Sullivan, author of other works on popular culture, including volumes 1 and 2 of this encyclopedia, covers over 1,700 recordings arranged by recording date/chart debut; the arrangement contrasts to the thematic groupings he used in the previous volumes. This new organization, supplemented by chronologically interspersed musical and historical events, allows readers to see parallels among songs expressing the zeitgeist of each period. These additional ‘hits and familiar classics’ of marches, gospel, world, pop, rock, soul, country, jazz, blues, folk, and even Christmas songs by major and lesser-known artists are Sullivan's personal choices, but less a ‘best of’ than a celebration of unique recordings with distinctive appeal covering 12 periods from 1890 to 2016. The 1970s receive the most coverage with 230 recordings, then the 1950s with 220. Entries include title, performer(s), song writer(s), label/catalog number, and charting information. The heavily documented, 100- to 750-word commentaries discuss the performers/performances, including instrumentation, lyrics, and cultural context, with commentary from critics and other musical figures. Dave Marsh, prominent critic and author of The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (1999), is heavily represented, but Sullivan is keen to emphasize the music over philosophical discussion. While there are superb indexes to titles, names, and subjects, cross-references would help where recordings of the same song are separated chronologically. The electronic version is available from EBSCOhost ProQuest and from other vendors. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.
Continuing where his inaugural two volumes left off, Steve Sullivan explores additional selections of great but underappreciated song recordings in volumes three and four. Added are some 1,700 records and artists omitted from the earlier volumes for lack of space to complete Sullivan’s review of over a century and a quarter of Anglo-North American pop music. But as music writer Dave Marsh explains in his foreword, what sets Sullivan apart as a music critic is not his vast knowledge of what was recorded, but his passion for seeing how the songs connect across time. Calling it the ‘Smithsonian of Soul,’ Marsh praises Sullivan’s work for its ability to bring long-forgotten, soul-stirring songs back to life. While it is impossible to read an entry for a familiar song and not ‘hear’ it playing, it is equally possible to read an entry for an unfamiliar song and begin to ‘hear’ it playing—thanks to Sullivan’s exquisite descriptions.... This heavily footnoted music guide includes an extensive, themed bibliography and separate title and subject/name indexes.... Authoritative and a joy to browse, this goldmine will be an indispensable resource in pop culture collections and college libraries supporting music departments.
American Reference Books Annual
Sullivan, author of other works on popular culture, including volumes 1 and 2 of this encyclopedia, covers over 1,700 recordings arranged by recording date/chart debut; the arrangement contrasts to the thematic groupings he used in the previous volumes. This new organization, supplemented by chronologically interspersed musical and historical events, allows readers to see parallels among songs expressing the zeitgeist of each period. These additional ‘hits and familiar classics’ of marches, gospel, world, pop, rock, soul, country, jazz, blues, folk, and even Christmas songs by major and lesser-known artists are Sullivan's personal choices, but less a ‘best of’ than a celebration of unique recordings with distinctive appeal covering 12 periods from 1890 to 2016. The 1970s receive the most coverage with 230 recordings, then the 1950s with 220. Entries include title, performer(s), song writer(s), label/catalog number, and charting information. The heavily documented, 100- to 750-word commentaries discuss the performers/performances, including instrumentation, lyrics, and cultural context, with commentary from critics and other musical figures. Dave Marsh, prominent critic and author of The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (1999), is heavily represented, but Sullivan is keen to emphasize the music over philosophical discussion. While there are superb indexes to titles, names, and subjects, cross-references would help where recordings of the same song are separated chronologically. The electronic version is available from EBSCOhost ProQuest and from other vendors. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.
Sullivan, author of other works on popular culture, including volumes 1 and 2 of this encyclopedia, covers over 1,700 recordings arranged by recording date/chart debut; the arrangement contrasts to the thematic groupings he used in the previous volumes. This new organization, supplemented by chronologically interspersed musical and historical events, allows readers to see parallels among songs expressing the zeitgeist of each period. These additional ‘hits and familiar classics’ of marches, gospel, world, pop, rock, soul, country, jazz, blues, folk, and even Christmas songs by major and lesser-known artists are Sullivan's personal choices, but less a ‘best of’ than a celebration of unique recordings with distinctive appeal covering 12 periods from 1890 to 2016. The 1970s receive the most coverage with 230 recordings, then the 1950s with 220. Entries include title, performer(s), song writer(s), label/catalog number, and charting information. The heavily documented, 100- to 750-word commentaries discuss the performers/performances, including instrumentation, lyrics, and cultural context, with commentary from critics and other musical figures. Dave Marsh, prominent critic and author of The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made (1999), is heavily represented, but Sullivan is keen to emphasize the music over philosophical discussion. While there are superb indexes to titles, names, and subjects, cross-references would help where recordings of the same song are separated chronologically. The electronic version is available from EBSCOhost ProQuest and from other vendors. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.
What Sullivan has given us here is not a best-of list, but rather 10 separate road maps to genres and timesan experience to be had through listening, not a purely introspective reflection of taste geared toward shaping the listener’s preferences. With the detailed history of each song, he has documented histories and experiences from disparate sources and provided a new reference work to guide us in answering detailed questions about over 1,000 significant recordings across a wide variety of genres. The Encyclopedia of Popular Song Recordings will serve both as a destination and as a launching pad for further research, and should be a welcome addition to any library whose patrons are interested in popular music.
Music Reference Services Quarterly
There is a generous bibliography, ideal for the nerd, the cultural historian (especially of American popular songs), the resources librarian, anyone connected with the popular music industry and the general reader. The bibliography is divided up into sections like all-time great records, American pop charts, popular music 1800s 1940s, country music, ethnic and world music (this includes calypso and Cuban, klezmer/traditional Jewish music and Latin American and reggae), gospel/spirituals, jazz and ragtime, movie music, rhythm & blues, Tin Pan Alley and Broadway and rock. Summing up: at the price good value from Scarecrow (who publish a lot on popular and classical music, check out their website); likely purchasers are reference libraries, specialist libraries and specialists. Looking back will remain strong: any good researcher will try to keep up with change.
The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recording really is encyclopedic and covers more genre territory than any work I ever thought I'd see. Few, if any, other writers could treat Atilla the Hun, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, the Stanley Brothers, Ada Jones and the Dixie Hummingbirds in equal measure. What makes the book most interesting to browse is how less familiar material is chronicled next to a sought-for entry and seeing less familiar styles given comparable weight to best sellers, which will have an effect on the way our heirs will understand and evaluate our music.
Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings is a good supplementary title for any academic or public library that serves interests in popular music.
Reference and User Services Quarterly
Each year, radio stations of all types bring together their 'best-of-the-year' songs, albums, artists, and so on, and present them in marathon programs. Far beyond the focus of a single year, author Sullivan puts forward, essentially, a 'best-of-the-best' list of great songs in this new two-volume set. Sullivan consulted multiple sources, including published greatest-hits lists for specific styles and genres, song inductees from various musical halls of fame, and articles and books offering top song choices of music-industry writers and performers. Sullivan’s compilation is not simply a list of popular songs, as he states in the introduction: 'Instead, my intent is to provide a journey through all eras and genres of popular music over the past 120-plus years.' Few readers would have qualms about the inclusion of the majority, if not all, of these songs. Some might decry the inclusion or exclusion of specific titles in a work that, because of the author’s editorial eye, cannot possibly contain every recorded hit song. Sullivan breaks up the selections into 10 'playlists' of 100 songs each, loosely connected by a theme, although the songs in each playlist cover many genres and span roughly a century. Each entry is exceptionally detailed with historical backstories, quotes from artists and authors, and Sullivan’s own fresh take on the song’s importance. Most entries are at least several paragraphs long, and many are quite lengthy. For example, Scott Joplin’s 'Maple Leaf Rag' and the Beatles’ 'A Day in the Life' each receive a full four columns (two pages), providing much more detail than the average album-liner notes. A smattering of black-and-white photographs and a 20-page bibliography add value to the text. Sullivan admirably accomplishes his goal of bringing together important pieces of our musical past into a form that lets readers learn historical details about these songs and reminisce about their meaning in their own lives. Highly recommended for most academic and public libraries.
There is a generous bibliography, ideal for the nerd, the cultural historian (especially of American popular songs), the resources librarian, anyone connected with the popular music industry and the general reader. The bibliography is divided up into sections like all-time great records, American pop charts, popular music 1800s 1940s, country music, ethnic and world music (this includes calypso and Cuban, klezmer/traditional Jewish music and Latin American and reggae), gospel/spirituals, jazz and ragtime, movie music, rhythm & blues, Tin Pan Alley and Broadway and rock. Summing up: at the price good value from Scarecrow (who publish a lot on popular and classical music, check out their website); likely purchasers are reference libraries, specialist libraries and specialists. Looking back will remain strong: any good researcher will try to keep up with change.
There is a generous bibliography, ideal for the nerd, the cultural historian (especially of American popular songs), the resources librarian, anyone connected with the popular music industry and the general reader. The bibliography is divided up into sections like all-time great records, American pop charts, popular music 1800s 1940s, country music, ethnic and world music (this includes calypso and Cuban, klezmer/traditional Jewish music and Latin American and reggae), gospel/spirituals, jazz and ragtime, movie music, rhythm & blues, Tin Pan Alley and Broadway and rock. Summing up: at the price good value from Scarecrow (who publish a lot on popular and classical music, check out their website); likely purchasers are reference libraries, specialist libraries and specialists. Looking back will remain strong: any good researcher will try to keep up with change.
"American Reference Books Annual"
The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recording really is encyclopedic and covers more genre territory than any work I ever thought I'd see. Few, if any, other writers could treat Atilla the Hun, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, the Stanley Brothers, Ada Jones and the Dixie Hummingbirds in equal measure. What makes the book most interesting to browse is how less familiar material is chronicled next to a sought-for entry and seeing less familiar styles given comparable weight to best sellers, which will have an effect on the way our heirs will understand and evaluate our music.
09/15/2017 Sullivan (Bombshells: Glamour Girls of a Lifetime) adds volumes three and four to this set of "popular song recordings." The first two volumes covered songs up to 2012, presenting the "megaclassics" first, followed by iconic tunes that "held a somewhat less legendary status." The newer titles arrange songs chronologically (from 1890 to 2016). As with the earlier installments, Sullivan features plenty of big hits, but he emphasizes that his "greatest passion is reserved for showcasing great songs…that have been undeservedly neglected." Tackling genres such as country, rock, and jazz, the volumes are divided into playlists (mostly by decade, though there are two playlists for the Sixties) and supported by title and subject/name indexes, along with a helpful bibliography. Each entry contains a short description, background information, dates of recording, and germane quotes. Historical facts are interspersed throughout. Highlights include Billie Holiday's "The Man I Love," Hank Williams's "I Saw the Light," Beck's "Loser," the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," and Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk." Jam-packed with intriguing material, this accessible, well-written set would be most valuable shelved near the music collection. VERDICT Recommended for academic and large public libraries, especially those that own the first two volumes. A must-read for music fans.—Barbara Kundanis, Longmont P.L., CO