The Virgin Encyclopaedia of the Blues is a complete handbook of information and opinion about the history of the most classically simple, enduring and inspiring genre in the history of popular music. All entries have been created from the massive database of The Encyclopaedia of Popular Music, which has swiftly and firmly established itself as the undisputed champion of contemporary music reference books. Brand new research ensures that the 1000 entries are bang up-to-date and cover everyone - the musicians, bands, songwriters, producers and record labels - who has made a significant impact on the development of the blues. It brings together pioneers like Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson, the influence of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon on the blues boom of the 1960s, and the most recent blues resurgence featuring Keb'Mo, Larry Garner and Jonny Lang. As well as the giants of the blues, this encyclopaedia has the range and depth to include performers who flew the blues flag during fallow periods, the 1980s band Roomful of Blues for example, or acts like Paul Butterfield, Chicken Shack, Stevie Ray Vaughan, who took the music to a wider, whiter, audience. Some blues musicians, including John Lee Hooker and Taj Mahal, seem to last forever. Others simply defined the genre, like Lead Belly, Bessie Smith and Howlin' Wolf. Whomever you remember or want to know more about, each entry gives the essential elements - dates, career facts, discography and album ratings - as well as a sense of context, striking a balance between the extremes of the self-opinionated and the bland.

This is a complete handbook of information and opinion about the history of R&B and soul music. Based on the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, the book contains over 1000 entries covering musicians, bands, songwriters, producers and record labels which have made a significant impact on the development of R&B and soul music. It brings together people such as Otis Reading and Aretha Franklin with the great Philly groups of the 1970s, the mainstream soul of Will Downing and Anita Baker and the modern generation of artists such as Mary J. Blige, Babyface and Toni Braxton. As well as headline acts, the book also covers performers who flourished briefly. Each entry offers information such as dates, career facts, discography and album ratings.

This is a complete handbook of information and opinion about the history of blues music. Based on the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, this book contains over 1000 entries covering musicians, bands, songwriters, producers and record labels which have made a significant impact on the development of blues music. It brings together people such as Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson, the influence of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon and more recent figures such as Keb' Mo and Jonny Lang. Each entry offers information such as dates, career facts, discography and album ratings.

This comprehensive two-volume set brings together all aspects of the blues from performers and musical styles to record labels and cultural issues, including regional evolution and history. Organized in an accessible A-to-Z format, the Encyclopedia of the Blues is an essential reference resource for information on this unique American music genre. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclopedia of the Blues website.

The aim of this book is to provide a complete handbook of information and opinion about the history of the music of the 1950s. There are over 1000 entries on the bands, musicians, songwriters, producers and record labels of this decade, everyone who had any significant impact on the postwar music culture which gave birth to rock and roll. From Doris Day, Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry and Frank Sinatra to the Everley Brothers, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Elvis Presley, this encyclopaedia aims to answer any query about any aspect of 50s music. As well as the giants of the decade, the book also includes those artists who flourished briefly such as Frankie Ford and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.

The first full-length authoritative Encyclopedia on the Blues as a musical form. A to Z in format, this work covers not only the performers, but also musical styles, regions, record labels and cultural aspects of the blues.

This revised and updated definitive blues bibliography now includes 6,000-7,000 entries to cover the last decade’s writings and new figures to have emerged on the Country and modern blues to the R&B scene.