American Popular Music in Britain's Raj

From the early years of the British Raj in India, the colonial establishment pursued musical activities that emulated the homeland. American Popular Music in Britain's Raj identifies musical intersections between the United States, England, and India, arguing that the popularity of American music in India often depended on its popularity in Britain, especially London, and that these three nations together constituted an anglophone entertainment network supported by global commercial and military enterprises. Drawing from archival and ethnographic research, Bradley Shope reveals the processes and agents of colonial institutions that led to a viable urban popular music culture, and uncovers the character of Western music during the last century of India's colonial history. Much of this book focuses on the last two decades of the Raj, when the character of British social life in India changed, new sound and media technologies emerged, and jazz stirred music production and consumption away from restricted British social clubs and into lively for-profit venues. Bradley Shope is Assistant Professor of Music at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi.