Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo: The History of Yodeling Around The World By Bart Plantenga Routledge 2004 342 Pages ISBN:  0-415-93990-9

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"The hills are alive with the ululations of centuries of yodelers, whose echoes persist undyingly. Bart Plantenga shows how yodeling, which may be encoded in our DNA, is humanity's most open secret, linking Swabian and Farsi, mountain and atoll, cowboy and jazzbo. Like an errant carnival ride, his book is fun, head-spinning, and ontologically profound." — Luc Sante, author of Low Life "Like yodeling itself, Bart Platenga's book is wry, humorous, touching, irreverent, vivid, and unforgettable. In addition it is erudite without being stuff, and is extremely well written. At last, THE book on yodeling!" —Ranger Doug, Riders in the Sky "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo is an amazing, wild, and wonderful book. If there's anything to be known about yodeling since the dawn of recorded time, Bart Platenga knows it, and he knows how to write about it — wisely, humorously, and stylishly." —Nolan Porterfield, author of Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and times of America's Blue Yodeler "Writing a history of the yodel requires qualifications such as a degree in craziness, boundless humour and the capacity to enjoy and understand the entire musical history of the world (or universe, if you include Mars Attacks). Happily, Bart Platenga possesses these in abundance. His enthusiasm for distinctive music and weird facts is capable of curing even the most yodel-phobic reader." —David Troop, author of Ocean of Sound, Rap Attrack and Exotica. Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo is the first book to view yodeling as a global phenomenon. It answers the question: How did a centuries-old Alpine tradition make its way into American country music? ALong the way, the reader discovers that yodeling is NOT just a Swiss thing: everyone from African Pygmies, rhinestone cow-people, avant-garde tonsil-twisters to pop stars like Jewel and Sly & The Family Stone have been known to yodel. We encounter legends Jimmie Rodgers and Gene Autry, whistling yodelers like Ronnie Ronalde, the chicken yodeling Cackle Sisters, the campy "Australian Queen of Yodeling" Mary Schneider and the Topp Twins, a yodeling lesbian duo. Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo is the definitive deep glimpse into this secret world — one the reader will explore with great delight. About the Author Bart Platenga is a widely published author of cultural, musical and historical journalism, fiction and non-fiction. His writings have appeared in Reggae, Rasta Revolution: Jamaican Music from Ska to Dub, and many journals. He currently writes, DJs and lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.