Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919 (Music in American Life) [Paperback] Review

A few pages into this book, one realizes the title is a double entendre. The recorded sounds documented here - which include popular music, ragtime, jazz, cabaret, classical, spoken word, politics, poetry, and more - are not merely "lost" in the sense that their existence has been uncelebrated. They are also in danger of being lost to us forever if immediate steps are not takento preserve the fragile materials upon which they live.

Additionally, U.S. copyright laws have made it nearly impossible for anyone to reissue them as CDs. According to the author, there were approximately 800 recordings made by African Americans prior to 1920, the majority of which are still intact but half of which are owned by successor corporations like Sony and BMG who will neither reissue them nor allow anyone else to do so.Which explains why the majority of this material ends up being released overseas.

The book documents more than 40 artists chronologically, assessing their work and skillfully placing their biographies within the context of a complex and tumultuous era. It covers the famous (Bert Williams, Eubie Blake, Fisk Jubilee Singers) and a host of lesser-knows. The Discography provides a listing of CD reissues (if available) for each chapter, plus web sites where you'll most likely find them.

While seemingly an exhaustive tome, the author himself reminds us it's intended to stimulate preservation and future research: the final chapter "Miscellaneous Recordings" examines unissued recordings, "custom" noncommercial recordings, rumored but unconfirmed recordings, records by artists sometimes misidentified as black and more, in the hopes that future research will turn up more information.

Though massive at 656 pages, the book is highly readable and entertaining, very well organized and indexed making it easy to zoom in on particular aspects of interest. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the era of early recording in general, or African American studies in particular, and feel no library shelf should be without it. It's a wonderful resource for interdisciplinary studies.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919 (Music in American Life) [Paperback]

Product Description:
Available in paperback for the first time, this groundbreaking in-depth history of the involvement of African Americans in the early recording industry examines the first three decades of sound recording in the United States, charting the surprising roles black artists played in the period leading up to the Jazz Age and the remarkably wide range of black music and culture they preserved. Applying more than thirty years of scholarship, Tim Brooks identifies key black artists who recorded commercially and provides illuminating biographies for some forty of these audio pioneers.Brooks assesses the careers and recordings of George W. Johnson, Bert Williams, George Walker, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, W. C. Handy, James Reese Europe, Wilbur Sweatman, Harry T. Burleigh, Roland Hayes, Booker T. Washington, and boxing champion Jack Johnson, as well as a host of lesser-known voices.Many of these pioneers faced a difficult struggle to be heard in an era of rampant discrimination and "the color line," and their stories illuminate the forces - both black and white - that gradually allowed African Americans greater entree into the mainstream American entertainment industry.The book also discusses how many of these historic recordings are withheld from the public today because of stringent U.S. copyright laws. Lost Sounds includes Brooks' selected discography of CD reissues, and an appendix by Dick Spottswood describing early recordings by black artists in the Caribbean and South America. Tim Brooks is Executive Vice President of Research at Lifetime Television. He is coauthor of "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows" and "The Columbia Master Book Discography", and the author of "Little Wonder Records: A History and Discography". He is past president of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections and the winner of its Lifetime Achievement Award. Dick Spottswood is a freelance author, broadcaster, and record producer. He is the author of the seven volume reference work, "Ethnic Music on Records".

Buy cheap Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919 (Music in American Life) [Paperback] now Get 27% OFF

Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot, 1843-1924 [Paperback] Review

This book was a real disappointment, particularly because it covers some important ground and has, occasionally, some flashes of insight. But it is plagued by such major flaws that I cannot recommend it. The basic premise is outrageously reductive and simplistic, and the author uses this flawed approach as a means to pass judgment sweepingly on all sorts of music and musicians. Underlying his entire argument is the notion that black music and musicians properly belong to the "Underworld," and that anytime they display associations with "Topworld" white mainstream America, it is some kind of artistic and cultural travesty. Like so many of the late 19th and early 20th century figures he derides, this author wants his black musicians to be musically "black," and denigrates anybody and anything else that stands in the way of his offensive viewpoint.

The book is also plagued by flat-out misinformation (William Shakespeare Hays was black, really??), faulty reasoning, shoddy research, cheap shots left and right, and the most annoying, smart-alecky, and off-putting writing style I think I've ever encountered in a non-fiction book. The author uses profanity as if he earns points for slipping it in at every opportunity. Clearly he thinks by doing so he connects himself to the "underworld" characters he so romanticizes. The result, though, is simply obnoxious. His desire to be smugly hip becomes downright offensive at times. After pointing out Irene Castle's frustration at having to work with the "Topworld" music direction of John Philip Sousa instead of her previous bandleader James Reese Europe, the author concludes that "once you've had black, you never go back."

If you want to read a freewheeling and irreverent dissertation on similar subject matter, check out Nick Tosches's "Where Dead Voices Gather," an infinitely better and more rewarding book. For a level-headed, scholarly, and brilliant account of this material, read Tim Brooks's excellent "Lost Sounds."

Click Here to see more reviews about: Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot, 1843-1924 [Paperback]



Buy cheap Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot, 1843-1924 [Paperback] now Get 22% OFF

Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz with 21 Activities (For Kids series) [Paperback] Review

What a great book to explore jazz though the life of Duke Ellington! The activities are fun and engaging (most are appropriate for the 7 - 10 age group). I like that there is variety in the activities (everything from making instruments to writing lyrics to making corn bread!), so kids can get a more robust hands on learning experience.
While this is by no means a stand alone book on jazz, it is a great introduction to students learning about various types of music, an excellent starting book for someone doing a biography on Duke Ellington, or a jumping off point into the wonderful world of jazz. It would also make a great gift for a young, budding musician as the Duke was a great role model (I haven't read about a drug habit or wife beating or other things that tend to plague musicians of all genres throughout history).
While this book could be used in schools, it seems most appropriate for use at home with the family. There are great family activities and the way the book is written, it easily allows for parents and grandparents to expound upon "those days" that don't seem so "walked ten miles to school, uphill, in a snow storm". It allows for some great life lessons as Duke Ellington didn't just happen to be a great musician, he worked hard at it and even when he was very good - he still continued to practice and learn from others to try and get better. Pair it with samples of his music and you have a great family learning project to help bring you closer to your children in a new and exciting way.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz with 21 Activities (For Kids series) [Paperback]



Buy cheap Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz with 21 Activities (For Kids series) [Paperback] now Get 22% OFF