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Book Review
Dec. 2nd, 2017 03:52 pmYesterdays: Popular Song in America
by Charles Hamm
Yesterdays is a very thorough and interesting chronicle of the history and development of popular song in America. It was published in 1979, so only goes as far as the mid-1970s. Hamm includes lots of illuminating examples of lyrics and music and profiles many significant and interesting songwriters.
The highlights of this book are the sections covering the 19th century and the Tin Pan Alley era. Hamm delves into the influence of various immigrant groups and trends in European classical music, showing how the overall cultural and political history of the United States affected popular music. I especially liked the exploration of the effects of the Civil War on music and musical life on both sides of the war. The writing is clear and engaging throughout.
This book falls down on three points. First, as it was written in the 1970s, it is very superficial and a bit naive when it comes to issues of race and gender. Hamm acknowledges the problems inherent in minstrel shows and in the ways white musicians drew on and exploited elements of African-American music, but fails to look closer or provide any deeper analysis of racial politics and the way they shaped popular music. The only exception to this is Hamm's astute observations of the ways in which moral panic over early rock n roll was as much about its racially integrated nature as it was about the content of the music itself. Unfortunately, Hamm does not address issues of gender or sexism at all, but does see fit to extensively quote some rather sexist writing about female rock musicians without comment. The second failing also affects Hamm's treatment of race. In covering the periods after WWII, Hamm lets his focus be largely dictated by the Billboard and Variety sales charts, which were solidly based on the race of the performers and audience for much of the twentieth century. This results in some glaring gaps in coverage, especially around Motown. The last failing is the cursory and sometimes dismissive treatment of post-1960 rock. Hamm does not appear to have cultivated anything other than a superficial understanding of these groups or this music, and completely misses the significance of early metal groups.
by Charles Hamm
Yesterdays is a very thorough and interesting chronicle of the history and development of popular song in America. It was published in 1979, so only goes as far as the mid-1970s. Hamm includes lots of illuminating examples of lyrics and music and profiles many significant and interesting songwriters.
The highlights of this book are the sections covering the 19th century and the Tin Pan Alley era. Hamm delves into the influence of various immigrant groups and trends in European classical music, showing how the overall cultural and political history of the United States affected popular music. I especially liked the exploration of the effects of the Civil War on music and musical life on both sides of the war. The writing is clear and engaging throughout.
This book falls down on three points. First, as it was written in the 1970s, it is very superficial and a bit naive when it comes to issues of race and gender. Hamm acknowledges the problems inherent in minstrel shows and in the ways white musicians drew on and exploited elements of African-American music, but fails to look closer or provide any deeper analysis of racial politics and the way they shaped popular music. The only exception to this is Hamm's astute observations of the ways in which moral panic over early rock n roll was as much about its racially integrated nature as it was about the content of the music itself. Unfortunately, Hamm does not address issues of gender or sexism at all, but does see fit to extensively quote some rather sexist writing about female rock musicians without comment. The second failing also affects Hamm's treatment of race. In covering the periods after WWII, Hamm lets his focus be largely dictated by the Billboard and Variety sales charts, which were solidly based on the race of the performers and audience for much of the twentieth century. This results in some glaring gaps in coverage, especially around Motown. The last failing is the cursory and sometimes dismissive treatment of post-1960 rock. Hamm does not appear to have cultivated anything other than a superficial understanding of these groups or this music, and completely misses the significance of early metal groups.
