Shannon M. Cochran – författare

Contributions by Ignatius Calabria, H. Zahra Caldwell, Brian Jude de Lima, Sabatino DiBernardo, William Fulton, Antonio Garfias, Judson L. Jeffries, Tony Kiene, Molly Reinhoudt, Fred Shaheen, and Karen Turman With his signature blend of genres and lyrics that touch on myriad societal issues, the artist Prince has challenged and captivated the minds and hearts of countless listeners. Feel My Big Guitar: Prince and the Sound He Helped Create is a wide-ranging collection that seeks to place Prince at the center of contemporary musical scholarship, putting him in proper cultural and political context. This edited volume includes a mix of essays and reflections by scholars and fans, as well as interviews with people who worked with and knew Prince personally. Employing a blend of methodologies, contributors offer a body of fresh, intriguing, thought-provoking, and mind-bending work about Prince—an artist whose music exemplified those very characteristics.The volume examines Prince's musical influences, his rivalries (both real and imagined), and instrumental eroticism. It includes enlightening interviews with early mentor Pépe Willie and Gayle Chapman, Prince’s first female bandmate. These personal reflections and interviews grant readers a unique lens through which to view Prince, enriching our overall understanding of the man. Ultimately, Feel My Big Guitar serves as a space for sharing musicological analysis and memories about an artist whose work has touched and inspired so many. Years in the making, this is the first book in an ongoing scholarly project, PrincEnlighteNmenT: A Study of Society through Music, intended to investigate and reveal the full spectrum of Prince’s life and work.

Contributions by Ignatius Calabria, H. Zahra Caldwell, Brian Jude de Lima, Sabatino DiBernardo, William Fulton, Antonio Garfias, Judson L. Jeffries, Tony Kiene, Molly Reinhoudt, Fred Shaheen, and Karen Turman With his signature blend of genres and lyrics that touch on myriad societal issues, the artist Prince has challenged and captivated the minds and hearts of countless listeners. Feel My Big Guitar: Prince and the Sound He Helped Create is a wide-ranging collection that seeks to place Prince at the center of contemporary musical scholarship, putting him in proper cultural and political context. This edited volume includes a mix of essays and reflections by scholars and fans, as well as interviews with people who worked with and knew Prince personally. Employing a blend of methodologies, contributors offer a body of fresh, intriguing, thought-provoking, and mind-bending work about Prince—an artist whose music exemplified those very characteristics.The volume examines Prince's musical influences, his rivalries (both real and imagined), and instrumental eroticism. It includes enlightening interviews with early mentor Pépe Willie and Gayle Chapman, Prince’s first female bandmate. These personal reflections and interviews grant readers a unique lens through which to view Prince, enriching our overall understanding of the man. Ultimately, Feel My Big Guitar serves as a space for sharing musicological analysis and memories about an artist whose work has touched and inspired so many. Years in the making, this is the first book in an ongoing scholarly project, PrincEnlighteNmenT: A Study of Society through Music, intended to investigate and reveal the full spectrum of Prince’s life and work.

Contributions by Cassandra D. Chaney, Shannon M. Cochran, Samuel P. Fitzpatrick, Judson L. Jeffries, Zada Johnson, Tony Kiene, Aaron J. Kimble, Jerod Lockhart, Molly Reinhoudt, Paul N. Reinsch, Laurel Westrup, and Sherman M. WhitePrince (1958–2016) looms large in contemporary music history. Despite universal acclaim for his artistry, few scholars and writers have thoroughly treated the underlying ideas expressed in his work or examined his profound impact on popular culture. The Purple One: Prince, Race, Gender, and Everything in Between positions Prince in his proper cultural, political, and social place in history.Contributors employ a diverse range of approaches to explore the intricate facets of this cultural icon, illuminating the many dimensions of his creative output and legacy. The collection is organized around two central themes that shed light on Prince’s artistry and lasting influence. Moving beyond conventional discussions about Prince and masculinity, Part I, "Black Masculinity and Gender Performativity," delves into less-explored aspects of the artist’s gender-bending persona. Essays in this section cover a slew of fascinating subjects, including Prince’s re-scripting of Black masculinity in the cult classic Under the Cherry Moon, and an autoethnographic study of African American father-son relationships in the film Purple Rain. Another essay examines the subversive gender performativity of Prince and frequent collaborator Sheila E.Part II, "Beauty, Race, and Spirituality," explores a range of topics present in Prince’s oeuvre, from the sociopolitical contours of his work to his overlooked but significant projects and protégés. Contributors in this section examine Prince’s representations of female beauty, his articulations of urban rage and protest, and his commercially successful but critically overlooked Batman soundtrack. This second installment of the ongoing scholarly project, PrincEnlighteNmenT: A Study of Society through Music, continues to center Prince as a focal point in music scholarship and enhance our understanding of his complex life and work.

Contributions by Cassandra D. Chaney, Shannon M. Cochran, Samuel P. Fitzpatrick, Judson L. Jeffries, Zada Johnson, Tony Kiene, Aaron J. Kimble, Jerod Lockhart, Molly Reinhoudt, Paul N. Reinsch, Laurel Westrup, and Sherman M. WhitePrince (1958–2016) looms large in contemporary music history. Despite universal acclaim for his artistry, few scholars and writers have thoroughly treated the underlying ideas expressed in his work or examined his profound impact on popular culture. The Purple One: Prince, Race, Gender, and Everything in Between positions Prince in his proper cultural, political, and social place in history.Contributors employ a diverse range of approaches to explore the intricate facets of this cultural icon, illuminating the many dimensions of his creative output and legacy. The collection is organized around two central themes that shed light on Prince’s artistry and lasting influence. Moving beyond conventional discussions about Prince and masculinity, Part I, "Black Masculinity and Gender Performativity," delves into less-explored aspects of the artist’s gender-bending persona. Essays in this section cover a slew of fascinating subjects, including Prince’s re-scripting of Black masculinity in the cult classic Under the Cherry Moon, and an autoethnographic study of African American father-son relationships in the film Purple Rain. Another essay examines the subversive gender performativity of Prince and frequent collaborator Sheila E.Part II, "Beauty, Race, and Spirituality," explores a range of topics present in Prince’s oeuvre, from the sociopolitical contours of his work to his overlooked but significant projects and protégés. Contributors in this section examine Prince’s representations of female beauty, his articulations of urban rage and protest, and his commercially successful but critically overlooked Batman soundtrack. This second installment of the ongoing scholarly project, PrincEnlighteNmenT: A Study of Society through Music, continues to center Prince as a focal point in music scholarship and enhance our understanding of his complex life and work.

Contributions by Arthur Banton, Adrian A. Bautista, Shannon M. Cochran, Nancy J. Holland, Zachary Hoskins, Judson L. Jeffries, Zada Johnson, Deirdre T. Guion Peoples, Caterina Y. Pierre, John Rafalski, Molly Reinhoudt, Gina Shropshire, and Laura Tiebert Erotic City and Beyond: Prince, Place, and the Making of an Icon, the third and final volume in the PrincEnlighteNmenT: A Study of Society through Music project, explores the intricate, complex, and nuanced interplay between Prince’s artistry, his social orbit, and the enduring impact of his life and work. Divided into three thematic sections, essayists examine how his music and public persona intersected with race, gender, politics, and geography, revealing him as both a product and a shaper of postmodern civil rights America. Part I, "Space, Place, and Political Sociology in Prince’s World," considers how Prince engaged with urban landscapes, gender, and social critique. Essays explore him as a postmodern flâneur in Under the Cherry Moon, interpret "When Doves Cry" as a meditation on Black urban life and masculinity, and situate Paisley Park, his former home and recording studio in the suburb of Chanhassen, Minnesota, as a site of cultural memory and mythmaking. Part II, "Iconography and the Making of a Legend," examines how Prince destabilized hierarchies of race, gender, and sexuality, challenged the boundaries between creator and performer, and redefined his role as a "Black New Waver," expanding a genre often marked by racial division. The final section, "Purple Tears, Mourning, and the Psychology of Living," turns to Prince’s legacy, exploring how fans find meaning, transformation, and inspiration through their connections to him, highlighting the cultural power of fandom as both a reflection of and response to the artist’s influence. Together, the essays in this volume demonstrate that a richer understanding of Prince—and the America that shaped him—emerges from examining the social, cultural, and political contexts in which he lived and created.