MUGN M-499-001 History of American Popular Music 3 Credits
Instructor: Sanford Hinderlie,
Office: CM 250 Phone: (865) 2773 E-mail [email protected] Office hours: By appointment via email or in person
Fall, 2008
Class Meeting Time: Tuesday/Thursday, 2:00-3:15
Bulletin Description
This course is a comprehensive study of the history of American popular music, dating from the minstrel of the nineteenth century to the MP3 and Internet. The sources of popular music, listening, music identity, past technology, and the history of the music business are components of this elective.
Prerequisites:
This course is open to all students.
Textbooks and Other Materials Purchased by Student:
Starr, Larry, and Waterman, Christopher. American Popular Music, Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Course Requirements/Types of Assignments
∑ Students are expected to attend all class meetings and participate in discussion. ∑ Readings will be assigned weekly, with study questions to be answered. ∑ Listening examples representing performers and composers of various eras of popular music will be assigned and discussed. ∑ Quizzes regarding the readings and listening will be administered as well as mid- term and final examinations. ∑ A paper of five pages will be assigned with the topic regarding New Orleans music. ∑ A class presentation involving a song and artist of the student’s choice from the present decade that represents what the student regards as a potential for historical significance in twenty years from now. ∑ Students will attend one live performance of popular music and write a review of the experience. QUIZZES
Quizzes will be given with and without notice. Special Accommodations
A student with a disability that qualifies for accommodations should contact Sarah Mead Smith, Director of Disability Services, at 865-2990 (Academic Resource Center, Room 405, Monroe Hall). A student wishing to receive test accommodations (e.g., extended test time) should provide the instructor with an official Accommodation Form from Disability Services in advance of the scheduled test date.
Content Disclaimer
This class contains content that the instructor believes may be problematic for some students. Please read the attached statement carefully and inform your instructor if you require further information or if you feel unable to participate in any or all of the requirements of the class.
Academic Integrity
All work you do for this class is expected to be your own, and academic dishonesty (including, but not limited to, plagiarism on papers or cheating on exams) will be punished. A summary of the University’s definitions and procedures concerning academic integrity can be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin (pp. 46-47 of the 2003-5 Bulletin). If you are uncertain how to use and cite the work of others within your own work, consult reference works such as Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed., revised and by John Grossman and Alice Bennett, Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), or see the instructor.
Evacuation Statement
Students must log on to the College emergency web site (www.loyno.la) and the University Blackboard site (http://loyno.blackboard.com/ ) within 48 hours of any University evacuation to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc. Students will be required to do assigned course work for any evacuation of more than 48 hours. Students should also monitor the University site (www.loyno.edu) for general information. Course Objectives
Readings from the text will be assigned to promote discussion about past popular music in America. The assigning of listening examples of influential popular music and artists will support these discussions. Past technologies in music and the history of the business of music will be discussed, as well as how the past relates to the present. A paper/presentation will be assigned regarding specific genres of popular music.
Expected Student Learning Outcomes
The student will gain knowledge of the history of popular music as it applies to America dating from the nineteenth century to the present. The students will be able to identify sources of popular music and, through listening, the names and performers of influential musical examples. Past and contemporary technology in music and the music business will be identified and discussed.
Grading:
∑ 10% Live Performance Review ∑ 10% Paper: Last 20 Years of American Popular Music ∑ 20% Paper: History of New Orleans Music ∑ 60% Exams
Grades will be updated on a regular basis for the individual student to view upon request.
A quiz will be counted as two assignment grades.
Grade Scale
• 90 - 100 =A • 85 - 89 = B+ • 80 - 84 = B • 75 - 79 = C+ • 70 - 74 = C • 65 - 69 = D+ • 60 - 64 = D • 0 - 59 = F Attendance
Except in extraordinary circumstances, quizzes, tests, or in-class activities missed due to unexcused absences will receive a grade of "0" and may not be made up. Excused absences include only the following:
Illness accompanied by a signed note from your doctor or the Student Health Center. Out-of-town travel required in conjunction with another course in which the student is enrolled or required as an expectable part of a student degree program (MENC, NATS, NAMT, etc.)
Missing 3 classes during the semester automatically lowers your final grade one letter- grade. Missing 5 classes during the semester automatically lowers your final grade two letter- grades. You receive an “F” if you have 6 or more absences. 2 tardies counts as 1 absence.
Assignments are due on the due-dates as assigned by the instructor. An assignment may be turned in late by one class period, but the grade is lowered one and a half letter grades. Assignments are not accepted after the one class period (no exceptions, whether excused or not). All written assignments must include your name and due-date.
Other Policies
Food and drink, including water, in the classroom are prohibited at all times!
Cell Phones
Turn them off! Course Outline: The History of American Popular Music
Week #1 Introduction: Themes and Streams of American Popular Music
Week #2 The Beginnings: Popular Music in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries The Minstrel Songs; Victorian Parlor Songs; Brass Bands and Dance Music; Birth of Tin Pan Alley and the Music Industry; The Ragtime Craze
Week #3 Ballroom Dancing and Early Jazz Mass Technology and the National Music Industry: Phonograph, Radio, Sound Films, Turkey Trot, Fox Trot and Tango; Early Jazz; Dance Music in the Jazz Age
Week #4 Tin Pan Alley Songs and Stars Song Types and Song Topics; Irving Berlin and George Gershwin; Al Jolson, Gene Austin, Big Crosby, Ethel Merman
Week #5 Race Records and Hillbilly Records: Blues and Country Singers Race Records: City Blues and Country Blues Hillbilly Records: Mountain Ballads and Blue Yodels
Week #6 The Swing Era Big-Band: Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller Western Swing and Singing Cowboys: Bob Wills, Gene Autry, Patsy Montana
Week #7 Mid-Term Review and Exam
Week #8 Post World War II: Rise of Singing Stars; Jump Blues; Urban Folk Superstar Singers: Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole; Louis Jordan; Woodie Guthrie and Pete Seeger
Week #9 The Early 50’s: Rhythm & Blues + Country & Western = Rock’n’Roll Cover Records and the Birth of Rock; Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Big Mama Thornton; Hank Williams, Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly; Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino
Week #10 The Early 60’s: Phil Spector Productions; Motown Productions; Surfer Rock; The British Invasion; Rise of Nashville Chubby Checker and Rock’n’Roll Dance; The Temptations and The Supremes; The Beach Boys; The Beatles and the Rolling Stones; Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton
Week #11 60’s Pop Scene: Soul Music; Acoustic Folk and Folk-Rock; Acid Rock Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin; Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary; Joni Mitchell; Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle; The Hippie Counterculture: The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton Week #12 The 1970’s: Rock and Country Enter the Popular Mainstream A 70’s Mix: Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, John Denver; Mainstream Country: Olivia Newton-John; Dolly Parton; Rock “Grows Up”: Led Zeppelin; Pink Floyd; Crosby, Stills and Nash
Week #13 Outsiders’ Music: Progressive Country; Reggae; Punk; New Age; Disco Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings; Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley; The Velvet Underground; The Stooges; The Ramones; The Sex Pistols; Chic; Donna Summer
Week #14 Digital Technology and MTV; Hip-Hop and Rap An 80’s Mix: Kenny Rogers; Tina Turner; Van Halen; Peter Gabriel; Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen; Paul Simon; Madonna and Prince; The Sugarhill Gang; Public Enemy; Snoop Doggy Dog; Alternative Rock: Dead Kennedys; Alternative Folk: Ani DiFranco; Alternative Country: k.d. lang
Week #15 The 21st Century: The Music Industry The Internet; Technology and the Music Business; Globalization and the Rise of World Music; Music and Identity; Centers and Peripheries; Student presentations involving a song and artist of their choice from the present decade that represents what the student regards as a potential for historical significance.
Week #16 Final Examination