Musical work, something groovy recalled with books (8)
I believe the answer is:
turandot
'musical work' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'something groovy recalled with books' is the wordplay.
'something groovy' becomes 'rut' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'recalled' says the letters should be written in reverse (to recall can mean to bring something back).
'with' becomes 'and'.
'books' becomes 'OT' (abbreviation for Old Testament).
'rut' backwards is 'tur'.
'tur'+'and'+'ot'='TURANDOT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for turandot that I've seen before include "18 [OPERA] 's" , "Opera by Puccini" , "Puccini's Chinese opera" .)