3rd Edition

The Rock History Reader

Edited By Theo Cateforis Copyright 2019
    480 Pages
    by Routledge

    480 Pages
    by Routledge

    This eclectic compilation of readings tells the history of rock as it has been received and explained as a social and musical practice throughout its six decade history. This third edition includes new readings across the volume, with added material on the early origins of rock 'n' roll as well as coverage of recent developments, including the changing shape of the music industry in the twenty-first century. With numerous readings that delve into the often explosive issues surrounding censorship, copyright, race relations, feminism, youth subcultures, and the meaning of musical value, The Rock History Reader continues to appeal to scholars and students from a variety of disciplines.

    New to the third edition:

    • Nine additional chapters from a broad range of perspectives
    • Explorations of new media formations, industry developments, and the intersections of music and labor
    • For the first time, a companion website providing users with playlists of music referenced in the book

    Featuring readings as loud, vibrant, and colorful as rock ‘n’ roll itself, The Rock History Reader is sure to leave readers informed, inspired, and perhaps even infuriated—but never bored.

    Section I The 1950s / Chapter 1 Du-Wop (Johnny Keyes) / Chapter 2 "Miss Rhythm" Speaks Out: Ruth Brown on R&B and Covers / Chapter 3 Leiber & Stoller (Ted Fox) / Chapter 4 "Leer-ics": A Warning to the Music Business (Abel Green) / Chapter 5 Chuck Berry: In His Own Words / Chapter 6 Elvis Presley and "The Craze" (John Crosby) / Chapter 7 "Elvis Defends Low-Down Style" (Kays Gary) / Chapter 8 "Experts Propose Study of ‘Craze’" (Milton Bracker) / Chapter 9 Earl Palmer and the Heartbeat of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Tony Scherman) / Chapter 10 The Rock ‘n’ Roll Audience: "But Papa, It’s My Music, I Like It" (Jeff Greenfield) / Chapter 11 The History of Chicano Rock (Rubén Guevara) / Chapter 12 "Music Biz Goes Round and Round: It Comes Out Clarkola" (Peter Bunzel) / Section II The 1960s / Chapter 13 "The King of Surf Guitar" (Dave Schulps) / Chapter 14 Phil Spector and The Wall of Sound (Ronnie Spector) / Chapter 15 The Beatles, Press Conference, 1964 / Chapter 16 "U.S. Musicians’ Union Says, ‘Beatles Stay Home’" (Victor Riesel) / Chapter 17 "Beatlemania Frightens Child Expert" (Dr. Bernard Saibel) / Chapter 18 "Understanding Dylan" (Paul Williams) / Chapter 19 "Raga Rock": The Byrds, Press Conference, 1966 / Chapter 20 Motown: A Whiter Shade of Black (Jon Landau) / Chapter 21 James Brown: Soul Brother No. 1 (Fred Wesley, Jr.) / Chapter 22 "Goodbye Surfing Hello God!—The Religious Conversion of Brian Wilson" (Jules Siegel) / Chapter 23 Rock and the Counterculture (Chester Anderson) / Chapter 24 The FM Revolution: "AM Radio—‘Stinking Up the Airwaves’" (Tom Donahue) / Chapter 25 An Interview with Peter Townshend (Jann Wenner) / Chapter 26 Gimme Shelter: Woodstock and Altamont (Joel Haycock) / Section III The 1970s / Chapter 27 "Sweet Baby James": James Taylor Live (Alfred Aronowitz) / Chapter 28 "Cock Rock: Men Always Seem to End Up on Top" (Rat Magazine) / Chapter 29 Carly Simon on Music and the Women’s Movement (Loraine Alterman) / Chapter 30 "How to be a Rock Critic" (Lester Bangs) / Chapter 31 "Reggae: The Steady Rock of Black Jamaica" (Andrew Kopkind) / Chapter 32 "Roots and Rock: The Marley Enigma" (Linton Kwesi Johnson) / Chapter 33 Dub and the "Sound of Surprise" (Richard Williams) / Chapter 34 Reflections on Progressive Rock (Bill Bruford) / Chapter 35 "Disco! Disco!: Four Critics Address the Musical Question" / Chapter 36 "Why Don’t We Call It Punk?" (Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain) / Chapter 37 The Subculture of British Punk (Dick Hebdige) / Chapter 38 "The Confessions of a Gay Rocker" (Adam Block) / Section IV The 1980s / Chapter 39 Punk Goes Hardcore (Jack Rabid) / Chapter 40 College Rock: "Left of the Dial" (Gina Arnold) / Chapter 41 "Roll Over Guitar Heroes; Synthesizers Are Here" (Jon Young) / Chapter 42 "MTV Ruled the World": The Early Years of Music Video (Greg Prato) / Chapter 43 "Molly Hatchet: Celebrity Rate-A-Record" (Hit Parader Magazine) / Chapter 44 The Parents Music Resource Center: Statement before Congress (Susan Baker and Tipper Gore) / Chapter 45 Heavy Metal and The Highbrow/Lowbrow Divide (Robert Walser) / Chapter 46 "The Real Thing—Bruce Springsteen" (Simon Frith) / Chapter 47 Hip Hop Nation (Greg Tate) / Chapter 48 "Madonna—Finally, A Real Feminist" (Camille Paglia) / Chapter 49 "Can Madonna Justify Madonna?" (Barbara Grizzuti Harrison) / Section V The 1990s / Chapter 50 Is As Nasty As They Wanna Be Obscene? Judge Jose Gonzalez and Kathleen M. Sullivan / Chapter 51 "Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad" (Tom Moon) / Chapter 52 "The Death of Sampling?" (Mark Kemp) / Chapter 53 "Kurt Cobain and the Politics of Damage" (Sarah Ferguson) / Chapter 54 "The Problem with Music" (Steve Albini) / Chapter 55 "Feminism Amplified" (Kim France) / Chapter 56 "Rock Aesthetics and Musics of the World" (Motti Regev) / Chapter 57 "Electronic Eden": Techno Goes Mainstream (Karen Schoemer) / Chapter 58 Nü Metal and Woodstock ’99 (Barry Walters) / Chapter 59 Indie Pop Goes Twee (Joey Sweeney) / Chapter 60 "So You Wanna Fake Being an Indie Rock Expert?" (SoYouWanna.com) / Section VI The 2000s / Chapter 61 Metallica vs. Napster (Lars Ulrich) / Chapter 62 "Mother, Should I build a Wall?": Radiohead Face the Challenges of New Rock (Douglas Wolk) / Chapter 63 "My Week on the Avril Lavigne E-Team" (Chris Dahlen) / Chapter 64 "In Defense of Post-Grunge Music" (Sasha Geffen) / Chapter 65 Defining Emo (Urban Dictionary) / Chapter 66 "Even Heavy-Metal Fans Complain That Today's Music Is Too Loud!!!" (Evan Smith) / Chapter 67 The Whiteness of Indie and the "Myth of Vampire Weekend" (Paul Lester) / Chapter 68 "Why Country is the New Classic Rock" (Steve Leftridge) / Section VII The 2010s / Chapter 69 "Why no Yes in the Rock Hall?" (John Covach) / Chapter 70 "A Response to ‘Why no Yes in the Rock Hall’" (Lauren Onkey) / Chapter 71 "Mumford & Sons Preaches to the Masses" (Ann Powers) / Chapter 72 "Making Cents": Musician Royalties in the Digital Age (Damon Krukowski) / Chapter 73 "Top 25 Metal Genres on Spotify" (Eliot Van Buskirk) / Chapter 74 "Marginalization in the Music Industry: A Twitter Exposé" (Jessica Hopper) / Chapter 75 Twenty One Pilots: "The Slippery Appeal of the Biggest New Band in America" (Jia Tolentino) / Chapter 76 "Who Will Save the Guitar?" (Michael Molenda) / Chapter 77 "Where Have All the Rock Stars Gone?" (David Shumway)

    Biography

    Theo Cateforis is Associate Professor of Music History and Cultures in the Department of Art and Music Histories at Syracuse University. He is the author of Are We Not New Wave? Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s.