Love for Sale: Pop Music in America

This latest offering by music fan, professor, established critic, and author Hajdu (Positively 4th Street; Lush Life) marvels at the history of popular music bolstered by interviews with major artists conducted over the years, personal experiences, and a wide range of supporting research. The author discusses how the publishing of sheet music in the late 1800s made songs accessible to millions and turned the genre into a commodity that could be bought and sold, thereby starting a "music industry." Also covered are evolutions of a variety of types of popular music (with African American artists almost always breaking new ground and leading the way), with related trips through performance, recording, dance, and video. The author demonstrates technology's contribution to shifts in the delivery of pop music as well as its creation. For example, records originally focused on the reproduction of live performances, then the artistic role of the producer grew, playing a greater part in sonic creations and manipulations.