History of American Popular Music

Over the course of this term, we have studied the history of American popular music from the mid-19th century to present day. Guided by five general themes, our study allowed us to better understand not only the musical qualities of songs, but how those songs reflected societal, technological, and cultural realities in different eras of American life. Using your understanding of our studies, respond to the following prompts. You will be graded using the normal assignment rubric, but all categories will double in points. 40 points total. 400 word minimum. • What understanding of American popular music history did you have before the semester began? What was your relationship like with popular music? • Discuss each of our guiding themes (provided below) as they pertain to what you learned this term. You may discuss the themes as they apply to the entirety of the course (all of American popular music) or within the context of specific historical eras. • Theme One: Listening (passive, active, informed) • Theme Two: Music and Identity • Theme Three: Music and Technology • Theme Four: The Music Industry (Business) • Theme Five: Centers and Peripheries (geographical, genre, economic/political) To review the guiding themes in more detail, please check the Week 1 PowerPoint entitled “Setting the Stage.” Four your convenience, a summary of the topics studied throughout this course is provided below. Week 1: Music as “Text” – Effectively analyzing recordings/videos to understand context (social, political, cultural, etc.); Themes and Streams of American Popular Music Week 2: “After the Ball”: Popular Music of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries; “Catching as the Small-Pox”: Social Dance and Jazz, 1917-1935 Week 3: “I Got Rhythm”: The Golden Age of Tin Pan Alley Son, 1920s and 1930s; “St. Louis Blues”: Race Records and Hillbilly Music, 1920s and 1930s Week 4: “In the Mood”: The Swing Era, 1935-1945 Week 5: “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie”: The Postwar Era, 1946-1954 Week 6: “Rock Around the Clock”: Rock ’n’ Roll, 1954-1959; “Good Vibrations”: American Pop and the British Invasion, 1960s Week 7: “Blowin’ In the Wind”: Country, Soul, Urban Folk, and the Rise of Rock, 1960s Week 8: “The 1970s: Rock Music, Disco, and the Popular Mainstream “Outsiders’ Music: Progressive Country, Reggae, Salsa, Punk, Funk, and Rap, 1970s Week 9: The 1980s: Digital Technology, MTV, and the Popular Mainstream Week 10: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: Hip-Hop, Alternative Music, and the Entertainment Business Week 11: The Internet Age, 2000 – Present