History of Rock 'n' Roll

The author presents alphabetized entries discussing more than 200 genres of rock music. Part reference book, part history, and part road map to the connectivity of popular music, this book is a must for all rock 'n' roll fans as it brings together a compilation of over two hundred genres of rock music--an entertaining, enlightening, knotty family tree of America's favorite musical genre. In the six decades since rock 'n' roll stole America's soul,...

Glam Rock investigates the origins, development and impact of an under-valued and misunderstood musical genre. Exploring artistic, political, psychological, sexual, and commercial contexts, this book develops the transatlantic cultural history of this unique movement in popular music with fresh depth and connections.

This work surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, it offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared....

The author of Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records. The music that Phillips shaped in his tiny Memphis studio, with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike Turner, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices unabashedly...