of rock 'n' roll -- White-American and British songs in a decade of turmoil. Traditional popular music ; Varieties of country music ; The counterculture ; Folk to folk-rock ; California dreaming ; The British invasion -- Black-American music comes to the fore in the 1960s. Soul music ; Funk ; Motown -- Out of the seventies. Traditional popular music in the seventies and beyond ; Country and western in the seventies ; The rise of the singer-songwriter ; Reggae migrates to the United States ; Disco and the urge to dance ; The rebellious posture: heavy metal ; Progressive to punk -- The eighties and nineties. Country and western persists ; Changes in the musical landscape ; Celebrities in the adolescent arena ; New options: grunge, alternative, and indie ; Hip-hop and rap take over -- A temporary ending. Popular culture at the turn of the century ; Counterthrust ; The onset of the older fan ; In conclusion. |
| Abstract | This is a study of the way in which popular words and music relate to American life. The question of what popular song was, and why it came into existence, as well as how each song fit within the context of the larger 20th Century society are considered and explained clearly and fruitfully. Songs of the jazz age and swing era are considered primarily in terms of song-types and their relation to the times. Post World War II songs are shown to have splintered into a multitude of different styles and variations within each style. Many 20th century songs came to be closely identified with particular singers and performance groups, shifting the attention to the styles identified with particular performers and the audiences they reached. The author avoids overly-technical vocabulary, making this examination of hundreds of popular songs accessible to a wide variety of readers seeking to better their understanding of the often perplexing musical landscape of the time. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-321) and index. |
| LCCN | 2004022882 |
| ISBN | 0810852950 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML3477 .T39 2005 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |