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A full 48 years in the making, Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (10th Edition) is by far the biggest and best edition of our bestseller we've ever published. From vinyl 45s to CD singles to album tracks, here - and only here - are the more than 25,000 titles and 6,000 artists that appeared on Billboard's Pop music charts from January, 1955 through December, 2002. Painstakingly researched and brimming with basic chart facts, detailed artist and title data, plus great new features and format changes that make it more useful than ever! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

THE BEST"POP"book EVER!
This IS an incrediable book. The information is vast, yet so easy to reference from. I love the book for the information, but also for so much more. It is a check off list of the music a have. It's the listing I use when I want to know if a c.d. REALLY has the hits or not. It lists the b-sides of a 45 r.p.m. so I can tell when I buy a c.d. if maybe some of those extra songs might be pretty good, becausetheir the b-side. I couldn't wrap my head around every situation this book is of value in! You just have to get this book for yourself to know how useful it is! I've had the 1986 edition, from 1986 to now, with my love of music, it is the most used book I have. I recently bought this updated edition. I am so glad I did, it has so much more information then the 1986 book, and yet, just as easy to use. THIS book IS AT THE CORE of my collection. Also would HIGHLY recommend the country singles book to go with this one, so many "crossover" songs and artists that were pop and went to country, and many c.d.s contain hits from both genre's. To me BOTH are must have reference books.

fantastic for music lovers!
I bought this book for my husband as a birthday gift. He is a music lover and he completely adored the book! I would recommend it to any music trivia whiz or anyone who loves to keep up with hits! It's a fabulous reference and a great source of information.

The Bible of Music Collecting and Research
An absolute necessity for anyone who collects music or is interested in the history of Rock/Pop music in the United States.A must have book that will Never be on the shelf but always close by for reference.

Fabulous!
Just overflowing with fabulous info. I only wish there was a paperback version available from Amazon. I'm sure there's one somewhere, since this book was published in '03 and there were always paperback versions of older Whitburn books. It would've been less expensive (and lighter!).

Pop music buffs will love this book.
It's a great book for any music fan of the last fifty or more years.It lists all the artists, song titles and chart information for every year.Even a small bio of each artist.It is the bible of popular music. All of Joel Whitburn's books are excellent. ... Read more

Product Description
It's an album-by-album, track-by-track run down of every Beatles song on record and includes "The Beatles Live At the BBC" album, various compilations and the three best-selling Anthology sets released in 1995 and the 1 compilation, the Love medley CD and the re-mastered back catalogue albums. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

More of the Humphries stuff recycled
It is the same book, more or less, as
[John Robertson and] Patrick Humphries other Beatle book.
Complete Guide to the Music of the Beatles (Complete Guide to the Music of...) (Complete Guide to the Music of...) [Paperback]

Kindle edition has a few pictures, nice. ... Read more

Product Description
Digital interactive audio is the future of audio in media - most notably video games, but also web pages, theme parks, museums, art installations and theatrical events. Despite its importance to contemporary multimedia, this is the first book that provides a framework for understanding the history, issues and theories surrounding interactive audio. Karen Collins presents the work of academics, composers and sound programmers to introduce the topic from a variety of angles in order to provide a supplementary text for music and multimedia courses. The contributors cover practical and theoretical approaches, including historical perspectives, emerging theories, socio-cultural approaches to fandom, reception theory and case study analyses. The book offers a fresh perspective on media music, one that will complement film studies, but which will show the necessity of a unique approach when considering games music. ... Read more

Product Description
In one compact volume, POP DREAMS analyzes the trends, events, and personalities that influenced American culture from 1945 to 1970. The discussion broadens students' understanding of major events in popular culture by putting those events in historical context. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

brief and well written
This little book could easily have been a fully fledged tome. Loss surveys the popular American media in the 1960s. He shows how it echoed and in turn fed back on the burning issues of the times. The Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.

There is discussion of politics at the Federal level, with the actions of US Presidents being key events. But Loss manages to tie this all into a narrative that also encompasses analysis of the rock and roll scene and the counterculture.

The book is aimed at an undergraduate or high school reader, as a quick synopsis of trends that Loss traces back to 1945 and the emergence of the US from the Second World War. He hopes to whet the reader's appetite for more detailed reading of these vast topics. ... Read more

Product Description

Canadian progressive rock band Rush was the voice of the suburban middle class. In this book, Chris McDonald assesses the band's impact on popular music and its legacy for legions of fans. McDonald explores the ways in which Rush's critique of suburban life -- and its strategies for escape -- reflected middle-class aspirations and anxieties, while its performances manifested the dialectic in prog rock between discipline and austerity, and the desire for spectacle and excess. The band's reception reflected the internal struggles of the middle class over cultural status. Critics cavalierly dismissed, or apologetically praised, Rush's music for its middlebrow leanings. McDonald's wide-ranging musical and cultural analysis sheds light on one of the most successful and enduring rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s.

Customer Reviews (8)

Thought I knew Rush music
I've been a Rush fan for 30 years and thought I got it, but after resding this book I really know why I relate to this band. I also understand, now, why many people cringe when hearing old Rush songs.This book opened my eyes as to why people like the type of music they like. The author has great insight on these guy's and their music and how they grew as a band and developed their music.
The interviews and excerpts from interviews, were interesting since I always found it hard to get personal information on these guys in their earlier years.
It's difficult to have someone indulge in a subject they've predetermined not to like, but this book is interesting to anyone who would like to explore why music effects us the way it does and how our backgrounds and philosophy draw us to the type of intrests we have.
I'm going to see Rush again the next time they're in town and see some of the songs in a whole new light. Great book. Thanks!

iNTELLECTUAL GIBERISH
This book is not about the rock band RUSH. It is some college professor's thesis trying to intellectually analyze the meaning of almost every rush song. I sent it back after reading 3 pages.

B-O-R-I-N-G
I could never imagine a book about Rush being boring. Well I was wrong. I forced myself to read the whole thing (after chapter one it became a struggle of will to read on) to see if it drew any major conclusions. It did not. This is the work of an academic trying to impress other academics, not an author who is chronicling important facts about a subject they are passionate about. It is definitely not for Rush fans, there is nothing in this book that would possibly resonate with any Rush fan I know of. You will be sick of the word "middle" well before you reach the middle of the book. I can't believe someone would waste 206 pages trying to prove the theory that Rush's primary appeal was to middle-class men.

No, duh! Why don't you spend 206 pages relating all the evidence that the sun is bright or that oranges are orange?
It would serve about the same obvious purpose.

The notion that songs like "Freewill"are written with a "detached quality" and that the "subject speaking through the lyrics takes on the position of a neutral, objective, invisible observer" is laughable and ludicrous! The lyrics of "Freewill" are clearly written from a subject who strongly advocates Freewill.

This author presents himself as a highbrow writer justifying his appreciation for middlebrow values. In reality, I think it is a middlebrow writer deperately trying to appear as highbrow, and failing miserably.

A published dissertation
This book reads like a thesis because it IS a thesis - Chris McDonald conducted the research for this book as part of his PhD. Thus said, it is an academic tome. Being that I am both an academic AND a hardcore Rush fan, this thoughtful and serious work on Rush and the middle class delights me no end. It may be difficult for the lay reader. Even if you are not a Rush fan, but interested in the study of class, McDonald makes an important scholarly contribution to the literature on the middle class, a oft neglected subject of study in sociology.

Not for every RUSH fan
This book reads like a thesis.I got through the first couple chapters and had enough.I thought it would be interesting reading about the history of the band, but it wasn't.Some of the "facts" claimed are not true.Very dry and boring, unless you are a music major. ... Read more

Product Description
As fans continue to mourn the loss of the true King of Pop, who died suddenly on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50, music blogger JIMMY JUPITER reflects on the music icon’s life with this book of essential career-spanning interviews, quotes and artist tributes. MICHAEL JACKSON: The Music, The Memories 1958-2009 is a must-read for anyone hoping to celebrate the life, art and influence of the King of Pop.

"Michael Jackson was my generation's most iconic cultural hero. Courageous, unique and incredibly talented. He'll be missed greatly." - Russell Simmons

"My heart is overcome with sadness for the devastating loss of my true friend Michael. He was an extraordinary friend, artist and contributor to the world. I join his family and his fans in celebrating his incredible life and mourning his untimely passing." - Brooke Shields
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Music and list junkies of the world unite, for the highly analytical
I grew up reading the liner notes of Paul Morley on records by Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Propaganda, and whatever else he did on ZTT in the early to mid-1980's.I became aware of his work as a journalist with the New Musical Express, but being from Honolulu with no access to the NME, I never read those pieces.Nonetheless, Morley's unique style of writing made a big impact on me, as he seemed to be someone who just didn't take a casual listen.He went in deep, and as Brother J from X-Clan would say after hearing a reply from Professor X the overseer, deeper than Atlantis.

"Words And Music" is an intense read from start to finish, as Morley explores the world of pop music through the metaphor of a city, a city that perhaps the author referred to in the video to "Beat Box" by his group, Art Of Noise.If the ZTT building was in the very heart of the city, this book explores every organ, cavity, orifice, avenue, dead end, open end, pond, river, hidden room, and basement in the city that never sleeps, a city that has no beginning or end, a city that has no boundaries within its own self-proclaimed boundaries.

WTF?In truth, it's his examination of recorded music, how popular mainstream music has often flaunted with the stranger and avant-garde without really knowing it, and how we as fans, creators, and archivists react to the music we listen to, the voyages we travel on, and the listening experience and what we gain from it.It's heavy with metaphor and it may seem like a difficult read at first but if you stay on track, everything will fall into place once you get closer to the last chapter. As for a chapter, the first one is over 100 pages long, and even if you stumble and fall, Morley knows you'll want to get up, dust off, and get back on his ride.

"Words And Music" is very much about music, but it's also about Morley and his love of music, his love of writing, but also his love/hate relationship with it all.He at times (if not most of the time) turns the mirror on himself, which may be a way of reflecting the mirror on you to figure out how and why the music you listen to is as powerful as it could and should be.

Outside of being analytical, it's very funny and very Morley.If you're at all familiar with his liner notes, you should know what you're getting into.It's like reading the back of a ZTT album cover, times 100.It's incredibly researched, making the connection between the creative minds of the 18th and 19th centuries, the feel and touch of instrumentation and a curiosity about new technology being incorporated into the music we've create and listened to in the 20th and 21st centuries.

For the musical journeyman in all of us, a mandatory read. ... Read more

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Product Description
This up-close view of the creative process behind some of the most influential rock-and-roll albums is packed with even more excitement than the bestselling Number One Hits. Music fans, trivia buffs and music industry employees will all find what they're looking for in this compendium, written by the man who has interviewed literally thousands of stars and industry gurus. 425 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Excellent book on number one albums
I always found the album and artist stories in this book interesting, much more so than the stories from Billboard's other book on number one singles. Unfortunately, this book only goes up to the end of 1995, and there have been plenty of albums that have hit number one since then, including some classics. If anybody from Billboard is reading this, please do an updated edition.

Great History Of Albums
Billboard provides the definitive charts for music and Craig Rosen has written the definitive book on the albums that reached number one on those charts.As the title suggests, Mr. Rosen tells the story of behind the making of every number one album.This book is kind of like a mini Behind The Music.You may or may not know the stories behind albums by major artists like The Beatles, The Stones, Springsteen and so on, but it's stories of the more obscure artists like Gerry Rafferty, Janis Ian, Pantera & Vangelis that are the most interesting.Not only do you get the album's story, you get a track listing, the date it reached number and weeks at number one.A great book and hopefully it will be updated with the most recent number one albums.

Very Essential Book
Not Now but back When Albums Were Special&they ROse Too The Top it was always Interesting Hearing The Stories&Creative Process that went into Making them Become the Hits they would Become.and this Book Does a GreatJob Of That.hearing how your favorite Album got made or the changes goingon with it.Very Essential.

A treasure trove of music information
This book is full of what you would expect from Billboard. This book will last you forever and you can pass it down from generation to generation as an example of music in the last 50 years. Please give us another edition! ... Read more

Product Description
Why do we enjoy pop songs (or not)? Why do they mean so much to us? What do they mean? Is it the sounds, the rhythms, or the words? Is it the singing, the personae of the stars, or the messages and images that the songs conjure up?

Plenty of people have written about pop personalities, the music industry, or about their own tastes, but serious analysis of the songs themselves is still rare. This collection of essays, all previously published in the leading journal Popular Music, brings together key studies by many of the leading scholars studying pop music today. Together they add up to the first substantial anthology to focus on musical "texts." Collecting a wide range of approaches, and looking at songs by performers as varied as Irving Berlin, Hank Williams, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Peter Gabriel, Jimi Hendrix, John Mellencamp, David Bowie, James Brown, Randy Newman, and John Zorn, the book marks out a distinctive new territory characterized by the fusion of cultural studies and pop musicology.

Reading Pop will be required reading for all serious students and lovers of popular music. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

More people should (try to) read this book.
This is one of several books I've read on music analysis. What separates this one from the others is the focus on pop music.It provides a solid foundation for how to analyze a song, not just review it from the traditional "I liked it / I didn't like it" perspective.

Using many familiar songwriters, and comparing works against other music genres, helps to drive home the author's points.The only criticizm I'll make is that I agree with the other reviewer - this book is heavy on academic verbosity.I could see this scaring away some potential readers.

Academia Goes Pop
This volume is an uneven affair but a valuable contribution to the oft-neglected examination of popular music. While many academicians lament the dwindling attention and support given to cultured music-- i.e. classical, and to some extent to jazz-- these same musicologists and ethnomusicologists are missing the vitality of the current world. Music has genuinely become a soundtrack to our lives, bursting forth from all kinds of sources and in so many venues. Try conducting daily life in markets, stores, restaurants, cafes, even streets without being exposed to contemporary pop music. The authors of the pieces in "Reading Pop" have in fact realized the ubiquity of pop music and address its role in modern life.

There are interesting data contained in many of these essays. The many elements that make some pop music memorable are explored. This includes the music and/or lyrics of such artists as Randy Newman, Prince, James Brown, Peter Gabriel, and Bruce Springsteen, among others.Theories about what is important in contemporary popular music are put forth; the ideas are valuable. There is an informative and well-written chapter about torch singers by John Moore.Also included is a "Method Of Analysis" chapter by Philip Tagg.It looks at musicology and compares modes of folk, pop and art music transmission.Tagg provides a checklist of features that might be analyzed in pop music, and gives examples of how these features might be described in rich and meaningful ways.Tagg unfortunately falls prey to his own jargon.

Actually, most of the book suffers from a particularly virulent case of "academ-ese." Esoteric jargon from the ivory tower suffuses the prolix writing. The sentences are structured in knotted prose, running on and on in complex clauses and sub-clauses that are too often difficult to disentangle. The obnoxious reliance on trendy phrases and supposedly clever writing devices-- heavy uses of slash marks and words with some syllables parenthesized: these are pretentions that reflect poor style and bad habits.

Four sentences illustrate this problem, sentences from the editor's own introduction to the book:"Interestingly, if any emergent analytic paradigm may be represented as currently possessing the potential for dominance, it is, in my view, 'dialogics.'Congruent with theories of discourse, mediation, and (post)modern ethnography, its recent prominence is nevertheless associated with a more specific influence, that of Mikhail Bakhtin.Bakhtin's materialist seminology posits-- against structural formalisms and sociological and economic reductionisms alike-- that meaning is always both socially and historically situated, and generically specific.Heteroglot networks of discursive conventions resulting from never-ending, historically contingent exchanges create a kind of giant intertextuality, operating both between utterances, texts, styles, genres, and social groups, and within individual examples of each."

One can only imagine the bloated egos or inferiority fears that fuel such composition. Because of the way it is written, this volume really serves only those with recent training in musicology-- other readers are apt to become too frustrated with the authorial style. Too bad for these writers-- their ideas make a contribution, but the ideas are apt to fall on a limited audience. ... Read more

Product Description
Ten years of sheet music bestsellers from the world's biggest pop superstars and blockbuster movies! Artists include Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Susan Boyle, Michael Bublé, Bruce Springsteen, and more! Movies include Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Polar Express, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and more! Titles: 21 Guns (Green Day)
* Adelieland (from Happy Feet)
* All Summer Long (Kid Rock)
* All-American Girl (Carrie Underwood)
* At Last (from Cadillac Records)
* Baby (Justin Bieber)
*Because of You (Kelly Clarkson)
* Believe (from The Polar Express)
* Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
* Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson)
*Bring Me To Life (Evanescence)
* California (from The O.C. )
* Can't Fight the Moonlight (from Coyote Ugly)
* Complicated (Avril Lavigne)
* Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake)
* Dance with My Father (Luther Vandross)
* Decode (from Twilight)
* Don't Stop Believin' (from Glee)
* Don't Stop the Music (Rhianna)
* Double Trouble ... Read more

Product Description
Rock music has left a legacy of mind-boggling stories in its wake. We’ve read about the Who’s Keith Moon driving a Rolls Royce into a hotel swimming pool, but far more bizarre tales of on-the-road mayhem have never been widely told. From its roots to pop, punk, indie, new wave, metal, britpop, and beyond, here are some of the weirdest, most outrageous moments in rock history.

Endlessly entertaining, these albums of mad miscellany abound with true accounts of history’s strangest characters and events—from potty potentates to dotty inventions. A mind-boggling excursion through the byways of the bizarre. ... Read more

Product Description
Music touches us all, from the dancing and rebellion of youth to the quiet contemplation of the older listener. Music provides the beat to the rhythm of our lives, introducing TV programs, selling advertisements, blasting out from market stalls or along the aisles of superstores.

The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music is the ultimate guide for anyone with a passing or a passionate interest in music. Authoritative, informative, accessible, and entertaining, the book conveys the spirit and substance of practically every type of music one might listen to, from rock, pop, jazz, folk, blues, hip-hop, reggae, and dance, to classical music, country, gospel, R&B, soul, soundtracks, musical theater, and world music.

Organized by genre, the book presents a concise introduction to each music form, listing its major exponents, offering a four-bar sample of its style, and provides information on major musicians, performers, composers, and songwriters - over 12,000 names in all - highlighting their main period of activity and cross-references to the relevant music style section.

Also included are three useful appendices. A short "Instruments" glossary covers all key instruments mentioned in the narrative, showing the reader which type of music each instrument is normally used in, with examples of its best or most rewarding use. "How to Read Music, the Basics" instructs the reader on how to read music, providing a simply understanding of the four bar examples of music offered with each major genre. The appendices contain a comprehensive bibliography as well.

Bringing the world of music to life are 800 colorful illustrations of musicians, instruments, album covers, music engravings, and more.

Whether passionate or casual listener, anyone interested in music will find The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music a must-have for both enjoyable reading as well as for reference.

Foreword provided by the legendary Beatles producer, Sir George Martin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Wide ranging look at all types of music
This book attempts to cover the whole musical spectrum, which sections devoted to pop, rock, jazz, blues, country, folk, classical, world, dance, hip hop, reggae, soul / R+B, gospel, electronic and soundtracks / theatre, each of which is divided into sub-styles. There's a final section headed popular and novelty, which coverscontemporary Christian music, novelty songs, music hall, children's songs, Christmas songs, easy listening, lounge music and nostalgia. I guess that covers everything, however briefly, remembering that each main chapter covers a wide range. At the end of each section is an index of artists for that section, but there's also an overall index at the end of the book. The overall index is the essential one, because artists may not always be classified the way you expect them to be.

The perennial problem of classification is never far way. How do you define the boundaries of each musical style? Where does one musical style begin and other end? It is, of course, an impossible task, but in a book such as this, the editor had to make some kind of decision. You may not agree with his classification, but since the book is divided up according to styles, you'll have to get used to it if you buy the book. Each section contains an introduction giving a general history of the music, before exploring each sub-style in turn. As far as the editor is concerned, pop music began in the fifties, which is a fair enough decision, though not everybody will agree with it. Older music can be found scattered among other sections including jazz (Glenn Miller), easy listening (Bing Crosby) and nostalgia (Vera Lynn), although I consider those artists to be among the pop stars of their time. It's even more telling to see that Bing and Vera are classified differently. Both of them continued recording well into the seventies and each of them could be classed as nostalgia or easy listening, as could Glenn Miller.

The first section is about pop music. Accepting (however grudgingly) the editor's assumption that it started in the fifties, this 64-page section does a good job in tracing the changing face of pop music from then until the start of the new millennium. Next is the 44-page section on rock music. The editor suggests that rock music began as pop music with attitude, and that while pop music often tells us that everything is OK, rock music tells us that it's not OK, but we can change it. That's an interesting definition, but hardly a clear one and not always accurate, although it's never been easy to define the dividing line between pop and rock. A look at the sub-styles in the two categories make the division look easier than it really is.

Subsequent sections provide great overviews of jazz (36 pages), blues (28 pages), country (30 pages) and folk (28 pages). The 26-page classical section mainly sticks to the traditional music, but acknowledges that the music is being challenged as never before to retain a distinctive identity. (Jazz, folk and country all face this problem, as pop and rock influences encroach into all of them, but I suspect that classical music faces the biggest challenge of them all.) The remaining chapters are all excellent, though I wish there could have been more than one page about Christmas songs. Actually, I wouldn't have expected there to be more, but I'm wondering (since this book was published in 2003) whether Bing Crosby's White Christmas was still the biggest-selling single of all time even then. I thought Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana had surpassed it, but I must check that. I'd also dispute the list of leading exponents of Christmas music, some of whom only recorded one Christmas song.

Because this book covers so much ground, it can't cover anything in depth, but I knew that a book such as this one could barely scratch the surface (many big names don`t even get mentioned, or only do so briefly), especially as the same publisher released a similarly-sized volume devoted exclusively to country music, which is restricted to thirty pages here. You'll want to buy specialist books about your favorite styles, but this book is particularly useful at providing the basic information about those musical styles that you aren`t sufficiently interested in to buy a specialist book (well, not yet anyway) but which you`d like to read a little about. ... Read more

Product Description
From the huge success of the Chords' "Sh-Boom" to the arrival of the Beatles a decade later, rock 'n' roll influenced an entire generation of young Americans. Combining popular culture and social history with a sourcebook of lists and a biographical dictionary, "That Old-Time Rock & Roll" recreates the fun and excitement of rock's first decade and shows how the music reflected American life and thought in the 1950s and early 1960s. Richard Aquila provides an overview of the birth and growth of this pivotal genre and demonstrates early rock's links to both the youth culture and the dominant culture of the Eisenhower/Kennedy era.Year-by-year timelines and a photo essay place the music in historical perspective by illustrating the decade's top news stories, movies, TV shows, fads, and lifestyles. Complementing this topical summary is a concise biographical dictionary that details all the performers who made the charts between 1954 and 1963, along with the label and chart position of each hit. Both a history of the music and a history of the times, "That Old-Time Rock & Roll" is an outstanding source of information about the charter members of the baby-boom generation.In a new introduction, Aquila discusses how his long-time interest in rock 'n' roll came to fruition and surveys the progress of rock 'n' roll scholarship since his book's original publication. ... Read more

Product Description
Ask anyone in or around the music industry today about music or the music business and they will tell you this: Almost everything has changed—from how artists are signed and marketed to how the companies that sign them function. No matter what your music industry mission is or what style of music you play, you need current inside information to succeed in what many perceive as the most ominous of industries. Industry veteran Justin Goldberg tells musicians, songwriters and budding moguls what they should be doing to succeed. From setting up an indie label to shopping songs and gaining airplay and getting signed (or not), these invaluable insights are meticulously documented in an informative guide to creating a career in music. Includes a CD-ROM (Mac and PC) with hundreds of pages of valuable business forms, recording and publishing-related contracts, and detailed contact information on thousands of record companies and other industry professionals.

This detailed, informative guide to creating a career game plan vividly teaches
o How to effectively release independent albums
o How to create revenue through licensing, self-distribution rights, soundtrack opportunities and merchandising
o How to get your music into major retail chains
o How to gain airplay on commercial and college radio
o How to set up songwriting copyrights and music publishing companies
o How to interest top managers and lawyers in your career ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

One of The Best If Not THE best Out There
This book by Justin Goldberg is one of the best books on the independent music and the music industry out there. This book is head and shoulders above the competition. What makes this book so great is that is broken down into chapters of important aspects of the industry and most importantly each chapter contains numerous interviews from industry executives about their thoughts and experiences on the subject. Only aperson as well connected as Goldberg could have gathered and harnessed this much knowledge in one book. Just when you think this book can't get any better it has a CD Rom included with it. The CD ROM is a database of music contacts that is unparalleled. Any contact you need in the music industry is on that CD Rom. The CD ROM itself is worth $15.00. To me it was like buying the database and getting the book for free. If you can just afford to buy one book on this subject, this should be the one!

A good reference guide
I recommend this book by Justin to gain greater insights in the Music business or any business. It was a great buy along with a couple of manuals I purchased from Musicbrains.net entitled the Indie label Kit on Amazon.

Good information
Why is it that the music industry is called the businessman's hell? Well read this book and you might find out, it contains the history of the independent record label and also lots of examples of people that made it big using minimal resources. It will teach you about the dangers evolved in fighting big companies and the "how to"'s of the business. A good book with easy structure and an accessible language that truly deserves to be called "the handbook for hell"

Unbelievable!
What's so unbelievable? Well, two things. First it's unbelievable how anyone could describe this book as "All in all, an extremely unsatisfying book. If there was a "no star" rating I would have chosen it." The second thing that is unbelievable is how great of a read this book truly is. This is a down to earth, easy to read, easy to relate to guide to the music industry, which is EXACTLY what it claims to be! Goldberg's style is very conversational, tapping into the many years of experience that he and others in the music industry bring to the table to give those of us who aren't "insiders" a very real look into this hard to break into scene. There's nothing technical, boring, or elitist about this book, it really is the "ultimate" survival guide. And I had absolutely no problem understanding the MANY references made in the book to the attached cdrom and how to access that information. I guess some people just don't pay attention to what they're reading!

Did not deliver as expected
This is not a "How-To" book, so much as a collection of interviews with diverse people in the industry. While the interviews were interesting and had some relevant information, and the author has obviously spent alot of time in the business, the CD-Rom was a complete disappointment. First, it's Windows only which it doesn't say anywhere that I could see. So I spent time trying to open it on my Mac, before realizing this. Second, once I did get it onto a windows machine, it didn't auto-launch. Once it did launch, there was a nicely done intro piece that lead to... a very unprofessional and hard-to-use user interface. To add insult to injury, the items I wanted most were apparently not available without some sort of membership; so I felt I was being given a "Hard-sell", on a product I had already purchased.

I tried to get to the "sample pages" and documents that sounded interesting and useful to me, but the CD kept looping me back to promote a particular band, and to "sign up for this website", which I did not want to do. It began to look like the whole reason the CD-Rom was created, was to get people to sign up - to what seems to be a very poorly structured, unprofessional website that I frankly couldn't find when I tried to, by URL! To give credit where it's due, the CD-Rom does seem to be somewhatuseful as a reference tool for non-commercial radio stations and the like, but I didn't feel it was exclusive info not available elsewhere.

I have a band and my own indie label. The books I have found to be MOST helpful so far in getting off the ground are:

Label Launch: A Guide to Independent Record Recording, Promotion, and Distribution by Veronika Kalmar - covers all the basics. This is a great book to start with & get a feel for the whole process, especially the business paperwork & such.

Start and Run Your Own Record Label, Revised and Expanded Edition by Daylle Deanna Schwartz - this one is short and sweet, covering a little bit about alot of topics. It doesn't go in depth into anything, but the bits & pieces can be extremely useful!

and a book I downloaded in PDF format called,"How to Promote your Music on the Internet" (also available in bound edition)- I have just begun this book, and it seems to be a real treasure trove of information! With a bit of creativity, a positive outlook and some hard work, I believe I will get farther with this book than with any other I've found yet!

Hope this is helpful... ... Read more

Product Description
Indie Rock 101 is a clear, concise, all-in-one primer for beginning to mid-level musicians looking for the essential fundamentals behind running, recording and promoting their band. It's all the basics that can take years to collate from more specialized or technical books, magazines and websites-and it's written by a real independent musician.

* Part I, Running Your Band covers the topics most relevant to forming and running the band: the people, practice and songwriting

* Part II, Recording covers pre-production considerations, gear and how-to basics, and timeless fundamentals and techniques around recording, mixing and mastering

* Part III, Promoting covers what you need to know to establish and grow your fan base, including graphic design, your press kit and website, sharing and selling your music, playing out and making a video

Whether you're just starting out or looking for a 360-degree primer to help take your music to the next level, Indie Rock 101 is the one book that covers it all.

Featuring photos and Q&As from:
Birdmonster * CDBaby founder Derek Sivers * Juliana Hatfield * John Vanderslice * Karate * Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon * Spanish for 100 * World Air Guitar Champion "Hot Lixx" Hulahan and more

* Written by music industry insider, learn from someone who has been there and succeeded
* Gives insight and need to know information on running, recording and promoting your band that is usually gained through painful experience- overcome the barriers facing your band
* Get on the runway to becoming pro, explains how to navigate the music world without a label and get your music out to the world
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Customer Reviews (28)

101 it is
A lot of other reviewers have complained about just how "101" this book is. Despite that, I found my son took most of the information very seriously, especially the parts about the running of the band (practice, finding band members, etc).I don't think this book will take you to Indie fame, but it provides a good basis for young (high school) musicians to become grounded and develop good habits that can propel them to success.

Good recording manipulation tips in the back of the book
I was afraid the book would be too basic even for its 101 title when it first started out but as you get deeper into it the tips are better.
In Part 2-- Recording it gets better and starts to give you advice that you might not have known.
The Appendixes in the very back are actually better than you might expect.The way they show you how to work on the tracks to get your sound the way you want it make that part alone worth buying the book.
--There are other sections such as setting up mics, traps , even websites to promote your band that are pretty good if you are new to recording.--
The parts about buying equipment or choosing band members aren't anything that you probably wouldn't have thought of, but they aren't useless either.They just fit into the primer attitude of the book on how to get started.
-- All in all, you won't be mad at yourself for buying it and will probably learn some stuff from the more technical guides in the recording chapters.--A nice intro to becoming a real band.

War Stories from Someone Who's Been There
This book is filled with war stories from someone who's obviously been there.Having been in mostly cover bands, some of the issues raised here have not come up for me, but there are still some good "pain reduction" tips to keep the band moving forward.The author is a fine story-teller with an approachable tone.The useful tips are sprinkled (somewhat sparingly) among and in between.The problem here is that I'm not sure that the people that need this book the most have the humility to find it, read it, and take it seriously.If you watch the auditions on American Idol, you get a glimpse into how naive and hard-headed young, ambitious musicians can be (It brought back memories. . . ).I fear that this book may be a song intended for deaf ears that need it most.However, if you are just starting your band and have shed some of your youthful arrogance, you'll probably find enough tips to make this a worthwhile purchase if you look (in the book and at yourself) carefully.

I Don't Think You Can Really Learn This Stuff From a Book
I may just be too much of a jaded musician, but I really didn't find this book too helpful.The author covers basic 'band' topics like setting up gigs, recording, marketing, and so on.None of these things really boil down to a simple set of instructions.Gigging depends a lot on the personalities and unpredictable variables surrounding clubs and so forth.I think I've done the opposite of half of the authors' recording suggestions, and I feel I've still been able to make relatively professional sounding recordings.Rock n' roll just doesn't fit with a handbook.I did take the suggestion to check out sonicgigs on the internet, but it didn't help much and now I get, like, 5 spam messages a day from them.If you're just starting out with music, you may find a few helpful tips here and there, but don't take this stuff as gospel.

Geared towards rank amateurs
This is actually a fairly solid book for the beginning rock musician trying to start a band and get noticed.No subject is explored in any real depth, but as an overview of the process of getting a band into gigging situations it is a good starting point.

Some of the information is admittedly a little self explanatory.It probably isn't necessary in this day and age to point out that advertising for potential bandmates on-line is a good idea.Especially for the teens and very young adults that will be the target audience for this book.But what I liked about it is that it provides a lot of basic information about the recording process - incorporating home studios and digital recording - as well as promotion that will hopefully lead to more exploration of options.This isn't claiming to be a definitive guide, but for an enterprising young band it should point the way towards other sources of more detailed information.

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Product Description

Customer Reviews (25)

Thank you Joe!
I was 13 in 1967. I was living in the most progressive country in the world and our music was the coolest in the world. I was naive, idealistic and happy.
Just about everything that has happened since then has subtracted from that feeling.

Thanks Joe for writing about those times and how we got from there to here.

I agree with the reviewer who rates this as one of the top books out there about the Sixties.
You really had to be there.

Excellent!!
One of the best books I've read in recent years!! What an amazing life has Joe Boyd had. Not only are the stories and anecdotes great, his understanding of popular music and culture are enlightning. Don't miss it!!

Interesting tidbits of music history of the 60s and 70s
If folk and rock music history of the 1960s and 70s interests you, this book will provide many interesting anecdotes of the author's experiences in New York, London and Hollywood. The writing style is a bit choppy, without scene-setting background information in many cases, but the occasional revelation about who was doing what with whom kept my interest. If the reader is totally unfamiliar with the era, there will be much confusion. I was occasionally in the dark about the significance of various characters. This may have been written primarily for a British audience.

Marvelous Memoir
Being an avid fan of jazz, folk and rock music of the 1960's, "White Bicycles" is a book that held my interest from page one and was a pure delight to read.This well-written rememberance not only afforded me further appreciation and understanding of artists and albums already cherished and familiar, but compelled me to seek out and immerse myself in lost gems I had previously passed over in the record/CD bins of long ago.Joe Boyd's anecdotes about jazz heroes, cult figures and British folkies, his candor in revealing his own production blunders (timing is everything, even at Woodstock), his comparison of "authentic" performances then and now (and why there is ultimately no comparison), and his descriptions of the colorful individuals behind the scenes that made the magic happen add up to make "White Bicycles" an amazing, embryonic journey.Appropriate for a book written about events from the 1960's, the focus morphs like a kaleidoscope: one chapter devoted to Fairport Convention, another to Nick Drake, another to the Incredible String Band, then back to Fairport, etc.The writing style is generally objective and factual, except at the end of each chapter where Boyd seems to pontificate a wee tam.I found his editorializing invigorating, humorous and thought provoking, leaving me wanting more.Additionally, Boyd's ability to recall detail is amazing.More than a memoir, "White Bicycles" is a gift.If you are a fan of the 1960's and the incredible sounds that decade produced (or know someone dear who is) you simply must acquire a copy.

Go Joe
Love this book !!
As soon as I finished it - I went back to page 1
and read it all over again. I admit, I did not know
most of the acts that Joe had the most to do with
(I am now a nick drake fan)
but it did not matter - Joe tell the tale as if we were
with him and he is getting us to remember.
Great Book ... Read more

Product Description
Now available in softcover format! The story of the last tour of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Richie Valens—and the fatal air crash that took their lives. Drawing on new documentary information, the author recreates the often grueling conditions of an early rock and roll tour, and provides new facts about "the day the music died." With 50 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

One of the best
This account of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party Tour is extraordinary. Written by a solid newspaper man, the facts are all presented in great detail. This isn't one of those books where legends and previous bios are used as source material. Very thorough.

Well researched, but missing part of the forest for the trees?
After being out of print for many years, it's nice to see this book available again.Meticulously researched, with a lot of factual asides that make it genuinely interesting to read even for people who are already "in the know".Lots of interesting details, anecdotes, and coincidences - a few of which are downright eerie.

But as I read this book, I kept asking basic questions about the New York tour "organizers".The people who actually put the Winter Dance Party together only make vague, shadowy appearances in this book.Only one name is mentioned, to my recollection.In a book this detailed, I thought it was odd that there were no direct interviews with anybody who either worked on the tour or knew of people who did.

We know about the converted school buses with poor heating.What is never mentioned is why such crappy buses were leased for a tour of nationally known musical acts in the first place.Nor do we gain any insight into why obvious problems were never addressed on the tour when they arose.And what was with that crazy zig-zagging approach to visiting the cities and towns of the upper midwest? I know we're supposed to assume that the tour operators were working on the cheap, but is that the whole story?Because it seems to me that going 400 miles out of your way to stop at one city only to do a U-turn and then drive 300 miles in the opposite direction the very next day would rack up many unnecessary expenditures.So if money wasn't the only issue, what was?Mr. Lehmer never really broaches the subject; he seems to dance around it.We do learn about what brand of aspirin the Big Bopper carried around in his briefcase, however.

This is no small point; it seems to me that the tour operation itself is at the epicenter of this entire story.One could reasonably make the argument that if the tour were well organized and equipped from the get-go, the tragedy of February 3rd might well have been avoided.I wonder if any of the tour operators felt any sense of remorse over this.We'll never know.

Those questions notwithstanding, I enjoyed Mr. Lehmer's book.It's clear that he put a lot of hard work into this, and "The Day The Music Died" is a very interesting account of the Winter Dance Party tour and its aftermath.I would recommend it to anyone with an interest.

PS - As this book was first published in 1994, the "Where Are They Now?" chapter is seriously outdated.I don't fault the author for this of course, but an updated edition of this book might be worthwhile at some point.

Highly Readable, Touching Account of the Winter Dance Party Tour
The Day the Music Died is quite frankly, to date, the most touching, comprehensive, detailed and complete account of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party tour that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P.(The Big Bopper) Richardson embarked on in January 1959, which resulted in the well known plane crash that took their lives, as well as that of the young pilot, Roger Peterson. It tells the story of each of the singers--wildly popular Buddy Holly, age 22, young Richie Valens, who was touring with his chart topping hit, Oh, Donna, and the Big Bopper, of Chantilly Lace fame. The Winter Dance Party tour became a grueling road trip from hell, as the singers were booked on ancient (even for 1959!) buses that broke down, had no heat, and allowed for little or no rest in-between gigs. Author Larry Lehmer has done an outstanding job of recounting the trip with a comprehensive view of the individuals involved. It gives an excellent feel for the personalities and the events involved, particularly for someone like me who was only a couple of months old at the time of the crash. There are several excellent bios of Holly and Valens out there, and they also do a good job in recounting the entire lives; The Day the Music Died concentrates on the Winter Dance Party and the crash and discusses the various theories involved as to what caused it.

The author has done an amazing job of capturing the essence of the persons involved, as well as the sequence of events leading up to The Day the Music Died.

"The Day the Music Died" haunts
"The Day The Music Died: The Last Tour Of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens"details the Winter Dance Party, which unfortunately was marked by the plane crash that killed these three stars plus the pilot, Roger Peterson.
Not only is "The Day The Music Died" a narrative on the tours, especially a tour in out-of-the-way spots in 1959, it provides a lot of details on the plane crash. The book would not only interest fans of Holly, Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) but pilots and anyone interested in aviation.
It also follows up with other people connected to the three musicians and their later lives as well as the legacy left by Holly, Valens and Richardson.
The books is an intriguing look at a late 1950s rock tour, and more importantly, a terrible tragedy in the history of rock 'n' roll.

The Day the Music Died ...Lehmer book
Excellent reading.Interesting twist with wild theories after the crash.The theories were hard to believe after reading the stories about three very young men trying to make a living on the road.The reality of the severe upper midwest winters creates a whole batch of travel woes.Only a promoter from a milder climate would have mapped out the treacherous Winter Dance Party tour.The crisscrossing, zigzagging itinerary on sub-par busses...makes me shiver just to think about it. I read the book because I am a great Bobby Vee fan.I couldn't put the book down!!!!! ... Read more