History of Buffalo Music & Entertainment from the 1830s to the early 1980s. Covering Canal Street & Christy's Minstrels, The Pan-American Exposition, Theaters (vaudeville, burlesque & movie), Crystal Beach & other amusement parks, Nightclubs of the 1930s - 1960s, Big Band Jazz, early radio & television, Classical Music, 1950s rock 'n' roll bands & radio, Folk Music, 1960s Buffalo Sound Bands, 1960s Teen Club Bands, Behind the Scenes (music education, music businesses & manufacturers), music clubs in the 1960s & 1970s, The 1970s rock & commercial rock bands, Original Music Scene, Jazz, Blues & R&B in the 1970s & early 1980s, Country Music, Ethnic Music (German, Irish & Polish), bands and clubs of the early 1980s and over 125 historic photos.
Buffalo Bill's Wild West presents a fascinating analysis of the first famous American to erase the boundary between real history and entertainment Canada, and Europe. Crowds cheered as cowboys and Indians--and Annie Oakley!--galloped past on spirited horses, sharpshooters exploded glass balls tossed high in the air, and cavalry troops arrived just in time to save a stagecoach from Indian attack. Vivid posters on billboards everywhere made William Cody, the show's originator and star, a world-renowned figure. Joy S. Kasson's important new book traces Cody's rise from scout to international celebrity, and shows how his image was shaped. Publicity stressed his show's "authenticity" yet audiences thrilled to its melodrama; fact and fiction converged in a performance that instantly became part of the American tradition. But how, precisely, did that come about? How, for example, did Cody use his audience's memories of the Civil War and the Indian wars? He boasted that his show included participants in the recent conflicts it presented theatrically, yet he also claimed it evoked "memories" of America's bygone greatness. Kasson's shrewd, engaging study--richly illustrated--in exploring the disappearing boundary between entertainment and public events in American culture, shows us just how we came to imagine our memories.
Profiles Volume II: Historic & Influential People from Buffalo & WNY - the Early 1900s profiles 75 people that contributed to industry, business, politics, law, communications, sports, entertainment, and culture in Western New York during the early 1900s (1900 to 1950). The book differs from Volume I: Historic & Influential People from Buffalo & WNY - the 1800s as the biological sketches are more detailed and include information about family members and/or associates of the individual being profiled, along with the residences, buildings, and businesses they built. This approach yields details about hundreds of contributors to the fabric of WNY during the first half of the 20th century.
Thomas includes information on church music in Buffalo and Erie County, military and other bands, various musical societies, and dealers and manufacturers of musical instruments and merchandise.
With Amusement for All contextualizes what Americans have done for fun since 1830, showing the reciprocal nature of the relationships among social, political, economic, and cultural forces and the ways in which the entertainment world has reflected, changed, or reinforced the values of American society.
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was the most famous American of his age. He claimed to have worked for the Pony Express when only a boy and to have scouted for General George Custer. But what was his real story? And how did a frontiersman become a worldwide celebrity? In this prize-winning biography, acclaimed author Louis S. Warren explains not only how Cody exaggerated his real experience as an army scout and buffalo hunter, but also how that experience inspired him to create the gigantic, traveling spectacle known as Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. A dazzling mix of Indians, cowboys, and vaqueros, they performed on two continents for three decades, offering a surprisingly modern view of the United States and a remarkably democratic version of its history. This definitive biography reveals the genius of America’s greatest showman, and the startling history of the American West that drove him and his performers to the world stage.
100 Years of Buffalo Broadcasting is a look at the stories of the people, places, and events that have entertained and informed generations of Western New Yorkers over the airwaves and under our pillows, into our cars, into our living rooms, and into our hearts as a part of what makes us Buffalonians.
A portrait of the legendary American rock-and-roll band draws on exclusive interviews to track their career from 1969 to the present and is complemented by previously unpublished photographs and memorabilia.
We love to be entertained. And today's technology makes that easier than ever. Listen to tunes while working out? No problem. Watch a movie on your cell phone? Can do. Get 450 channels of digital entertainment bounced off a satellite and into your vehicle—even while traveling through empty wastelands? Simple. But behind these experiences is a complex industry, dominated by a handful of global media conglomerates whose executives exert considerable influence over the artists and projects they bankroll, the processes by which products are developed, and the methods they use to promote and distribute entertainment. As this set shows, the industries in which commerce, art, and technology intersect are among the most fascinating in all of business. Entertainment is a high-stakes industry where stars are born and flame out in the blink of an eye, where multimillion dollar deals are made on a daily basis, and where cultural mores, for better or worse, are shaped and reinforced. The Business of Entertainment lifts the curtain to show the machinery (and sleight of hand) behind the films, TV shows, music, and radio programs we can't live without. The Business of Entertainment comprises three volumes, covering movies popular music, and television. But it's not all about stars and glitter—it's as much about the nuts and bolts of daily life in the industry, including the challenges of digitizing content, globalization, promoting stars and shows, protecting intellectual property, developing talent, employing the latest technology, and getting projects done on time and within budget. Challenges don't end there. There's also advertising and product placement, the power of reviews and reviewers, the cancerous spread of piracy, the battles between cable and satellite operators (and the threat to both from telephone companies), the backlash to promoting gangsta lifestyles, and more. Each chapter is written by an authority in the field, from noted scholars to entertainment industry professionals to critics to screenwriters to lawyers. The result is a fascinating mosaic, with each chapter a gem that provides insight into the industry that—hands down—generates more conversations on a daily basis than any other.
