Listen free for 30 days
-
American Epic
- When Music Gave America Her Voice
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
American Epic
Buy Now for $27.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
The companion book to the groundbreaking PBS and BBC documentary series celebrating the pioneers and artists of American roots music - blues, gospel, folk, Cajun, Appalachian, Hawaiian, Native American - without which there would be no jazz, rock, country R&B, or hip-hop today.
In the 1920s and 1930s, as radio took over the pop music business, record companies were forced to leave their studios in major cities in search of new styles and markets. Ranging the mountains, prairies, rural villages, and urban ghettos of America, they discovered a wealth of unexpected talent - farmers, laborers, and ethnic minorities playing styles that blended the intertwining strands of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Fortunately, thanks to the continuing efforts of cultural detectives and record devotees, the stories of America's earliest musicians can finally be told. Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty spent years traveling around the United States in search of recollections of those musical pioneers. Their fascinating account, written with the assistance of Elijah Wald, continues the journey of the series and features additional stories.