A man, a microphone, and a dream
When he opened his tiny recording studio in New York in 1940, Moses Asch had a larger-than-life dream: To document and record all the sounds of his time. He created Folkways Records to achieve his goal, not just a record label but a statement that all sounds are equal and every voice deserves to be heard. The Folkways catalog grew to include a myriad of voices, from world- and roots-music to political speeches; the voices of contemporary poets and steam engines; folk singers Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie and jazz pianists Mary Lou Williams and James P. Johnson; Haitian vodoun singers and Javanese court musicians; deep-sea sounds and sounds from the outer ring of Earth's atmosphere. Until his death in 1986, Asch—with the help of collaborators ranging from the eccentric visionary Harry Smith to academic musicologists—created more than 2000 albums, a sound-scape of the contemporary world still unequalled in breadth and scope. Worlds of Sound documents this improbable journey. Along the way you'll meet:
A young Pete Seeger, revolutionizing the world with his five-string banjo The amazing vocal ensembles of the Ituri Pygmies North American tree frogs Ella Jenkins's children's music Lead Belly singing "The Midnight Special" The nueva canción of Suni Paz. 
Folkways became a part of the Smithsonian Institution's collections shortly after Asch's death. Today Smithsonian Folkways continues to make the "worlds of sound" Moe Asch first dreamed of 60 years ago available to all. The Folkways vision is expansive and all-inclusive, and Worlds of Sound advances its rich and lively spirit.

Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways

Carlin, Richard

Humor & Entertainment

Smithsonian

The ultimate guide to country music and its greatest artists includes more than six hundred entries profiling all types of contributors, providing biographies of musicians, characterizing styles, and tracking recording careers in all forms of country music. Original.

The Big Book of Country Music: A Biographical Encyclopedia

Penguin??Books

A new biography of one of the key composers of 20th-century American popular song and jazz, Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm and Race illuminates Blake's little-known impact on over 100 years of American culture. A gifted musician, Blake rose from performing in dance halls and bordellos of his native Baltimore to the heights of Broadway. In 1921, together with performer and lyricist Noble Sissle, Blake created Shuffle Along which became a sleeper smash on Broadway eventually becoming one of the top ten musical shows of the 1920s. Despite many obstacles Shuffle Along integrated Broadway and the road and introduced such stars as Josephine Baker, Lottie Gee, Florence Mills, and Fredi Washington. It also proved that black shows were viable on Broadway and subsequent productions gave a voice to great songwriters, performers, and spoke to a previously disenfranchised black audience. As successful as Shuffle Along was, racism and bad luck hampered Blake's career. Remarkably, the third act of Blake's life found him heralded in his 90s at major jazz festivals, in Broadway shows, and on television and recordings. Tracing not only Blake's extraordinary life and accomplishments, Broadway and popular music authorities Richard Carlin and Ken Bloom examine the professional and societal barriers confronted by black artists from the turn of the century through the 1980s. Drawing from a wealth of personal archives and interviews with Blake, his friends, and other scholars, Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm and Race offers an incisive portrait of the man and the musical world he inhabited.

Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race

Biographies & Memoirs

Bloom, Ken

Arts & Literature

Oxford University Press

Country Music: A Very Short Introduction presents a compelling overview of the music and its impact on American culture. Country music has long been a marker of American identity; from our popular culture to our politics, it has provided a soundtrack to our national life. While traditionally associated with the working class, country's appeal is far broader than any other popular music style. While this music rose from the people, it is also a product of the popular music industry, and the way the music has been marketed to its audience is a key part of its story. Key artists, songs, and musical styles are highlighted that are either touchstones for a particular social event (such as Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man," which produced both a positive and negative backlash as a marker of women's roles in society at the beginning of the liberation movement) or that encompass broader trends in the industry (for example, Jimmie Rodgers' "T for Texas" was an early example of the appropriation of black musical forms by white artists to market them to a mainstream audience). While pursuing a basically chronological outline, the book is structured around certain recurring themes (such as rural vs. urban; tradition vs. innovation; male vs. female; white vs. black) that have been documented through the work of country artists from the minstrel era to today. Truly the voice of the people, country music expresses both deep patriotism as well as a healthy skepticism towards the powers that dominate American society. Country Music: A Very Short Introduction illuminates this rich tradition and assesses its legacy in American popular music culture.

Country Music: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Arts & Photography

Music

Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary

This illustrated A-Z guide covers more than 700 country music artists, groups, and bands. Articles also cover specific genres within country music as well as instruments used. Written in a lively, engaging style, the entries not only outline the careers of country music's greatest artists, they provide an understanding of the artist's importance or failings, and a feeling for his or her style. Select discographies are provided at the end of each entry, while a bibliography and indexes by instrument, musical style, genre, and song title round out the work. For a full list of entries, a generous selection of sample entries, and more, visit the Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary website.

Routledge

A study of the origins and history of rock music discusses the major performers and musicians, their innovations in instrumentation and musical style, and the impact of rock music on modern culture

Rock and Roll: 1955-1970 (The World of Music)

Replica Books

Defines folk music and traces its history and development in Great Britain and the United States.

English and American Folk Music (World of Music)

Children's Books

FACTS ON FILE+

An enlightening study of the origins and history of rock music discusses the major performers and musicians, their innovations in instrumentation and musical style, and the impact of rock music on modern culture

Rock and Roll 1955-1970 (World of Music Series)

A history of jazz, from its first appearance in the bars of New Orleans to the immense popularity it enjoys today. Within each distinctive "era" of the evolution of jazz, the author discusses the musical elements of the prevailing styles and offers insights into the key players and performers like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and many more.

Jazz (WORLD OF MUSIC)

Teen & Young Adult

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Carlin, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Carlin, Richard

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Carlin, Richard. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways

The Big Book of Country Music: A Biographical Encyclopedia

Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race

Country Music: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary

Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary

Rock and Roll: 1955-1970 (The World of Music)

English and American Folk Music (World of Music)

Rock and Roll 1955-1970 (World of Music Series)

Jazz (WORLD OF MUSIC)