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This book continues to tell the stories behind popular songs in our country s history, serving as a sequel to the bestselling America s Songs: Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Organized in short easy-to-read essays, this collection provides historical context to specific songs but also demonstrates how certain songs facilitated the popularity of particular genres, subsequently reshaping the landscape of American popular music. America s Songs II: Songs from the 1890's to the Post-War Years will appeal to American popular music enthusiasts but will also serve as an ideal reference guide for students or as a supplement in American music courses.
List of contents
Table of Songs Foreword Philip Furia Preface Introduction 1890–1894 1895-1899 1900-1904 1905-1909 1910-1914 1915-1919 1920-1924 1924-1929 1930-1934 1935 – 1939 1940-1944 1945 1949 1950-1955
About the author
Michael Lasser is a lecturer, writer, broadcaster, critic, and teacher. Since 1980, he has been the host of the nationally syndicated public radio show, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, winner of a 1994 Peabody Award
Summary
America’s Songs II: Songs from the 1890's to the Post-War Years continues to tell the stories behind popular songs in our country’s history, serving as a sequel to the bestselling America’s Songs: Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. Beginning in 1890 and ending in post-war America, America's Songs II is a testament to the richness of popular music in the first half of the 20th century.
This volume builds on the unique features of the first volume, delving deeper into the nature of the collaboration between well-known songwriters of the time but also shedding light on some of the early performers to turn songs into hits. The book’s structure – a collection of short easy-to-read essays – allows the author to provide historical context to certain songs, but also to demonstrate how individual songs facilitated the popularity of specific genres, including ragtime, jazz, and blues, which subsequently reshaped the landscape of American popular music. America’s Songs II: Songs from the 1890's to the Post-War Years will appeal to American popular music enthusiasts but will also serve as an ideal reference guide for students or as a supplement in American music courses.
Additional text
American Songs II will appeal to American popular music enthusiasts but will also serve as an academic reference for students of American culture and music. The bibliography and index is rich and excellent. - Robert G. MacDonald, Liverpool John Moores University
"The book can serve as an engaging read of creative impulses from song to song in chronological order...Lasser includes numerous Photofest publicity stills of songwriters, lyricists, book writers, performers, and other figures responsible for the sound of early-20th-century American popular music. A good resource for those interested in the history of these songs and the composers who wrote them. Summing Up: Recommended." - M Goldsmith, Elms College, CHOICE
