America's Musical Pulse: Popular Music in Twentieth-Century Society

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Popular music may be viewed as primary documents of society, and "America's Musical Pulse" documents the American experience as recorded in popular sound. Whether jazz, blues, swing, country, or rock, the music, the impulse behind it and the reaction to it reveal the attitudes of an era or generation. Always a major preoccupation of students, music is often ignored by teaching professionals, who might profitably channel this interest to furthur understandings of American social history and such diverse fields as sociology, political science, literature, communications and business as well as music. In this interdisciplinary collection, scholars, educators and writers from a variety of fields and perspectives relate topics concerning 20th century popular music to issues of politics, class, economics, race, gender and the social context. The focus throughout is to place music in societal perspective and encourage investigation of the complex issues behind the popular tunes, rhythms and lyrics.

Reviews

The book is ambitious in its coverage of musical genres and time periods--some essays begin with turn-of-the-century issues; and styles such as ragtime and tin pan alley are examined in addition to strong sections on jazz, blues, rock and country. For such a wide scope and purpose, this book succeeds admirably. . . . I do recommend this book highly. It is very readable, will work well in the classroom and--because of its scope--can also serve as a helpful reference and review for pop music/culture scholars.-Popular Music and Society
There is something here for everyone though, and the book is recommended for both general and academic readers.-Choice
"There is something here for everyone though, and the book is recommended for both general and academic readers."-Choice
"The book is ambitious in its coverage of musical genres and time periods--some essays begin with turn-of-the-century issues; and styles such as ragtime and tin pan alley are examined in addition to strong sections on jazz, blues, rock and country. For such a wide scope and purpose, this book succeeds admirably. . . . I do recommend this book highly. It is very readable, will work well in the classroom and--because of its scope--can also serve as a helpful reference and review for pop music/culture scholars."-Popular Music and Society

Author Bio

KENNETH J. BINDAS is Assistant Professor of History at West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia. His academic specialization is cultural history, in particular, music history. His publications on the role of popular music in American society have appeared in The Western Historical Quarterly and The Historian, among other journals.