050:300:81 – Topics in American Studies Christine Clark Zemla Rutgers University/Raritan Valley Campus [email protected] Spring 2013 – Wednesdays 6-8:40pm

Race, Roots & Rock ‘n’ Roll

“It used to be called -woogie, it used to be called , used to be called … It’s called rock now.” Chuck Berry

“ is a means of pulling the white man down to the level of the Negro. It is part of a plot to undermine the morals of the youth of our nation.” Secretary of the North Alabama White Citizens Council, circa 1956

“[Rock and roll is] the most brutal, ugly desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear. [It is written and sung] for the most part by cretinous goons [and] by means of its imbecilic reiterations and sly – lewd – in fact plain dirty – lyrics … [It] manages to be the martial music for every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth.” Frank Sinatra

“Rock ‘n’ roll, man, it changed my life. It was like the Voice of America, the real America, coming to your home.”

“For some of us, it began late at night: huddled under bedroom covers with our ears glued to a radio pulling in black voices charged with intense emotion and propelled by a wildly kinetic rhythm through the after-midnight static. Growing up in the white-bread America of the Fifties, we had never heard anything like it, but we reacted, or remember reacting, instantaneously and were converted. We were believers before we knew what it was that had so spectacularly ripped the dull, familiar fabric of our lives. We asked our friends, maybe an older brother or sister. We found out that they called it rock & roll. It was so much more vital and alive than any music we had ever heard before that it needed a new category: Rock & roll was much more than new music for us. It was an obsession and a way of life.” Robert Palmer

Course Description/Goals:

It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but I like it … so the song goes. But is it only rock ‘n’ roll? has been a continuing thread in the fabric of post-World War II American culture. Rock ‘n’ roll has not merely reflected enormous social and cultural upheavals it has shaped them as well. Beginning with a brief survey of American “roots” music – including , blues, gospel and rhythm & blues – we will study the explosion of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s, followed by the folk and rock music of the 1960s, that which served as the soundtrack for the civil rights, anti- war and other protest movements of the turbulent era.

This course will examine rock ‘n’ roll – its historical and musical roots, its explosive beginnings in the mid-1950s, and its rise to cultural dominance – in order to explore issues of race, gender and class amidst the rapidly changing social, cultural, economic, and political landscape of mid- to late-20th century United States.

Texts:

Robert Palmer, Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History, from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago's South Side to the World. ISBN 978-0140062236

James Miller, Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947-1977. ISBN 978-0684865607

Attendance policy:

Attendance at all classes is expected. Two or more missed classes may result in you failing the course. If you must miss due to sickness or extenuating circumstances please use the University absence reporting website: https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ An email will be automatically sent to me.

Class Requirements/Grading:

40% midterm exam 60% final exam

The exams will include material from lectures, slides, readings and films. The format will be short answer (multiple choice/fill-in) and essay questions. The short answer section of the final exam will not be cumulative; the essay question on the final exam, however, will ask you to reflect on the entire course content.

Grading Scale:

92-100=A; 87-91=B+; 81-86=B; 77-80=C+; 70-76=C; 60-69=D; 0-59=F

Class Schedule:

JANUARY

23 “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll But I Like It” Course Introduction VIEW: Good Rockin’ Tonight

30 “The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock ‘n’ Roll” LECTURE: Roots of rock ‘n’ roll – part 1 VIEW: That Rhythm, Those Blues

FEBRUARY

6 “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me” LECTURE: Roots of rock ‘n’ roll – part 2 VIEW: Stephen Foster

13 “Teen Angel” LECTURE: The invention of the teenager VIEW: Blackboard Jungle (clip) What About Juvenile Delinquency? (clip) The Fifties: The Beat

20 “A Change is Gonna Come” LECTURE: The sounds of integration VIEW: The Murder of Emmett Till

27 “A Change is Gonna Come” (continued) VIEW: Soundtrack for a Revolution

MARCH

6 “The Times They Are A-Changin’” LECTURE: Songs of conscience and concern VIEW: Berkeley in the Sixties

MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW

13 MIDTERM EXAM

20 **** semester break – no class *****

27 “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (continued) VIEW: Plugging In

APRIL

3 “You Say You Want a Revolution” LECTURE: The VIEW: Britain Invades, America Fights Back

10 “Play That Funky Music” LECTURE: Who ARE the Funk Brothers?? VIEW: Standing in the Shadows of Motown

17 “I Want To Take You Higher” LECTURE: Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll VIEW: Blues in Technicolor

24 “Like a Rolling Stone” VIEW: Gimme Shelter

FINAL EXAM REVIEW

MAY

1 FINAL EXAM