WEEK 1

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE BOOK ON POP MUSIC HISTORY

https://coolinfographics.com/blog/2016/7/11/popwaves-making-of-the-genealogy-of-poprock-music.html

FOUR FOREFATHERS OF POP MUSIC:
HANK WILLIAMS (1923-53) – COUNTRY – SELFDESTRUCTION
ROBERT JOHNSON (1911-38) – BLUES – MYTHOLOGY
WOODY GUTHRIE (1912-67) – FOLK – SOCIAL AWARENESS
LOUIS JORDAN (1908-75) – RHYTHM & BLUES – ENTERTAINMENT

Open in Spotify

QUESTION TO START NEXT WEEK: WATCH THE SHORT DOCUMENTARY BELOW AND FORMULATE YOUR ANSWER TO THE QUESTION “WHY WOULD FRANK SINATRA BE FOREFATHER #5?”

WEEK 2

FIELD RECORDINGS VS RECORD COLLECTORS AND MUSIC BEFORE WWII

ALAN LOMAX (1915-2002)
http://research.culturalequity.org/home-audio.jsp

HARRY SMITH (1923-91)
https://harrysmitharchives.com/

WEEK 3

WHAT IS TIN PAN ALLEY?

Played by Scott Joplin himself

https://soundamerican.org/issues/big-band/history-tin-pan-alley

BRILL BUILDING, NYC – PUBLISHERS, SONGWRITERS, MUSIC BUSINESS
ADVANCED MUSIC, MUSICAL, PROFESSIONAL, JAZZ STANDARDS, SHEET MUSIC AS REVENUE MODEL
GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK

THE BLUES

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE BLUES?
THE JOURNEY FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA TO CHICAGO
COUNTRY BLUES (SOLO, ACOUSTIC, STORYTELLING, FREEFORM)
URBAN BLUES (BAND, ELECTRIC, DANCE MUSIC, 12 BAR FORM)

THE BIG 3 OF THE BLUES
1. MUDDY WATERS (1913-83)
2. JOHN LEE HOOKER (1912-2001)
3. BB KING (1925-2015)

WEEK 4

THE RIDDLES OF ROCKNROLL [by Leo D’Anjou] – reading questions

What and where is Tin Pan Alley?
What went wrong with TPA in the 1950s?
White teenagers were listening to what kind of radio stations? And what was the effect in the music industry?
What is the phase in-between discovery and consolidation?
Who was Alan Freed?
What was the 1st Rocknroll song to emerge on the Billboard national chart?
What did Bill Haley do with his lyrics (like many other artists)?
Who was Sam Phillips?
What is Rockabilly?
What were the 3 main streams in popular music before Rocknroll?
Why were the vocal groups important for the course of Rocknroll?
What is Doo-Wop?
Name the 6 most important independent record companies in Rocknroll.
What was the name of the record company where Chuck Berry released his singles? Which city are we talking about?
Why was the south of the USA important in the development of Rocknroll?

WEEK 5 – 1960s – the canon

What is the Canon? Why is it important? Do we need a canon? Or do we need a different one?

WEEK 6 – 1960s – THE BEATLES

THE BEATLES WERE IN MANY WAYS THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE 1960s. THEY KIND OF SHAPED THE MUSICAL UNIVERSE OF THE DECADE AND ALLE THE OTHER MUSICIANS FOLLOWED THEM. WHEN POP MUSIC BECAME ART AND MORE THAN JUST ENTERTAINMENT AHLFWAY THROUGH THE 1960s. AND: THERE IS NO ROCKBAND WHERE SO MUCH IS WRITTEN ABOUT. THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF BOOKS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES.