Musical AKAs: Assumed Names and Sobriquets of Composers, Songwriters, Librettists, Lyricists, Hymnists and Writers on Music

by Jeanette Marie Drone

Overview

There are many reasons for musical artists to write or compose under an assumed name: be it hiding or drawing attention to their ethnicity or gender, pursuing an additional career or genre, or writing a parody or humorous music. Often, nicknames are assigned to composers and lyricists, whether they want them or not. Whatever the reasons for these artists to use assumed names instead of or in addition to their own, this comprehensive resource has amassed and cataloged them. Musical AKAs is a wide-ranging index of assumed names and sobriquets of approximately 9,800 composers, songwriters, lyricists, librettists, hymnists, and writers of music. More than 15,000 assumed names—whether legal name changes, pseudonyms, pen names, or nicknames—have been collected into one easy to reference listing.

Author Jeanette Drone has assembled information from numerous music sources—including comprehensive and biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias, biographies, journals, Internet web sites, and print and online copyright sources—and organized them into this extensive four-part volume. Part I alphabetically lists the sources in which assumed names or sobriquets were found for three or more individuals. Part II lists alphabetically the original names of artists from both popular and classical music, detailing their assumed names and sobriquets, dates, occupations, source codes, and complete bibliographic citations for print and Internet sources. The pseudonyms are cataloged alphabetically in Part III, with references to the original names. Musical AKAs concludes with Part IV, offering additional explanatory information on both original and assumed names.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810857391
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/14/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	8.96(w) x 11.28(h) x 1.84(d)

About the Author

Jeanette Marie Drone is the author of Musical Theater Synopses: An Index (Scarecrow Press, 1998) and Index to Opera, Operetta and Musical Comedy Synopses in Collections and Periodicals (Scarecrow Press, 1978).

Table of Contents

Part 1 Preface: Pseudonymity in Music Part 2 Acknowledgments Part 3 Introduction Part 4 1 Sources Part 5 2 Original Names (with Assumed Names and Sobriquets) Part 6 3 Assumed Names (with References to Original Names) Part 7 4 Notes Part 8 References Part 9 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

...a wonderful sourcebook on pseudonyms....a unique reference work...

American Reference Books Annual

This catalog lists about 15,500 assumed names of 9,800 composers, lyricists, librettists, and writers on music. Drawing from many music and other reference texts, websites, and online copyright sources, Drone lists these sources, followed by the bulk of the book: an alphabetical listing of original names of individuals and their aliases, source consulted, dates, occupation, and notes. This is followed by a list organized by pseudonym. Legal name changes, pen names, nicknames, and initials are included, but individuals who were only performers are not. Drone is a freelance educator and author of music reference books.

Reference and Research Book News

...formidable....this is a clear case where the printed work will be much easier to use and more reliable, especially as the sources will be much more wide-ranging than is likely on the internet.

Reference Reviews

This is an entertaining, delightful, and utilitarian tool. Recommended.

Choice Reviews

There is no doubt that with Musical AKAs Drone has filled a big gap in music reference literature....Musical AKAs has a vast scope and is very accessible, making it an essential addition to any music reference collection. Although Drone modestly describes her research process in two scant paragraphs in the Introduction; in reality it is exhaustive and on-going. Future volumes are planned which will deal with the thousands of assumed names Drone has identified in copyright sources.

CAML Review - Janneka L. Guise

This mammoth reference source will prove essential to those searching the identity of composers, and belongs on the shelf of all music libraries.

Fontes Artis Musicae - 2008

This mammoth reference source will prove essential to those searching the identity of composers, and belongs on the shelf of all music libraries.

Fontes Artis Musicae

...a wonderful sourcebook on pseudonyms....a unique reference work...

vol. 38 (2007) American Reference Books Annual

This is an entertaining, delightful, and utilitarian tool. Recommended.

Choice

This is an entertaining, delightful, and utilitarian tool. Recommended.

CHOICE

...formidable....this is a clear case where the printed work will be much easier to use and more reliable, especially as the sources will be much more wide-ranging than is likely on the internet.

s

...formidable....this is a clear case where the printed work will be much easier to use and more reliable, especially as the sources will be much more wide-ranging than is likely on the internet.

"American Reference Books Annual"

...a wonderful sourcebook on pseudonyms....a unique reference work...

American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)