Lexington Books
Pages: 256
Trim: 6⅜ x 9
978-1-4985-3098-9 • Hardback • March 2019 • $117.00 • (£90.00)
978-1-4985-3100-9 • Paperback • July 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)
978-1-4985-3099-6 • eBook • March 2019 • $42.50 • (£35.00)
Timothy Dodge is reference librarian at Auburn University and holds a PhD in history from the University of New Hampshire.
Preface
Introduction
1. What Is Calypso?
2. Calypso Comes to the United States
3. The Arrival of Rhythm & Blues
4. Rhythm & Blues Goes Calypso
Conclusion
Bibliography
Discography
With Rhythm and Blues Goes Calypso Dodge (Auburn Univ.) makes a unique contribution to the music literature and fills a void in the scholarly record. A reference librarian and a historian, Dodge looks at the intersection of Caribbean music and popular music of the US, particularly in the 1950s. He notes that the blues, boogie-woogie, jazz, and gospel genres were all components of R & B, and he looks at how calypso impacted the development of R & B for the better part of 20 years. Obviously well versed in this music, Dodge meticulously cites important work throughout this book, and he provides ample musical examples, in so doing pointing the way for future researchers. This book will most directly inform those studying the development of popular music in the US and those involved in Caribbean studies, and it will be a significant and important addition to reading lists in those areas.Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers.— Choice Reviews
Timothy Dodge explores the phenomenon starting with a brief history of calypso music as it developed in its land of origin, Trinidad and Tobago, the music's arrival in the U.S., a brief history of the development of rhythm and blues, and a detailed description and analysis of the adaption of calypso by African American R & B artists between 1945 and 1965. The book also makes musical and cultural connections between the West Indian immigrant community and the broader African American community that produced this musical hybrid.— Echoes Of The Past
I must say, I found this book fascinating. It is well researched, well written and completely documented with over 500 end notes. . . . Highly recommended for popular music scholars and R&B fans alike.— Classic Urban Harmony
This is a thought-provoking, interesting and readable book.— Blues & Rhythm
In Rhythm and Blues Goes Calypso, Tim Dodge provides a thorough, insightful, and highly readable account of an intriguing and understudied niche genre in American popular music history.— Peter L. Manuel, John Jay College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
This book has some treasures for those who are interested in the relationship between calypso and African American music.
— New West Indian Guide