What's Love Got to Do with It?: Emotions and Relationships in Pop Songs
Thomas Scheff's new book, What's Love Got to Do with It, successfully addresses the seemingly impossible task of analyzing the lyrics selected from decades of American popular music as way to show the reader the cultural and social ramifications of these lyrics and how they reflect the way each generation dealt with the ups and downs of loving relationships. Like Thucydides History of the Peloponesian War Scheff is there in the midst of things, and his front line reportage is both thought-provoking and brilliant. --David Amram, conductor and composerThe spectacular scope of Thomas Scheff's sociological work -- from mental illness and marital stress to laughter, genius, and the origin of war -- now expands yet further to include this highly innovative investigation of the content of popular songs, with special reference to the emotional economy of love and loss in modern life. --Donald Black, University Professor of the Social Sciences at the University of Virginia