Cool Books about Music

Last week I wrote about Book/CD Sets about Music. This week's post has books about music. These books have no CDs attached (wish they did!), but they still have lots of good information about different types of music. I’ve included the call numbers so you’ll know what library sections to look in to find more books about music.

Sound Trackers Series

Rock ‘n’ Roll by Bob Brunning [J 781.66]

Starting with the first rock ‘n’ rollers, such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, this book covers a wide range of early rockers. Chances are, whatever music you are listening to now, it was strongly influenced by these musicians.

Reggae by Bob Brunning [J 781.646]

Are you familiar with reggae music? It started in Jamaica, a tiny island country in the Caribbean Sea. Probably the most famous reggae musician in the US was Bob Marley (I love Bob Marley!). This book tracks some of the musicians of the reggae world. As with rock and roll, reggae probably influenced the music you listen to now.

Heavy Metal by Bob Brunning [J 781.66]

You may already know more about heavy metal music than I do. Although I certainly have heard a lot of this music, I never really developed much of a liking for it. But I know lots of kids who still listen to heavy metal. This book starts with AC/DC and Aerosmith and continues through Van Halen. Again, this music definitely influenced today’s music.

Other titles in this series:

1960s Pop

1970s Pop

1980s Pop

Crabtree Contact History of Music Series

The History of Pop by Ben Hubbard [J 784]

Pop is short for Popular Music. According to this book, all pop songs have things in common: a tune you remember, verses and choruses, certain instruments (guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and singing) and a few other things. Early pop music started in the 1950s with the world’s first pop star, Elvis Presley. This book covers the 1950s through the 1990s, plus into the 2000s.

The History of Hip Hop by Melanie J. Cornish [784]

Hip Hop music began in the early 1970s on the street of the South Bronx, in New York City. There are 4 parts that are important to hip hop. The MC writes the rhymes and then raps them over a beat. The DJ provides the musical background. The dancer dances to the music and beat. The graffiti artist creates art in places where DJs and MCs are making music. This book covers many hip hop artists.

Also in this series:

The History of Rock

What music do you listen to? Write it in the Comments Box!

Gail