Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill.

Billboard Books/Watson-Guptill

770 Broadway, New York NY 10003

www.watsonguptill.com

For a solid history of black music's influence on white culture, look no further than Kevin Phinney's SOULED AMERICAN: HOW BLACK MUSIC TRANSFORMED WHITE CULTURE (0823084043, $29.95): it narrows the focus to whites have have been fascinated with the performances and styles of Afro-Americans over the centuries, and provides chapters of social history and music culture which argues that no form of American music is ethnically pure, but represents variations and changes on the musical competition between blacks and whites in this country. From early plantation hollers to rap music and jazz, Phinney covers the co-evolution of a range of black music styles--and each style's influence on white American style. A fascinating, scholarly coverage. Michael Leonard edits THE BILLBOARD ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE GUITAR HANDBOOK: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MAKING MUSIC ON THE GUITAR (0823082636, $24.95): a guide for beginners and advanced musicians who wish to learn about the guitar, from basic playing styles to how to improve one's technique. An expert tutor covers fundamentals, discusses acoustic and electric guitars and their various options, considers musical guitar styles from around the world, and adds maintenance and repair tips along with his technical insights on the instrument. In short, virtually anything needed to produce music on the guitar is packed into a handbook rich in visuals, from photos of players to illustrations of chords. Very highly recommended. Howard Mandel edits BILLBOARD ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAZZ & BLUES: INTERNET LINKS TO SONGS & ARTISTS. There have been many changes to the music in the 20th and 21st centuries, and BILLBOARD ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA traces these changes, offering detailed biographies of the major artists, a decade organizational structure to help readers keep track of influences and changes, surveys of musical styles and sub-genres, and discussing key tracks and recordings of each. Hundreds of photos compliment an extensive in-depth survey written by a team of experts: it may look lie a thick coffee table addition, but there's much more between its covers than photographic fluff.