Amazon.com description: Product Description: The following group of essays illustrates the diversity of contemporary popular music research. The studies provided below range from biographical sketches of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Robert Palmer to profiles of Texas music, jazz legends, and Vietnam War songs. Other chapters examine the fascinating phenomena of cover recording, duo acts, and tribute songs. In the realm of socially relevant lyrical commentaries, the images of women in recorded music is explored. The role of popular music in leisure activities is also addressed through studies about disc jockeys, love letters, and record collecting. A chapter about male / female singing duos is also included. Finally, several brief commentaries address topics including the selection of rock band names, the rise of King Records in Cincinnati, the influence of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and the zaniness of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. An extensive bibliography of important popular music research publications is also provided.