The Making of American Pop Music
SPECIAL OFFER: Buy Song and System through Rowman & Littlefield and get a 30% discount off list price with code RLFANDF30 – For more details and ways to order through Rowman & Littlefield, see the discount flyer (pdf). More options for ordering the book through the BUY button below.
Buy NowFrom the first Tin Pan Alley tunes to today’s million-view streaming hits, pop songs have been supported and influenced by an increasingly complex industry that feeds audience demand for its ever-evolving supply of hits.
Harvey Rachlin investigates how music entered American homes and established a cultural institution that would expand throughout the decades to become a multibillion dollar industry, weaving a history of the evolution of pop music in tandem with the music business. Exploding in the 1950s and ’60s with pop stars like Elvis and the Beatles, the music industry used new technologies like television to promote live shows and record releases. More recently, the development of online streaming services has forced the music industry to cultivate new promotion, distribution, copyright, and profit strategies.
Pop music and its business have defined our shared cultural history. Song and System: The Making of American Pop Music not only charts the music that we all know and love but also reveals our active participation in its development throughout generations.
Praise for Song and System
“[Song and System] expertly lays out the history of pop music . . . Rachlin’s informative and highly detailed narrative will resonate with music geeks and industry folks alike.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Rachlin…charts the entwined stories of popular music and the industry that produces, promotes, and sells it…Throughout he cites more song titles than a Casey Kasem year-end countdown… Song and System is sure to be a hit with readers interested in music or popular culture”
—Booklist
“Harvey Rachlin never ceases to amaze me. Even after recording my first hit song, I’m still learning from this author. Thank you for writing this one. It’s amazing!”
—Tony Orlando
“Harvey explains how it all happened and the evolution in the music industry as we know it today. This is a must read for music lovers!”
—Bobby Rydell
“Bravo! What an achievement! So insightful, educational, and informative of the history of our crazy, wonderful business—a must read for any and all music lovers.”
—Sandy Linzer, co-writer of “Working My Way Back to You,” “A Lover’s Concerto,” “Dawn (Go Away),” “Let’s Hang On!” “Opus 17 (Don’t You Worry ‘Bout Me),” “Keep the Ball Rollin’,” “Native New Yorker,” and many other hit songs
“I always knew Harvey was a terrific editor; I had no idea he was such a brilliant researcher as well!”
—Janis Ian
An amazing book covering all the history of popular music from beginning to end. Perfect for any music lover, history buff, or musician who wants to know the background of what they’re listening to or playing.”
—Dutch Robinson, lead singer of the Ohio Players
Published February 2020
by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN-13: 9781538112120
ISBN-10: 1538112124