Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R&b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956 by Wasserman, Jerry

Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R&b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956

In the tumultuous decade following World War II, the civil rights movement began transforming Black lives and...
$172.34 AUD
$172.34 AUD
SKU: 9781476697116
Product Type: Books
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Author: Jerry Wasserman
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: $172.34
Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R&b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956 by Wasserman, Jerry

Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R&b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956

$172.34

Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R&b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956

$172.34
Author: Jerry Wasserman
Format: Paperback
Language: English

In the tumultuous decade following World War II, the civil rights movement began transforming Black lives and American society. The era also proved momentous for African American popular music: new record labels, new styles, and exciting new sounds in the form of electrified blues combos, rhythm and blues shouters and balladeers, gospel and doo wop quartets. By the late-1950s, with rock 'n' roll dominating the American soundscape, much of the phenomenal Black music of the postwar decade began to drift into relative obscurity.

This book brings a remarkable body of African American music, excluding jazz, back into sharp focus, and explores its connections to the socio-political dreams of Black America during that period of frustrated hopes and great expectations. With close attention to the singers, musicians, and lyrics in hundreds of recordings from 1946 to 1956, it offers for the first time a detailed examination of four musical genres along the blues continuum: blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, and secular harmony (better known as doo wop). Meet the artists and listen to the sounds and themes of Black America in the musically explosive decade before rock 'n' roll.



Author: Jerry Wasserman
Publisher: McFarland & Company
Published: 05/21/2025
Pages: 232
Binding Type: Paperback
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.46d
ISBN: 9781476697116

About the Author
Jerry Wasserman lives in Vancouver, Canada, where he is emeritus professor of English and Theatre at the University of British Columbia. He has written or edited five books and lectured widely on African American music, including twice at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is also an actor with more than 200 film and TV credits.

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