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?