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Cover

American Popular Song

The Great Innovators, 1900-1950

Third Edition

Author Alec Wilder and Robert awlins

01 April 2022

ISBN: 9780190939953

576 pages
Paperback
235x156mm

In Stock

Price: £25.99

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Description

Hailed as the definitive account of the classic era of American popular music, this essential book is now brought fully up-to-date in a third edition by popular music scholar Robert Rawlins, just in time for the 50th anniversary of its original publication. Both skillfully analytical and engagingly informal, American Popular Song examines the musical qualities that created a uniquely American art form.

  • Discusses over 800 classic songs from the golden age of American popular music
  • Includes 700 musical examples
  • Written for all fans of American popular song, including fans without knowledge of music theory

About the Author(s)

Author Alec Wilder and Robert awlins, Professor of Music Theory, Rowan University

Robert Rawlins is Professor of Music Theory at Rowan University. A professional woodwind player for more than four decades, Rawlins has performed extensively in pit orchestras, stage shows, and jazz ensembles. He is the author of numerous publications on jazz and popular music, including Jazzology (with Nor Eddine Bahha, 2005) and Tunes of the Twenties (2016). Alec Wilder was the composer of such songs as "I'll Be Around," "It's So Peaceful in the Country," and "While We're Young," as well as theater and film scores and chamber music.

Table of Contents

    Acknowledgements
    Introduction by Robert Rawlins
    1. The Transition Era: 1885 to World War I
    2. Jerome Kern (1885-1945)
    3. Irving Berlin (1888-1989)
    4. George Gershwin (1898-1937)
    5. Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)
    6. Cole Porter (1891-1964)
    7. Harold Arlen (1905-1986)
    8. Vincent Youmans (1898-1946) and Arthur Schwartz (1900-1984)
    9. Burton Lane (1912- 1997), Hugh Martin (1914-2011), and Vernon Duke (1903-1969)
    10. The Great Craftsmen
    Hoagy Carmichael (1899-1981)
    Walter Donaldson (1893-1947)
    Harry Warren (1893-1981)
    Isham Jones (1894-1956)
    Jimmy McHugh (1894-1969)
    Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
    Fred Ahlert (1892-1953)
    Richard Whiting (1891-1938)
    Ray Noble (1907-1978)
    John Green (1908-1989)
    Rube Bloom (1902-1976)
    Jimmy Van Heusen (1913-1990)
    11. Outstanding Individual Songs: 1920 to 1950
    12. Additional Songs and Composers
    Index

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