The history of Brazilian popular music has attracted colleagues in Brazil and in other disciplines in the States for some time (for example, José Ramos Tinhorão, Hermano Vianna, Gerard Béhague, and Charles Perrone). Here, the author’s ambitious project joins those of a growing number of historians interested in cultural history, relating the development of a coherent popular music culture, ca. 1930 – 50s, to its larger political and socioeconomic context. There are chapters on the radio, samba, Northeastern regionalism, American technical and cultural influence, the choro, fan clubs, and advertising. Sources range from an American advertising archive to the indispensable Museu da Ima-gem e do Som (Rio) and the government correspondence and personal and institutional records in Rio’s and São Paulo’s public and private holdings. His approach is strengthened by a firm command of the technical issues (both musical and media), the individuals on and behind the scene, and...

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