Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion [Hardcover] Review

"Music in the USA" is essential for the student, professor, or enthusiast. Never before has such an array of primary source documents been collected into a single volume. Easy to browse, "Music in the USA" makes for a fantastic research tool as well as a great read for pure enjoyment- one can easily read up on any segment of American musical culture throughout our history. As a student, I highly recommend picking up this book. I have used it many times in my studies, and will surely reference it in my continuing pursuit into the music industry.

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Product Description:
Music in the USA: A Documentary Companion charts a path through American music and musical life using as guides the words of composers, performers, writers and the rest of us ordinary folks who sing, dance, and listen. The anthology of primary sources contains about 160 selections from 1540 to 2000. Sometimes the sources are classics in the literature around American music, for example, the Preface to the Bay Psalm Book, excerpts from Slave Songs of the United States, and Charles Ives extolling Emerson. But many other selections offer uncommon sources, including a satirical story about a Yankee music teacher; various columns from 19th-century German American newspapers; the memoirs of a 19th-century diva; Lottie Joplin remembering her husband Scott; a little-known reflection of Copland about Stravinsky;an interview with Muddy Waters from the Chicago Defender; a letter from Woody Guthrie on the "spunkfire" attitude of a folk song; a press release from the Country Music Association;and the Congressional testimony around "Napster.""Sidebar" entries occasionally bring a topic or an idea into the present, acknowledging the extent to which revivals of many kinds of music play a role in American contemporary culture. This book focuses on the connections between theory and practice to enrich our understanding of the diversity of American musical experiences.Designed especially to accompany college courses which survey American music as a whole, the book is also relevant to courses in American history and American Studies.

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The Tombstone Tourist : Musicians [Paperback] Review

Several years ago, my daughter and I went searching for Jimi Hendricks grave while we had some time to kill in Seattle waiting for a plane.I had discovered the name of the cemetery in a book I had read, but it still took us about an hour poking around before we found the actual grave.We left a couple of coins and a note that just said "Thanks Jimi". The experience was quite incredible.We both walked away feeling we had done something worthwhile.We had given something back to the music, and to the memory of a great musician.I was hooked.Since then I have made a point of looking for the graves of people who have left their mark on our culture.Last year I had two major disappointments.I spent a couple of hours early one Sunday morning searching in vain for the grave of Muddy Waters in a suburban Chicago cemetery.A few weeks ago, I spent another two hours in a cemetery in L.A.looking for Frank Zappa and Roy Orbison without success.Two nights ago Amazon.com delivered me Scott Stanton's "The Tombstone Tourist". Within ten minutes, the book had paid for itself.I discovered where all three were precisely located, and why I was unable to find Frank and Roy.They are both buried in unmarked graves, about twenty five feet apart.The book is very tastefully written. It is obvious that Scott has a great deal of respect for all the artists he has taken considerable effort to find.There are excellent bios and an incredible wealth of information and trivia on each of the hundreds of artists presented.The only error I have found is that Chet Baker died in a fall from a Paris hotel room. Actually it was Amsterdam. Close enough.I have not found a better reference book on popular culture than "The Tombstone Tourist". Those of you who feel that looking for dead celebrities is a little macabre should get the book and go out to find someone whose work you admire. You will find it a tremendously rewarding experience.Don't forget to take flowers, or an appropriate gift to leave at the grave.

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