Modern Music1844 - Today
The Beginnings of Today’s Musicand Other Stuff That Tries to be Music
1844Stephen Foster
Born July 4, 1826
First popular song “Open They Lattice Love”
Music was sentimental, popular before Civil War.
Themes were mostly about lost loveImmigrants missing their home and loved onesLost love
Appealed to the large majority of Americans
My Old Kentucky Home, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, and Beautiful Dreamer were most well known.
Died in 1864 at age of 38 and penniless
Because of Stephen Foster and others America started developing its own style of music.
Minstrel Shows1850-1900
White actors dressed up like black people
Black face
Very popular with majority of Americans
Songs like Oh, Susanna, Massa’s in de Cold Ground, Swanee River.
Replaced by musical reviews, vaudeville, and musical theater
Ragtime
Pre- and Post-Civil War
First known as the “Cakewalk”Dance contests where prizes were cakes
Two sources of the word RagtimeShuffling clog dance by black men known as raggingThe paper it was written on was known as a “Rag”
Unique blend of African and European styles
Two main cities where it was made popularNew Orleans, LA and St. Louis, MO
Ragtime
Scott Joplin
Best known Ragtime composer
Born in Texas in 1868
Died in 1917
Son of a freed slave
Maple Leaf Rag
African-American Influence
Slaves shared their feelings through songs
Negro spiritualsSongs from Africa, Haiti, etc.Hardships of being slaves
Origin of the “Blues” and “Rhythm and Blues”
Two time periods for the BluesLate 1800s to 1930
Country/rural blues (developed into Country)City/urban blues (became Jazz)
1930 to presentLouis Armstrong, Ray Charles (Instrumentalists)
Lead: Swing low, sweet chariotChorus: Coming for to carry me homeLead: Swing low, sweet chariotChorus: Coming for to carry me homeLead: If you get there before I doChorus: Coming for to carry me homeLead: Tell all my friends, I’m coming tooChorus: Coming for to carry me home
Down by the Riverside
Deep RiverBlack Sheep
Dixieland Jazz1900-1920
Started out as funeral procession musicTo the cemetery—slow and mournfulFrom the cemetery—Fast and lively
Started playing for dances
Made up of several instrumentsPiano, double bass, drums, banjo—pulse or beatTwo trumpets, a clarinet, and trombone—frontline (played the melody)
Trumpet was main playerClarinet—obbligato or counter melodyTrombone-tailgating (another from of counter melody)
Improvisation—play what they want, never read from music
Jazz
Scat Cat
King Louis
Jazz Moves to Chicago
1917 Storyville closed down (New Orleans)
Many musicians moved elsewhere including Chicago
Emphasis on soloist improvisation
Most famous—Louis ArmstrongHot Five and Hot Seven
Paul Whiteman—first concert in 1924
George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue
Finally considered a true art form
On the Sunny Side of the Street
007
Pink Panther
Take Five
George Gershwin
Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1898
Wrote a lot of stage musicals
Folk operasPorgy and Bess (1935)An American in Paris (1928)
Gene Kelly starred in the film
Brain tumor
Died at the age of 39Click Picture for link
Cole Porter
Born in 1891
Lots of music for musical theaterWake up and Dream
Anything Goes
Kiss Me Kate (1948)
Still very popular today
Soon set a trend throughout the worldClick Picture for link
Swing1935-1950
First heard in New York—recording capital
Big Band eraLeaders were the soloist
Often had singers along with band
Black (emphasis on soloist)Duke Ellington and Count Basie
White (emphasis on the band)Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey
In the Mood
A String of Pearls
It Don’t Mean a Thing
As Time Goes By Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Andrews Sisters
American Musical Theater
Based on comic opera of France and Italy
Victor Herbert (earliest composer)Toyland and Naughty Marietta
Jerome KernShowboat
Early musicalsRomantic plots with comedy and catchy tunes
First movie to have animation in it was Anchors Aweigh
A musical was successful if the audience left humming the tunes
Anchors Aweigh
Gene Kelly Dances with Jerry
Back
Musical Theater (cont.)
Early shows based on songs
Later shows based on story or plot
Many early works based on famous literary works.
Kiss Me Kate based on Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare
My Fair Lady is based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion My Fair Lady
Richard Rogers
First partner Lorenz Hart30 musicals
Hart dies
Teams with Oscar Hammerstein (1943-1960)Sound of Music, The King and I, Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, State Fair, Flower Drum Song and Cinderella
Cinderella Sound of Music
Musical Theater 1960-1980
Stephen SondheimA Little Night Music, Sweeny Todd, Into the Woods, West Side Story
Rock Musicals (late 60s to mid 70s)Used rock and roll as basisTunes not too catchy, never was really popular
Andrew Lloyd WebberPhantom of the Opera (Longest running on Broadway—9000+)Cats (Second longest—8000+)
Resurgence of American composersBeauty and the Beast (based on Disney version)
Jets Song
Folk Music
Most influential on today’s songs
Tells about lifestyles and every day life
Derived from immigrants
Bluegrass or Hillbilly similar to British Isles
Music is anonymous—handed down
Street vendors, lumberjacks, sailors, pioneers, African slaves, Latino immigrants, and Europeans
Johnny B. Good
1950s
Country music becomes very popular
Gospel and Doo WopElvis
– Frankie Valli– Girl groups– The Ink Spots and other male groups
• Latino music very popular for a short time
Hound Dog
Devil or Angel Do You Wanna Dance?
Duke of Earl
Dream Lover
Goin to the ChapelBoy from NY City
60s and 70s
• Very political and social
• Funk, Hip Hop, and Salsa
• Rock and Roll– The Beatles, Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas
and others– Elvis still rocked
• Early 60s had psychedelic rock– Associated with hippies– Splintered into Heavy Metal, Punk Rock, and others.
Bye Bye Birdie
Deuce Coupe
Be True to Your School
I Get Around
Vultures
1970s
• Rock/Pop– Styx, Chicago, Queen, Carpenters, Bread, Eagles
• Heavy Metal– Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, KISS, AC/DC
• Outlaw Country– Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson
• Hip Hop
• Rapping
• Salsa
• Punk Rock
Eagles
Rainy Days and MondaysIntermission
I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
Help Me if You Can
Late 70s to 1990
• Disco achieves world popularity in 1978
• Rap music is developed
• MTV emerges
• Alternative music
• Hip hop still popular
1990-Today
• Alternative– Grunge, Techno, Screamo, Gangsta rap,
• Bubblegum Pop– Brittney Spears, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the
Block
• Latin– Shakira, Selena and Ricky Martin
• Rap more popular– Eminen, Jay-Z Selena
Modern Era
• As we can see, our American music we listen to today was shaped by many styles of music.
• It spanned over 150 years.
• It is still evolving.
• Each generation has its style of music.
• What will it be like in the future?