About the Book:

The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock maps the world of pop and rock, pinpointing the most significant moments in its history and presenting the key issues involved in understanding popular culture's most vital art form. Expert writers chart the changing patterns in the production and consumption of popular music, the emergence of a vast industry with a turnover of billions and the rise of fifteen global stars from Elvis to Public Enemy, Nirvana to the Spice Girls. They trace the way new technologies — from the amplifier to the Internet — have changed the sounds and practises of pop and they analyze the way maverick entrepreneurs have given way to multimedia corporations. Alive to areas of current debate, they also focus on issues such as race and ethnicity, politics, gender and globalization. The anthology contains profiles of major figures from the pop and rock field. But at the heart of this companion is the music itself — rock, pop, black music, dance music, world music — its impact, its power and its pleasures.

The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock contains full profiles of a selection of figures from the pop and rock world:

• Other books are guides or encyclopedias — this provides material for further discussion

• Fifteen legendary stars and groups profiled

• Written by specialists in the field representing a rich variety of national and disciplinary perspectives

What people say:

"Whilst being of essential reading to the student of pop and rock it is also of interest to anyone who enjoys reading about the social history of our time." — Yorkshire Gazette

"This thought-provoking companion gives would be students a taster of what they might encounter on the several courses now available … it is to the book's credit that it adopts an all-encompassing approach." — Music Teacher

"Suitable as an introductory-level undergraduate book and there is also sufficient novelty of approach within some of the chapters to interest graduates and researchers alike." — European Journal of Communication

About the Author:

Simon Frith has been Tovey Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh since 2006, moving there from the University of Stirling, where he was a Professor of Film and Media.

Will Straw is Professor of Communications in the Department of Art History and Communications at McGill University and currently serves as Departmental Chair.

John Street is Reader in Politics, University of East Anglia.