Legends of Pop

By Derek Caney

For fans, history buffs and book afficionados, Legends of Pop, part of a trio of collectible hardcover books, features the biggest pop legends of all time (see also Legends of Rock and Legends of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1403737207
• ISBN13: 9781403737205
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Dalmatian Pr
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 13.0" x 0.8" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Singers of every stripe

Just what *is* pop music, anyway? This book never explicitly defines the term, but by looking through the 99 entries (why there aren't 100, as in the other books in the series, isn't clear; they could have added John Denver, Engelbert Humperdinck, Julio Iglesias, or Carly Simon and they'd have had it) you can begin to get a rough notion of what it covers. Done in the same format as Legends of Rock (Music Trivia) and (Legends (Dalmatian Press))Legends of Country, it includes 98 performers (both solo artists and groups) and one producer (Phil Spector). The selections range from Elvis and the Beatles to Ricky Nelson, the Monkees, the Eagles, and Duran Duran, to Fats Domino, Britney Spears, and Frank Sinatra. There are country artists (five of whom are also profiled in "Legends of Country"), rock singers (11 also appear in "Legends of Rock"), rappers (Dr. Dre, Eminem), R & B singers (James Brown), and easy-listening types (Pat Boone, Barry Manilow, and the Carpenters). Though not as homogenous as the other volumes, it should provide some insight into the history of 20th-century music and ideas for listening. Now, you editors at Dalmatian, how about volumes on folk, jazz, and blues as well?

Want to learn pop/rock history? This is a great place to start.

If you know a kid who's digging on the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana and wants to know more about what came before the acts that are on the radio this week -- or you just think he or she ought to know -- this is an excellent book. The writing also has enough humor and cynicism (mostly implied, rarely overt) so that it makes for good adult reading as well. The author obviously knows his stuff, making the most of the limited space he has to give the nuts and bolts of 100 artists ranging from The Jam to Britney Spears. Along with brief biographies, you get nice pics and interesting facts and nuggets. Did you know that Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti cowrote an Eagles song? Me neither! My only complaint is that the book isn't long enough -- each chapter left me wanting to know more. But this book wasn't designed to be an in-depth biography of these artists. As a taster that will hopefully influence you to delve further into some of these artists, it's perfect.