Don’t Stop the Music: A Year of Pop History, One Day at a Time

‘Brilliantly simple as an idea but also ambitious, Justin Lewis creates a glorious interlocking history … of our pop culture with all its coincidences, connections and shared enjoyment.’ We Are Cult

‘The deliciously simple conceit ― pop facts from every day of the year ― lets Lewis roam wide and free, to fascinating effect.’ Daily Mail, 2023’s best history books

With entries for every day of the year, ranging from mini-essays to pithy and engaging sentences, Don’t Stop the Music is a novel musical companion – a way of charting your year through the major events and tiny incidents in the lives and careers of pop stars and recording artists, spanning 130 years of unmissable musical milestones from 1894 to the present day.

Whether it be when pop became newsworthy; when future stars attended notable gigs; when that K-Pop act issued their first single; or when Elvis Presley found himself on TV singing ‘Hound Dog’ to a basset hound, there are surprising and enlightening events from the history of popular music for every single day of the year. And esteemed music writer Justin Lewis has compiled them all for you, informatively and divertingly.

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‘A wonderful ride through our pop universe amongst thousands of bright stars, gnarled debris and twinkling nuggets of music and events made distant over time. Lewis has made all of it up-close and vivid through this indispensable companion for anyone who loves music and popular culture. Whatever the age of the reader, it’s brimming with new discoveries and triggering classics: memories and signposts make this an intoxicating music journey!’ Peter Curran

‘This is an astonishing book, a calendar of pop, an almanac of songs, a day by day in the life of music. A book of events that’s an event in itself.’ David Quantick

‘A brilliant musical almanac, compiled by an engaging writer whose musical knowledge is not just detailed but wide-ranging and generous.’ Jonathan Coe