Introduction
Forward
Playlist 1: 1890-1919
Playlist 2: 1920-1929
Playlist 3: 1930-1939
Playlist 4: 1940-1949
Playlist 5; 1950-1959
Playlist 6: 1960-1964
Playlist 7: 1965-1969
Playlist 8: 1970-1979
Playlist 9: 1980-1989
Playlist 10: 1990-1999
Playlist 11: 2000-2009
Playlist 12: 2010-2016
Bibliography
Alphabetical Song Index
Steve Sullivan is an author and contributor to such works as Pop Memories: The History of Popular Music, 1890-–1954; Va Va Voom: Bombshells, Pin-Ups, Sexpots and Glamour Girls; Bombshells: Glamour Girls of a Lifetime; and Glamour Girls: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. He is also the author Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volumes 1 and 2 (Scarecrow Press, 2013), winner of Library Journal Best Reference Award for 2013 and a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2014.
Sullivan is back with two more volumes of great popular song
recordings. Volumes 1 and 2 (2013) featured entries for more than
1,000 titles. Volumes 3 and 4 add 1700 more noteworthy recordings.
The format of this set is quite different from the earlier one’s.
Volumes 1 and 2 are arranged by topic (e.g., ‘Crazy Blues,’
‘Memories of You’) and then chronologically within each ‘playlist.’
That arrangement tells a story about how artists handled similar
styles and emotions through the decades. The new set is 100-
percent chronological. Each chapter/playlist features a different
decade, beginning in 1890 and ending in 2016. This format tells the
story of the evolution of popular music recordings as a whole. It
also gives Sullivan the freedom to choose recordings regardless of
topic or genre. Some of the selected songs received much less
popular acclaim in their era than their ‘big hit’ counterparts but
were chosen because they have been ‘undeservedly neglected.’ Once
again, Sullivan’s depth of knowledge and extensive research shows.
He consulted the same musical halls of fame, books, magazines,
awards lists, and other sources as for the first volumes, in
addition spending many hours listening to a satellite radio station
as it presented a five-week marathon of ‘50 years of Top 40 hits.’
Each entry is written with authority and passion, includes
references to each song’s rankings in various genre and award lists
(e.g., Billboard, Grammy, Your Hit Parade), and concludes with an
extensive bibliography and title and name-and-subject indexes.
Highly recommended to academic and public libraries.
*Booklist*
Sullivan, author of other works on popular culture, including
volumes 1 and 2 of this encyclopedia, covers over 1,700 recordings
arranged by recording date/chart debut; the arrangement contrasts
to the thematic groupings he used in the previous volumes. This new
organization, supplemented by chronologically interspersed musical
and historical events, allows readers to see parallels among songs
expressing the zeitgeist of each period. These additional ‘hits and
familiar classics’ of marches, gospel, world, pop, rock, soul,
country, jazz, blues, folk, and even Christmas songs by major and
lesser-known artists are Sullivan's personal choices, but less a
‘best of’ than a celebration of unique recordings with distinctive
appeal covering 12 periods from 1890 to 2016. The 1970s receive the
most coverage with 230 recordings, then the 1950s with 220. Entries
include title, performer(s), song writer(s), label/catalog number,
and charting information. The heavily documented, 100- to 750-word
commentaries discuss the performers/performances, including
instrumentation, lyrics, and cultural context, with commentary from
critics and other musical figures. Dave Marsh, prominent critic and
author of The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles
Ever Made (1999), is heavily represented, but Sullivan is keen to
emphasize the music over philosophical discussion. While there are
superb indexes to titles, names, and subjects, cross-references
would help where recordings of the same song are separated
chronologically. The electronic version is available from EBSCOhost
ProQuest and from other vendors.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates
through researchers/faculty; general readers.
*CHOICE*
Continuing where his inaugural two volumes left off, Steve Sullivan
explores additional selections of great but underappreciated song
recordings in volumes three and four. Added are some 1,700 records
and artists omitted from the earlier volumes for lack of space to
complete Sullivan’s review of over a century and a quarter of
Anglo-North American pop music. But as music writer Dave Marsh
explains in his foreword, what sets Sullivan apart as a music
critic is not his vast knowledge of what was recorded, but his
passion for seeing how the songs connect across time. Calling it
the ‘Smithsonian of Soul,’ Marsh praises Sullivan’s work for its
ability to bring long-forgotten, soul-stirring songs back to life.
While it is impossible to read an entry for a familiar song and not
‘hear’ it playing, it is equally possible to read an entry for an
unfamiliar song and begin to ‘hear’ it playing—thanks to Sullivan’s
exquisite descriptions.... This heavily footnoted music guide
includes an extensive, themed bibliography and separate title and
subject/name indexes.... Authoritative and a joy to browse, this
goldmine will be an indispensable resource in pop culture
collections and college libraries supporting music departments.
*American Reference Books Annual*
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