This edition lists every song that made the Billboard "Hot 100" and Pop music charts from 1955 through 2006, and includes basic chart facts, plus detailed artist and song title data of more than 26,000 titles and 6,200 artists. New features include lists of artist awards and classic songs that did not chart, but have become fan favorites.--

Chronicles the history of blues music from its emergence in the early 1900s through the twentieth century, and describes the musical accomplishments of Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, B.B. King, and others. Includes an audio CD.

(Book). A comprehensive collection of one of today's hottest music formats. This book provides a 46-year history of Adult Contemporary (AC) music complete with over 8,500 songs, and 2,000 artists that appeared in Billboard's "Adult Contemporary" and "Adult Top 40" charts. This is the first time ever that a complete Adult Top 40 Chart history book has been published and it covers artists as diverse as Counting Crows, Sheryl Crow, Goo Goo Dolls, Lenny Kravitz, James Blunt, Kelly Clarkson, Jack Johnson and Daniel Powter. In the standard format that Record Research has made standard, all the essential song and artist info is included. Also, for the first time, songwriters are shown for every title. Many other bonus sections are added including lists of top artists organized by different themes and all-time rankings. Previous edition: Top Adult Contemporary, ISBN 089201497

Since its release in 1971, Don McLean's song "American Pie" has become an indelible part of U.S. culture. It has sparked countless debates about the references within the lyrics; been celebrated as a chronicle of American life from the late 1950s through the early 1970s; and has become iconic itself as it has been remade, parodied, and referenced within numerous texts and forums. This volume offers a set of new essays that focus on the cultural and historical significance of the song. Representing a variety of perspectives and fields of study, the essays address such topics as historical and literary interpretations of the song's lyrics, its musical qualities, the commentary the song offers on rock and roll history, the continuing significance of the song, and the ways in which the song has been used by various writers and artists. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Complete with never-before-revealed details about the sex, violence, and drugs in her life, this biography reveals the incredibly turbulent life of Motown artist Mary Wells. Based in part on four hours of previously unreleased and unpublicized deathbed interviews with Wells, this account delves deeply into her rapid rise and long fall as a recording artist, her spectacular romantic and family life, the violent incidents in which she was a participant, and her abuse of drugs. From tumultuous affairs, including one with R&B superstar Jackie Wilson, to a courageous battle with throat cancer that climaxed in her gutsiest performance, this history draws upon years of interviews with Wells's friends, lovers, and husband to tell the whole story of a woman whose songs crossed the color line and whose voice captivated the Beatles.

Rick James played with Neil Young, self-produced his first album (later picked up by Motown), crossed rock and funk to come up with one of the best-selling albums of the 1980s, became one of the biggest pop stars of the era, turned a young white woman named Teena Marie into an R&B superstar, displayed an outrageously sex- and drug-filled lifestyle, was tried and found guilty of assaulting and imprisoning a young woman, went on to record new music that was compared to the Beatles' White Album, and ended his life as a punch line for Dave Chappelle. James attempted to tell his own story—in two different books—but left out many incidents that reflected badly on his character. Now, based on court records, newspaper archives, and extensive interviews with dozens of family members, band members, friends, and lovers, here is the definitive biography of Motown's most controversial superstar.

Bill Haley – the man who brought rock 'n' roll into the mainstream. His song “Crazy Man, Crazy” was the first rock 'n' roll song to break the Billboard Top 20 in 1953 and was followed by his evergreen “We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock ” the first song of its kind to hit #1. His success made him an idol not only in the US but throughout the world, from Canada to the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and beyond. Yet Haley is often overlooked in the story of rock 'n' roll, overshadowed by others who followed him, from sex symbol Elvis Presley to wild man Jerry Lee Lewis and forever-young Buddy Holly. But Haley's lack of visibility was in part his own doing: he had conflicted feelings about fame, was extremely private, suffered chronic alcoholism, and troubled relationships with multiple wives, which yielded ten children who he struggled to support. Though he managed to carry on a successful touring career, his demons eventually eroded his health, and in 1981, at the age of only 55, he passed away. This book is written by esteemed biographer Peter Benjaminson and Bill Haley Jr., Haley's son, a musician himself, who tours the world paying tribute to his father's music. Culled from interviews with insiders – from ex-wives to the Comets, recorded conversations with Haley Sr., official documents, diaries, and more, this book not only charts the happenings of Haley's career but gives insight into the Haley behind the curtain and some of the other trials he faced, from the dark side of the music business to ties with Mafia. Featuring a collection of rare photographs, this book is a must-have for any serious rock 'n' roll fan.

We are in an era where developments in both technology and musical style have coalesced to produce the greatest period of change in the music industry since the invention of recorded sound. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology are now opening up possibilities for more artists to be innovative and financially successful. But new music requires new ways of doing business. For more artists to be better off requires new business models to replace those that dominated the 20th century. Integrating insights from economics, management, and intellectual property law, the author explores the dynamics of entrepreneurship and innovation in the music industry, and offers such provocative assessments as these: · The Beatles might never have broken up if they had the kind of two-tier contracts – as band members and as solo artists – that are common in the music industry today. · Buddy Holly would likely have avoided his tragic death in a plane crash at age 22 if his 1959 tour had been sponsored by a company like Coca Cola because today’s corporatized tours are vastly better financed and organized than the haphazard efforts of the 1950s. · The economic value of albums by the likes of Elvis and Michael Jackson has risen significantly since their deaths – the ironic byproduct of the way their behavior tarnished their own brands while they were alive. · Diana Ross might never have quit The Supremes if she had known that one-third of the artists in the 1960s who quit the group had charting careers of only one year. · Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph led to the modern record industry, but he is really the godfather of computer programs like Garageband which have created home recording studios. The collapse of the Soviet Union threatened the sound of rock and roll but an American entrepreneur saved the day.

The all-embracing, "whaddya got?" nature of rebellion in Fifties America included pop music's unlikely challenge to entrenched notions of masculinity. Within that upheaval, four prominent artists dared to behave in ways that let the public assume—but not see—their queerness. That these artists cultivated ambiguous sexual personas often reflected an understandable fear, but also a struggle to fulfill personal and professional expectations.Vincent L. Stephens confronts notions of the closet—both coming out and staying in—by analyzing the careers of Liberace, Johnny Mathis, Johnnie Ray, and Little Richard. Appealing to audiences hungry for novelty and exoticism, the four pop icons used performance and queering techniques that ran the gamut. Liberace's flamboyance shared a spectrum with Mathis's intimate sensitivity while Ray's overwrought displays as "Mr. Emotion" seemed worlds apart from Little Richard's raise-the-roof joyousness. As Stephens shows, the quartet not only thrived in an era of gray flannel manhood, they pioneered the ways generations of later musicians would consciously adopt sexual mystery as an appealing and proven route to success.