The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1882267001 ISBN 13: 9781882267002

Publisher: New England Pub Assn | Guinness, 1992

Synopsis

This reference work in four volumes covers all forms of popular music from 1900 to 1992, listing every artiste, band, genre, group and musical style in an A-Z format, beginning with ABBA and ending with ZZ Top. The four volume set - compiled with contributuions from more than 40 writers and musicologists - contains approximately 10,000 entries, varying in size from 150 to 3,000 words.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up-- Popular music is presented in a serious way in this encyclopedic work that includes rock and roll, jazz, blues, soul, country, reggae, Latin, and African pop. No illustrations or photographs lighten the look, but almost any popular group or single performer of any note has an entry that includes the date of birth (when available), a short summary of the group or musician's work, and a list of recordings. A "quick reference guide" at the end of the fourth volume provides an alphabetical listing of all of the entries, and a lengthy index provides access to all of the musicians discussed. The six-volume Contemporary Musicians (Gale, 1989) is more attractive, and has photographs and longer articles as well as information on classical artists who have achieved crossover success. The Oxford Companion to Popular Music (1991) is also similar and includes terms such as jazz or reggae that the Guinness discusses in the introduction but not in separate entries. Other similar works are The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1989) and The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock, and Soul (St. Martins, 1989). While all of these works have been published fairly recently, The Guinness Encyclopedia is the most up to date and includes more African musicians, making it a good additional purchase. --Margaret Tice, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The 14,500 entries in this set cover 20th-century popular music, operetta to postpunk, with well-written articles 150 to 3000 words in length on people, groups, labels, movements, festivals, and instruments. The British standpoint here accounts perhaps for surprising omissions (e.g., Farm Aid) and inclusions (e.g., Nick Berry). The work is excellent for information on new groups (e.g., Happy Mondays) though less successful with earlier bands. Included are a lengthy bibliography, personality index, and quick reference guide. This reference is a solid adjunct to The Oxford Companion to Popular Music (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1991) and Irwin Stambler's Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock, and Soul ( LJ 2/15/89). For high school, public, and academic libraries.
- Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., Tex.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: New England Pub Assn | Guinness
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 1882267001
• ISBN 13: 9781882267002
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 3295
• Editor: Colin Larkin