{"product_id":"life-could-be-a-dream-african-american-blues-r-b-gospel-and-doo-wop-1946-1956-paperback","title":"Life Could Be a Dream: African American Blues, R\u0026b, Gospel and Doo Wop, 1946-1956 - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJerry Wasserman\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In the tumultuous decade following World War II, the civil rights movement began transforming Black lives and American society. The era also proved momentous for African American popular music: new record labels, new styles, and exciting new sounds in the form of electrified blues combos, rhythm and blues shouters and balladeers, gospel and doo wop quartets. By the late 1950s, with rock 'n' roll dominating the American soundscape, much of the phenomenal Black music of the postwar decade began to drift into relative obscurity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This book brings a remarkable body of African American music, excluding jazz, back into sharp focus, and explores its connections to the socio-political dreams of Black America during that period of frustrated hopes and great expectations. With close attention to the singers, musicians, and lyrics in hundreds of recordings from 1946 to 1956, it offers for the first time a detailed examination of four musical genres along the blues continuum: blues, rhythm \u0026amp; blues, gospel, and secular harmony (better known as doo wop). Meet the artists and listen to the sounds and themes of Black America in a musically explosive decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJerry Wasserman\u003c\/b\u003e lives in Vancouver, Canada, where he is emeritus professor of English and Theatre at the University of British Columbia. He has written or edited five books and lectured widely on African American music, including twice at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is also an actor with more than 200 film and TV credits.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 265\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.46 x 10 x 7 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 15, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53387451957555,"sku":"9781476697116","price":96.91,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/JTw9iVXfvH9781476697116.webp?v=1779440154","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/en-ca\/products\/life-could-be-a-dream-african-american-blues-r-b-gospel-and-doo-wop-1946-1956-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}