The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Six Volume Set) - Hardcover

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9781561591763: The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Six Volume Set)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1561591769 ISBN 13: 9781561591763

Publisher: Guinness Publishing, 1995

Containing over 15,000 entries in its six volumes, this is a comprehensive encyclopaedia of popular music, with a history of each topic, birthdates and locations of individuals, a discography, a videography, and selected readings. Following the original publication in 1992, this second edition has been extensively revised and updated to cover the development of new and existing genres and the introduction of new artists and groups.

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From Library Journal:

Anyone who has used the 1992 first edition of this work, an LJ "Best Reference Book of 1992," will cheer the appearance of this updated set. Larkin and his team of editors, including many of the world's authorities on popular music, have amassed the largest and most comprehensive guide to "nonclassical" Western music: rock, pop, country, reggae, vaudeville, movie and theater music, blues, jazz, and other forms, from 1900 to today. Each of the 15,000 unsigned entries, ranging from 150 to 3000 words, focuses on either an individual (primarily performers, but also producers, impresarios, and others behind the scenes), recording label, or movie/stage show. Over 70 percent of the 1992 articles have been enlarged, and nearly all have been updated or emended. The show listings are completely new to this edition and add an exciting dimension. The central attraction of this work, however, lies in its massive, up-to-date performer coverage?nearly 50,000 named individuals. The average listing includes birth/death dates, career highlights and lowlights, a brief list of recordings (more entries now have label information), book-length biographies, and trivia. One-third are fully profiled (and Larkin is already at work on a third edition). The range of performers is incredible, from one-hit wonders like UK's Nick Berry to Aretha Franklin and The Doors. It's also hard to beat this work for currency; what other reference book profiles Hootie and the Blowfish? This encyclopedia is also one of the few sources to feature late-night TV gold-record sellers such as Richard Clayderman and Slim Whitman. Finally, readers put off by the first edition's British slant will be pleased to find more balance here. More than just a sourcebook, this highly attractive set is also highly readable and a browser's paradise. Beautifully bound and with improved typeface over 1992, it stands as the popular music equivalent to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Macmillan, 1980) and as such has no equal, in or out of print.?Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Only three years after the first edition [RBB F 15 93] comes an enlarged second edition of the most comprehensive guide to popular music available. Covering performers from many genres and countries (though predominately from the U.S. and U.K.), industry personalities, instruments, musicals and movies, and events, this edition includes more than 15,000 entries. The bulk of these are biographical and include dates, changes in lineups, important albums and singles, musical influences, and collaborations. Discographies and bibliographies close each entry. Essays range from several pages to a couple of paragraphs, and coverage runs the gamut from Bing Crosby to Johnny Hallyday, Green Jelly, Sister Souljah, Foday Musa Suso, and Porter Wagoner. Topical entries include Virgin Records, the film Hear My Song, and Live Aid. Entries have been updated through early 1995, and there are 5,000 new entries (the set has grown from four to six volumes). Smashing Pumpkins, for example, was becoming popular at the time of the first edition and has been added. There is extensive use of see also references and a detailed index.

As with any set this large, there are errors, many of which have been carried over from the first edition. The place of death of Hank Williams still isn't correct. Doc Severinson played for and joked with Johnny Carson, not Merv Griffin. British usage is found in some entries. Karen Carpenter's problems with anorexia are described as "slimmer's disease."

Guinness continues to be a valuable reference work. Its only drawback is the price, so close on the heels of the first edition. Libraries owning the first edition and on a limited budget may have to pass. Highly recommended for large public libraries and music libraries not owning the first edition.

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