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Reference Books
Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios by Jim Cogan and William Clark
Though
not exactly about easy listening, this book--newly published in 2003--is a
"must-read" for anyone who has an interest in recording studios,
record production and recording history. The authors make it clear that
the hidden artists behind great recordings are the producers, recording
engineers and the studios themselves. Each of the 15 chapters features a
different studio and the associated personnel. This volume gives personal
glimpses into some of the artists as well as describing how some of the
special trademark sounds in certain recordings were made.
If
you ever wanted to find a song for a special occasion, The Green
Book of Songs by Subject: The Thematic Guide to Popular Music by
Jeff Green is the book for you. It’s a 1,569-page reference book that
contains more than 86,000 song listings; 35,000 popular songs and album
tracks; 24,000 albums; 9,100 artists; 4,000 search terms and keywords; and
1,500 labels. We don't know of any better source that
discusses songs by subject the way this volume does. Follow this link
to the publisher's website for
discount pricing and free shipping.
Serge
Elhaïk has written a biography of Paul Mauriat and it's
been getting rave reviews. To quote our good friend, Manfred
Thoenicke (president of the International Ray Conniff Fan Club):
"The book contains everything a fan could dream of: A biography, many
rare photographs, record covers, a discography, a list of his own
compositions..." Only trouble is, it is published in French. Perhaps
one day an English translation will be available.
Stu
Phillips has released his autobiography about his life in the business of
music. Stu Who? is an inside look at the recording
industry--the stars, the bigwigs, the movies--and is full of personal
anecdotes and nostalgia. Best of all, you can get your very own
autographed copy by ordering here.
Exploding:
The Highs, Hits, Hype, Heroes, and Hustlers of the Warner Music Group,
by Stan Cornyn (and contributor Paul Scanlon) is an engaging book that
examines the music industry...from the inside. Cornyn, a 34 year veteran
of Warner, remembers a time when the music was more important than the
money. It's a candid look at the people and events that shaped the
business into what it is today.
Joseph Lanza has written a book entitled
Elevator Music: A
Surreal History of Muzak, Easy Listening and Other Moodsong. Picador
published it in 1994. It is a reasonably good review of easy listening,
although not as deep into the American broadcast industry, record industry
or custom music as much as one might like. If you are a fan of easy
listening, you should read it.
A
really great reference volume is The Great Song Thesaurus by Roger
Lax and Frederick Smith. This 774 page volume has sections where you can
look up songs by title, year or time period, composer, theme, and key
word. There is an excellent section on show music and a very interesting
section named "Elegant Plagiarisms." It’s the best reference
book we’ve found for overall music research. T’aint cheap, though.
Also recommended reading for anyone interested in American popular
music including easy listening is Donald Clarke's The Rise & Fall of
Popular Music, Viking/Penguin.