Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits and Classic Cuts
Synopsis:
Singles is a richly-illustrated, entertaining and informative chronological history of over 50 years of the pop music single. It opens with 'Rock Around The Clock' by Bill Haley And His Comets - generally considered to be the first rock 'n' roll record - and continues chronologically through to the present day.
A companion to the bestselling Albums, Singles looks in detail at some of the music genres that traditionally work best in the shorter format - rock 'n' roll, garage rock, Motown, punk, disco, rap, and more. These and almost every other kind of music to appear on a single are featured among the work of the chart-busting stars, the influential masterpieces by great musicians, and the one-hit-wonder artists who managed to cram all their musical careers into three minutes of glory.
Along the way Singles charts the influence that developing technology and an ever-changing commercial scene have had on the artistic process, covering the different ways singles have been made over the years. From complex technological feats like Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', to eccentric home-made triumphs of ingenuity like The Tornados 'Telstar'; from the peerless pop of Abba's 'Dancing Queen', to the teen pop of Britney Spears's 'Baby One More Time'; from the blazing torchsong of Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' to the drawn-out craft of 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles.
Singles also features profiles of the producers and songwriters behind the hits, including Phil Spector, Joe Meek, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Max Martin, Lieber & Stoller, Dr Dre. With contributions from: Johnny Black, Mark Brend, Tony Burton, Sean Egan, Thomas Jerome, Joel McIver, John Morrish, and Tamara Palmer.
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Original Publish Date:
October 1, 2006
Formats:
Hardcover
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