Table of Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction. Union Man Blues 1
1. Solidarity Forever? The Musicians' Union Responds to Radio and Records 19
2. Have You Heard the News? There's Good Rockin' Tonight: Hepcats, Wildcats, and the Emergence of Rock 'n 'Roll 41
3. If I Had a Hammer: Union Musicians "Bop" Rock 'n ' Roll 113
4. A Working-Class Hero Is Something to Be: The Musicians' Union Attempt to Block the British Invasion 167
Epilogue. Tuned In, Turned On, and Dropped Out: Rock 'n' Roll Music Production Restructures the Music Industry along Non-Union Lines 201
Notes 209
Bibliography 233
Index 243
Photo gallery follows page 112

About the Author

Michael James Roberts is Associate Professor of Sociology at San Diego State University.

Reviews

"In this lively study of the remarkable victories and disheartening failures of the American Federation of Musicians, Michael James Roberts presents a strong case that union culture played a central role in the decline of the U.S. labor movement. Focusing on the union's dismissal of rock 'n' roll, Tell Tchaikovsky the News explores how class cleavages - conflicts over what count as culture, taste, talent, skill, and proper expressions of working-class resistance - undermined solidarity among workers. This wonderfully engaging analysis of the class textures of popular music and the cultural politics of the labor movement is a must-read." - Kathi Weeks, author of The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginaries