'It's Number One - it's Top of the Pops'. It's not just the story of a long-running television programme. The story of Top of the Pops is the story of British popular music. It is a shadow history of British rock & roll, and beyond. It is the story of 'Auntie' BBC getting down with the kids. It is the story of how a 6-week show turned into a pan-global phenomenon and how for 40 years, Top of the Pops was a British institution. 'It's Number One - it's Top Of The Pops' for every generation from 1964, until the show ended in 2006, that was the sentence every young television viewer sat down to hear. At its peak, a quarter of the UK's entire population was watching. Top Of The Pops was the pivotal pop television programme over its 2,000 weekly episodes, the programme gave peak airtime to every act, from The Beatles to Beyonce - from Cream to Coldplay - from Pink Floyd to Pink! From its humble beginnings in 1964 from a disused church through to the programme's pan-global appeal in the 1990s, Top Of The Pops has become synonymous with the best in pop television. With a span of nearly half a century, there are so many highlights: The Beatles only live appearance, in 1966, promoting 'Paperback Writer' - the Who getting banned - the first colour edition in 1969 - David Bowie's breakthrough performance of 'Starman' in 1972 - Nirvana's chaotic 1991 appearance promoting 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - the Blur versus Oasis battle - Justin Timberlake playing bass with the Flaming Lips in 2003 - Top Of The Pops II was launched in 1994, bringing the programme to a whole new audience. Around the same time, the BBC licensed the "Top Of The Pops" brand to over 90 countries, with estimated audience of 100 million. Though it ceased broadcasting in 2006, thanks to the internet, compilation CDs; repeated viewing on BBC4 - Top Of The Pops lives on. This is the first book to tell that incredible story.

In celebration of the 45th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Bill Kopp explores the ingenuity with which Pink Floyd rebranded itself following the 1968 departure of Syd Barrett. Not only did the band survive Barrett's departure, but it went on to release landmark albums that continue to influence generations of musicians and fans. Reinventing Pink Floyd follows the path taken by the remaining band members to establish a musical identity, develop a songwriting style, and create a new template for the manner in which albums are made and even enjoyed by listeners. As veteran music journalist Bill Kopp illustrates, that path was filled with failed experiments, creative blind alleys, one-off musical excursions, abortive collaborations, general restlessness, and-most importantly-a dedicated search for a distinctive musical personality. This exciting guide to the works of 1968 through 1973 highlights key innovations and musical breakthroughs of lasting influence. Kopp places Pink Floyd in its historical, cultural, and musical contexts while celebrating the test of fire that took the band from the brink of demise to enduring superstardom.

The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s is chock full of entertaining essays to inform and delight you about an era that shaped our culture and future musical trends. This unique book will surprise and enchant even the most zealous music buff with facts and information on the songs that reflected America's spirit and captured a nation's attention. The Classic Rock and Roll Reader is offbeat, somewhat irreverent, ironic, and ancedotal as it discusses hundreds of rock and non-rock compositions included in rock history era. The songs offer you information on: Rock's Not So Dull Predecessors (for example, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" and "The Cry of the Wild Goose") The Pioneering Rock Songs (such as "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" ) Older Style Songs Amidst the Rocks (for example, "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Rocky Mountain High" ) The Megastars and Megagroups (such as "Blue Suede Shoes," "Respect," and "Surfin'USA" ) The Best Songs that Never Made No. 1 (for example," I Feel Good" and " Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" )The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from Its Beginnings to the Mid-1970s also examines the music which preceded early rock, the music which followed early rock, and the numerous non-rock songs which flourished during the classic rock period. A wide spectrum of music is discussed in well over 100 essays on various songs. Musicians, librarians, and the general audience will be taken back to the birth of rock and roll and the various contributing influences. Analyzing each song's place in rock history and giving some background about the artists, The Classic Rock and Roll Reader offers even the most avid music enthusiast new and unique information in this thorough and interesting guide.

Rock Music in American Popular Culture III: More Rock 'n'Roll Resources explores the fascinating world of rock music and examines how this medium functions as an expression of cultural and social identity. This nostalgic guide explores the meanings and messages behind some of the most popular rock 'n'roll songs that captured the American spirit, mirrored society, and reflected events in our history. Arranged by themes, Rock Music in American Popular Culture III examines a variety of social and cultural topics with related songs, such as: sex and censorship--"Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel and "Night Moves" by Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band holiday songs--"Rockin'Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole death--"Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las and "The Unknown Soldier" by The Doors foolish behavior--"When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge and "What Kind of Fool" by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb jobs and the workplace--"Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police and "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley military involvements--"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrews Sisters and "War" by Edwin Starr novelty recordings--"The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley and "Eat It" by Weird Al Yankovic letters and postal images--"P. S. I Love You" by The Beatles and "Return to Sender" by Elvis PreselyIn addition, a discography and a bibliography after each section give further examples of the themes and resources being discussed, as do extensive lists of print references at the end of the text.

This Companion is the first academic introduction to the 1960s/70s 'Krautrock' movement of German experimental music that has long attracted the attention of the music press and fans in Britain and abroad. It offers a structured approach to this exceptionally heterogeneous and decentralized movement, combining overviews with detailed analysis and close readings. The volume first analyzes the cultural, historical and economic contexts of Krautrock's emergence. It then features expert chapters discussing all the key bands of the era including Can, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Neu!, Faust, Ash Ra Tempel, Cluster and Amon Duul II. The volume concludes with essays that trace the varied, wide-ranging legacy of Krautrock from a variety of perspectives, exploring in particular the impact of German experimental music in the Anglosphere, including British post-punk and Detroit Techno. A final chapter examining the current bands that continue the Krautrock sound closes this comprehensive overview of the Krautrock phenomenon.

Ripped, torn and cut offers a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind - and the politics within - the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976. Sniffin' Glue (1976-77), Mark Perry's iconic punk fanzine, was but the first of many, paving the way for hundreds of home-made magazines to be cut and pasted in bedrooms across the UK. From these, glimpses into provincial cultures, teenage style wars and formative political ideas may be gleaned. An alternative history, away from the often-condescending glare of London's media and music industry, can be formulated, drawn from such titles as Ripped & Torn, Brass Lip, City Fun, Vague, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Grafity, Hungry Beat and Hard as Nails. The first book of its kind, this collection reveals the contested nature of punk's cultural politics by turning the pages of a vibrant underground press. -- .

Finding the right rhyme can be excruciating, songwriters too often choosing ridiculous words in desperation. This is an invaluable resource for any budding songwriter or even an experienced lyricist with writer's block. Featuring tips on songwriting, the book focuses on the types of rhyme and assonance (end rhymes, last syllable rhymes, double rhymes, beginning rhymes, first syllable rhymes) for a range of popular styles. Arranged phonetically and drawn from a variety of musical 'dialects', from rock and pop to folk and hip-hop, this is the quick and simple guide you need.

It started as a donkey derby, a small local charity event, but when plans for the 1971 Isle of Wight Festival fell through, Clacton Round Table decided to hold a pop concert of their own - a small gig for 5,000 locals. Little did they know that it would become one of the biggest music festivals ever seen in the UK, drawing a crowd of over 150,000 people. The Weeley Festival of Progressive Music has since become part of British popular music folklore. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of those attending, the experience of Weeley would change how outdoor events like this were organised. Rock stars including Rod Stewart and The Faces, Status Quo and T.Rex, accompanied by Hell's Angels, a rural police force, local volunteers and a complete lack of proper planning, culminated in one of the most legendary festivals of all time. In The Great British Woodstock, this one-off event is remembered by those who were there in both unpublished interviews and photographs.

In 1994, Korn's self-titled debut album marked their arrival. It was dark and brash and it demanded attention, as did their second album in 1996, Life Is Peachy. Good going for a new band, but in 1998, Follow The Leader saw Korn's success and notoriety accelerate exponentially. With constant demand for the singles, 'Got The Life' and 'Freak On A Leash' on MTV, Korn exceeded their own expectations. For both the band and their fans, this was the start of something exciting, albeit turbulent. In this book, author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL offers an in-depth perspective on Follow The Leader from a range of angles including how the album came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Korn's legacy today.

This index is divided into 4 parts: a bibliography of collections indexed, an index of first lines, an index of composers and an index of works frommusicals, motion pictures and television. Coverage spans recently published collections of songs from Tori Amos and George Michael to Dick Clark's American Bandstand and the Definitive Dixieland Collection.

Drawing from research conducted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame archives, and the author's experience as a local musician, this book offers a micro-historical case study of Cleveland's popular music heritage. Among just a handful of books dedicated to the popular music heritage of Cleveland, it traces myths of "where rock began to roll" in the self-proclaimed "birthplace of rock and roll". Numerous cities have sought to capitalize on their popular music cultural heritage (e.g., Liverpool, Memphis, Detroit, Nashville) as an engine for cultural regeneration. Unusually, rather than a focus on famous musicians and groups, or well-known recording studios and legendary venues, Cleveland's popular music "origin story" is spun from events of the early 1950s, centered on local radio stations, maverick disc jockeys, second-hand record stores, a riotous concert and youthful, racialized audiences at a moment on the cusp of sweeping social changes. This book untangles the construction of popular myths about "first" rock 'n' roll concert--the Moondog Coronation Ball on 21 March 1952, hosted by legendary DJ Alan Freed--the "invention" of the phrase "rock 'n' roll", and the subsequent rebranding of Cleveland as the "birthplace of rock 'n' roll" by local radio station WMMS "The Buzzard" during the 1970s. These myths re-emerged and re-circulated in the 1980s during the successful campaign to attract the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The author explores the fascinating and unusual story of Cleveland, uncovering how and why it became the site of a major popular music museum.

Black Sabbath has often been credited with inventing heavy metal with their first album released in 1970. Their new style of music was loud, brutal, scary, innovative, and it has greatly influenced heavy metal bands since then. Their five decades of music cross generations of fans, and they remain relevant to this day, with their 2013 album charting #1 in the United States and at least five other countries. In Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener's Companion, musician and scholar Nolan Stolz leads the reader through Sabbath's twenty studio albums and additional songs, closely examining their music and the storied history of the band. Along the way, Stolz highlights often-overlooked key moments that defined Sabbath's unique musical style and legacy. Band members' own words illuminate certain aspects of the music, and Stolz makes connections from song to song, album to album, and sometimes across decades to create an intricate narrative of the band's entire catalog. Experiencing Black Sabbath reveals the underappreciated genius of these heavy metal progenitors to all rock music lovers and gives even the most fervent Sabbath fans a new perspective on the music.

Whiskey and porn stars, hot reds and car crashes, black leather and high heels, overdoses and death. This is the life of Mötley Crüe, the heaviest drinking, hardest fighting, most oversexed and arrogant band in the world. Their unbelievable exploits are the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend. They nailed the hottest chicks, started the bloodiest fights, partied with the biggest drug dealers, and got to know the inside of every jail cell from California to Japan. They have dedicated an entire career to living life to its extreme, from the greatest fantasies to the darkest tragedies. Tommy married two international sex symbols; Vince killed a man and lost a daughter to cancer; Nikki overdosed, rose from the dead, and then OD'd again the next day; and Wick shot a woman and tried to hang his own brother. But that's just the beginning. Fueled by every drug they could get their hands on and obscene amounts of alcohol, driven by fury and headed straight for hell, Mötley Crüe raged through two decades, leaving behind a trail of debauched women, trashed hotel rooms, crashed cars, psychotic managers, and broken bones that has left the music industry cringing to this day. All these unspeakable acts, not to mention their dire consequences, are laid bare in The Dirt.

Here -- directly from Nikki, Vince, Tommy, and Mick -- is the unexpurgated version of the whole glorious, gut-wrenching story. In these pages, published for the first time anywhere, are Tommy Lee's letters to Pamela Anderson from prison: Mick's confession to having an incurable disease that is slowly killing him; Vince's experience burying his own daughter -- and the train wreck that his life became afterward; and Nikki's anguished struggle to deal with an entire life fueled by anger over his childhood abandonment, his discovery of the family he never knew he had -- and his subsequent loss of them. And all of it accompanied by scores of rare, never-before-published photographs, mug shots, and handwritten lyrics. No one is spared. Not David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Vanity, Aerosmith, Heather Locklear, AC/DC, Lita Ford, Iron Maiden, Pamela Anderson, Guns N' Roses, Donna D'Errico, RATT, or those two girls from Dallas, Texas.

Make no mistake about it: these guys are geniuses. They invented glam metal and then left it in the dust; sold more than forty million albums from Shout at the Devil to Dr. Feelgood; toured the world dozen times and have the scars to prove it it; and maintained a rabid following in an era of throwaway pop stars. Mötley Crüe has done nothing less than tattoo the psyche of the entire MTV generation. They are the ultimate rock 'n' roll band. And if you don't believe it, read The Dirt. You don't know what decadence is...

U2 and the Religious Impulse examines indications in U2's music and performances that the band work at conscious and subconscious levels as artists who focus on matters of the spirit, religious traditions, and a life guided by both belief and doubt. U2 is known for a career of stirring songs, landmark performances and for its interest in connecting with fans to reach a higher power to accomplish greater purposes. Its success as a rock band is unparalleled in the history of rock 'n' roll's greatest acts. In addition to all the thrills one would expect from entertainers at this level, U2 surprises many listeners who examine its lyrics and concert themes by having a depth of interest in matters of human existence more typically found in literature, philosophy and theology. The multi-disciplinary perspectives presented here account for the durability of U2's art and offer informed explanations as to why many fans of popular music who seek a connection with a higher power find U2 to be a kindred spirit. This study will be of interest to scholars and students of religious studies and musicology, interested in religion and popular music, as well as religion and popular culture more broadly.

Can musicians really make the world more sustainable? Anthropologist Mark Pedelty, joined an eco-oriented band, the Hypoxic Punks, to find out. In his timely and exciting book, "Ecomusicology," Pedelty explores the political ecology of rock, from local bands to global superstars. He examines the climate change controversies of U2's 360 Degrees stadium tourOCodeemed excessive by someOCoand the struggles of local folk singers who perform songs about the environment. In the process, he raises serious questions about the environmental effects and meanings on music.
"Ecomusicology" examines the global, national, regional, and historical contexts in which environmental pop is performed. Pedelty reveals the ecological potentials and pitfalls of contemporary popular music, in part through ethnographic fieldwork among performers, audiences, and activists. Ultimately, he explains how popular music dramatically reflects both the contradictions and dreams of communities searching for sustainability.

A Social History of Early Rock 'n' Roll in Germany explores the people and spaces of St. Pauli's rock'n'roll scene in the 1960s. Starting in 1960, young British rockers were hired to entertain tourists in Hamburg's red-light district around the Reeperbahn in the area of St. Pauli. German youths quickly joined in to experience the forbidden thrill of rock'n'roll, and used African American sounds to distance themselves from the old Nazi generation. In 1962 the Star Club opened and drew international attention for hosting some of the Beatles' most influential performances. In this book, Julia Sneeringer weaves together this story of youth culture with histories of sex and gender, popular culture, media, and subculture. By exploring the history of one locale in depth, Sneeringer offers a welcome contribution to the scholarly literature on space, place, sound and the city, and pays overdue attention to the impact that Hamburg had upon music and style. She is also careful to place performers such as The Beatles back into the social, spatial, and musical contexts that shaped them and their generation. This book reveals that transnational encounters between musicians, fans, entrepreneurs and businessmen in St. Pauli produced a musical style that provided emotional and physical liberation and challenged powerful forces of conservatism and conformity with effects that transformed the world for decades to come.

From "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)?" to a list of all song titles containing the word "werewolf," Rock Music in American Popular Culture II: More Rock 'n'Roll Resources continues where 1995's Volume I left off. Using references and illustrations drawn from contemporary lyrics and supported by historical and sociological research on popular cultural subjects, this collection of insightful essays and reviews assesses the involvement of musical imagery in personal issues, in social and political matters, and in key socialization activities. From marriage and sex to public schools and youth culture, readers discover how popular culture can be used to explore American values. As Authors B. Lee Cooper and Wayne S. Haney prove that integrated popular culture is the product of commercial interaction with public interest and values rather than a random phenomena, they entertainingly and knowledgeably cover such topics as: answer songs--interchanges involving social events and lyrical commentaries as explored in response recordings horror films--translations and transformations of literary images and motion picture figures into popular song characters and tales public schools--images of formal educational practices and informal learning processes in popular song lyrics sex--suggestive tales and censorship challenges within the popular music realm war--examinations of persistent military and home front themes featured in wartime recordingsRock Music in American Popular Culture II: More Rock 'n'Roll Resources is nontechnical, written in a clear and concise fashion, and explores each topic thoroughly, with ample discographic and bibliographic resources provided for additional research. Arranged alphabetically for quick and easy reference to specific topics, the book is equally enjoyable to read straight through. Rock music fans, teachers, popular culture professors, music instructors, public librarians, sound recording archivists, sociologists, social critics, and journalists can all learn something, as the book shows them the cross-pollination of music and social life in the United States.

First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound, musician Mike Doughty presents stories about life on the road as an indie rock musician, taking readers deep inside the dislocated life of an itinerant performer, the exhilaration and terror involved in getting up in front of strangers night after night, and as far behind the curtain as they've ever dared to venture. Doughty's writing is deeply provocative, eliciting visceral responses from his readers, and this extraordinary book will blow the minds of people who have never considered what life is like for those on the other side of the stage. I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound is composed of strange, surreal tales from on the road that draw from dream-like conflations of memories of times and places, especially New York City in the '90s. It looks at why diminished circumstances are sometimes, bafflingly, more profitable than chart success, how the nostalgia of fans is both a boon and a burden for an artist struggling to stay vital, and what it means--and how it works--to grow into middle age while still playing hundreds of shows and releasing albums prolifically. Both a fascinating and dislocated narrative and a highly review-worthy examination of what it is to be an artist at this cultural juncture, I Die Each Time I Hear the Sound is funny, unsparing, vulnerable, and incisive.

The Sunday Times bestseller Growing up in Liverpool in the 1960s and '70s, when skinheads, football violence and fear of just about everything was the natural order of things, a young Will Sergeant found the emerging punk scene provided a shimmer of hope amongst a crumbling city still reeling from the destruction of the Second World War. From school-day horrors and mud flinging fun to nights at Liverpool's punk club, Eric's, Sergeant was fuelled by and thrived on music. It was this devotion that led to the birth of the Bunnymen, to the days when he and Ian McCulloch would muck around with reel-to-reel recordings of song ideas in the back parlour of his parents' council estate house, and to finding a community - friends, enemies and many in between - with those who would become post-punk royalty from the likes of Dead or Alive, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the Teardrop Explodes to name a few. It was an uphill struggle to carve their name in the history of Liverpool music, but Echo and the Bunnymen became iconic, with songs like 'Lips Like Sugar,' 'The Cutter' and 'The Killing Moon'. By turns wry, explicit and profound, Bunnyman reveals what it was really like to be part of one of the most important British bands of the 1980s.