Song Books - 'American Popular Song' labours of love

'The Original Hot Five Recordings of Louis Armstrong' by Gen H Anderson, Pendragon Press 2007.

'Spreadin' Rhythm Around - black popular songwriters 1880 - 1930' by David A Jason and Gene Jones, Routledge 2005.

'The Young Louis Armstrong on Records - a critical survey of the early recordings 1923 - 28' - Studies in Jazz No.39 by Edward Brooks, Scarecrow Press 2002.

'Easy to Remember - the great American Songwriters and their songs' by William Zinsser, David R Godine 2001.

'Walk on By - Soundtrack of the Century' by Alan Lewens, Harper Collins 2001.

'Louis Armstrong - his life, his music, his recordings' by Abbi Hubner, Oreos 2001.

'The Unsung Songwriters - America's Masters of Melody' - Studies in Jazz No.34 by Warren Vache, Scarecrow Press 2000.

'The Loudest Trumpet - Buddy Bolden and the Early History of Jazz' by Daniel Hardie, toExel 2000.

'Tunesmith - inside the art of songwriting' by Jimmy Webb, Hyperion, 1998.

'Irving Berlin - a life in song' by Philip Furia, Schirmer Books 1998.

'Let the Good Times Roll - the Story of Louis Jordan and His Music' by John Chilton, Michigan 1997.

'The Rise and Fall of Popular Music' by Donald Clarke, Penguin 1995.

'Remembering Song - Encounters with the New Orleans Jazz Tradition' by Frederick Turner, Da Capo 1994.

'From Cakewalks to Concert Halls - An Illustrated History of American Popular Music from 1895 - 1930' by Thomas L Morgan, Elliot & Clarke 1992.

'Duke Ellington Jazz Composer' by Ken Rattenbury, Yale University 1990.

'The Swing Era - the development of jazz 1930-45' by Gunther Schuller, Oxford University Press 1989.

'Let's Face the Music - The Golden Age of Popular Song' by Benny Green, Pavilion Books 1989.

'Irving Berlin and Ragtime America' by Ian Whitcomb, Century Hutchinson, 1987.

'The Jazz Age - Popular Music in the 1920s' by Arnold Shaw, Oxford University Press 1987.

'White Boys Singin' the Blues- the black roots of white rock' by Michael Bane, Da Carpo 1982.

'The Jews on Tin Pan Alley - The Jewish Contribution to American Popular Music 1830 - 1940' by Kenneth Aaron Kanter, Ktav Publishing House 1982.

'The Bessie Smith Companion' by Edward Brooks, Da Carpo 1982.

'Yesterdays - Popular Song in America' by Charles Hamm, Norton 1979.

'Tell Your Story - A Dictionary of Jazz and Blues Recordings 1917 -1950' by Eric Townley, Storyville Publications 1976.

'Stomping the Blues' by Albert Murray, Da Carpo 1976.

'The Big Bands Songbook' by George T Simon, Thomas Y Crowell 1975.

'Big Band Jazz' by Albert McCarthy, Barrie and Jenkins 1974.

'After the Ball - Pop Music from Rag to Rock' by Ian Whitcomb, Penguin 1972.

'American Popular Song - The Great Innovators 1900 - 1950' by Alec Wilder, Oxford University Press 1972.

'They All Played Ragtime' by Rudi Blesh and Harriet Janis, Oak Publications 1971.

'Lost Chords - The Diverting Story of American Popular Songs' by Douglas Gilbert, Cooper Square Publishers 1970.

'Early  Jazz - its roots and musical development' by Gunther Schuller, Oxford University Press 1968.

'Shining Trumpets - a History of Jazz' by Rudi Blesh, Cassell 1949.

john p birchall

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