Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth: The Dark History of Prepubescent Pop, from the Banana Splits to Britney Spears
Dedicated to the late music critic Lester Bangs and recently  deceased punk legend Joey Ramone, this wonderfully quirky title  leaves no stone unturned in its coverage of bubblegum music.  Cooper, publisher of underground culture 'zine Scram, and Smay,  a Scram contributor, lay out this music's long and winding  parameters, concentrating on the "classic" years (defined as  1967-72). More than 30 contributors offer essays on forgotten  artists whose songs are still played on oldies radio stations:  the Archies, the Cowsills, and 1910 Fruitgum Company, among  others. The book excels at showing the human side of these  mostly forgotten artists and their producers. Also included are  pieces on bubblegum progeny of the 1980s and 1990s, including  Britney Spears. And there's more: surveys of the media as it  relates to the music, the international scene, and various  bubblegum artifacts (remember cereal box records?). An excellent  "Recommended Listening" section and a useful index round out the  volume. Full of illustrations of classic album covers and artist  photos (regrettably in washed-out black and white), this quirky  and entertaining book is recommended as a reference for all  comprehensive music collections. University libraries should  also purchase for popular music studies collections. David M.  Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., BostonCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.