Play On! Power Pop Heroes: Volume Four
by Ken Sharp


"You can’t ever talk about power pop without getting into a discussion of what it is. I always think about Supreme Court Justice Stewart’s famous comment about pornography here—‘I know it when I see it.’ While not necessarily naughty, power pop does have a funny place in the rock category pantheon. It can’t quite escape being a guilty pleasure for many. I am happy to say I have no guilt whatsoever about my pop, power or otherwise!"—Mitch Easter, Let's Active

About The Book:

In Play On! Power Pop Heroes: Volume Four (Jetfighter/$39.97), the fourth installment of the five-volume series, Ken Sharp honors the musical innovators who built the genre’s foundation. Featuring a foreword by Mitch Easter of Let’s Active, the 528-page book culls exclusive interviews with 17 artists that defined the genre and is profusely illustrated with rare photographs and original handwritten lyrics. 

Track-by track commentary is provided about seminal albums including All Over The Place (The Bangles), Girlfriend (Matthew Sweet), Sixteen Tambourines (The Three O’Clock), Like This (The dB’s), Love Junk (The Pursuit of Happiness), Beat Music (The Spongetones), and Deluxe (Parthenon Huxley) plus select artist commentary about classic recordings from Crowded House, The Smithereens, Teenage Fanclub, Hoodoo Gurus, The Producers, Tommy Keene, Let’s Active, The Go-Go’s, and Michael Penn add to the inside story of this influential genre.

 
Acts featured in Volume Four:
The dB’s
The Producers
Tommy Keene
Let’s Active
The Go-Go’s
The Spongestones
The Bangles
The Three O’Clock
The Smithereens
Crowded House
Hoodoo Gurus
Redd Kross
Matthew Sweet
Teenage Fanclub
The Pursuit of Happiness
Michael Penn
Parthenon Huxley

Buyers will also receive dozens of tracks of incredible bonus music of rare, unreleased and live music from the dB’s, Redd Kross, The Smithereens, Mitch Easter, The Pursuit of Happiness, Tommy Keene, The Spongetones, Parthenon Huxley. In addition to those artists, there will be out of print and rare tracks from countless other power pop acts spanning the globe


Ken Sharp is a New York Times Best Selling writer who has authored or co-authored over eighteen music books, contributes to a variety of national music magazines, works on music documentaries and has done liner notes for releases by Elvis Presley, Sly & the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Small Faces, Santana, Cheap Trick, Raspberries, Eric Carmen, KISS, Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, The Babys, John Waite, The Guess Who, Jellyfish, Jefferson Airplane and others. Contact Ken Sharp

His books include: Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy, Elvis: Vegas ‘69, Nothin’ to Lose: the Making of KISS (1972-1975), Elvis Presley: Writing for the King, Sound Explosion: Inside LA’s Studio Factory with the Wrecking Crew, Overnight Sensation: The Story of the Raspberries, Raspberries: TONIGHT!, Eric Carmen: Marathon Man, Reputation is a Fragile Thing: The Story of Cheap Trick, Play On!: Power Pop Heroes, Kooks, Queen Bitches and Andy Warhol: The Making of David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, KISS: Behind the Mask, Meet the Beatles…Again!, Small Faces: Quite Naturally, Rick Springfield: A Year in the Life of a Working Class Dog, Power Pop, The KISS Years!, and KISS Army Worldwide!: The Ultimate KISS Fanzine Phenomenon.