If Harold Arlen built a reputation for chronicling love on the rocks, Cole Porter gained lasting fame and the adulation of a grateful culture for his celebrations of successful romance. […]
Tag: Music in American Life
You the Mancini
Successful beyond belief in his chosen trade of making soundtrack music, Henry Mancini also enjoyed good fortune (made one, too) with forays into the pop charts. When he hit, he […]
Throwbacklist Thursday: Furry’s People
“Virtuosity in playing blues licks is like virtuosity in celebrating the Mass, it is empty, it means nothing. Skill—competence—is a necessity, but a true blues player’s virtue lies in his […]
When the clock strikes rock
One of the most important singles in American music history, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets was the B-side of his first Decca single, a post-apocalyptic novelty […]
Throwbacklist Thursday
The University of Illinois Press thinks country and western music hung the moon. Our list of C&W books reads like a who’s who of that musical form’s rhinestone-studded history. You want singers? […]