This book reviews the period from the unification of Italy to the fascist era through significant Neapolitan performers such as Gilda Mignonette and Enrico Caruso. It traces the transformation of a popular tradition written in dialect into a popular tradition, written in Italian, that contributed to the production of "American" identity.

Simona Frasca is a lecturer on early sound reproduction and Italian migration, and a freelance music journalist. She hold a doctorate in History and Analysis of Musical Culture from La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, and is the author of Norah Jones, Piano Girl (2004).