Research Catalog

Before Elvis : the prehistory of rock 'n' roll

Title
Before Elvis : the prehistory of rock 'n' roll / Larry Birnbaum.
Author
Birnbaum, Larry.
Publication
Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2013.

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Details

Description
x, 463 p.; 23 cm.
Summary
An essential work for rock fans and scholars, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, Before Elvis offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared. This unique study ranges far and wide, highlighting not only the contributions of obscure but key precursors like Hardrock Gunter and Sam Theard but also the influence of celebrity performers like Gene Autry and Ella Fitzgerald. Too often, rock historians treat the genesis of rock 'n' roll as a bolt from the blue, an overnight revolution provoked by the bland pop music that immediately preceded it and created through the white appropriation of music till then played only by and for black audiences. In Before Elvis, Birnbaum daringly argues a more complicated history and rock's evolution from a heady mix of ragtime, boogie-woogie, swing, country music, mainstream pop, and rhythm-and-blues - a melange that influenced one another along the way, from the absorption of blues and boogies into jazz and pop to the integration of country and Caribbean music into rhythm-and-blues. Written in an easy style, Before Elvis presents a bold argument about rock's origins and required reading for fans and scholars of rock 'n' roll history.
Subjects
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Contents note continued: Horn Honkers -- String Slingers -- Shouters -- Rhythm-and-Blues Women -- Doo-Wop -- The Crescent City -- 8.Rock Love -- Blue-Eyed R&B -- Rock Stars -- Mystery Women -- Vocal Groups -- Caribbean Rhythms.
Call Number
JNE 13-128
ISBN
  • 9780810886384 (cloth : alk. paper)
  • 0810886383 (cloth : alk. paper)
  • 9780810886285 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  • 0810886286 (pbk. : alk. paper)
  • 9780810886292 (ebook)
  • 0810886294 (ebook)
LCCN
  • 2012032269
  • 40021813441
OCLC
806456332
Author
Birnbaum, Larry.
Title
Before Elvis : the prehistory of rock 'n' roll / Larry Birnbaum.
Imprint
Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press, 2013.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Other Standard Identifier
40021813441
Research Call Number
JNE 13-128
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