OLLI CAL, 2020 fall online syllabus Instructor: Pete Elman Course Title: "It's All About the Song" Sub-title: "The Mount Olympus of American pop-rock songwriters" Course description : The essence of popular music is the song; whether it is folk, pop, rock, R&B, soul or country, the song is the core of the popular record. This course examines the lives and work of eight great songwriter/artists of the golden era of rock and roll. We will study the contributions of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Brian Wilson, the duo of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne and Joni Mitchell. Through the use of audio, video, stories and live in-class music, we will look at, listen to and break down the musical and lyrical components of songs by these composers, in order to better understand and appreciate the artistry, insight and social context these songwriters brought to popular music. Class description: The course will be broken up chronologically, focusing on one songwriter each week. Each session will include: --A thorough, background lecture about each composer, including the musical style most associated with them and stories, sometimes primary source. --A slide show with photographs, charts, maps and information on each composer. --In depth analysis of select lyrics from songs by each songwriter --Audio CD versions of songs --select video clips culled from film documentaries of each songwriter and other artists who performed their songs --live musical, examples of chords, rhythms, instrumentation, styles, etc…played on piano, organ, synthesizer (strings, horns, bells) guitar, bass and vocals by instructor during class. COURSE OUTLINE Week 1: Chuck Berry. He was rock & roll's first singer-songwriter, and the music's first guitar hero, as well. "If you gave rock & roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry." (John Lennon) “His songs were concise and mythic, celebrating uniquely American freedoms or protesting their denial.” (Rolling Stone) Week 2: Buddy Holly. Chuck Berry wrote about teenage America. Buddy Holly, the other great rock & roll singer-songwriter of the Fifties, embodied it. Holly was one of the first rock & roll singers to write his own material, exerting a huge influence on the Beatles and Rolling Stones, among countless others. Week 3: Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Goffin and King were pop's most prolific songwriting partnership –and, even more impressively, they kept their winning streaks going even after their marriage split up. With King handling melodies and Goffin the lyrics, they wrote many of pop music’s most evocative songs, tender snapshots of the adolescent experience. "When Paul and I first got together, we wanted to be the British Goffin and King," (John Lennon) Week 4: Brian Wilson. The Beach Boy’s musical director wrote gloriously ecstatic California anthems, rock & roll's greatest odes to idyllic summertime freedom. But he also penned darkly introspective masterpieces as well as groundbreaking symphonic masterpieces. His continued resilience in the face of tremendous challenges has been an inspiration. Week 5: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill. The legendary Brill building duo—and best friends of Carole King and Gerry Goffin—brought pop dreams to life with such 1960’s masterpieces as: Blame It on the Bossa Nova, On Broadway, Walking in The Rain, Saturday Night at the Movies, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', You're My Soul and Inspiration, Kicks, Hungry and We Gotta Get Out of this Place, and continued their streak of hits well beyond. Week 6: Paul Simon. The quintessential New York singer-songwriter, he switched between styles effortlessly with as much attention to rhythm as melody and lyrics. Over the decades, his music incorporated Tin Pan Alley, world music, acoustic reveries, gospel, R&B and electronic music, all without diluting his core appeal as an eloquent chronicler of everyday alienation. Week 7: Jackson Browne. The quintessential California singer-songwriter, don’t let his laid- back persona fool you: beneath those good looks lies a brilliant, incisive, talented singer- songwriter whose tales of love, coming of age and society are ennobling, inspiring, and—catchy. Week 8: Joni Mitchell. Never a pure folkie, she started out banging on her acoustic guitar in innovative ways and tunings, moved to writing sophisticated melodies at the piano, all the while unfurling starkly personal lyrics that pushed beyond traditional songwriting towards intimacy and rawness. Mitchell's run of albums in the early 1970's, on which she perfected a jazzy form of pop, rival critically any streak of record-making in pop history, and her lyrical depictions of being a strong woman offered a unique look at the era. Under each week you will see the following different listings: suggested reading, listening, and viewing: --Nothing is required here; rather, these are just recommended books, articles, albums and films/TV shows that will give the students an excellent snapshot into the brilliance and deep catalog of each of these songwriters. audio playlist: --Every song that is played during each class is listed here, so you can use them as reference video clips (youtube): --Also, all video clips from each class are listed her as youtube clips. Simply click on each url to access the video. This way you can find them easily, and watch them at your leisure, repeatedly. Week 1: Chuck Berry Reading: Chuck Berry: the Autobiography (2001) Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Hard Times of Chuck Berry, by Bruce Pegg, Listening: The Great Twenty-Eight, Chuck Berry, (Chess, 1982) Chuck Berry Is On Top (Chess, 1959) St. Louis to Liverpool (Chess, 1964) Viewing: The Tami Show (1964) Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ roll, Chuck Berry with Keith Richard, (1987) audio playlist: Nadine Maybelline Roll Over Beethoven Brown Eyed Handsome Man School Days Rock and Roll Music Reelin and a rockin’ Johnny B. Goode Carol Memphis No Particular Place to Go You Never Can tell Promised Land video clips (youtube) You can’t catch me, 1956, from the film “rock, rock, rock” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jKrHzps0XM Sweet little sixteen, 1958 from Bandstand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLV4NGpoy_E around and around, the Stones, 1964 the TAMI show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUbWAzQszNY back in the USA, with Linda Ronstadt, from Hail Hail Rock and Roll, 1986 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERVLy-ltjHs Week 2: Buddy Holly Reading: Remembering Buddy: The Definitive Biography Of Buddy Holly (2001), John Goldrosen The Day the Music Died: The Last Tour Of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, And Richie Valens 2003 by Larry Lehmer Listening: 20 Golden Greats, Buddy Holly and the Crickets (EMI, 1978) Memorial Collection 2009 (Decca, Geffen) Viewing: The Buddy Holly Story, dir. by Steve Rash (1978) audio playlist: That’ll be the Day Words of Love Peggy Sue Everyday Not Fade Away Oh Boy Rave On Think it Over It’s so easy Well all right Heartbeat It Doesn’t Matter anymore True Love Ways Crying, Waiting, Hoping Paul McCartney—Words of Love Maybe Baby Love’s Made a Fool of You video clips (youtube) Peggy Sue, from Arthur Murray Dance Party, 1957 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQiIMuOKIzY not fade away, Mike Douglas, 1964 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dZSOXZcQfQ oh boy, from Ed Sullivan Show, 1958 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j53OPR-cuYY words of love, Paul McCartney 1987 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNJHS7Y8LlA Week 3: Carole King and Gerry Goffin Reading: Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era, Emerson A Natural Woman: A Memoir: Carole King (2012) Listening: Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King, by Carole King 1980 Capitol Records Tapestry, 1970 by Carole king Viewing: About Carole King: Natural Woman; American masters, PBS (2016) Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter: PBS audio playlist: Will you still love me tomorrow Take good care of my baby It might as well rain until September Locomotion Crying in the rain Chains I’m into something good Up on the roof I wasn’t born to follow Don’t bring me down Pleasant Valley Sunday I feel the earth move Tapestry So Far Away You’ve got a Friend Natural Woman video clips (youtube) I’m into something good, Herman’s hermits, 1965 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydfG6t6VL8s wasn’t born to follow, Byrds, from Easy Rider 1969 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hEfcawx6Fc you’ve got a friend, James Taylor 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WJ1cf3nrLE Natural Woman, Aretha Franklin, 2015 Kennedy Center awards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHsnZT7Z2yQ Week 4: Brian Wilson Reading: Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Brian Wilson by Peter Ames Carlin 2006 The Nearest Faraway Place, Timothy White, 1996 Listening: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) The Beach Boys, (Capitol, 1965) Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys (1966) Viewing: The TAMI show, 1964 Love and Mercy (feature film, 2014) audio playlist: California Girls Surfin’ Safari Fun, fun, fun In My Room I get around Surfer Girl Don’t Worry baby Do you wanna dance Help me Rhonda Good Vibrations Wouldn’t it be nice Sloop John B. Oh Caroline No Heroes and Villains God Only Knows video clips (youtube) I get around TAMI show, 1964 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDIBMaCTwFw surfer girl TAMI show, 1964 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL25lgUvPgs The making of good vibrations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVlSVkzbJDA Pet Stories, from The making of Pet Sounds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0vAL8dHBxA Week 5: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil Reading: Always Magic