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2013 Winners: ARSC Awards for Excellence

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 ARSC Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Begun in 1991, the awards are presented to authors and publishers of books, articles, liner notes, and monographs, to recognize outstanding published research in the field of recorded sound. In giving these awards, ARSC recognizes outstanding contributions, encourages high standards, and promotes awareness of superior works. Two awards may be presented annually in each category—one for best history and one for best discography. Certificates of Merit are presented to runners-up of exceptionally high quality. The 2013 Awards for Excellence honor works published in 2012.

All of the honorees have now been notified, and certificates and one year memberships to ARSC are being produced and distributed. The winners will also be acknowledged at the awards ceremony at the ARSC national conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 2014.


Select titles below for links to   
   

 

 

[ Best Research in Recorded Blues, Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, or Soul Music ]

Best History

WhenILeftHome
When I Left Home: My Story, by Buddy Guy and David Ritz (Da Capo)

Certificate of Merit

Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans
Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans, by Matt Miller (University of Massachusetts Press)

[ Best Research in Recorded Classical Music ]

Best History

Charles Munch
Charles Munch, by D. Kern Holoman (Oxford University Press)

Best Discography

Giacomo Puccini: A Discography by Roger Flury
Giacomo Puccini: A Discography, by Roger Flury (Scarecrow)

Certificate of Merit

The Bjorling Sound: A Recorded Legacy, by Stephen Hastings (University of Rochester Press)
The Bjorling Sound: A Recorded Legacy, by Stephen Hastings (University of Rochester Press)

Certificate of Merit

Frosch: Critical Discography of the Strauss Opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten by John Hunt (John Hunt),
Frosch: Critical Discography of the Strauss Opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten, by John Hunt (John Hunt)

Certificate of Merit

Great Wagner Conductors: A Listener's Companion, by Jonathan Brown (Parrot Press)
Great Wagner Conductors: A Listener's Companion, by Jonathan Brown (Parrot Press)

 

[ Best Research in Recorded Country Music ]

Best History

Satan is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers, by Charlie Louvin (ItBooks)
Satan is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers, by Charlie Louvin (ItBooks)

Certificate of Merit

Bluegrass Bluesman: A Memoir, by Josh Graves (University of Illinois Press)
Bluegrass Bluesman: A Memoir, by Josh Graves (University of Illinois Press)

 

[ Best Research in Recorded Folk, World, or Ethnic Music ]

Best History

The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience, Stephen Wade (University of Illinois Press)
The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience, Stephen Wade (University of Illinois Press)

Best Discography

The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings (Chicano Archives), by Agustin Gurza (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press)
The Arhoolie Foundation's Strachwitz Frontera Collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings (Chicano Archives), by Agustin Gurza (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press)

Certificate of Merit

Recording Culture: Powwow Music and the Aboriginal Recording Industry on the Northern Plains, by Christopher Scales (Duke University Press
Recording Culture: Powwow Music and the Aboriginal Recording Industry on the Northern Plains, by Christopher Scales (Duke University Press)

Certificate of Merit

Ancestral Imprints: Histories of Irish Traditional Music and Dance, by Therese Smith (Cork University Press)
Ancestral Imprints: Histories of Irish Traditional Music and Dance, by Therese Smith (Cork University Press)

 

 

[ Best Research in Recorded Rock Music ]

Best History

Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock 'n 'Roll, by Robert Rodriguez (Backbeat Books)
Revolver: How the Beatles Reimagined Rock 'n 'Roll, by Robert Rodriguez (Backbeat Books)

Certificate of Merit

Teen Beat Mayhem!, by Mike Markesich (Priceless Info Press)
Teen Beat Mayhem!,
by Mike Markesich (Priceless Info Press)

 

Certificate of Merit

Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll, by Marc Dolan (W. W.  Norton)
Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll, by Marc Dolan (W. W. Norton)

[ Best Research in Recorded Popular Music ]

Best History

A Natural Woman: A Memoir, by Carole King (Grand Central Publishing)
A Natural Woman: A Memoir, by Carole King (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Discography

Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967, vol. 2, by Don Rayno (Scarecrow)
Paul Whiteman: Pioneer in American Music, 1930-1967, vol. 2,
by Don Rayno (Scarecrow)

Certificate of Merit

Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years, by Hank Reineke (Scarecrow)
Arlo Guthrie: The Warner/Reprise Years, by Hank Reineke (Scarecrow)

[ Best Research in Recorded Jazz Music ]

Best History

Mr. P.C.: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers, by Rob Palmer (Equinox Publishing)
Mr. P.C.: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers, by Rob Palmer (Equinox Publishing)

Certificate of Merit

Pepper Adams' Joy Road: An Annotated Discography,
Pepper Adams' Joy Road: An Annotated Discography, by Gary Carner (Scarecrow)

Certificate of Merit

Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, by Christopher Wilkinson (University Press of Mississippi)
Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, by Christopher Wilkinson (University Press of Mississippi)

Certificate of Merit

Born to Play: The Ruby Braff Discography and Directory of Performances, by Thomas Hustad (Scarecrow)
Born to Play: The Ruby Braff Discography and Directory of Performances,
by Thomas Hustad (Scarecrow)

Certificate of Merit

The Boston Jazz Chronicles: Faces, Places and Nightlife 1937-1962, by Richard Vacca (Troy Street Press)
The Boston Jazz Chronicles: Faces, Places and Nightlife 1937-1962,
by Richard Vacca (Troy Street Press)

Certificate of Merit

Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, by Derrick Bang (McFarland)
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano,
by Derrick Bang (McFarland)

[ Best Research in Record Labels ]

Best Discography


The Capitol Records Childrens' Series: 1944 to 1956, The Complete Discography, by Jack Mirtle (Jack Mirtle)

Certificate of Merit

360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story, by Sean Wilentz (Chronicle)
360 Sound: The Columbia Records Story, by Sean Wilentz (Chronicle)

Certificate of Merit

Always in Trouble: An Oral History of ESP-Disc, the Most Outrageous Record Label in America, by Jason Weiss (Wesleyan University Press)
Always in Trouble: An Oral History of ESP-Disc, the Most Outrageous Record Label in America, by Jason Weiss (Wesleyan University Press)

Certificate of Merit

The American Zonophone Discography, Volume I:  Ten- and Twelve-Inch Popular Series (1904–1912), by William R. Bryant (Mainspring Press)
The American Zonophone Discography, Volume I:  Ten- and Twelve-Inch Popular Series (1904–1912), by William R. Bryant (Mainspring Press)

 

 

[ Best General Research in Recorded Sound ]

Best History

Pictures of Sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980, by Patrick Feaster (Dust-to-Digital)
Pictures of Sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980, by Patrick Feaster (Dust-to-Digital)

Best Discography

Patrick Conway and his Famous Band, by Mark Fonder (Meredith Music)
Patrick Conway and his Famous Band, by Mark Fonder (Meredith Music)

Certificate of Merit

MP3: The Meaning of a Format, by Johathan Sterne (Duke University Press)
MP3: The Meaning of a Format, by Johathan Sterne (Duke University Press)

Certificate of Merit

Music, Sound, and Technology in America: A Documentary History of Early Phonograph, Cinema, and Radio, edited by Timothy D. Taylor, Mark Katz and Tony Grajeda (Duke University Press)
Music, Sound, and Technology in America: A Documentary History of Early Phonograph, Cinema, and Radio, edited by Timothy D. Taylor, Mark Katz and Tony Grajeda (Duke University Press)

 

 

 

For more information, contact either Roberta Freund Schwartz (University of Kansas).

Winners are chosen by the ARSC Awards Committee: five elected judges representing specific fields of study, plus the ARSC President, and the Book Review Editor of the ARSC Journal. The members of the 2013 ARSC Awards Committee are: Roberta Freund Schwartz (Committee Co-Chair), David Lewis (Committee Co-Chair), Tim Brooks (ARSC President), James Farrington (Book Review Editor, ARSC Journal), Dennis Rooney (Classical Music Judge), Mike Biel (Judge-At-Large), Dan Morgenstern (Jazz Music Judge), William L. Schurk (Popular Music Judge), and Richard Spottswood (Judge-at-Large).

 

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