Hello, when I was in college, I took a course on the history of American popular music (UC Santa Cruz in the late 90s for anyone interested). I remember enjoying the class a lot, however I've forgotten a bit of what I've learned so I was hoping to get a few suggestions on history books about the history and evolution of popular music (as opposed to classical or modern classical music). Thank you very much.
I think Yeah Yeah Yeah by Bob Stanley might be what you're looking for - it's relatively recent, it's from a British perspective rather than the American perspective you likely got in California, and it basically covers the period of time between the start of the singles charts in the UK - the mid-1950s - to basically the commercial end of the physical single in the mid-2000s. It is very good at putting rock music into broader perspective in pop, and it's got a quite diverse array of music being covered - everything from Frank Sinatra to Public Image Ltd to Britney Spears.