Sign-In
Cart
The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1)
Paperback
Series: The Greatest Record Ever Made!, Book 1
Publisher: Syracuse Noise LLC
Published: Jul 10 2024
Pages: 484
Weight: 1.22
Height: 0.97 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Our favorite records don't live in isolation. Each one has a story.
Insisting that an infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made (as long as they take turns), writer and DJ Carl Cafarelli's book THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) ties together threads connecting classic rock, soul, pop, punk, hip hop, and bubblegum across decades of hits, misses, critics' darlings, one-hit wonders, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, and complete unknowns. The result reads like an irresistible mix tape in book form, compelling the reader to follow its flow from song to song and chapter to chapter as if it were a novel.
As an experienced pop historian and journalist, Cafarelli knows the importance of recording facts and figures accurately. But passion is of equal importance. We don't crank the volume for fave rave sounds as academics; we listen as fans, as people living this complicated life with music as not merely its soundtrack, but as its heartbeat. Records reflect our hopes, our disappointments, our successes, our mourning, our love, our bitterness, our fear, and our will to dance in spite of it all.
Why did the Monkees go from the top of the pops in 1967 to seeming has-been status in 1968? How did James Brown respond to the British Invasion? What minefields of racism, sexism, homophobia, ambition, frustration, depression, or loss were navigated by Little Richard, Dusty Springfield, the Go-Go's, Elvis, Sly and the Family Stone, the Kinks, the Beach Boys, the Supremes, and Material Issue's Jim Ellison? Were the Ramones as much a bubblegum band as they were a punk band? When does a group succeed or fail in its quixotic quest to be the next Beatles?
And why does listening to pop music sometimes make us want to cry?
Carl Cafarelli is the author of Gabba Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones (Rare Bird Books 2023). He has written for Goldmine, DISCoveries, The Syracuse New Times, Feral House, Routledge, Visible Ink Press, AHOY Comics, and Rhino Records. Since 1998, he has been the co-host (with Dana Bonn) of the internationally-renowned weekly broadcast and internet radio show This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl, and he is the author of the daily blog Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do). THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) mixes history lessons, artist appreciation, and the ways in which the records we love can deeply affect our personal lives.
THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE! (VOLUME 1) is unlike any other rock or pop book you've ever seen. The infinite awaits. It's our turn now.
Also from
Cafarelli, Carl
Also in
Music Reference
Designed for Hi-Fi Living: The Vinyl LP in Midcentury America
Borgerson, Janet
Schroeder, Jonathan
Paperback
Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance
Eichler, Jeremy
Hardcover
Must-See Sci-Fi: 50 Movies That Are Out of This World
Turner Classic Movies
de Forest, Sloan
Paperback
Nothing But Love in God's Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement
Darden, Robert
Hardcover
Smash!: Green Day, the Offspring, Bad Religion, Nofx, and the '90s Punk Explosion
Winwood, Ian
Hardcover
Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland
Kahn, Ashley
Hardcover
Punk in 50 Pieces: Punk Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave, and the Five Years That Changed Pop Music Forever
Dettmar, Kevin
Hardcover
With a Little Help from Their Friends: The Beatles and the People Who Made Them
Maconie, Stuart
Hardcover
Emo Revival: Community, Diy, and Rebirth in Post-Hardcore and Emo (2008-2018)
Sacher, Andrew
Paperback
Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an American Awakening
Newton, Jim
Hardcover
Bust a Move: Matt Dike, Delicious Vinyl, and the Hip-Hop Hits That First Conquered Pop
Relic, Peter
Hardcover
Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion
Deville, Chris
Hardcover
Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles
Emerick, Geoff
Massey, Howard
Paperback
Raised on Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola - The Aor Glory Years 1976-1986
Rees, Paul
Hardcover
The Cello Who Loved Me: An accidental pilgrimage to master the world's most beautiful instrument
Sorensen, George
Paperback
Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
Goodman, Lizzy
Paperback
Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008
Payne, Chris
Paperback
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
Azerrad, Michael
Paperback
Dolly Parton: The Stories Behind the Songs: The Very Best Tracks, Explored and Explained
Zaleski, Annie
Hardcover
Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Faber, Toby
Paperback
Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock
Gould, Jonathan
Hardcover
This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music
Rogers, Susan
Ogas, Ogi
Paperback
Raps of Resistance: How Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole Reignited a Hip-Hop Tradition
Hopkins, Earl
McCool, Jeremy C.
Hardcover
Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology
Sutton, Daud
Lundy, Miranda
Ashton, Anthony
Hardcover
Made on Earth for Rising Stars: The Electro-Harmonix Story
Danger, Daniel
Epstein, Dan
Scott, Josh
Paperback
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
Brewster, Bill
Broughton, Frank
Paperback
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
Selvin, Joel
Paperback
Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved
Martin, Russell
Paperback
Positively Fourth and Mercer: The Inside Story of New York's Iconic Music Club, the Bottom Line
Altman, Billy
Pepper, Allan
Hardcover
Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies
Des Barres, Pamela
Paperback
Mystery Train, 50th Anniversary Edition: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music
Marcus, Greil
Paperback
Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
Escott, Colin
Hawkins, Martin
Paperback
Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves
Riva, Chris Dalla
Hardcover
Ocean of Sound: Ambient Sound and Radical Listening in the Age of Communication
Toop, David
Paperback
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970
Lewisohn, Mark
Paperback
Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever
Hermes, Will
Paperback
Resident Punk: How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the '70s Punk Scene (and Beyond)
McNeil, Legs
Hardcover
Deliver Me from Nowhere (Movie Tie-In): The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska
Zanes, Warren
Paperback
Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever
Fairbanks, Brian
Hardcover
Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track
Margotin, Philippe
Guesdon, Jean-Michel
Hardcover
The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life
Gennari, John
Hardcover
A Whole Lotta History: One Direction and the Sound That Shaped a Generation
Lipshutz, Jason
Hardcover
Verdi With a Vengeance: An Energetic Guide to the Life and Complete Works of the King of Opera
Berger, William
Paperback
Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties
Wald, Elijah
Paperback
Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio, the Ultimate Edition
Babiuk, Andy
Hardcover
Are We Still Rolling? Studios, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll - One Man's Journey Recording Classic Albums
Brown, Phill
Paperback
The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
Neil, Vince
Sixx, Nikki
Lee, Tommy
Paperback
How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music
Fensterstock, Alison
National Public Radio Inc
Hardcover
A Modern Guide to Old World Singing: Concepts of the Swedish-Italian and Italian Singing Schools
Jones, David L.
Paperback
Making Rumours: The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album
Stiefel, Steve
Caillat, Ken
Paperback