1st Edition

The Classic Rock and Roll Reader Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s

By William E Studwell, David Lonergan Copyright 1999
    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s is chock full of entertaining essays to inform and delight you about an era that shaped our culture and future musical trends. This unique book will surprise and enchant even the most zealous music buff with facts and information on the songs that reflected America’s spirit and captured a nation’s attention.

    The Classic Rock and Roll Reader is offbeat, somewhat irreverent, ironic, and ancedotal as it discusses hundreds of rock and non-rock compositions included in rock history era. The songs offer you information on:

    • Rock’s Not So Dull Predecessors (for example, “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” and “The Cry of the Wild Goose”)
    • The Pioneering Rock Songs (such as “Rock Around the Clock” and “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” )
    • Older Style Songs Amidst the Rocks (for example, “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Rocky Mountain High” )
    • The Megastars and Megagroups (such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Respect,” and “Surfin’USA” )
    • The Best Songs that Never Made No. 1 (for example,“ I Feel Good” and “ Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” )

      The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s also examines the music which preceded early rock, the music which followed early rock, and the numerous non-rock songs which flourished during the classic rock period. A wide spectrum of music is discussed in well over 100 essays on various songs. Musicians, librarians, and the general audience will be taken back to the birth of rock and roll and the various contributing influences. Analyzing each song’s place in rock history and giving some background about the artists, The Classic Rock and Roll Reader offers even the most avid music enthusiast new and unique information in this thorough and interesting guide.

    Contents
    • Preface
    • The Emergence of Rock Music, or, Waking Up the 1950s
    • Rock’s Not So Dull Predecessors
    • In the Mood
    • Of Thee I Sing
    • Night and Day
    • Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
    • Oklahoma!
    • Show Business
    • The Cry of the Wild Goose
    • The Pioneering Rock Songs, or, Three Create a Crowd
    • Rock Around the Clock
    • Sh-Boom
    • Shake, Rattle and Roll
    • Older-Style Songs Amidst the Rocks
    • All the Way
    • Chances Are
    • I Could Have Danced All Night
    • Moon River
    • Rocky Mountain High
    • Top of the World
    • Whatever Will Be, Will Be
    • A Generation of Classic Rock, or, Rock Rolls On
    • The Megastars and Megagroups, or the Bolder and the Boulders
    • Are You Lonesome Tonight?
    • Blue Suede Shoes
    • Bridge over Troubled Water
    • Can’t Help Falling in Love
    • Crazy Man, Crazy
    • Diana
    • Dream Lover
    • Good Vibrations
    • I Want to Hold Your Hand
    • In My Room
    • It Ain’t Me, Babe
    • Last Train to Clarksville
    • Let It Be
    • Love Me Tender
    • Michelle
    • Photograph
    • P. S. I Love You
    • Respect
    • (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
    • Scarborough Fair/Canticle
    • Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
    • Stop! In the Name of Love
    • Surfin’ USA
    • Walk Like a Man
    • What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?
    • What’s Going On
    • Who’s Sorry Now?
    • World Without Love
    • Yesterday
    • You Send Me
    • The Best Songs That Never Made Number 1, or, Time Heals All Aches, Mistakes, and Bad Breads
    • Ain’t That a Shame?
    • Downtown
    • From Me to You
    • I Feel Good
    • I’m on the Outside (Looking In)
    • I’m Walkin’
    • Lookin’ Out My Back Door
    • Oh, Pretty Woman
    • Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
    • Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
    • Rhinestone Cowboy
    • (I’m a) Road Runner
    • Song Sung Blue
    • Standing on the Corner
    • Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
    • Up-Up and Away
    • Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
    • One-Hit Wonders, or Flashes in the Chart
    • At the Hop
    • The Battle of New Orleans
    • Classical Gas
    • Earth Angel
    • Ease on Down the Road
    • Gentle on My Mind
    • The Great Pretender
    • Happy Together
    • I’m Sorry
    • Jesus Christ, Superstar
    • Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
    • Save the Last Dance for Me
    • Singin’ the Blues
    • Sit Down, I Think I Love You
    • Spinning Wheel
    • Tequila
    • Volare
    • Novelty Songs, or, Unusual, but Unusually Good
    • Aquarius
    • The Candy Man
    • Don’t Sleep in the Subway
    • Hit the Road, Jack
    • Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini
    • King of the Road
    • The Last Kiss
    • The Wanderer
    • You Don’t Own Me
    • You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’
    • The Best and the Worst of Classic Rock
    • The Best Classic Rock Song
    • The Worst Famous Classic Rock Song
    • Classic Rock Meets Disco, and Both Disappear
    • Disco Duck
    • Stayin’ Alive
    • Title Index
    • Subject Index
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    William E Studwell, David Lonergan