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"Since 1858 when the first piece of baseball music was published and performed, music has been a constant companion to all aspects of the game, amplifying and enlivening the stories and experiences of the fans, players, performers, composers, lyricists and music publishers who documented and celebrated the game with music. As America was searching for its own musical identity separate from European influences, baseball would be riding that same crest into the twentieth century, with the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" branding baseball and its music as a popular and cherished American enterprise. The partnership of baseball and music would grow stronger through two world wars, suffrage, women's professional ball, racial integration and expansion of the game to the West Coast. These historical milestones, while familiar, are made startlingly new when viewed and expressed through a musical soundtrack. Presented by a professional music librarian, this first-of-its-kind history tells the story of baseball through the music that has accompanied it for over a century. As the rhythms and personalities of the game continue to change, so does its music, reflecting America's ongoing love for a game, and those who play it."-Provided by publisher"--
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Part I-Baseball and Music, 1858-1908
¿1.¿The First Piece of Music About Baseball
¿2.¿Baseball and Music in the 19th Century and the Search for an American Identity
¿3.¿Women and African Americans in Baseball and the "Stars of the National Game"
¿4.¿Baseball, the Playground Movement, and the Progressive Era
¿5.¿Irish Ethnic Identity and Assimilation
¿6.¿Baseball's Rooting Culture
Part II-"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
¿7.¿Women and Leisure in 1908
¿8.¿Jack Norworth
¿9.¿Trixie Friganza
10.¿Suffrage and Social Activism
Part III-Baseball and Music After "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
11.¿George M. Cohan and "Take Your Girl to the Ball Game"
12.¿Other Songs of Romance at the Ballpark
13.¿Katie Casey and Nellie Kelly
14.¿A Community Sings
15.¿The Seventh-Inning Stretch
16.¿"Gee! It's a Wonderful Game" Music, Musicians, and the National Pastime
Appendix I: A Catalogue of the Music Discussed in the Text
Appendix II: Where Were They in 1908?
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Musicologist, music librarian, composer, and performer George Boziwick is retired as the chief of the music division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
