Books in the Music in American Life series

A biography of Louis Prima, one of the most underrated jazz musicians and entertainers of the twentieth century. It explores Prima's ability to maintain a lifelong career, his knack for self-promotion, and how the cities in which he lived and performed - New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas - uniquely and indelibly informed his style.

Traces the life, influences on fellow musicians, and struggles of a pioneer among American composers who turned to the island of Bali for inspiration. Presenting an unconventional life, this title is designed for scholars, musicians or those interested in 20th century American or Balinese music.

The story of the night club impresario whose wildly successful interracial club, Cafe Society, changed the American artistic landscape forever

Beginning with the musical cultures of the American South in the 1920s and 1930s, this title traces the genre through its pivotal developments during the era of Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys in the forties. It also describes early bluegrass' role in postwar country music, and its trials following the appearance of rock and roll.

From the plaintive tunes of woe sung by exiled kings and queens of Africa to the spirited work songs and "shouts" of freedmen, this title traces the course of early black folk music in various its guises.

The inside story on the Father of Bluegrass from one of his Blue Grass Boys

Presents the who, what, where, and when of rockabilly music

The dramatic story of a legendary American composer

Brings together forty years of passionate research by scholar and record label owner. This book provides fans and scholars alike with a guide for immersion in the long career and breathtaking repertoire of two legendary American musicians.

Combining the history of country music's roots with portraits of its primary performers, this work examines the close relationship between "America's truest music" and the working-class culture that has constituted its principal source, nurtured its development, and provided its most dedicated supporters.

Written by an award-winning composer whose music has been performed in the US, Europe, and the Far East, this title combines the whimsical and the treacherous into a chronicle that takes in various things from the KGB to Macy's store windows, Alcatraz to the Beach Boys, Hollywood thrillers to the United Nations, Joseph Stalin to Shirley Temple.

One of the ethnomusicologists takes the reader along for a tour of his workplace.

Offers a comprehensive history of King Records, one of the most influential independent record companies in the history of American music. This book tells the story of a small outsider record company in Cincinnati, Ohio, that attracted an extremely diverse roster of artists, including the Stanley Brothers, Grandpa Jones, Redd Foxx and Earl Bostic.