Author: Roberto Caselli

From blues to jazz, from soul to funky, from R&B to rap, the history of Afro-American music and song described through the social and political aspects that have influenced its extraordinary adventure.

In the history of Black music, blues and gospel represent the origin of everything, they emerged as a way to process the existence of the individual but also as a collective reaction to the drama of slavery. Over time, these music genres have evolved into others and others more. But what were the social situations that determined their origin and diffusion? What is the common trait that describes the journey towards awareness of Afro-Americans and their rebellion?

This book intends to investigate among the folds of these historical moments and explore the ethical, social and religious reasons that gave rise to all the kinds of music that developed from seminal blues and gospel to reach, through jazz, soul, funky, reggae and rap, and trap music, the most recent important form of musical expression invented by the Black community.

This is the first book, in Italy, to address Black music from a historical, musical and socio-political viewpoint, without neglecting society.

The first complete history of blues, from its African roots to the latest stylistic evolutions of the new millennium, in a new edition now featuring a whole section on Italian blues.

Blues is the adventure of the African Americans trying to shrug off slavery and find a new identity; the intimate voice of swing, bebop and even free jazz after the re-emergence of the darkest ghosts of the past back in the

Sixties.

This book talks about rural acoustic, urban, electric and rock blues. We meet well-known figures as well as hundreds of less prominent but equally significant figures who originated unimaginable stylistic ramifications and amazing stories to tell.

This new edition features a useful name index as well as a section on Italian blues, whose players have gained worldwide recognition and awards.

18 maggio 1957: al Palazzo del Ghiaccio di Milano va in scena il primo festival italiano di rock’n’roll. Tra i protagonisti, un imberbe Adriano Celentano, appena ribattezzato “il molleggiato”, ma pure Tony Renis, Baby Gate (poi conosciuta come Mina), Giorgio Gaber, Luigi Tenco ed Enzo Jannacci. Finalmente, musica e cultura rock esplodono anche in Italia!

Nonostante il ritardo con cui viene assimilato, il rock conquista una fetta consistente di mercato discografico e diventa per milioni di giovani uno degli strumenti principali di comunicazione, condivisione e ribellione.

Partendo dal 1957, questo libro racconta più di 60 anni di rock in Italia incrociando le vicende dei principali protagonisti, quelle di canzoni, dischi essenziali, concerti e festival, giornali, riviste specializzate e trasmissioni radio/tv con i principali avvenimenti del contesto storico-sociale che ne ha permesso sviluppo e successo.

In oltre 350 pagine, ricche di illustrazioni a colori, l’opera passa così in rassegna l’Italia della ricostruzione, del boom economico e delle grandi contestazioni, con tutte le antinomie e le speranze che le hanno caratterizzate; per poi arrivare, attraverso i decenni, ai giorni nostri e mostrare come la cultura giovanile, di cui il rock è parte integrante, rappresenti sempre il cuneo fondamentale per scardinare vecchie idee e imporre nuove mode e filosofie.

Non solo la storia del rock italiano, dunque, ma anche quella altrettanto affascinante di musica e cultura rock in Italia.

For centuries, song and poetry were indivisible. And even when they started to grow apart, they still stuck to the same rules of rhyme and structure for a long time Italy has a veritable wealth of songs that sing about Italy and Italians with such depth and insight that in some outstanding cases they become universal. The book analyses the development of Italian song, particularly the importance of the social contexts that affected it throughout the ages; it shows that even the study of a so-called “minor” art can complement or even replace what is told in history books.