What Should I Read Next?

Subject: What Should I Read Next?
From: Azizi
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 09:05 PM

There are songsbooks and then there are books on the history and culture of music and its accompanying traditions [dance, games, accompaniment traditions such as off & on beat hand claps; 'plays' & promenades etc].

Since I LOVE to read, I'm wondering what other books should be next on my reading list.

Also, I thought that it might be a good idea to share the titles of some of the books on the history & culture of music that I have found interesting and informative.

So, in no particular order, here's 5 books I found to be good reading on the topic of music of African and African descent:

Samuel Floyd Jr; "The Power of Black Music:Interpreting Its History
                  from Africa to the United States"; Oxford;
                  New York, Oxford University Press, 1995


Samuel Charters; "The Roots of the Blues-An African Search";
                Boston; London,Marion Boyars, 1981

John Storm Roberts: "Black Music of Two Worlds:African, Caribbean,
                   Latin, and African-American Traditions"
                   New York, Simon & Shuster Macmillan, 1998   

Francis Bebey [translated by Josephine Bennett}:
             "African Music: A Peoples' Art";
             Chicago, Lawrence Hill Books, 1975

Warren L. d'Azevedo,editor; "The Traditional Artist In African
                            Societies", Bloomington,         
                            Indiana University Press, 1975

****
What books on the history & culture of music did you find interesting and informative?

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Margret RoadKnight
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 09:12 PM

Anthony Heilbut: "The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times"
                   New York, Limelight Editions, 1997

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 09:41 PM

Dena J. Epstein, 1977, "Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, Black Folk Music to the Civil War." Univ. Illinois Press.

Paul Oliver, 1968, 1989pb, "Screening the Blues, Aspects of the Blues Tradition." Da Capo Press, NY

B. H. Bronson, 1969, "The Ballad as Song." Univ. California Press

Iona and Peter Opie, 1985, "The Singing Game," Oxford Univ. Press

Botkin, B. A., "The American Play-Party Song," 1837, Frederick Ungar Pub. Co. NY

Frances Toor, 1947, 1964 etc., "A Treasury of Mexican Folkways," Crown Pub. NY

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 28 Feb 05 - 10:06 PM

Henry Sapoznik's book about klezmer music.
Jean Ritchie's book about her Appalachian upbringing.
John Manifold's two volumes about Australian folk song.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: GUEST,Paul Burke
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 06:24 AM

"Last Night's Fun" by Ciaran Carson.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 06:45 AM

Gayle Dean Wardlow (1998)Chasin' That Devil Music: Searching for the Blues San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: John C.
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 02:48 PM

I found the following book very interesting:

'Folk Song: Tradition, Revival, and Re-Creation' ed. Ian Russell and David Atkinson, The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, 2004.

This is a collection of papers given at a conference to mark the centenary of the Folk-Song Society in 1998. It sounds a bit dry, and it is a bit of a mixed bunch, but it kept me happy for a couple of weeks. There are some very interesting and provocative papers here.

You might also like to look at a song book published by the EFDSS:

'Still Growing: English Traditional Songs and Singers from the Cecil Sharp Collection', ed. Steve Roud, Eddie Upton and Malcolm Taylor, 2003. The introduction to this book, by Vic Gammon, is an extremely well written, authorative and insightful overview of the career of the great English folk song collector, Cecil Sharp - unmissable!

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Burke
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 06:09 PM

Alan Lomax, The land where the blues began.

Michael Broyles, Music of the highest class : elitism and populism in antebellum Boston. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1992.
This really about American Music, not just Boston, from the beginnings to 1860. I admit I did not read the whole thing, but found parts very interesting.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 06:51 PM

When I wrote about Manifold's books on Australian folk song a few messages up,
I meant Meredith, not Manifold.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: radriano
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 07:01 PM

Lydia Parrish's book, "Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands," 1942.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Marion
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 07:18 PM

Ditto to Burke's suggestion of "The Land Where the Blues Began" by Alan Lomax. There's an interesting thread about the book here.

Marion

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 07:33 PM

Re Radriano's suggestion- The book by Lydia Parrish has been reprinted by the Univrsity of Georgia Press and is in print.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 07:42 PM

"Spreadin' Rhythm Around: Black Popular Songwriters, 1880-1930" by David A. Jasen & Gene Jones, Schirmer Books, NY, 1998.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: mg
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 09:11 PM

I met the author who was one of those people who just sort of shines and glows...can't say I have read the book yet but will when I can..Fisherman's Quilt.Margaret Doyle.about lives of fishing wives in Kodiak, Alaska...not music but certainly lives different than most..and it gets into quilting...Lots of book clubs are reading it and we hope to get her on Oprah. mg

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Azizi
Date: 01 Mar 05 - 09:28 PM

I would like to thank everyone for their mention of books that they have found interesting and informative.

A special thanks to Marion for including that link to a 2003 Mudcat thread on Alan Lomax's book 'The Land Where the Blues Began'.
I found the discussion in that thread to be particularly moving.

To paraphrase a person who posted on that thread, it's threads like that which make me glad that I found Mudcat.


Azizi

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Pauline L
Date: 02 Mar 05 - 01:18 AM

I, too, thank Marion for the link to the thread about Alan Lomax, blues, and race. I read it with morbid fascination. Such strange and horrible things have happened in my country in my lifetime.

Now, for another good book. "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music," by Zwonitzer and Hirshberg. It is about the Carter family, of course, and also about Appalachia around the time of the Depression and the early years of the recording industry in this country. One part of the story is about the few (white male) folks who got rich recording and selling mountain music and race music. The Carters collected and sang both types and socialized with Southern black singers. I recommend the book highly.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: greg stephens
Date: 02 Mar 05 - 02:16 AM

Azizi: you mention a 1998 book "Black Music of two worlds". I remember years ago reading a very interesting book of that name, but I cant remember the author. Is the book you refer to a 1998 reprint of an older book, or are there ywo books wityh this title? The one I recall was a mine of information on Caribbean dance bands.

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Azizi
Date: 02 Mar 05 - 05:08 AM

Greg,

I believe we are talking about the same book as I see that the "Black Music of Two Worlds" book I mentioned is a Second Edition.

That book have a chapter on The Caribbean..It's a very interesting, easy to read book! Highly recommended!!

And since you mentioned Caribbean culture- here's some other books that you might be interested in:

Chris Potash; "Reggae, Rasta, Revolution-Jamaican Music from Ska to
               Dub"; New York, Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997

Mervyn Alleyne, "Africa: Roots of Jamaican Culture"; Chicago;
                Research Associates School Times Publications, 1996

Shiela Walker, editor; "African Roots/American Culture: Africa in the
               Creation of the Americas"; Lanham,Maryland; Rowman &
               Littlefield Publishers, 2001

Steve Barrow,
Peter Dalton, "The Rough Guide to Jamaican Music from
               Ska Through Roots to Ragga"; London;
               Rough Guides; 2001

Simon Broughton,
Mark Ellington; "World Music-Latin and North
                America, Caribbean,India, Asia, and the Pacific,
                Volume 2 of the new edition, an A-Z of the Music,
                Musicians, and Disc; London; The Rough Guide; 2000



Enjoy!!

Azizi

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Steve-o
Date: 02 Mar 05 - 01:32 PM

I just finished "Lonesome Traveler- the Life of Lee Hays" by Doris Willens. Absolutely WONDERFUL!

Subject: RE: What Should I Read Next?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Mar 05 - 01:55 PM

For anyone interested English traditions I would recommend anything by Ron Hutton or Eddie Cass. For books by, rather than about, folk singers, any of Ted Edwards' books, 'fight the wild island', 'beyond the last oasis' or 'unfinished business'.

Cheers

DtG