General Reference category: 6721 books

The history of American theater would not have developed nor impacted the sound of music today without the composers, directors, and choreographers of incidental and dance music. From the earliest immigrant composers to mainstream maestros and film composers, their successes and sorrows mirrored the...

This updates and expanded edition of the classic text in the field describes hundreds of women musicians -- composers, instrumentalists, orchestra and opera managers, music educators, and music patrons, and their activity from the 18th to 21st centuries. It includes their most important compositions...

Sex. Drugs. Loud music. Wild costumes. Dazzling light shows. These words can all describe a great rock concert or a hot dance club, but they were also part and parcel of the ancient cultural phenomenon known as the “Mystery religions.” In this book, author Christopher Knowles shows how the Mystery...

“Everybody has to start somewhere. Businessmen start on the ground floor and try to work their way up the corporate ladder. Baseball players bide their time in the minor leagues wishing for an opportunity to move up and play in the majors. Musical compositions aren’t very different – some songs...

And the Band Begins to Play is an in-depth, 12-volume guide to every song recorded by the Beatles. Part Twelve examines the LP Abbey Road and associated singles. Going further than the usual song-by-song, album-by-album guide, it is a record of every moment that the Beatles came together to...

And the Band Begins to Play is an in-depth, 12-volume guide to every song recorded by the Beatles. Part Nine examines the White Album and associated singles. Going further than the usual song-by-song, album-by-album guide, it is a record of every moment that the Beatles came together to record,...

And the Band Begins to Play is an in-depth, 12-volume guide to every song recorded by the Beatles. Part Eight examines the Sgt Pepper LP, the Magical Mystery Tour EP and associated singles. Going further than the usual song-by-song, album-by-album guide, it is a record of every moment that...

And the Band Begins to Play is an in-depth, 12-volume guide to every song recorded by the Beatles. Part Seven examines the LP Revolver and associated singles. Going further than the usual song-by-song, album-by-album guide, it is a record of every moment that the Beatles came together to record,...

To the modern pop world, Stock, Aitken and Waterman (and Waterman's PWL brand) form a key link between the analogue past and the digital present of record production and writing. The label and studios produced so many pop hits in the 1980s that their name became a byword for success and perfection;...

Israel G. “Izzy” Young was the proprietor of the Folklore Center in Greenwich Village from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. The literal center of the New York folk music scene, the Center not only sold records, books, and guitar strings but served as a concert hall, meeting spot, and information...

Known for his growling vocals and for the distinct poetry of his lyrics, Tom Waits has amassed over the course of three decades a devoted cult following. The Early Years collects the lyrics—formative and classic—from the first ten albums of this true bard of hard living. A celebration of both...

An essential short history of classical music, and a standalone accompaniment to the Handy Guides series Trace the history of classical music from its birth through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods and right up to the present day. Packed full of essential information, this pocket-sized...

The foremost authority on Wagner presents in this comprehensive volume all that the opera-goer, radio listener, music-love, and confirmed Wagnerite will wish to know about: The Flying Dutchman Tannhäuser Lohengrin Tristan and Isolde The Mastersingers of Nuremberg The Nibelung’s Ring The...

When we speak of “classical music” it often refers rather loosely to serious “art” music but at the core is really the music of the classical period running from about 1730 to 1800, give or take. This was truly one of the most glorious periods for both composition and performance and it is...