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Using Rock's Backpages

The leading popular music (post-1960) database.

Subject Specialist

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John Davis
Contact:
Curator, Special Collections in Performing Arts
Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library
8270 Alumni Dr.
University of Maryland
College Park, MD. 20742
301-405-9220
Website

Subject Librarian

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Steve Henry
he/him
Contact:
301-405-9256
Website
Subjects: Music, Music Education

Welcome

Containing over 25,000 articles published since 1960, Rock's Backpages (RBP) is a valuable and easy-to-use tool for anyone studying popular music. Whether you're focusing on rock, pop, soul, hip-hop, folk, or other genres, RBP is a good resource to use for exploring your topic.

The content comes from major publications such as Rolling Stone, The Village VoiceNew Musical Express, and Melody Maker, as well as from smaller, specialized music magazines. In addition to feature articles about artists and styles, you'll find album and concert reviews, interviews, and commentaries. There is also a library of more than 400 audio interviews.

Although RBP contains lots of intelligent journalism about popular music, it does not contain scholarly, peer-reviewed articles. For more about scholarly research in music, see the Basic Music Reference Tools guide.