ABSTRACT

This eclectic compilation of readings tells the history of rock as it has been received and explained as a social and musical practice throughout its six decade history. This third edition includes new readings across the volume, with added material on the early origins of rock 'n' roll as well as coverage of recent developments, including the changing shape of the music industry in the twenty-first century. With numerous readings that delve into the often explosive issues surrounding censorship, copyright, race relations, feminism, youth subcultures, and the meaning of musical value, The Rock History Reader continues to appeal to scholars and students from a variety of disciplines.

New to the third edition:

  • Nine additional chapters from a broad range of perspectives
  • Explorations of new media formations, industry developments, and the intersections of music and labor
  • For the first time, a companion website providing users with playlists of music referenced in the book

Featuring readings as loud, vibrant, and colorful as rock ‘n’ roll itself, The Rock History Reader is sure to leave readers informed, inspired, and perhaps even infuriated—but never bored.

section I|58 pages

The 1950s

chapter 1|8 pages

Du-Wop

chapter 2|2 pages

“Miss Rhythm” Speaks Out

Ruth Brown on R&B and Covers

chapter 3|6 pages

Leiber & Stoller

chapter 4|2 pages

“Leer-ics”

A Warning to the Music Business

chapter 5|12 pages

Chuck Berry

In His Own Words

chapter 6|2 pages

Elvis Presley and “The Craze”

chapter 7|2 pages

“Elvis Defends Low-Down Style”

chapter 10|6 pages

The Rock ’n’ Roll Audience

“But Papa, It’s My Music, I Like It”

chapter 11|6 pages

The History of Chicano Rock

chapter 12|4 pages

“Music Biz Goes Round and Round

It Comes Out Clarkola”

part II|84 pages

The 1960s

chapter 13|6 pages

“The King of Surf Guitar”

chapter 18|6 pages

“Understanding Dylan”

chapter 19|6 pages

“Raga Rock”

The Byrds, Press Conference, 1966

chapter 20|6 pages

Motown

“A Whiter Shade of Black”

chapter 21|10 pages

James Brown

Soul Brother No. 1

chapter 23|4 pages

Rock and the Counterculture

chapter 24|4 pages

The FM Revolution

“AM Radio—‘Stinking Up the Airways’”

chapter 25|6 pages

An Interview with Peter Townshend

chapter 26|6 pages

Gimme Shelter

Woodstock and Altamont

part III|64 pages

The 1970s

chapter 27|2 pages

“Sweet Baby James”

James Taylor Live

chapter 30|10 pages

“How to be a Rock Critic”

chapter 31|4 pages

“Reggae

The Steady Rock of Black Jamaica”

chapter 32|2 pages

“Roots and Rock

The Marley Enigma”

chapter 34|4 pages

Reflections on Progressive Rock

chapter 35|4 pages

“Disco! Disco! Disco?

Four Critics Address the Musical Question”

chapter 37|8 pages

The Subculture of British Punk

chapter 38|8 pages

“The Confessions of a Gay Rocker”

part IV|74 pages

The 1980s

chapter 39|6 pages

Punk Goes Hardcore

chapter 40|6 pages

College Rock

“Left of the Dial”

chapter 43|4 pages

“Molly Hatchet

Celebrity Rate-A-Record”

chapter 44|8 pages

The Parents Music Resource Center

Statement before Congress

chapter 47|4 pages

Hip Hop Nation

part V|65 pages

The 1990s

chapter 51|4 pages

“Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad”

chapter 52|4 pages

“The Death of Sampling?”

chapter 54|8 pages

“The Problem with Music”

chapter 55|8 pages

“Feminism Amplified”

chapter 57|4 pages

“Electronic Eden”

Techno Goes Mainstream

chapter 58|4 pages

Nü Metal and Woodstock ’99

chapter 59|6 pages

Indie Pop Goes Twee

part VI|43 pages

The 2000s

chapter 61|4 pages

Metallica vs. Napster

chapter 62|6 pages

“Mother, Should I Build a Wall?”

Radiohead Face the Challenges of New Rock

chapter 65|6 pages

Defining Emo

part VII|48 pages

The 2010s

chapter 69|2 pages

“Why no Yes in the Rock Hall?”

chapter 72|4 pages

“Making Cents”

Musician Royalties in the Digital Age

chapter 74|8 pages

Marginalization in the Music Industry

A Twitter Exposé

chapter 75|4 pages

Twenty One Pilots

“The Slippery Appeal of the Biggest New Band in America”

chapter 76|8 pages

“Who Will Save the Guitar?”