Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, 1930–1942
A study of how jazz greats dazzled and enlivened coal towns during the Great Depression
Exploring American Folk Music
Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States
The perfect introduction to the many strains of American-made music
The Poetics of American Song Lyrics
Poets, teachers, and musicologists fusing studies of form, scansion, and musical creation to redefine the place of the American bard
Memphis Boys
The Story of American Studios
A detailed history of an unsung recording studio and its lasting impact on rhythm and blues
Southern Fiddlers and Fiddle Contests
A journey to the main public venue for the most vigorous American folk music tradition
Richard Dyer-Bennet
The Last Minstrel
A biography of the first solo folk musician to play Carnegie Hall and a staunch preserver of European styles
Soul of the Man
Bobby "Blue" Bland
The first biography of a blues creator whose stylings influenced almost every form of twentieth-century popular music
Let the World Listen Right
The Mississippi Delta Hip-Hop Story
A study of contemporary, grass roots musical creation happening in the Mississippi Delta
The Guitar in America
Victorian Era to Jazz Age
From parlor instrument to jazz electric, a study of musical evolution in America’s progressive era
Banjo on the Mountain
Wade Mainer's First Hundred Years
The tribute to a musician whose career spans hillbilly, bluegrass, and sacred music
Kennedy's Blues
African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on JFK
A compilation and analysis of the many blues and gospel songs written about the inspirational president
MuzikMafia
From the Local Nashville Scene to the National Mainstream
How a group of industry outsiders became popular music sensations
Cross the Water Blues
African American Music in Europe
Essays analyzing the impact of African American music and its European reverberations
Eddy Arnold
Pioneer of the Nashville Sound
The definitive biography of the artist who created the template for Nashville’s modern country music sound
Out of Sight
The Rise of African American Popular Music, 1889–1895
A deluxe, encyclopedic survey of the cultural scene that engendered the popular music of the twentieth century
Fiddling Way Out Yonder
The Life and Music of Melvin Wine
How a mountain community and music harmonize in an old-time fiddle player from West Virginia
Prophet Singer
The Voice and Vision of Woody Guthrie
An exploration of the history and intent behind the words of a great American folk singer
Nobody Knows Where the Blues Come From
Lyrics and History
A vibrant and varied look at African American songs and the history behind the lyrics
Jimmie Rodgers
The Life and Times of America's Blue Yodeler
The definitive biography of the “Father of Country Music”
Sam Myers
The Blues Is My Story
A house-rocking blues life story of the late Mississippi-born front man of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets
The New Blue Music
Changes in Rhythm & Blues, 1950–1999
A study that finds African influences of melody, harmony, rhythm, and form in the top 25 songs from each decade of R&B
Bad Boy of Gospel Music
The Calvin Newton Story
The prodigal-son biography of a gospel music legend with the voice of an angel and a hell-bent drive toward self-destruction
Hank Williams, So Lonesome
An authoritative separation of myth from fact in the life of the great country music star
Earl Hooker, Blues Master
The life and early death of a South Side guitar genius, the greatest unheralded Chicago bluesmaker
Africa and the Blues
A narrative that explores the African genealogy of American Blues
The Johnson Family Singers
We Sang for Our Supper
The story of a family of gospel music stars from the golden age of radio
Roosevelt's Blues
African-American Blues and Gospel Songs on FDR
In blues lyrics of the thirties and forties a reflection of FDR’s influence on Black America
