Pop Music and Politics: Tracking Political Trends Through the Hot 100 Chart, 1959-2016 The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation MacTaggart, Andrew. 2018. Pop Music and Politics: Tracking Political Trends Through the Hot 100 Chart, 1959-2016. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42004046 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Pop Music and Politics: Tracking Political Trends through the Hot 100 Chart, 1959-2016 Andrew MacTaggart A Thesis in the Field of International Relations for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University November 2018 © 2018 Andrew MacTaggart Abstract In this research, I searched for correlations within American popular music and U.S. political trends from 1959 to 2016 by collecting data on and analyzing every number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from January 3, 1959, to December 31, 2016, which totaled 1,030 songs. My hypothesis was that changes in the music over time would mirror the socio-political trends that were simultaneously taking place. Two key components set this research apart from much of the previous literature on the subject. First, the empirical and quantitative nature of this study is relatively unique, as most previous research on this topic has been qualitative in nature. Second, in addition to the lyrical themes, my focus on the measurable sonic characteristics of the music is also relatively unique, as most previous studies of this nature have focused solely on lyrical matter. For every number one song between January 1st, 1959 and December 31, 2016, I collected and analyzed data on 23 different measurable musical and non-musical characteristics, including tempo, gender of primary vocalist(s), race of primary performer(s), key signature, mode, instrumental arrangement, primary lyrical theme(s), and more. Because of limitations of time, I researched and analyzed the three primary trends which were most readily apparent in the collected data. First, there have been noticeable changes in popular genres between 1959 and 2016. Generally, each of the last five and a half decades have been defined by their own popular genres. For example, socially conscious rock can be said to have symbolized the 1960s, while disco can be said to have exemplified the late 1970s. I assert here that the multitude of popular genres between 1959 and 2016 have lyrically and musically acted as social, political, and economic expressions of the natures of their times. Second, there was a noticeable difference in the rate of African American representation in popular music between 1959 and 2016, with their representation starting small in the 1960s but exploding in the 1990s and beyond. The same basic trend could be seen amongst the prevalence of female vocalists, which constitutes the third topic of study. I claim that both trends exemplify the evolving social, political, and economic statuses of African Americans and women over this period. Ultimately, I conclude that all three trends provide evidence of a historical and ongoing correlation between national socio-political attitudes and popular music. As such, I believe that contemporary popular music should be taken into stronger account when analyzing national socio-political climates, trends, and attitudes. Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………….………..iii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………....viii Chapter I. Introduction to Research…………………………………………………….…1 Previous Research………………..……………………………………………..…4 Lack of Empirical / Quantitative Study……......……………………………….....6 Problems Due to Lack of Study..……………………………………………….…9 Reason for Study……………………...……………...………………………..…10 Hypothesis…………………..…………………………………………………....11 Specific Aims…………………………………………..……………………….. 12 Research Methods………………..………………………………………………13 Summary……………..……………………………………………………….….16 Literature Review…………..…………………………………………………….17 Quantitative / Empirical Studies……………………………...………….17 Qualitative Studies……………………………………………………….21 Genre Studies………………………………………………………….....22 Protest Music……………………………………………….……22 Rock and Roll…………………………………………………....23 Pop…………………………………………………...…………..24 Hip-Hop…………………………………………………….……25 By Decade…….…………...……………………………………………..26 Race and Gender…………………………………………………………28 v Chapter II. The Socio-Political-Economic Nature of Historical Changes in Popular Genre………………………………………………………………….……….…30 1958-1963…………………………………………………………………….….31 1964-1968/9…………………………………………………………………...…34 1968/9-1974………………………………………………………...……………40 1974-1979…………………………………………………………………….….51 1980s………………………………………………………………………….….57 1990s-2016…………………………………………………………………...…..71 Chapter III. Historical Representations of African American Socio-Political-Economic Statuses in Popular Music……………………………………………..…………74 1960s………………………………………………………………………..……74 1970s………………………………………………………………………..……86 1980s………………………………………………………………………..……95 1990s……………………………………………………………………………106 2000-2009……………………………………………………………………....115 2010-2016…………………………………………………………………...….122 Chapter IV. Historical Representations of the Socio-Political-Economic Status of Women in Popular Music……………………..…………………………………………129 Life pre-1960s……………………………………………………………….….129 Political Changes - 1960s………………………………..…….……….……….132 Political Changes – 1970s……………………………….…………..…....…….143 vi Reagan Years – 1980s………………………………………………….……….152 Clinton Years, Rise of Women – 1990s………………..……...………….…….165 2000-Present……………………..……………………………..……………....173 Chapter V. Conclusion…..……………………………………………………...………180 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...….185 vii List of Tables Table 1. Socially Conscious songs to reach #1 on the Hot 100 Chart, 1964-1968………37 Table 2. Number of unique artists to have #1 songs, per decade………………………...45 Table 3. Average length of time spent at number one per song in weeks, by decade…...46 Table 4. Socially conscious songs, 1969-1974…………………………………………..49 Table 5. #1 Disco songs, 1974-1979……………………………………………………..52 Table 6. List of Eighties Power Ballads, with Life-Affirming Key Changes highlighted.62 Table 7. Nationality on the Hot 100 Chart, by Decade and Number of Songs per Nationality………………………………………………………………………..68 Table 8. Race of artists to hit #1, by decade……………………………………………..69 Table 9. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 1960…………………………………………………………………………..….84 Table 10. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 1960s……………………………………………………………………………..84 Table 11. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 1960s, year-by-year………………………………………………………..85 Table 12. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 1970s……………………………………………………………………………..93 Table 13. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 1970s…………………………………………………………………………......93 viii Table 14. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 1970s, year-by-year……………….……………………………………....93 Table 15. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 1980s……………………………………………………………….…………..103 Table 16. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 1980s…………………………………………………………………………....103 Table 17. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 1980s, year-by-year…...………………………………………………….103 Table 18. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 1990s……………………………………………………………………………112 Table 19. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 1990s………………………………………………………………………....…112 Table 20. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 1990s, year-by-year………………………………………………………112 Table 21. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 2000s……………………………………………………………………….…...120 Table 22. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 2000s…………………………………………………………………….…..…121 Table 23. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 2000s, year-by-year….………………………………………………..…121 Table 24. Number of Major and Minor key songs to hit number one, by decade………………………………………………………………...……..….121 ix Table 25. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song, 2010-2016……………………………………………………………………....124 Table 26. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans, 2010- 2016………………………………………………………………………,……124 Table 27. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 2010-2016, year-by-year………………..………………………………..124 Table 28. Number and percentage of weeks of African Americans having the #1 song by decade………………………………………………………………………..…124 Table 29. Number and percentage of #1 songs performed by African Americans by decade………………………………………………………………………..…125 Table 30. Number and percentage of songs and weeks African Americans had the #1 song, 1960-2016, year-by-year……………………………………………....…125 Table 31. Number of hip-hop songs compared to number of pop songs to hit number one, broken down by race of performer: 1990s, 2000s, 2010-2016……………………...128 Table 32. Number of performers to have a number one song, by race, per decade…….128 Table 33. Rate of female appearance at #1