Rock Music Styles: A History blends musical commentary into an historical and social framework as it traces the development of rock music from its roots in the blues, country, gospel, and other pre-rock music through the decades to the most contemporary styles of rock music. The textbook features a series of detailed listening guides that explore examples of the genre in significant musical detail, enabling students to connect the popular music of yesterday with that of today.

About the Author

Katherine Charlton Calkins is returning to the position of chair of the music department at Mt. San Antonio College in fall, 2008, after having had a full-year sabbatical to study music by women composers. As a performer, she has a degree in classical guitar and has toured in Southern France and Tuscany playing lute with an early music group with her late, first husband Andrew Charlton. She also played percussion in the California University at Fullerton Wind Ensemble when they toured in Japan. She got her M.A. degree in music history and has continued with further graduate study in that same field. As a teacher, she started the guitar program at Mt. San Antonio College in 1974, where she continues to teach music history and appreciation. She began to teach a course in the history of rock music in the early nineteen-eighties and decided to try writing her own book because she did not really like any that were available at that time.