The Railroad in American Folksong (2d ed.)
Norm Cohen| Pub Date: | |
| Pages: | 768 pages |
| Illustrations: | 100 black & white photographs |
The largest and most authoritative source on railroad folksong
Impeccable scholarship and lavish illustration mark this landmark study of American railroad folksong. Norm Cohen provides a sweeping discussion of the human aspects of railroad history, railroad folklore, and the evolution of the American folksong. The heart of the book is a detailed analysis of eighty-five songs, from "John Henry" and "The Wabash Cannonball" to "Hell-Bound Train" and "Casey Jones," with their music, sources, history, and variations, and discographies. A substantial new introduction updates this edition.
"Norm Cohen's anthology of railroad folksongs will delight anyone smitten with the romance of the rails."--Newsday
"A masterpiece."--American Music
"Meticulously researched and clearly written, Long Steel Rail is now the sourcebook for American railroad folksongs."--New York Folklore
"A delightfully readable book for any armchair railroad engineer."--Choice
"Norm Cohen has not only filled a gap, he has applied mature scholarship, historical sensibility, enthusiasm, and love to produce a major work on folk lore, folk song, and the railroads' pervasive impact on popular culture."--Railroad History
Norm Cohen, retired from the Chemical Kinetics Department at the Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, lives in Portland with his wife and son and teaches chemistry and folk music part time.
Awards:
Winner of an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, 1982.
Series:
Music in American Life
Subjects:
Music / Folklore / Popular Culture