The Popular Song Reader

The Popular Song Reader contains over 200 short essays on a wide variety of twentieth-century American popular songs. The witty and knowledgeable essays touch upon several hundred traditional style pop songs as well as early rock compositions. The essays are filled with anecdotes, humor, irony, and even poetry that reflect the author's offbeat and somewhat irreverent manner, while also presenting a broad spectrum of American popular songs in their historical and cultural contexts. In addition to information about each song and its composer, the author also discusses how the song reflected society at the time and also how the song itself has influenced popular culture. Pop music fans will find this a highly entertaining and readable guide to the best American popular music of the twentieth century.

William E. Studwell, MSLS, MS, is Professor, University Libraries,at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. He is the authorof reference books on Christmas carols, ballet, and opera, as well asother books on music and several on library science. He has alsoauthored almost 200 articles (over 60 on music) and has made morethan 100 appearances in national, regional, and local media. Mr.Studwell is the editor of Music Reference Services Quarterly and amember of the American Library Association.

Contents Introduction Pops, 1900-1925 Pops, 1926-1952 Pops, 1953 and After Broadway, 1900-1939 Broadway, 1940 and After Movies Television Title Index Person and Group Index