"Pop Stars" is devoted to the question; what makes a pop star as opposed to a pop singer? The author begins by looking at the first and greatest pop star of all - Elvis Presley. She describes the classic story of Elvis' rise to fame from poverty. The author describes the emergence of a definite youth culture at the time Elvis' career began, and stresses the culture at the time Elvis' career began, and stresses the importance of mass media exposure to the building of pop legends - Elvis' gyrating on the Ed Sullivan Show being the first example of this. The author also looks at the impact of The Beatles, stressing their enduringly popular tunes as one of the main reasons for their ascent to superstardom. As the author begins to look at the superstars of the 70s and 80s, she focuses on the global dimensions of pop stardom - for instance Michael Jackson's sale of over 100 million albums in the 1980s. She also uses Jackson to describe the downside of pop stardom - the constant hounding by the press and the impossibility of keeping one's life private.
The author describes the importance of image in the 80s - as can be seen in the popularity of Madonna - and the slick packaging and management that was arguably responsible for the rise to stardom of Kylie and Jason. Finally, she shows how successive generations of teenagers have been captivated by pop stars - witness the contemporary Beatlemania inspired by the New Kids on the Block.
- ISBN10 0750202904
- ISBN13 9780750202909
- Publish Date 15 November 1991
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 19 April 2005
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Hachette Children's Group
- Imprint Hodder Wayland
- Format Paperback
- Pages 32
- Language English