Kitts Thomas M. - The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor

An essential part of human expression, humor plays a role in all forms of art, and humorous and comedic aspects have always been part of popular music. For the first time, The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor draws together scholarship exploring how the element of humor interacts with the artistic and social aspects of the musical experience. Discussing humor in popular music across eras from Tin Pan Alley to the present, and examining the role of humor in different musical genres, case studies of artists, and media forms, this volume is a groundbreaking collection that provides a go-to reference for scholars in music, popular culture, and media studies.

While most scholars, when considering humors place in popular music, tend to focus on more literate forms, the contributors in this collection seek to fill in the gaps by surveying all kinds of humor, critical theories, and popular music. Across eight parts, the chapters in this collection explore topics both highbrow and lowbrow, including:

• Parody and satire

• Humor in rock and global music

• Gender, sexuality, and politics

• The music mockumentary

• Novelty songs

Humor has long been a fixture of the popular music soundscape, whether on stage, in performance, on record, or on film. The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor covers it all, presenting itself as the most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date.

Thomas M. Kitts is Professor of English at St. Johns University, NY, author of a recent book on John Fogerty, and coeditor of Popular Music and Society and Rock Music Studies.

Nick Baxter-Moore is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

ROUTLEDGE MUSIC COMPANIONS

Routledge Music Companions offer thorough, high-quality surveys and assessments of major topics in the study of music. All entries in each companion are specially commissioned and written by leading scholars in the field. Clear, accessible, and cutting-edge, these companions are the ideal resource for advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students, and researchers alike.

The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor

Edited by Thomas M. Kitts and Nick Baxter-Moore

The Routledge Companion to Music, Mind, and Well-Being

Edited by Penelope Gouk, James Kennaway, Jacomien Prins, and Wiebke Thormhlen

The Routledge Companion to Jazz Studies

Edited by Nicholas Gebhardt, Nichole Rustin-Paschal, and Tony Whyton

The Routledge Companion to Popular Music An alysis: Expanding Approaches

Edited by Ciro Scotto, Kenneth Smith, and John Brackett

The Routledge Companion to the Study of Local Musicking

Edited by Suzel A. Reily and Katherine Brucher

The Routledge Companion to Music Cognition

Edited by Richard Ashley and Renee Timmers

The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound

Edited by Miguel Mera, Ronald Sadoff, and Ben Winters

The Routledge Companion to Embodied Music Interaction

Edited by Micheline Lesaffre, Pieter-Jan Maes, and Marc Leman

The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education

Edited by Andrew King, Evangelos Himonides, and S. Alex Ruthmann

First published 2019

by Routledge

52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2019 Taylor & Francis

The right of Thomas M. Kitts and Nick Baxter-Moore to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kitts, Thomas M., 1955 editor. | Baxter-Moore, Nicolas, editor.

Title: The Routledge companion to popular music and humor / edited by Thomas M. Kitts and Nick Baxter-Moore.

Description: New York; London: Routledge, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018057221 (print) | LCCN 2018059727 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351266642 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138577565 (hardback)

Subjects: LCSH: Humor in music. | Popular musicHistory and criticism. Classification: LCC ML3470 (ebook) | LCC ML3470 .R69 2019 (print) | DDC 781.64dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018057221

ISBN: 978-1-138-57756-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-351-26664-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by codeMantra

from Tom Kitts
To Lisa, who makes my life so wonderful and enjoyable
To Hayley, Dylan, Julia, and Hollyin whom I am extraordinarily proud

from Nick Baxter-Moore
To Heather, for your enduring love, support, and lust for life
To Katrina, Im so proud to be your Dad

The editors would like to acknowledge those who helped to bring The Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor into existence. First, we thank our 42 contributors. They submitted insightful chapters, demonstrated a willingness to revise, and met our deadlines. We are very appreciative of all of them.

We thank our respective institutions, St. Johns University and Brock University, for their support and confidence in us. We take great pride in being a part of those institutions. We also thank the Popular Culture Association which provided a forum at its annual conference for the sessions and papers from which this collection grew.

We were fortunate to have excellent support from our publisher, Routledge. We consider ourselves especially fortunate to have worked with Genevieve Aoki, Routledges Music Editor. Genevieve encouraged us to expand our original proposal from a relatively small edited collection to the large handbook before you. Her support, guidance, and patience, along with her quick responses to our various inquiries, have been greatly appreciated.

Above all, however, we must thank our wives (Lisa and Heather) and our children (Hayley, Dylan, Julia, Holly, and Katrina) for their love and patience. They tolerated our long hours of work on this volume, which sometimes interrupted family vacations. We will always love and be grateful to them.

Thomas M. Kitts
Nick Baxter-Moore

Thomas M. Kitts , Professor of English at St. Johns University, NY, is the author of John Fogerty: An American Son, Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else, and The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker as well as a play, Gypsies: An East Village Opera. He has edited the anthology Literature and Work and essay collections on John Fogerty and Ray Davies. He is the Area Chair of music for the Popular Culture Associations annual conference and, with Gary Burns, he is the editor of both Rock Music Studies