"Milton Brown is one of the great unsung heroes of American music; and one of the true fathers of western swing. Ginell's biography offers a wealth of new information on Brown and his times and paints a marvelously detailed portrait of the rich Texas music scene of the Depression era." -- Charles K. Wolfe, Middle Tennessee State University

Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing (Music in American Life)

Arts & Photography

Ginell, Cary

Music

University of Illinois Press

Through its Decca 5000 series of the 1930s and 1940s, the American Decca recording company became the most influential record label in the burgeoning hillbilly music category, the forerunner of today's country and western music. This unique discography provides for the first time in print a systematic numerical listing and cross-referencing of all released recordings in the 5000 and 17000 Cajun series as well as records released under Decca's Champion 45000 and Montgomery Ward series, also devoted to hillbilly music. A total of 1514 discs are covered ranging from records released by such major hillbilly music stars as Jimmie Davis, the Sons of the Pioneers, and Ernest Tubb to those by less well-known solo artists and groups, including the Corn Cob Crushers and the Happy Hollow Hoodlums. Based on painstaking research in the original session books, ledgers, and label copy books as well as interviews with musicians and singers who participated in Decca recording sessions, this discography of one of the most remarkable record series of the 20th century makes a major contribution to the study of contemporary American music.
The volume begins with an introduction which traces the early history of the Decca Record Company and its impact on hillbilly music of the 1930s and 1940s. Cary Ginell demonstrates that the Decca 5000 and other hillbilly series had a major role not only in documenting the history of hillbilly music but also in affecting its course by influencing future recording artists in the genre. Following a brief section which describes how to use the discography and the indexes, the discography itself is divided into four separate numerical listings: Decca 5000, Decca 17000, Decca/Champion 45000, and Montgomery Ward recordings. Each listing includes information about recording dates, master numbers, unissued titles, song titles and legends, songwriter credits, and release dates. Five indexes--artist, matrix and location, release dates, composer credits, and title--provide enhanced access to the main listings. Scholars and researchers of American country and folk music, both once included under the hillbilly banner--will find this discography an indispensable resource.

The Decca Hillbilly Discography, 1927-1945 (Discographies: Association for Recorded Sound Collections Discographic Reference)

Greenwood

The result of years of research by its authors, this discography strives to identify and trace the recorded development of the musical style now known as western swing from its early years through World War II. The style developed from the Texas string band tradition, growing from a fiddle and guitar duo into full swing band groups, and along the way, it drew from and absorbed a variety of other musical styles, thus making it one of the most diverse genres in American music. Until now, studies have been limited to a few book-length biographies, but through exhaustive research and interviews, Ginell and Coffey have provided the most complete and comprehensive listing of pre-War western swing and hot string band recordings to date.
Accessible through a variety of indexes, the information included here comprises four sections. The reader can easily find cross-referenced information on which musicians played with which bands on which songs. Easy-to-follow linear and chronological development of the music is provided as well.

Discography of Western Swing and Hot String Bands, 1928-1942 (Discographies: Association for Recorded Sound Collections Discographic Reference)

Coffey, Kevin

For over 40 years, the Jazz Man Record Shop was Hollywood's haven and hangout for collectors of jazz records. Through its portals passed music's greatest stars, from Louis Armstrong to the Rolling Stones, as well as some of Hollywood's most famous personalities, including Orson Welles and Mel Torme. In the 1940s, the Jazz Man record label launched a worldwide revival of traditional jazz with its groundbreaking recordings by Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band. This book traces the fascinating history of this monument to American entrepreneurship, utilizing interviews, primary resources, and over 150 photographs and illustrations.

Hot Jazz for Sale: Hollywood's Jazz Man Record Shop

Performing Arts

lulu.com

8-page B&amp;W and color photo insert

Walk Tall: The Music and Life of Julian Cannonball Adderley (Hal Leonard Jazz Biographies)

Humor & Entertainment

Hal Leonard Books

(Book). In 1950, Billy Eckstine was the most popular singer in America. Movie-star handsome with an elegant pencil-thin mustache and a wide vibrato, Eckstine possessed one of the most magnificent voices in popular music history. Born in Pittsburgh, Eckstine won a talent contest by imitating Cab Calloway and started leading jazz orchestras under the name Baron Billy. In 1939, he joined Earl Hines' orchestra, composing and performing the hits "Jelly, Jelly" and "Stormy Monday Blues." In 1944, he formed what is now considered the first bebop orchestra that included, during its brief three-year run, legendary figures such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Sarah Vaughan. Signing with MGM, he rose to superstar status, sold millions of records, marketed his own line of "Mr. B." shirt collars, and inspired an army of female admirers, known as "Billy-soxers." Eckstine fought all his life for recognition and respect in his quest to become America's first black romantic singing idol, but he faced hardships in the segregated music world of the '40s and '50s. Despite this, he went on to influence many singers who followed, including Arthur Prysock, Johnny Hartman, Johnny Mathis, Kevin Mahogany, Barry White, and even Elvis Presley. In this book, Cary Ginell traces, for the first time, the life of one of the twentieth century's most amazing success stories, the man known simply as "Mr. B."

Mr B: The Music and Life of Billy Eckstine (The Hal Leonard Jazz Biography)

Hal Leonard

More than any other musician, Herbie Mann was responsible for establishing the flute as an accepted jazz instrument. Prior to his arrival, the flute was a secondary instrument for saxophonists, but Mann found a unique voice for the flute, presenting it in different musical contexts, beginning with Afro-Cuban, and then continuing with music from Brazil, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Japan, and Eastern Europe. As Mann once said, “People would say to me, 'I don't know where you are right now ' and I would respond, 'And you're not going to know where I'm going to be tomorrow.'” A self-described restless spirit, Herbie Mann also was a master at marketing himself. His insatiable curiosity about the world led him to experiment with different kinds of sounds, becoming a virtual Pied Piper of jazz. He attracted thousands to his concerts while alienating purists and critics alike. His career lasted for five decades, from his beginnings in a tiny Brooklyn nightclub to appearances on international stages. “I want to be as synonymous with the flute as Benny Goodman is for the clarinet ” he was fond of saying. By the time he died of prostate cancer in 2003, he had fulfilled his desire.

The Evolution of Mann: Herbie Mann and the Flute in Jazz (Hal Leonard Jazz Biography)

This updated edition of one of the bestselling and comprehensive Broadway reference books, first published in 1985, has been expanded to include many of the most important and memorable productions of American musical theater, including revivals. Arranged chronologically, beginning with musicals from just after the Civil War, each successive edition of the book has added valuable updates about trends in musical theater as well as capsule features on the most significant musicals of the day. The ninth edition documents important musicals produced since the end of the 2012–2013 season through spring 2019. Broadway Musicals, Show by Show features a wealth of statistics and inside information, plus critical reception, cast lists, pithy commentary about each show, and numerous detailed indexes that no Broadway fan will want to be without. Since its original publication, Broadway Musicals has proved to be an indispensable addition to any Broadway aficionado's library.

Broadway Musicals: Show by Show

GREEN, Stanley

Applause

Carefully Taught looks at American history as depicted in forty Broadway musicals. Presented chronologically according to the musical timeframe, award-winning theater critic and author Cary Ginell dissects the stories, characters, and songs to not only examine how Broadway viewed historical events, epochs, and personalities, but also to capture how dramatic license separated fact from fantasy. The chosen musicals fall into a variety of categories: biographies of famous Americans, (Andrew Jackson and Fiorello LaGuardia), stories with national conflicts (Hamilton, South Pacific), events that captured the attention of the American public (Floyd Collins, Newsies), and sociological studies or satires of specific eras (The Music Man, Hair). 
Many books have been written about Broadway, but Carefully Taught, from the song "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" in South Pacific, uniquely approaches American history from two vantage points: the point of view of the playwright and composer accompanied with the context of how these events were seen when they were produced versus how they are seen today. Ginell’s research of contemporary theater reviews and in-depth studies of productions’ back stories play off his knowledge gained from his quarter century as a theater critic in Southern California.The combination is a complete overview of American history on the stage from the coveted balcony seat.

Carefully Taught: American History through Broadway Musicals

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