This is a comprehensive and authoritative reference to a huge range of American musical styles, from Barbershop to Bluegrass and from Ragtime to Rockabilly. The six "EPMOW Genre" volumes contain entries on the genres of music that have been or currently are popular in countries and communities all over the world. Included are discussions on cultural, historical and geographic origins; technical musical characteristics; instrumentation and use of voice; lyrics and language; typical features of performance and presentation; historical development and paths and modes of dissemination; influence of technology, the music industry and political and economic circumstances; changing stylistic features; notable and influential performers; and relationships to other genres and sub-genres. This volume, on the music of North America, features over 100 in-depth essays on genres ranging from Adult Contemporary to Alternative Rock, from Barbershop to Bebop, and from Disco to Emo. All entries conclude with a bibliography, discographical references and discography, with additional information on sheet music listings and visual recordings. Written and edited by a team of distinguished popular music scholars and professionals, this is an exceptional resource for anybody studying or researching the history and development of popular music.

Author Biography

David Horn was a founding editor of the journal Popular Music (Cambridge University Press, 1981+), and a founding member of IASPM (The International Association for the Study of Popular Music). He was Director of the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool from 1988 until his retirement in 2002. Together with the blues scholar Paul Oliver he first proposed the idea of EPMOW in the 1980s, and has worked on the project since that time. Other recent publications include two edited volumes: The Cambridge Companion to Jazz (with Mervyn Cooke, 2002),and a special issue of Popular Music in honour of Paul Oliver (2006). John Shepherd is Chancellor's Professor of music and sociology, and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at Carleton University, ON. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.