This is the definitive book on the famous train wrecks from the Steam Age and the folk songs those wrecks inspired. From The Wreck of the Old 97 to Billy Richardson's Last Ride, Katie Letcher Lyle includes it all -- the fascinating stories behind the wrecks, the song lyrics, and the songs themselves, transcribed for easy guitar accompaniment.

In thirteen essays, this book probes ideas and themes that are prominent in contemporary song lyrics. The essays take social change, human interaction, technology, and intellectual development as points of departure for specific examinations of public education, railroads, death, automobiles, and rebels. The essays also examine humor, traditions, and historical events found in answer songs, cover recordings, nursery rhyme adaptations, and novelty tunes.

Crossroads of a Continent: Missouri Railroads, 1851-1921 tells the story of the state's railroads and their vital role in American history. Missouri and St. Louis, its largest city, are strategically located within the American Heartland. On July 4, 1851, when the Pacific Railroad of Missouri began construction in St. Louis, the city took its first step to becoming a major hub for railroads. By the 1920s, the state was crisscrossed with railways reaching toward all points of the compass. Authors Peter A. Hansen, Don L. Hofsommer, and Carlos Arnaldo Schwantes explore the history of Missouri railroads through personal, absorbing tales of the cutthroat competition between cities and between railroads that meant the difference between prosperity and obscurity, the ambitions and dreams of visionaries Fred Harvey and Arthur Stilwell, and the country's excitement over the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 color images of historical railway ephemera, Crossroads of a Continent is an engaging history of key American railroads and of Missouri's critical contribution to the American story.

Rock Music in American Popular Culture III: More Rock ’n’Roll Resources explores the fascinating world of rock music and examines how this medium functions as an expression of cultural and social identity. This nostalgic guide explores the meanings and messages behind some of the most popular rock ’n’roll songs that captured the American spirit, mirrored society, and reflected events in our history. Arranged by themes, Rock Music in American Popular Culture III examines a variety of social and cultural topics with related songs, such as: sex and censorship--“Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel and “Night Moves” by Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band holiday songs--“Rockin’Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee and “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole death--“Leader of the Pack” by The Shangri-Las and “The Unknown Soldier” by The Doors foolish behavior--“When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge and “What Kind of Fool” by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb jobs and the workplace--“Don’t Stand So Close to Me” by The Police and “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley military involvements--“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by the Andrews Sisters and “War” by Edwin Starr novelty recordings--“The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley and “Eat It” by Weird Al Yankovic letters and postal images--“P. S. I Love You” by The Beatles and “Return to Sender” by Elvis Presely In addition, a discography and a bibliography after each section give further examples of the themes and resources being discussed, as do extensive lists of print references at the end of the text.

In this provocative study, Paulette D. Kilmer examines the ways in which the national preoccupation with success and its attendant anxieties have been manifested in popular culture. Her focus is on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries - an era in which industrial growth and urbanization wrought enormous changes in the country.

An exploration of the origins and development of American country music in the Piedmont's mill villages celebrates the colorful cast of musicians and considers the impact that urban living, industrial music, and mass culture had on their lives and music.