The Ballad in American Popular Music

From Elvis to Beyoncé

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, Reference
Cover of the book The Ballad in American Popular Music by David Metzer, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Metzer ISBN: 9781108506762
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: September 21, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: David Metzer
ISBN: 9781108506762
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: September 21, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

While ballads have been a cornerstone of popular music for decades, this is the first book to explore the history and appeal of these treasured songs. David Metzer investigates how and why the styles of ballads have changed over a period of more than seventy years, offering a definition of the genre and discussing the influences of celebrated performers including Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. The emotional power of the ballad is strongly linked to the popular mood of the time, and consequently songs can tell us much about how events and emotions were felt and understood in wider culture at specific moments of recent American history. Tracing both the emotional and stylistic developments of the genre from the 1950s to the present day, this lively and engaging volume is as much a musical history as it is a history of emotional life in America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

While ballads have been a cornerstone of popular music for decades, this is the first book to explore the history and appeal of these treasured songs. David Metzer investigates how and why the styles of ballads have changed over a period of more than seventy years, offering a definition of the genre and discussing the influences of celebrated performers including Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. The emotional power of the ballad is strongly linked to the popular mood of the time, and consequently songs can tell us much about how events and emotions were felt and understood in wider culture at specific moments of recent American history. Tracing both the emotional and stylistic developments of the genre from the 1950s to the present day, this lively and engaging volume is as much a musical history as it is a history of emotional life in America.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Rural Lives and Landscapes in Late Byzantium by David Metzer
Cover of the book Ethnolinguistics and Cultural Concepts by David Metzer
Cover of the book Temporal Dynamics and Ecological Process by David Metzer
Cover of the book History, Geography and Civics by David Metzer
Cover of the book Microeconometrics by David Metzer
Cover of the book Constituting Europe by David Metzer
Cover of the book Philosophy of the Social Sciences by David Metzer
Cover of the book A World of Babies by David Metzer
Cover of the book British Plant Communities: Volume 3, Grasslands and Montane Communities by David Metzer
Cover of the book Social Media Intelligence by David Metzer
Cover of the book Beckett's Art of Salvage by David Metzer
Cover of the book The Dating Game by David Metzer
Cover of the book Observing the Solar System by David Metzer
Cover of the book Spinoza and the Stoics by David Metzer
Cover of the book American Government by David Metzer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy