Prince and Popular Music: Critical Perspectives on an Interdisciplinary Life

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Princes position in popular culture has undergone only limited academic scrutiny. This book provides an academic examination of Prince, encompassing the many layers of his cultural and creative impact. It assesses Princes life and legacy holistically, exploring his multiple identities and the ways in which they were manifested through his recorded catalogue and audiovisual personae. In 17 essays organized thematically, the anthology includes a diverse range of contributions - taking ethnographic, musicological, sociological, gender studies and cultural studies approaches to analysing Princes career.

Reviews

Prince and Popular Music interrogates how each changed the other, offering a spectrum of approaches to an iconographic and enigmatic presence who graced any number of vibrant culture scenes with 40 years of innovation and invention. The contributors to this book got the music, and they got the look. * Benjamin Halligan, Director of the Doctoral College, University of Wolverhampton, UK *
In a detailed examination of one of the most important and eclectic popular artists of all time, Alleyne and Fairclough curate a wide range of perspectives which detail music, aesthetics, representation and politics. This impressively comprehensive study is essential to any study of Prince but is also an important contribution to musicology, celebrity studies, American studies, issues of identity, gender, race and more. The significance of Prince is reflected in the significance of this book. * Robert Edgar, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, York St John University, UK, and co-editor of Music, Memory and Memoir (Bloomsbury, 2019) *
This collection from the first-ever Prince symposium offers a compelling look into a wealth of interdisciplinary research inspired by and devoted to a pop artist of rare depth and complexity. The diversity of scholarship herein is a fitting tribute to Princes opulent creativity and unbound persona. * Albin Zak, Professor of Music, University at Albany, USA *

Author Bio

Mike Alleyne is a Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University, USA. He is the author of The Essential Hendrix: An A-Z Compendium (2020), The Encyclopedia of Reggae: The Golden Age of Roots Reggae (2012) and contributing editor of Rhythm Revolution: A Chronological Anthology of American Popular Music - 1960s to 1980s (2015). Kirsty Fairclough is Associate Dean of Research and Innovation at the School of Arts and Media at the University of Salford, UK. She is co-editor of Music/Video (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Arena Concert (Bloomsbury, 2015) and The Music Documentary (2013).