How the electric bass became the norm : an alternative history of American popular music, 1951-1964 /


Brian F. Wright
Bok Engelsk 2018
Digital utgave: Gratis
Originaltittel
Omfang
vi, 201 sider : illustrasjoner, noter
Opplysninger
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy; Case Western Reserve University; 2018. - Opptrykk av forfatterens avhandling (ph.d.) - Case Western Reserve University; 2018. - UMI number: 28078519. - Historians have repeatedly looked to popular music as a window into American culture, especially of the 1950s and 1960s. Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan have all been canonized as icons whose music reflected pivotal shifts in youth culture. Yet recent scholarship has complicated standard narratives of popular music history by emphasizing the wide spectrum of musical experiences that produced such acts (Wald 2009, 2015). Even so, critics and scholars continue to treat the era's musical genres in isolation, analyzing "rock `n'roll," "rhythm and blues," and "jazz" as separate phenomena. As a result, the myriad connections among them have been minimized in favor of uncluttered historical narratives. In this dissertation, I demonstrate the benefit of analyzing American musical culture not through a specific genre, but rather an instrument: the electric bass guitar. From its invention in 1951 through the height of the British Invasion in the mid-1960s, the electric bass weathered substantial shifts in musical styles and audiences. In turn, the stories of the musicians who played it shed new light on the social and economic issues that defined this era, including constructions of race and gender, the rise of middle class consumerism, and the increasing autonomy of youth culture. The benefit of re-examining history through the lens of this particular instrument is thus twofold: first, it redresses weaknesses in the standard historical narrative by embracing the interconnected experiences of musicians and audiences that lived through this era; second, it provides a new window into American culture itself.
Emner
Jamerson, James , 1936-1983 : (NO-TrBIB)3123255
Kaye, Carol , 1935- : (NO-TrBIB)5039393
Montgomery, Monk , 1921-1982 : (NO-TrBIB)8071020
Ventures (musikkgruppe) : (NO-TrBIB)5052593
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