| There were numerous persons who cheered me along this project, and without their support and good wishes, I'm not sure I could have sustained this effort. I wish especially to thank the following individuals, groups and institutions: |
| My father, Jim McCoy, who virtually funded this project. That he did so in spite of its subject matter attests to his generous spirit; and my mother, Nina McCoy, who was always willing to listen to me talk about it. My husband, Jim Harper, a fine artist who designed the graphics; and our good friends, Bob and Janie Miron, who kept me in office space so this book could actually get written. Pat Henderson, who designed the layout and typeset this manuscript. All of my friends who have been there for me even when I was absent from them. My teachers at the University of North Texas Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences. No student could ask for stronger role models. Fort Worth Public Library's Periodicals and Documents department for the extensive assistance from all of their staff, especially the excellent pages: Daniel Hererra, who knows the status of every pop music magazine subscription in the department; Mary Jane Savage, whose constant interest in this project helped sustain my own; Carah Jones, who was so clever about keeping the reader/printer functioning; Yolanda Reed, who graciously pulled endless issues of magazines and boxes of microfilm for me, and never once failed to smile. The Fort Worth Public Library, the Dallas Public Library and the University of North Texas Music Library. They alone among Texas libraries had the materials necessary to accomplish this research. |
| Thanks to the music critics who provided so many hours of mind-blowing readingI never even knew it was out there! And to MTVwho dreams up that stuff? Thanks to the rappers for putting their lives and their talents and their stories on the line for us to use, enjoy, love, hate, criticize, praise, and never look back to the awesome power they have to move us, to entertain us, to inspire us, to teach us, to ennoble us with their great gift. |
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1992