The Cambridge Companion to the Singer-Songwriter
The Cambridge Companion to the Singer-Songwriter
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Most often associated with modern artists such as Bob Dylan, Elton John, Don McLean, Neil Diamond, and Carole King, the singer-songwriter tradition in fact has a long and complex history dating back to the medieval troubadour and earlier. This Companion explains the historical contexts, musical analyses, and theoretical frameworks of the singer-songwriter tradition. Divided into five parts, the book explores the tradition in the context of issues including authenticity, gender, queer studies, musical analysis, and performance. The contributors reveal how the tradition has been expressed around the world and throughout its history to the present day. Essential reading for enthusiasts, practitioners, students, and scholars, this book features case studies of a wide range of both well and lesser-known singer-songwriters, from Thomas d'Urfey through to Carole King and Kanye West.
- Explains the development of the term singer-songwriter and its related musical idiom to reveal the history and origins of the genre
- Offers a range of analytical frameworks for popular music studies and includes examples for students studying and analysing popular music
- Discusses the singer-songwriter tradition around the world and its digital fan culture to situate the study of popular music in its social contexts
Reviews & endorsements
"… lead[s] the reader to analyse big themes in music: genre, race, gender, societal trends and industry machinations."
Jeanette Leach, Shindig!
'There is emphasis on singer-songwriters from the LGBTQ community. Including detailed notes, this fascinating survey will have something for anyone interested in the topic.' R. D. Cohen, Choice
'The editors are clear in their introduction that this companion is aimed both at readers who like and perform and engage with popular music and also at students and teachers and researchers involved with formal (and informal) study of popular music. By this token, implied themes such as gender and sexuality, race and politics emerge regularly throughout the work, and these are used to explain and illuminate the singing-songwriting creative act itself.' Stuart Hannabuss, Reference Reviews
Product details
March 2016Hardback
9781107063648
386 pages
244 × 170 × 22 mm
1.12kg
12 b/w illus. 5 tables 32 music examples
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction Katherine Williams and Justin A. Williams
- Part I. Establishing a Tradition:
- 1. The emergence of the singer-songwriter David R. Shumway
- 2. Singer-songwriters of the German Lied Natasha Loges and Katy Hamilton
- 3. Bill Monroe, bluegrass music, and the politics of authorship Mark Finch
- 4. Singer-songwriters and the English folk tradition Allan F. Moore
- 5. The Brill Building and the creative labour of the professional songwriter Simon Barber
- 6. Forging the singer-songwriter at the Los Angeles Troubadour Christa Bentley
- 7. The 'professional' singer-songwriter in the 1970s Michael Borshuk
- Part II. Individuals:
- 8. Thomas D'Urfey Tōru Mitsui
- 9. Leadbelly Josep Pedro
- 10. Region and identity in Dolly Parton's songwriting Jada Watson
- 11. Authorship and performance in the music of Elton John Phil Allcock
- 12. Depicting the working class in the music of Billy Joel Joshua S. Duchan
- 13. Musical gesture in the songs of Nick Drake Timothy Koozin
- 14. Sampling and storytelling: Kanye West's vocal and sonic narratives Lori Burns, Alyssa Woods and Marc Lafrance
- 15. James Blake, digital lion Madison Moore
- 16. Outside voices and the construction of Adele's singer-songwriter persona Sarah Suhdolnik
- 17. Joanna Newsom's 'Only Skin': authenticity, influence, and the relationship between 'new' and 'old weird America' Jo Collinson-Scott
- Part III. Men and Women:
- 18. Gender, race, and the ma(s)king of 'Joni Mitchell' Kevin Fellezs
- 19. Gender, genre, and diversity at Lilith Fair Jennifer Taylor
- 20. Changing openness and tolerance towards LGBTQ singer-songwriters Katherine Williams
- 21. Tori Amos as shaman Chris McDonald
- 22. Gender identity, the queer gaze and female singer-songwriters Megan Berry
- 23. The female singer-songwriter in the 1990s Sarah Boak
- Part IV. Frameworks and Methods:
- 24. Reconciling theory and practice in the teaching of songwriting Mark Marrington
- 25. Singer-songwriters and open mics Marcus Aldredge
- 26. Singer-songwriter authenticity, the unconscious and emotions (feat. Adele's 'Someone Like You') Rupert Till
- Part V. Global Perspectives:
- 27. Don McGlashan and local authenticity Nick Braae
- 28. Italian Canzone d'autore and Greek Entecho tragoudi: a comparative overview Franco Fabbri and Ioannis Tsioulakis
- 29. Singer-songwriters in the digital age Lucy Bennett.
