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We are what we listen to. That's the premise of this study of 100 songs that have shaped and defined the American experience, from the Colonial period to the present.
Well-known music author James Perone looks at 100 songs that helped tell America's story. He examines why each song became a hit, what cultural and social values it embodies, what issues it touches upon, what audiences it attracted, and what made it such a definitive part of American history and popular culture.
The chart-topping singles presented here crossed gender, age, race, and class lines to appeal to the mass American audience. The book discusses patriotic songs, minstrel music, and sacred songs and hymns as well as music in the broad categories of pop, rock, hip hop, jazz, country, and folk. An introduction provides an overview of the history and significant issues raised by the songs as a whole. Individual songs are then presented chronologically, based on when they were written. The revealing commentary for each "hit" is not only interesting and fun, but reveals what it was like to live in the United States at a particular time by unveiling the social, economic, and political issues-as well as the musical tastes-that made life what it was.
List of contents
Introduction
What Makes a Hit Song?
Chronology and Overview
The Years 1750-1899
The Years 1900-1939
The Years 1940-1959
The Years 1960-1969
The Years 1970-1979
The Years 1980-2016
Bibliography
Index
About the author
JAMES E. PERONE is Emeritus Professor of Music at Mount Union College. His previous bio-bibliographies include Howard Hanson (Greenwood, 1992) and Elvis Costello (Greenwood, 1998). He is also the author of a number of bibliographies including Musical Anthologies for Analytical Study (Greenwood, 1992), Orchestration Theory (Greenwood, 1996), Harmony Theory (Greenwood, 1997), and Form and Analysis Theory (Greenwood, 1998).
