Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music was created in 1989 by Colin Larkin
. It is the 'modern man's' equivalent of the Grove Dictionary of Music which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.
and popular music
, were at least as significant historically as classical music
, and as such, should be given 'definitive' treatment and properly documented. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is the result.
In 1989 Larkin sold his half of the publishing
company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an Encyclopedia of Popular music
. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a 'pre-internet
' age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise and a hideous amount of legwork". The new company he financed and founded to publish the encyclopedia, was called Square One Books. The first edition of the encyclopedia "pushed Larkin to the brink of bankruptcy". It was a 'four volume set' and went into print in 1992.
There have been three further edition
s of the multi volume encyclopedia and dozens of single volume spin offs of five concise versions of the main encyclopedia, including 4 editions of Jazz.
In 1995 Microsoft
licensed the text for their CD-ROM, Microsoft Music Central
, which sold 497,000 copies.
In 1997 Larkin's company, along with the Encyclopedia, was sold to the data company MUZE. Inc (the UK name was changed to Muze UK), because Larkin wanted "to guarantee its future" in the fast changing world of information and communications technology. He became full-time editor-in-chief' on the project, running a surprisingly small scale "cottage industry":
, blues
, R&B, jazz
, rock
, heavy metal
, reggae
, electronic music
and hip-hop.
Guinness Publishing, Virgin Publishing and Omnibus Press have produced the spin-offs on each subject and Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums
is produced as a companion volume. The large single volume of the Concise edition of The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is now in its 5th edition.
The total sales of the EPM series since 1992 is over 650,000 copies.
Colin Larkin (writer)
Colin Larkin was the editor and founder of the Encyclopedia of Popular Music, described by Jools Holland as 'without question the most useful reference work on popular music' and by The Times as 'the standard against which all others must be judged’....
. It is the 'modern man's' equivalent of the Grove Dictionary of Music which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.
History of the encyclopedia
Larkin believed that rock musicRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, were at least as significant historically as classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, and as such, should be given 'definitive' treatment and properly documented. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is the result.
In 1989 Larkin sold his half of the publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
company Scorpion Books to finance his ambition to publish an Encyclopedia of Popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
. Aided by a team of initially 70 contributors, he set about compiling the data in a 'pre-internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
' age, "relying instead on information gleaned from music magazines, individual expertise and a hideous amount of legwork". The new company he financed and founded to publish the encyclopedia, was called Square One Books. The first edition of the encyclopedia "pushed Larkin to the brink of bankruptcy". It was a 'four volume set' and went into print in 1992.
There have been three further edition
Edition
In printmaking, an edition is a number of prints struck from one plate, usually at the same time. This is the meaning covered by this article...
s of the multi volume encyclopedia and dozens of single volume spin offs of five concise versions of the main encyclopedia, including 4 editions of Jazz.
In 1995 Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
licensed the text for their CD-ROM, Microsoft Music Central
Microsoft Music Central
Microsoft Music Central was a music encyclopedia on CDROM produced by Microsoft, similar to their Cinemania product and part of the Microsoft Home range. The software featured a selection of biographical articles from the Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music a spin off of the Encyclopedia of...
, which sold 497,000 copies.
In 1997 Larkin's company, along with the Encyclopedia, was sold to the data company MUZE. Inc (the UK name was changed to Muze UK), because Larkin wanted "to guarantee its future" in the fast changing world of information and communications technology. He became full-time editor-in-chief' on the project, running a surprisingly small scale "cottage industry":
"There are now fewer than 10 contributors on the team... "People don't believe it's done on such a small scale, but in terms of words we are producing an Agatha Christie novel a month"..."[6]
Status
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, is the most authoritative source on rock, pop and jazz artists ever written. It covers popular music from the early 1900s to the present day, including folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, R&B, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
and hip-hop.
"Each biography contains a thorough synopsis of the performer and their body of work, following their career from beginning to end. The 4th Edition is 10,000 pages long in 10 separate volumes with over 8 million words and 27,000 entries. The nature of popular music and jazz is such that it is ever changing, evolving and growing and therefore needs a new edition much more frequently than more static subjects."
Guinness Publishing, Virgin Publishing and Omnibus Press have produced the spin-offs on each subject and Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums
All Time Top 1000 Albums
All Time Top 1000 Albums is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the Encyclopedia of Popular Music. The book was originally published by Guinness Publishing in 1994 and is in its 4th Revised Edition....
is produced as a companion volume. The large single volume of the Concise edition of The Encyclopedia of Popular Music is now in its 5th edition.
The total sales of the EPM series since 1992 is over 650,000 copies.
Editions
- Guinness Encyclopedia Of Popular Music (1st Edition, 4 Vols), Guinness Publishing 1992, ed. Larkin Colin.
- Guinness Encyclopedia Of Popular Music (2nd Edition, 6 Vols), Guinness Publishing 1995 (UK), ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Encyclopedia Of Popular Music (3rd Edition, 8 vols), Macmillan (UK/USA) 1999, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Encyclopedia Of Popular Music (4th Edition 10 vols), Oxford University Press (UK/USA) 2006, ed. Larkin, Colin.
Concise Editions
- Guinness Encyclopedia Of Popular Music Concise Edition, Guinness Publishing 1993, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music, Concise Edition, Virgin Books (UK), 1997, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music, Concise (3rd Edition), Virgin Books (UK), 1999, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Virgin Encyclopedia Of Popular Music, Concise (4th Edition), Virgin Books (UK), 2002, ed. Larkin, Colin.
- The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Concise (5th Edition), Omnibus Press 2007, ed. Larkin, Colin