ARTS 617: HISTORY OF ROCK and R&B Wesleyan University GLS, Spring 2015

Instructor: Eric Charry, MS201, 860-685-2579, [email protected] Course hours: Tuesdays, Jan. 27-May 2, 7:00pm-9:30pm, MS301 Office hours: TBA and by appointment Course websites: https://moodle2.wesleyan.edu/, http://arts617.blogs.wesleyan.edu/

SYLLABUS Course description In this course we will study the history and culture of rock and r&b (rhythm & blues)--broadly defined as a conglomeration of loosely related American popular musical styles--from their origins in the 1940s and 50s through the early 1990s. Several parallel goals will be pursued. We will become literate in the broad range of their constituent traditions, studying primary artists, their classic works, and the web of connections that link them. We will engage with a variety of theoretical and journalistic approaches to understanding the music and its culture over the past six decades, confronting such issues as race relations and identities, youth culture and its relationship to American popular culture, popular music as a creative, cultural, and social force, and the economics of the music industry. And we will become familiar with, critically interpret, and evaluate the significant body of film and video that has been concerned with the music. A series of notes and figures (a manuscript-in-progress) by the instructor will provide the basic history and issues, serving as one entry point. A 10-part video series produced in the mid-1990s (BBC/WGBH)—available online for independent viewing--will enhance this history and serve as a framework for critical discussion of how a seemingly unwieldy expressive form such as rock can be encapsulated, understood, and formally taught. An extensive selection of additional articles and chapters ranging from primary newspaper and magazine sources to academic analyses will fill in the cultural and social contexts. Classes will consist of guided listening (about 120 pieces in all), viewing of video excerpts, student presentations, and discussion. Assignments include weekly writing or short research projects, student presentations based on independent supplemental research, and midterm and final projects to be chosen in consultation with the instructor.

Required text Articles available via Olin E-Reserve, notes and figures available as pdfs via moodle.

Online resources Moodle and ARTS617 course website (see above).

Course Requirements Reading: Reading the articles and chapters is required as indicated in the syllabus and announced each class.

Listening: All required listening is available for online listening as Spotify playlists (see Announcements in Moodle for information on how to subscribe). Additional audio and video links will be posted on the course blog. Students should listen to and study the pieces discussed in each class.

Viewing: A 10-part BBC/WGBH Rock & Roll video series is available for online viewing via E-Res or Moodle. Each episode is just under one hour long. Students are required to view each episode on their own as indicated in the syllabus and take notes. A brief online quiz and Moodle response post are required for each episode.

Writing: Regular written assignments on the listening and reading, a midterm mini-research project, and a final writing project (10-12 pages) on any relevant topic to be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Complete citations and/or footnotes should be given for all of the sources used. Websites may be used for research, but they should be fully cited.

Class Presentations: Students will make short oral presentations during the semester in their areas of interest. Final project presentations will take place the last two classes.

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Attendance Policy: Due to the intensity of the semester, consistent class attendance is required and students are expected to arrive on time. Any problems should be discussed with the instructor as unexcused absences may result in a lowered grade. Please keep cell phones silent while in class.

Grades: Your grade will be determined by the short written assignments, video quizzes, online forum participation, class presentations, and midterm and final projects. Class participation may also be factored in. 3

SCHEDULE OF CLASS WORK ARTS617, Charry, Spring 2015 (Subject to change)

Week 1 Tues. 1/27 Introduction, The Music Industry Charry, Introduction, Part 1 (Media and Technology) Crichton, “Thar’s Gold in Them Hillbillies” (1938)

Week 2 Tues. 2/3 Blues Charry, “Blues” Jones, from Blues People (1963: 81-94) Hooks, “Forever” (2012)

Rhythm and Blues Charry, “Gospel,” “Rhythm and Blues” Sheridan and Sheridan: “T-Bone Walker: Father of the Blues” (1977) [Brackett 2014: 48-51] Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: Louis Jordan (1978) [Brackett 2014: 53-55] Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: King Records, Atlantic (1978) [Brackett 2014: 61-64]

BBC/WGBH video 1: Renegades (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 1

Week 3 Tues. 2/12 Early Rock 'n' Roll Charry, “Early Rock ‘n’ Roll” Hughes, “Highway Robbery Across the Color Line,” (1955) Ruth Brown, from Miss Rhythm (1996) [Cateforis 11-12] Berry, from Chuck Berry: The Autobiography (1987) [Brackett 2009: 106-112] White, Penniman, and Blackwell, from . . . (1985) [Brackett 2014: 104-09] Crosby, “Could Elvis Mean End of Rock ‘n’ Roll Craze?” (1956) Gary, “It’s A Money Maker: Elvis Defends Low-Down Style” (1956) Roy, “Bias Against ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Latest Bombshell in Dixie” (1956) Ward, “Introduction” (1-6, 10-15 only) Charles and Ritz, from Brother Ray (1978) [Brackett 2014: 82-89] Bunzel, “Music Biz Goes Round and Round” (1960)

BBC/WGBH video 2: In the Groove (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 2

Week 4 Tues. 2/17 1960s, Part 1 (1960-64) Charry, “1960-64” Fox, “Leiber and Stoller” (1986) [Cateforis 25-29] Spector, “Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound” (1990) [Cateforis 43-49] Gordy, from To Be Loved . . . Motown (1994) [Brackett 2009: 180-186] Aronowitz, “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! . . . ” (1964) Aronowitz, “Eyewitness: Dylan Turns the Beatles on to Dope” (1994) Time Magazine, “Folk Singing: Sibyl with Guitar” (1962)

BBC/WGBH video 3: Shakespeares in the Alley (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 3

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Week 5 Tues. 2/26 1960s, Part 1 (1960-64) continued Shapiro, “Introduction,” “Wired for Sound” (2003)

BBC/WGBH video 4: Respect (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 4: RIAA Worksheet

Week 6 Tues. 3/5 PRESENTATIONS

Week 7 Tues. 3/24 1960s, Part 2 (1965-69) Charry, “1965-69” James Brown, from The Godfather of Soul [Brackett 2014: 178-189] Delahant, “Otis Redding: ‘Soul Survivor’” (1967) Garland, “Aretha Franklin: Sister Soul” (1967) Martin, “On the Beatles” (1979) [Cateforis 55-60] Donahue, “AM Radio: Stinking Up the Airwaves” (1971)

BBC/WGBH video 5: Crossroads (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 5

Week 8 Tues. 3/31 1960s, Part 2 (1965-69) continued Jahn, “Woodstock” (1970) Dalton, “Woodstock” (1999) Dalton, “Altamont” (1999) Bromell, “The Radical Self in Highway 61 Revisited and The White ” (2000) Shapiro, “I Had Too Much to Dream Today” (2003)

BBC/WGBH video 6: Blues in Technicolor (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 6

Week 9 Tues. 4/7 1970s Charry, “1970s” Bruford, “Reflections on Progressive Rock” (2009) [Cateforis 159-162] Robbins, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury” (2000) Windeler, Carole King: “You Can Get to Know Me” (1973) [Brackett 2014: 261-265] Van Matre, “Singing : 1971 is Woman’s World,” (1971) Frith, “The Real Thing—Bruce Springsteen” (1988) [Brackett 2014: 381-387] Coon, “Punk Rock” (1976) Robins, “Punk Rock” (1976)

BBC/WGBH video 7: Wild Side (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 7

Week 10 Tues. 4/14 1970s continued Kopkind, “The Dialectic of Disco” (1979) [Brackett 2014: 328-338] Dancis, Peck, Smucker, Christgau, “Disco! Disco!” (1979) [Cateforis 163-166]

BBC/WGBH video 8: Make it Funky (video quiz and Forum post) BBC/WGBH video 9: Punk (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 8 5

Week 11 Tues. 4/21 1980s Charry, “1980s” Kemp, “Hank Shocklee: Turntable Terrorist (1991) Kemp, “The Death of Sampling?” (1992) [Cateforis 269-272] Block, “Confessions of a Gay Rocker” (1982) [Cateforis 181-188] Considine, “Fear of a Rap Planet” (1992) [Brackett 2014: 439-446] Gehr, “Metallica” (1988) Senate, Parent Music Resource Center (pages TBA) Tate, “I’m White!” (1987) [Brackett 2014: 363-368] Hooks, “Madonna” (1992)

BBC/WGBH video 10: Perfect Beat (video quiz and Forum post) Assignment 9

Week 12 Tues. 4/28 PRESENTATIONS

Week 13 Tues. 5/5 PRESENTATIONS

FINAL PAPER DUE TUESDAY MAY 12 6

References (ARTS617) (located either in Olin Online Reserve or direct links)

Aronowitz, Al 1964 “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Music’s Gold Bugs: The Beatles,” Saturday Evening Post (March 21). 1994 “Eyewitness: Dylan Turns the Beatles on to Dope,” Q (May) http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu:7790/article.html?ArticleID=41 Berry, Chuck 1987 Chuck Berry: The Autobiography. Harmony Books. [Brackett 2009: 106-112] Block, Adam 1982 “The Confessions of a Gay Rocker,” The Advocate (April 15): 43-47. [Cateforis 181-188] Brackett, David (ed.) 2009 The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates. 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press. 2014 The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates. 3rd edition. New York: Oxford University Press. Bromell, Nick 2000 Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the 1960s. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Brown, James with Bruce Tucker 1986 The Godfather of Soul. Scribner. [Brackett 2014: 178-189] Brown, Ruth and Andrew Yule 1996 Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm and Blues Legend. New York: Donald I. Fine Books. [Cateforis 11-12] Bruford, Bill 2009 Bill Bruford: The Autobiography. London: Jawbone Press. [Cateforis 159-162] Bunzel, Peter 1960 “Music Biz Goes Round and Round: It Comes out Clarkola,” Life (May 16): 118-120, 122, 125. http://books.google.com/books?id=-U4EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA118&pg=PA118#v=onepage&q&f=true Cateforis, Theo (ed.) 2013 The Rock History Reader. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Charles, Ray and David Ritz 1978 Brother Ray: ’ Own Story. New York: Dial. [Brackett 2014: 82-89] Charry, Eric 2015 A Concise History of Rock and R&B from its Origins to the 1990s. Manuscript draft pdfs on Moodle Chrichton, Kyle 1938 “Thar’s Gold in Them Hillbillies,” Collier’s (Apr. 30): 26-27. Considine, J. D. 1992 “Fear of a Rap Planet,” (Feb.): 34-43, 92. [Brackett 2014: 439-446] Coon, Caroline 1976 “Punk Rock: Rebels Against the System,” Melody Maker (Aug. 7). http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/punk-rock-rebels-against-the-system Crosby, John 1956 “Could Elvis Mean End of Rock ‘n’ Roll Craze,” Post and Times Herald (June 18): 33. Dalton, David 1999 “Woodstock,” Gadfly (Aug.). http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/woodstock-2 1999 “Altamont: End of Sixties or Big Mix-up in the Middle of Nowhere?,” Gadfly (Nov./Dec.) http://www.gadflyonline.com/archive/NovDec99/archive-altamont.html Dancis, Bruce, Abe Peck, Tom Smucker, and Georgia Christgau 1979 “Disco! Disc! Disco?: Four Critics Address the Musical Question,” In These Times (June 6-12): 20-21. [Cateforis 163-166] Delahant, Jim 1967 “Otis Redding: ‘Soul Survivor’,” Hit Parader (Aug.). http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/otis-redding-soul-survivor Donahue, Tom 1967 “AM Radio: ‘Stinking Up the Airwaves’,” (Nov. 23): 14-15. 7

Fox, Ted 1986 In the Groove: The People Behind the Music. New York: St. Martins. [Cateforis 25-29] Frith, Simon 1988 “The Real Thing: Bruce Springsteen,” in Frith, Music for Pleasure: Essays in the Sociology of Pop, Routledge. [Brackett 2014: 381-387] Garland, Phyll 1967 “Aretha Franklin: ‘Sister Soul’,” Ebony (Oct.): 47-48, 50-52. Gary, Kays 1956 “It’s a Money-Maker: Elvis Defends Low-Down Style,” Charlotte Observer (June 27) http://scottymoore.net/charlotteColiseum.html (about 1/3 down the page) Gehr, Richard 1988 “Metallica,” Music and Sound Output (Sep.). http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/metallica Gordy, Berry 1994 To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown. New York: Warner Books. [Brackett 2009: 180-186] hooks, bell 1992 “Madonna: Plantation Mistress or Soul Sister?” in hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation. Reprinted in Evelyn McDonnell and Ann Powers (eds.), Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap, 1995, New York: Delta, 318-325. 2012 “Forever,” in Rebecca Walker (ed.), Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness, Berkeley: Soft Skull Press, 71-80. Bromell, Nick 2000 Tomorrow Never Knows: Rock and Psychedelics in the 1960s. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hughes, Langston 1955 “Highway Robbery Across the Color Line in Rhythm and Blues,” Chicago Defender (Jul. 2): 9. Jahn, Mike 1970 “Recollected in Tranquility: Woodstock,” Music and Artists (June) http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/recollected-in-tranquility-woodstock Jones, Leroi (Amiri Baraka) 1963 Blues People: The Negro Experience in White American and the Music that Developed from It. New York: William Morrow. Kemp, Mark 1991 “Hank Shocklee: Turntable Terrorist,” Option (May). http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/hank-shocklee-turntable-terrorist 1992 “The Death of Sampling?” Option (March/April): 17-20. [Cateforis 269-272] Kopkind, Andrew 1979 “The Dialectic of Disco: Gay Music Goes Straight,” Village Voice (Feb. 12): 1, 11-14, 16, 25. [Brackett 2014: 328-338] Martin, George with Jeremy Hornsby 1979 All You Need is Ears. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. [Cateforis 55-60] Robbins, Ira 2000 “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury . . . There Stands Before You a Murderer--The Band that Killed Rock ‘n’ Roll,” salon.com (April 10). http://www.salon.com/2000/04/10/rock_killer/ Letters to the Editor: http://www.salon.com/2000/04/13/gfr/ Robins, Wayne 1976 “Punk Rock: Its Day Will Come,” Newsday (Jan. 25). http://www.rocksbackpages.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/Library/Article/punk-rock-its-day-will-come Roy, Rob 1956 “Bias Against ‘Rock ‘n Roll’: Latest Bombshell in Dixie,” Chicago Defender (Apr. 2): 19. Shapiro, Harry 2003 Waiting for the Man: The Story of Drugs and Popular Music. Rev. ed. London: Helter Skelter. Shaw, Arnold 1978 Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues. New York: Macmillan. [Brackett 2014: 53-55, 61-64] 8

Sheridan, Kevin and Peter Sheridan 1977 “T-Bone Walker: Father of the Blues,” Guitar Player (Mar.): 22, 48-56. [Brackett 2014: 48-51] Spector, Ronnie with Vince Waldron 1990 Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. New York Harmony Books. [Cateforis 43-49] Tate, Greg 1987 “I’m White! What’s Wrong with Michael Jackson,” Village Voice (Sep. 22). [Brackett 2014: 363-368] Time Magazine 1962 “Show Business. Folk Singing: Sibyl with Guitar,” Time (Nov. 23): cover, 54-56, 59-60. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.wesleyan.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=54210058&site=eds-live United States Senate 1985 Record Labeling: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, First Session, on Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records, September 19, 1985. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Susan Baker (pp. 10-12), Tipper Gore (pp. 12-13), Jeff Ling (pp. 13-17), Sheila Davis (pp. 43-45), Q&A (pp. 46-51), Frank Zappa (pp. 51- ), John Devner (pp. 64-72), Dee Synder (pp. 72-82) http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015011009050;view=1up;seq=1 http://www.joesapt.net/superlink/shrg99-529/toc.html http://www.thing.net/~david/PMRC/toc.html Van Matre, Lynn 1973 “Singing-Songwriters: 1971 is Woman’s World,” Chicago Tribune (July 4): 4. Ward, Brian 1998 “Introduction,” in Ward, Just My Soul Responding: Rhythm and Blues, Black Consciousness, and Race Relations, Berkeley: University of Press, 1-15. White, Charles, Richard Penniman, and Robert Blackwell 1984 The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Quasar of Rock. Harmony Books. [Brackett 2014: 104-09] Windeler, Robert 1973 “Carole King: ‘You Can Get to Know Me Through My Music’,” Stereo Review (May): 76-77. [Brackett 2014: 261-265]

Video Espar, David and Hugh Thomson (prods.) 1995 Rock & Roll. 10 episodes. BBC and WGBH Boston.