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The History of American Music
Intro Questions:
What is culture? What is cultural history?
What do we mean by “popular” culture?
How has music both impacted and been shaped by history?
What is the difference between “commercial” and “artistic” success? Which is more important?
African-American HistoryForced transportation and enslavement across Atlantic (1600s-1800s)
Conversion to Christianity
Abolition of Slavery (1865)
Reconstruction & Lynching
Segregation
Migration from country to city and South to North
The Great MigrationAfrican-Americans move North
From the “Old” World...
American music created out of mix of traditions from Europe and Africa
Legacy of ballads and classical music from Europe
Chanting, drumming, rhythms, and oral history from Africa
Influence of “Griot” from West Africa
“Folk” music as representation of ordinary people and their histories and cultures
Into the “New” WorldEnslaved Africans and European Immigrants bring their cultures to America (Melting Pot)
Influence of West Indies culture, New Orleans and “Creole” (mixed race)
Work songs, song leaders, “call and response”
“If the trees are to be cut, you must sing. Without song the bush knife is dull.” (Nigerian proverb)
Early kind of protest music
Religious influence, spirituals (Baptist)
Hint! Test Question #1
What historical factors lead to the creation of American music? How did both Europeans and Africans influence this?
The Blues
Blues
Simple form: 3 chords, usually in12 bar sequences
AAB Rhyme Pattern
Solo performance, Personal/Emotional/Spiritual
BUT ALSO: Communal, Oral History and Stories
Improvisation
Percussive Rhythm
Blues ThemesWork/Labor
Religion
The Devil
Travel and the Crossroads
Sin and Vice (Drinking, Gambling, Fighting, Sex)
Love and Death
Freedom
Early Blues Music
Individual performance (Solo)
Acoustic guitar
Harmonica
Vocal changes: shouts, moans, falsetto
Use of slides
Early Blues Greats
Robert Johnson
Son House
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Charley Patton
Lightnin’ Hopkins
“Ma” Rainey
Expansion of the Blues
Early recordings bring the Blues out of the South
Blues records become popular
Impact of the electric guitar
Blues music influences Jazz, Gospel, and Rock ‘n’ Roll
The “roux” or base for all forms of American popular music
Blues Icons
Bessie Smith
Muddy Waters
Howlin’ Wolf
B.B. King
John Lee Hooker
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Hint! Test Question #2
What themes did blues musicians focus on? How did the lyrics of blues songs reflect the life of black Americans? Explain how the blues captured the experience of African-Americans in the period after emancipation.
Jazz
JazzBorn in New Orleans
Created from Ragtime and Blues
Larger groups than blues, usually bands or orchestras
Variety of instruments: Trumpet, Piano, Trombone, Saxophone, Rhythm section (guitar, drums, bass), Vocalist
Close connection to dancing and live performances
Improvisation and soloing
Syncopation (Playing off the beat)
Jazz (continued)
Major Jazz cities:
Chicago
New York City
Kansas City
White and black musicians not allowed to perform together
But in late night jam sessions whites and blacks shared music
Jazz slang words: “Cat,” “chick,” “cool,” “dig,” “funky,” “hip”
The “Jazz” Age
Important Events of Early 1900-1929:
World War I
Prohibition
The Roaring Twenties
The Great Migration
Harlem Renaissance
“Flappers”
Big Band and “Swing”1930s-1940s
Major Events of 1930s
Great Depression
The Dust Bowl
World War II
Continued problems with segregation and civil rights
Bebop (1940s-1950s)
Experimental
Chaotic
Smaller Groups (3-5)
Extensive solos
Problems with Drug Use
Created big division in jazz
Jazz Icons
Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Billie Holiday
Ella Fitzgerald
Charlie Parker
Thelonious Monk
Miles Davis
Hint! Test Question #3
What major events influenced jazz music during the twentieth century? How did jazz change from the late nineteenth century to the 1950s?
Rock ‘n’ Roll1950s and 1960s
Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll
White musicians incorporating elements of the Blues
But also influenced by Country, Folk, and Jazz
Invention of Electric Guitar (1936) and Amplification
Television (Huge impact from 1950s onward)
Cold War and American Prosperity
“Baby Boomer” Generation, Teenage Rebellion
Early Rock ‘n’ Roll
Chuck Berry
Elvis
Bo Diddley
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard
British InvasionThe Beatles, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Rolling
Stones
Bob Dylan
Brought new sound to “popular” music
Combined folk, blues, rock, country, and other genres
Lyrical genius
Unconventional voice
“Like a Rolling Stone”
Psychedelic Rock
San Francisco
Closely connected to Hippies, Communes, and Drug Culture
Major bands:
Grateful Dead
Jefferson Airplane
The Doors
Woodstock (1969)
Hint! Test Question #4
What technological advances were significant for the popularity and success of Rock ‘n’ Roll? How did Rock develop from earlier forms of music?
Protest Music
Why do we protest? What does this term mean?
What issues cause people to protest? Has this changed?
How have songs become important to protest movements?
Do music and politics mix? How?
Introductory Questions
Folk tradition-Woody Guthrie
Work Songs
Blues and Jazz
Music in the 1960s
Punk and Reggae
Hip hop and Rap
Examples of Protest Songs
Protest Song against Lynching
Billie Holiday- “Strange Fruit”
Bob DylanGreatly influenced by Woody Guthrie
Songs about civil rights and anti-war
Dubbed “Poet of his Generation”
Turned against folk and “protest” music when he went “electric”
Hip HopCreated in black inner-city neighborhoods
Themes: Racism, Poverty, Police Brutality, Inequality
Examples:
Public Enemy
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Run-DMC
Jurassic Five
Hint! Test Question #5
What is “protest” music? How has music been an important form of political expression? What issues or problems have artists raised in their songs?
Music Today1970s-2010s
Major Genres of the Last 50 Years
Punk
Heavy Metal
Funk
Hip Hop
Disco
Pop (Popular)
Rap
Grunge
Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
Indie (Independent)
Impact of New Technologies
New Recording Formats
MTV
Digital Storage
The Internet
Napster
The Future of Music?
