Tracing the diverse streams of American popular music from the 1920s to the present, The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates addresses such questions as: How did the musicians who made the music explain it? Who listened to popular music and why? What was the major impression made by it on society at large? Why do some types of popular music still matter today? In this richly textured and chronologically organized anthology, well-known scholar David Brackett brings together more than 100 readings from a diverse range of sources and by writers who have played an integral part in the development of popular music criticism. He includes articles from mainstream and specialized magazines, scholarly journals, and newspapers, as well as interviews and autobiographies of musicians and other music industry insiders. Representing a wide variety of time periods, styles, and genres--and including groundbreaking criticism on disco, hip-hop, rap, and techno--the selections introduce students to important social and cultural issues raised by the study of popular music. Topics covered include the role of race, class conflict, gender roles, regional differences in the reception of popular music, and the relative value of artistry versus commerce. Extensive editorial introductions and headnotes supply context for the selections, provide links between different eras and genres, clarify the issues raised by the documents, and explain their historical significance. An ideal text for courses in popular music history, The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates will also be of interest in courses on American music, American studies, media studies, history, and sociology.

Preface PART 1. BEFORE 1950 1. Technology, the Dawn of Modern Popular Music, and the "King of Jazz" Paul Whiteman and Mary Margaret McBride, "On Wax" 2. Big Band Swing Music: Race and Power in the Music Business Marvin Freedman, "Black Music's on Top; White Jazz Stagnant" Irving Kolodin, "The Dance Band Business: A Study in Black and White" 3. Solo Pop Singers and "Der Bingle" Bing Crosby (as told to Pete Martin), from Call Me Lucky 4. Hillbilly and Race Music Kyle Crichton, "Thar's Gold in Them Hillbillies" 5. Blues People and the Classic Blues LeRoi Jones, from Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America and the Music That Developed from It 6. The Empress of the Blues Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, from Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: The Story of Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It 7. At the Crossroads with Robert Johnson, as Told by Johnny Shines Pete Welding, "Interview with Johnny Shines" 8. From Race Music to Rhythm and Blues: T-Bone Walker Kevin Sheridan and Peter Sheridan, "T-Bone Walker: Father of the Blues" 9. Jumpin' the Blues with Louis Jordan Down Beat, "Bands Dug by the Beat: Louis Jordan" Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues 10. On the Bandstand with Johnny Otis and Wynonie Harris Johnny Otis, from Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris, "Women Won't Let Me Alone" 11. The Producers Answer Back: The Emergence of the "Indie" Record Company Bill Simon, "Indies' Surprise Survival: Small Labels' Ingenuity and Skill Pay Off" Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues 12. Country Music as Folk Music, Country Music as Novelty Billboard, "American Folk Tunes: Cowboy and Hillbilly Tunes and Tunesters" Newsweek, "Corn of Plenty" PART 2. THE 1950s 13. Country Music Approaches the Mainstream Rufus Jarman, "Country Music Goes to Town" 14. Hank Williams on Songwriting Hank Williams (with Jimmy Rule), from How to Write Folk and Western Music to Sell 15. Rhythm and Blues in the Early 1950s: B.B. King Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues 16. "The House that Ruth Brown Built" Ruth Brown (with Andrew Yule), from Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm and Blues Legend 17. Ray Charles, or When Saturday Night Mixed It Up with Sunday Morning Ray Charles and David Ritz, from Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story 18. Jerry Wexler: A Life in R&B Jerry Wexler and David Ritz, from Rhythm and the Blues: A Life in American Music 19. The Growing Threat of Rhythm and Blues Variety, "Top Names Now Singing the Blues as Newcomers Roll on R&B Tide" Variety, "A Warning to the Music Business" 20. Langston Hughes Responds Langston Hughes, "Highway Robbery Across the Color Line in Rhythm and Blues" 21. From Rhythm and Blues to Rock 'n' Roll: The Songs of Chuck Berry Chuck Berry, from Chuck Berry: The Autobiography 22. Little Richard: Boldly Going Where No Man Had Gone Before Charles White, from The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Quasar of Rock 23. Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Rockabilly Elizabeth Kaye, "Sam Phillips Interview" 24. Rock 'n' Roll Meets the Popular Press New York Times, "Rock-and-Roll Called Communicable Disease" Times, "Yeh-Heh-Heh-Hes, Baby" New York Times, "Rock 'n' Roll's Pulse Taken" Gertrude Samuels, "Why They Rock 'n' Roll--and Should They?" 25. The Chicago Defender Defends Rock 'n' Roll Rob Roy, "Bias Against Rock 'n' Roll Latest Bombshell in Dixie" 26. The Music Industry Fight Against Rock 'n' Roll: Dick Clark's Teen-Pop Empire and the Payola Scandal Peter Bunzel, "Music Biz Goes Round and Round: It Comes Out Clarkola" New York Age, "Mr. Clark and Colored Payola" PART 3. THE 1960s 27. Brill Building, the Girl Groups, and Phil Spector Tom Wolfe, "The First Tycoon of Teen" 28. From Surf to Smile Brian Wilson (with Todd Gold), from Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story 29. Urban Folk Revival Gene Bluestein, "Songs of the Silent Generation" Time, "Folk Music: They Hear America Singing" 30. Bringing It All Back Home: Dylan at Newport Irwin Silber, "Newport Folk Festival, 1965" Paul Nelson, "Newport Folk Festival, 1965" 31. "Chaos Is a Friend of Mine" Nora Ephron and Susan Edmiston, "Bob Dylan Interview" 32. From R&B to Soul James Baldwin, from The Fire Next Time Jerry Wexler and David Ritz, from Rhythm and the Blues: A Life in American Music 33. No Town Like Motown Berry Gordy, from To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown 34. The Godfather of Soul and the Beginnings of Funk James Brown (with Bruce Tucker), from The Godfather of Soul 35. "The Blues Changes from Day to Day" Jim Delehant, "Otis Redding Interview" 36. Aretha Franklin Meets the Mainstream Times, "Lady Soul: Singing It Like It Is" 37. The Beatles, the "British Invasion," and Cultural Respectability William Mann, "What Songs the Beatles Sang..." Theodore Strongin, "Musciologically..." 38. A Hard Day's Night Andrew Sarris, "Bravo Beatles!" 39. England Swings, and the Beatles Evolve on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper Richard Goldstein, "Pop Eye: On 'Revolver'" Jack Kroll, "It's Getting Better..." 40. Art School and the British Blues Revival Ray Coleman, "Rebels with a Beat" 41. The Stones Versus the Beatles Ellen Willis, "Records: Rock, Etc.--the Big Ones" 42. If You're Goin' to San Francisco... Ralph J. Gleason, "Dead Like Live Thunder" Ralph J. Gleason, "Grace Slick, Vocals, Composer" 43. The Kozmic Blues of Janis Joplin Nat Hentoff, "We Look at Our Parents and..." 44. Santana's Psychedelic Salsa Greg Tate, "Call Me Abraxas: Santana" 45. Jimi Hendrix and the Electronic Guitar Bob Dawbarn, "Second Dimension: Jimi Hendrix in Action" 46. Rock Meets the Avant-Garde: Frank Zappa Sally Kempton, "Zappa and the Mothers: Ugly Can Be Beautiful" 47. Pop/Bubblegum/Monkees Robert Christgau, from Any Old Way You Choose It: Rock and Other Pop Music, 1967-1973 48. The Aesthetics of Rock Paul Williams, "Get Off of My Cloud" Richard Goldstein, "Pop Eye: Evaluating Media" Ellen Willis, "Musical Events--Records: Rock, Etc." 49. Festivals: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly J.R. Young, "Review of Various Artists, Woodstock" George Paul Csicsery, "Altamont, California, December 6, 1969" PART 4. THE 1970s 50. Where Did the Sixties Go? Lester Bangs, "Of Pop and Pies and Fun" 51. The Sound of Autobiography: Singer-Songwriters, James Taylor Time, "James Taylor: One Man's Family of Rock" 52. Joni Mitchell Journeys Within Malka, "Joni Mitchell: Self-Portrait of a Superstar" 53. Sly Stone: "The Myth of Staggerlee" Greil Marcus, from Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music 54. Not-so-"Little" Stevie Wonder Ben Fong-Torres, "The Formerly Little Stevie Wonder" 55. Parliament Drops the Bomb W.A. Brower, "George Clinton: Ultimate Liberator of Constipated Notions" 56. Heavy Metal Meets the Counterculture John Mendelsohn, "Review of Led Zeppelin" 57. Led Zeppelin Speaks! Dave Schulps, "The Crunge: Jimmy Page Gives a History Lesson" 58. "I Have No Message Whatsoever" Cameron Crowe, "David Bowie Interview" 59. Rock Me Amadeus Domenic Milano, "Keith Emerson" Tim Morse, from Yesstories: Yes in Their Own Words 60. Jazz Fusion Miles Davis (with Quincy Troupe), from Miles: The Autobiography 61. Get On Up Disco Andrew Kopkind, "The Dialectic of Disco: Gay Music Goes Straight" 62. Punk: The Sound of Criticism? James Wolcott, "A Conservative Impulse in the New Rock Underground". 63. Punk Crosses the Atlantic Caroline Coon, "Rebels Against the System" 64. Punk to New Wave? Stephen Holden, "The B-52s' American Graffiti" 65. UK New Wave Allan Jones, "The Elvis (Costello, That Is) Interview" PART 5. THE 1980s 66. A "Second British Invasion," MTV, and Other Postmodernist Conundrums Robert Christgau, "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: The Music Biz on a Joyride" 67. Thriller Begets the "King of Pop" Greg Tate, "I'm White! What's Wrong with Michael Jackson" 68. Madonna and the Performance of Identity Camille Paglia, "Venus of the Radio Waves" Jane Dark, "Madonnica" 69. Bruce Springsteen: Reborn in the USA David Marsh, "Little Egypt from Asbury Park--and Bruce Springsteen Don't Crawl on His Belly, Neither" Simon Frith, "The Real Thing--Bruce Springsteen" 70. R&B in the 1980s: To Cross Over or Not to Cross Over? Nelson George, from The Death of Rhythm and Blues Steve Perry, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough: The Politics of Crossover" 71. Heavy Metal Thunders On! J.D. Considine, "Purity and Power--Total, Unswerving Devotion to Heavy Metal Form: Judas Priest and the Scorpions" 72. Metal in the Late Eighties: Glam or Thrash? Richard Gehr, "Metallica" 73. Postpunk Goes Indie Al Flipside, "What Is This Thing Called Hardcore?" 74. Indie Brings the Noise Kim Gordon, "Boys Are Smelly: Sonic Youth Tour Diary, '87" 75. Hip Hop, Don't Stop Robert Ford, Jr., "B-Beats Bombarding Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts Something with Oldie R&B Disks" Robert Ford, Jr., "Jive Talking N.Y. DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos" Time, "Bad Rap" 76. "The Music Is a Mirror" Harry Allen, "Hip Hop Madness: From Def Jams to Cold Lampin', Rap Is Our Music" Carol Cooper, "Girls Ain't Nothin' but Trouble" 77. Where Rap and Heavy Metal Converge Jon Pareles, "There's a New Sound in Pop Music: Bigotry" PART 6. THE 1990s AND BEYOND 78. Hip-Hop into the 1990s: Gangstas, Fly Girls, and the Big Bling-Bling J.D. Considine, "Fear of a Rap Planet" 79. Nuthin' but a "G" Thang Toure, "Snoop Dogg's Gentle Hip Hop Growl" 80. Keeping It a Little Too Real Sam Gideon Anso and Charles Rappleye, "Rap Sheet" Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, "Party Over" Natasha Stovall, "Town Criers" 81. Sample-Mania Neil Strauss, "Sampling Is (a) Creative or (b) Theft?" 82. Women in Rap Christopher John Farley, "Hip-Hop Nation" 83. The Beat Goes On Renee Graham, "Eminem's Old Words Aren't Hip-Hop's Biggest Problem" 84. From Indie to Alternative to...Seattle? Dave DiMartino, "A Seattle Slew" 85. Riot Girl Bikini Kill, "riot grrrl" 86. Grunge Turns to Scrunge Eric Weisbard, "Over & Out: Indie Rock Values in the Age of Alternative Million Sellers" 87. Two "Postalternative" Icons Jon Pareles, "A Dylan in Slacker's Clothing" Jonathan Van Meter, "The Outer Limits" 88. "We Are the World"? George Lipsitz, "Immigration and Assimilation: Rai, Reggae, and Bhangramuffin" 89. A Talking Head Writes David Byrne, "Crossing Music's Borders: I Hate World Music" 90. Genre or Gender? The Resurgence of the Singer-Songwriter Robert L. Doerschuk, "Tori Amos: Pain for Sale" 91. Public Policy and Pop Music History Collide Jenny Toomey, "Empire of the Air" 92. Electronica Is in the House Simon Reynolds, "Historia Electronica Preface" Irvine Welsh, "Lorraine Goes to Livingston: A Rave and Regency Romance" 93. R&B Divas Go Retro Ann Powers, "The New Conscience of Pop Music" 94. What Have We Come To? (On Continuing Moral Panics in Late 1990s' Popular Music and Other Strange Developments) Neva Chonin, "Bay Area Goths Say Media Has It Wrong (Many Teens Offended by Snap Association of Subculture and Suspects)" Mark Morford, "Is Shania Twain Human?" Select Bibliography Index

"The text I've been waiting for, for History of Rock classes. An intelligently selected and insightful collection of 'primary readings' that captures the excitement of an always changing musical form. (It's nice to see genres such as progressive rock and electronica represented as well, at last!)"--Kevin Holm-Hudson, University of Kentucky