'Hairspray', the hit musical, is based on John Waters' affectionately subversive homage to his Baltimore youth and the biggest hit musical on Broadway. This is a complete book of lyrics from the Broadway musical.

(Music Express Books). Do you hear that beat? It's the sound of people entering the theater on the most famous street in the world. It's the sound of dancing feet and orchestras tuning up. It's the sound dreams are made of. It's the sound of Broadway! Celebrate musical theatre with hits from Hairspray , The Music Man , The King and I , Wicked , Rent and Grease , and a medley of favorites from George M. Cohan! This unique musical collection for upper elementary and middle school students features seven kid-friendly arrangements for unison voices, piano accompaniments, and fun facts about Broadway by John Jacobson. Extend learning further with a Broadway timeline, board game, and recorded history with music excerpts spanning over a century of song and dance. It's the beat of Broadway and nobody can stop it! Available separately: Teacher Edition, Singer Edition 20-Pak (full color), Performance/Accompaniment CD, Classroom Kit (teacher, Singer 20-Pak, P/A CD). Duration: ca. 25 minutes. Suggested for grades 4-8.

Take a journey into the heart and passion of one of the most brilliant voices of the American Counter-Culture Movement. While men took the spotlight, it was women like ruth weiss who would breathe feminine spirit into the fight for equality between the sexes, the races, and the classes. Celebrated in Europe and under-acknowledged* in the US, during the course of her life ruth weiss innovated poetry with jazz in the San Francisco North Beach scene of the 1950s with contemporaries Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Bob Kaufman, and others. For the first time in print, one of the last of the original Beat poets ruth weiss presents two masterpiece long form poems: COMPASS (about a road trip through Mexico) and I ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU BLACK (a tribute to her African-American artist friends). Also included are two short form poems TEN TEN and POST-CARD 1995, and a biography of ruth weiss' life by Horst Spandler: ruth weiss and the American Beat Movement of the '50s and '60s.

Can't Stop Won't Stop is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-hop generation created. Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview, and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style. Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop's forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can't Stop Won't Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation's rise from the ashes of the 60's into the new millennium.

In Hairspray, it's 1962--the fifties are out and change is in the air. Baltimore's Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion: to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, The Corny Collins Show, and overnight is transformed from an awkward overweight outsider into an irrespressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning blond princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? Only in Hairspray! Based on John Waters's 1988 film, the musical comedy Hairspray opened on Broadway in August 2002 to rave reviews. Hairspray: The Roots includes the libretto of the show--along with hilarious anecdotes from the authors, to say nothing of dance step diagrams and full-color bouffant wigs to copy and cut out--along with all the creative energy, brilliant color, and full-out emotion that have made the musical "a great big, gorgeous hit . . . [that] is a triumph on all levels" (Clive Barnes, The New York Post).

I Just Can't Stop It is the honest and compelling autobiography from British Music Legend, Ranking Roger. As the enigmatic frontman of the multicultural band The Beat, Ranking Roger represented the youthful and joyous sound of the post-punk 2 Tone movement. As well as his illustrious career with The Beat and its subsequent iterations, this absorbing book explores Roger's upbringing as a child of the Windrush generation, touring America and his outstanding collaborations with artists such as The Clash, The Police and The Specials.

From the Grammy-nominated singer, drummer, and percussionist who is world renowned for her contributions throughout the music industry, a moving memoir about the healing power of music and spiritual growth inspired by five decades of life and love on the stage. She was born Sheila Escovedo in 1957, but the world knows her as Sheila E. She first picked up the drumsticks and started making music at the precocious age of three, taught by her legendary father, percussionist Pete Escovedo. As the goddaughter of Tito Puente, music was the heartbeat of her family, and despite Sheila's impoverished childhood in Oakland, California, her family stayed strong, inspired by the music they played nightly in their living room. When she was only five, Sheila delivered her first solo performance to a live audience. By nineteen, she had fallen in love with Carlos Santana. By twenty-one, she met Prince at one of her concerts. Sheila E. and Prince would eventually join forces and collaborate for more than two decades, creating hits that catapulted Sheila to her own pop superstardom. The Beat of My Own Drum is both a walk through four decades of Latin and pop music—from her tours with Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie, Prince, and Ringo Starr to her own solo career. At the same time, it’s also a heartbreaking, ultimately redemptive look at how the sanctity of music can save a person’s life. Having repeatedly endured sexual abuse as a child, Sheila credits her parents, music, and God with giving her the will to carry on and to build a lasting legacy. Rich in musical detail, pop, and Latin music history, this is a fascinating walk through some of the biggest moments in music from the ’70s and ’80s. But as Sheila’s personal story, this memoir is a unique glimpse into a world-famous drummer’s singular life—a treat for both new and longtime fans of Sheila E. And above all, The Beat of My Own Drum is a testament to how the positive power of music has fueled Sheila’s heart and soul—and how it can transform your life as well.