Bøker i Music in American Life-serien

Katherine K. Preston leads the reader on an operatic tour of pre-Civil War America in this cultural study of what was, surprisingly, an almost ubiquitous art form. Her richly detailed examination of itinerant troupes covers orchestral and choral musicians as well as stars, impresarios, business methods, repertories, advertising techniques, itineraries, sizes of companies, and methods of travel.

A musical biography of one of bluegrass's true pioneers

The life and music of a bluegrass pioneer, in his own words

Examines the regional and national history that shaped Cline's career and the popular culture that she so profoundly influenced with her music.

Offers an account of more than five decades of success as a performer, concert promoter, songwriter, music publisher, engineer, and record producer. As witness to and participant in over a half century of music history, this title provides a sophisticated window into American vernacular music.

British blues fan Mike Leadbitter launched the magazine Blues Unlimited in 1963. The groundbreaking publication fueled the then-nascent, now-legendary blues revival that reclaimed seminal figures like Son House and Skip James from obscurity. Throughout its history, Blues Unlimited heightened the literacy of blues fans, documented the latest news and career histories of countless musicians, and set the standard for revealing long-form interviews. Conducted by Bill Greensmith, Mike Leadbitter, Mike Rowe, John Broven, and others, and covering a who''s who of blues masters, these essential interviews from Blues Unlimited shed light on their subjects while gleaning colorful detail from the rough and tumble of blues history. Here is Freddie King playing a string of one-nighters so grueling it destroys his car; five-year-old Fontella Bass gigging at St. Louis funeral homes; and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup rising from life in a packing crate to music stardom. Here, above all, is an eyewitness history of the blues written in neon lights and tears, an American epic of struggle and transcendence, of Saturday night triumphs and Sunday morning anonymity, of clean picking and dirty deals. Featuring interviews with: Fontella Bass, Ralph Bass, Fred Below, Juke Boy Bonner, Roy Brown, Albert Collins, James Cotton, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Joe Dean, Henry Glover, L.C. Green, Dr. Hepcat, Red Holloway, Louise Johnson, Floyd Jones, Moody Jones, Freddie King, Big Maceo Merriweather, Walter Mitchell, Louis Myers, Johnny Otis, Snooky Pryor, Sparks Brothers, Jimmy Thomas, Jimmy Walker, and Baby Boy Warren.

A study of Bill Monroe's contributions to American and world music. Spanning over 1,000 separate performances, this work presents a chronological list of Bill Monroe's commercially released sound and visual recordings.

Michael D. Doubler is the great grandson of Uncle Dave Macon. His books include Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-1945 and Civilian in Peace, Soldier in War: The Army National Guard, 1636-2000.

Known as the Father of Bluegrass Music, Bill Monroe pioneered a different category of music and inspired generations of musicians and fans. This title offers a tribute to the man and the musician who transformed the traditional music of western Kentucky into an international sensation.

Traces the Zarzuela from its beginnings in 17th century Spain to its awareness via the Internet and its role in defining American urban ethnicity. This is a book on Hispanic art form, bridging classical and popular music. It examines Cuba's role in transmitting the Zarzuela to Latin America and the Caribbean.

Probing the intersection of music and racial politics in California

Examines the regional and national history that shaped Cline's career and the popular culture that she so profoundly influenced with her music.

An important modern exponent of Asian dance, Pandit Chitresh Das brought kathak to the United States in 1970. The North Indian classical dance has since become an important art form within the greater Indian diaspora. Yet its adoption outside of India raises questions about what happens to artistic practices when we separate them from their broader cultural contexts. A Guru's Journey provides an ethnographic study of the dance form in the San Francisco Bay Area community formed by Das. Sarah Morelli, a kathak dancer and one of Das's former students, investigates issues in teaching, learning, and performance that developed around Das during his time in the United States. In modifying kathak's form and teaching for Western students, Das negotiates questions of Indianness and non-Indianness, gender, identity, and race. Morelli lays out these issues for readers with the goal of deepening their knowledge of kathak aesthetics, technique, and theory. She also shares the intricacies of footwork, facial expression in storytelling, and other aspects of kathak while tying them to the cultural issues that inform the dance.