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The text selects New York, Los Angeles and Nashville as the American musical centers; do you agree? If not, name others? Name them and the musical style/s they represent.
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American Popular Music, Sixth Edition
Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman with Brad Osborn
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Chapter 1: Themes and Streams of American Popular Music
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Critically
• Listening that consciously seeks out meaning in music by
drawing on knowledge of how music is put together, its cultural
significance, and its historical development
• Knowing when things sound “wrong” even without technical
language to describe it
• Most people don’t listen carefully to the music they hear on a
daily basis
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Formal Analysis
• Formal analysis: listening for musical structure, its basic building blocks, and the ways in which these blocks are
combined
– Musical process- analysis of how popular music actually sounds, including the interpretation by performers
– Structure is not the only important dimension
– Concepts directly relevant to popular music
• Riff- repeated pattern designed to generate rhythmic
• Stevie- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwvlBZE2wt8
• momentumhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ia7QNUzO3U
• Hook- memorable musical phrase or riff – rhythmic hook- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7c0dOC3pnQ
• 10cc- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STugQ0X1NoI
• Chorus Hook Boz Scaggs- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv7tMnwdT8c
• Vocal Krauss- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRGZaHb8xE
• Groove- evokes the channeled flow of “swinging,” “funky,” or “phat” rhythms• Jeff Porcaro- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMI81yIlT0Q and
• Elton John- subtle brushes & shaker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKvIBkr6RZs
• Weather Report- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRq5zbDOSeI
• Tower of Power- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdDVel-DYYk
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Formal Analysis
– Timbre- quality of a sound, sometimes called “tone color”
• Listeners are able to identify the singer by the “grain” of his or her voice
• Instrumental performers have memorable soundprints
• Recording engineers, producers, arrangers and record labels develop unique
soundprints
– Lyrics- words of a song
– Dialect- musical genres strongly associated with particular dialects
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Music and Identity
• Music as a means of expressing identity
– Adolescence: comfort and continuity
– Images of gender identity, culturally specific ways of being masculine
and feminine
– Ethnicity and race, close connections between the Black Lives Matter
movement and new music of protest specifically relevant to
contemporary concerns
• Music plays an important role in bringing narratives to life
• Popular music- closely tied to stereotypes
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Music and Technology
• Technology shaped popular music
• Mass media- gap between musicians and their audiences
• Dated technologies- collectors and subcultures
• Technologies that encourage active involvement
– Advent of digital audio workstations (DAWs)
• Evolving relationship between human musicality and
technology
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The Music Business
1 of 3
• Production of popular music involves the work of many
individuals performing different roles
• Rise of radio, recording, and movies- primary means for
popularizing music
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The Music Business
2 of 3
• Mainstream pop music
– Composer and Lyricist- first creators of a work
– Arranger- reworked songs to complement a particular performer’s strengths
– A&R (artists and repertoire)- sought out talent
– Producer- convincing board of directors to back a project, shaping development of
new talent, intervening directly in the recording process
– Engineers
– Publicity department
– Public relations
– Other persons involved: business agents, video producers, graphic artists, copy
editors, stagehands, truck drivers, companies that design and produce t-shirts and
other merchandise, companies that produce the musical hardware
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The Music Business
3 of 3
• Unpredictable nature of music business
• First decade of 21st century: Internet-based digital technologies
– Apple- iTunes Store founded in 2001
– Made record companies, producers, studios, recording engineers, and musicians
seek new business models
– Increase of home studios
– Artist-owned music labels and publishing companies
– 2012- three transnational corporations control at least 80% of the world’s legal trade
in commercially recorded music
• Universal Music Group
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Warner Music Group
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Centers and Peripheries
• Center- geographical centers: New York, Los Angeles, Nashville
• Periphery- smaller institutions and those historically excluded
from the political and economic mainstream
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Streams of Tradition: The Sources of Popular Music
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The European American Stream
1 of 3
• Cultural and linguistic dominance of English- established
“mainstream”
– Ballads- type of song in which series of verses telling a story, often about
a historical event or personal tragedy, sung to a repeating melody
– Verses- series telling a story alternating with chorus
– Strophic- musical form with verses and chorus
– Broadsides- large sheets of paper that were the ancestors of sheet music
– Chorus- repeated melody with fixed text inserted between verses
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The European American Stream
2 of 3
• English ballad opera tradition
• Ballad tradition in America
– Songs reworked to suit the life circumstances of new immigrants
– Core of the tradition- musical forms and storytelling techniques
carried on in contemporary country and western music
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The European American Stream
3 of 3
• Dance music- closely modeled on styles imported from England and the
Continent
• Folk music- folk and popular styles from immigrants from other parts of
Europe
• Many traditions of religious music
– Spirituals- body of sacred songs which originated in breakaway movements
• Call-and-response singing- preacher “lining out” or singing each line of a given song and the
congregation repeating it in turn
– Gospel music- large body of sacred song with texts that reflect the personal religious
experience of Protestant evangelical groups
– Cantillation- chanting of scripture in sacred Jewish tradition
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Old-Time Music
1 of 5
• Old-time music: category made up of string band music, ballad
songs, sacred songs and church hymns, variety of functionally
specialized music genres including lullabies and work songs
• British ballad tradition: one of the main roots of American
music; predecessor to urban folk music, country music, rock ‘n’
roll
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Old-Time Music
2 of 5
• “Barbara Allen”- documented in 1666 in London
• Included in Francis J. Child’s English and Scottish
Popular Ballads (1882-1898)
• Impossible to known when it was introduced into
English colonies in North America
• Included in some of the earliest recordings of rural
American folk music
• Jean Ritchie (b. 1922-2015)- folk singer and song
collector
– Her version of the song “Barbary Allen” was learned growing
up in Kentucky
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihit0mpmz7o
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUNdRm5Toc
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Old-Time Music
3 of 5
• String band tradition- repertoire of old-time string bands
provides evidence of the impact of new environments on the
traditions that English, Scots, Irish, and Welsh immigrants
brought with them to the Americas
– Banjo
• “Soldier’s Joy”- one of the most popular and widely distributed
fiddle tunes in the old-time repertoire
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Old-Time Music
• Skillet Lickers- one of the very first southern
string bands to appear on commercial
recordings
4 of 5
– James Gideon (Gid) Tanner (1885-1960)- leader of
the band, chicken farmer, and part-time fiddler
– Came together with George Riley Puckett, Clayton
McMichen, Fate Morris- first successful “hillbilly”
act for Columbia records
– Recording of “Soldier’s Joy” (1929)
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RCCvvK80c8
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuhqSH9pTEg
– Earl Scruggs with John McEuen Soldiers Joy –
YouTube
– Josh Graves, Jerry Douglas and Mike Auldridge Fireball – YouTube
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Old-Time Music
5 of 5
• Tommy Jarrell (1901-1985)- influential old-time fiddler and
banjo player from Mt. Airy, NC
– Documentary film: Sprout Wings and Fly (1983)
– Drone- repeated pitch running through performance, similar to a
Scottish bagpipe
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDJPnG3RDxU
Earl’s Breakdown – Foggy Mountain Boys – YouTube
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The African American Stream
1 of 4
• Transatlantic traffic in slaves
– 1860- almost 4 million slaves in the US out of a total 31 million population
– Discussion of genesis of African American music- must engage with painful
topic of slavery and culture forged from it
• Cultural mix among slaves- syncretic or “creolized” forms of cultural
expression- drawn from various African and European, and Native
American precepts
– Deep South- people of African descent confined to segregated quarters and
worked long, grueling hours
– Appalachian/Ozark mountains- slaves lived in family units adjacent to owners’
homes- more nuanced interactions across racial lines
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The African American Stream
2 of 4
• Genres of African American music that represent Deep South,
Appalachia, New Orleans
– Mississippi Delta-based electric blues of Muddy Waters
– Black banjo music of Kentucky and the Carolinas
– New Orleans jazz
• 19th century
– Music of African American communities- work songs, lullabies, game songs,
story songs, instrumental music used to accompany dances and other
important social events
• Black spirituals
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The African American Stream
3 of 4
• Call-and-response- lead singer (or instrumentalist) and a group of singers (or
players) alternate phrases; more freedom in the leader’s part- Gladis knighthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v78-ftcqpNw
• Relatively short phrases recurring in a regular cycle
• Polyrhythmic textures- textures produced by many rhythms going on at the same
time- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0RNSM-I-kw
• Syncopation- “off-beat” pattern where the sounds produced by the musicians are
played very precisely apart from or against the underlying steady pulse of the
music- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRSJijhRIOs
• Louis armstrong-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO3k-S_pqK4
– Backbeat- the accenting of the second and fourth beats of a steady four-beat pulse
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The African American Stream
4 of 4
• Wide palette of tone colors
• Emphasis on improvisation
• Instrumentation
– African drumming traditions- The Path, Ralph McDonaldhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnvwUyVJNLc
– Diddly bow- adaptation of the one-stringed zitherhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2GlAA5iiG8
• Influence of African American aesthetics and techniques on
American popular music
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Long John
• Performed by Lightning Washington and fellow convicts,
recorded 1934
• African American work songs- musical performance
coordinated the work efforts of individuals, increasing
efficiency and helping them avoid physical danger
• Lighting Washington- prison song leader
– Recorded at Darrington State Prison Farm in Sandy Point, TX
– Leader-and-chorus, call-and-response song
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G5KtQynWvc
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: “Coo Coo”
• Banjo- instrument most cited as evidence of continuity with
West African traditions in the United States
• Dink Roberts (1894-1984)
– “songster”: tradition of African American secular music-making that
predates the emergence of the blues
– Recorded “Coo Coo” at age 80
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d5W_nc__xg
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: “Stagolee” (“Stack O’Lee”)
• Performed by Mississippi John Hurt (vocal and guitar),
recorded 1965
• Variant of the ballad tradition
• Sharecroppers
• Stagolee- quintessential prototype for bad man character
– Many versions of the story
• Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966)- representative of songster
tradition
– Polyrhythmic musical texture in fingerpicking guitar style
– Conversation between voice and guitar
– Blend of European American and African American elements
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWM82eQKdQk
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The Latin American Stream
1 of 2
• Latin America- vast region colonized by countries such as Spain, Portugal,
and France
• Cuban contradanza- African-influenced variant of French country dance
tradition
– Fashionable in Europe under new name habanera
– Influence extended to the popular music of the US in the last decades of the 19th
century
• Tango
– Influenced by Cuban habanera rhythm, African-influenced milonga, Italian and
Spanish popular songs, and songs of guitar-playing Argentine gauchos (cowboys)
– Popularized by the silent movie idol Rudolph Valentino in the film The Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
© 2022 Oxford University Press
The Latin American Stream
2 of 2
• Rumba
– Developed when rural son (Cuban parallel of country music) spread to
Havana, where it was played by professional dance bands
• Brazilian samba
– Boosted in the 1940s by the meteoric career of Carmen Mirandaseries of popular musical films
• Mexican Music
– Conjunto acordeon, Ranceras, Corrido, Banda
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: The Tango
1 of 2
• “La Cumparsita”, performed by Carlos Gardel, with guitar
accompaniment by José Ricardo, recorded 1928; performed
by Francisco Canaro y Quinteto Pirincho, recording 1951
– Best-known composition from the tango tradition
– Composed in 1916 by the Uruguayan musician Gerardo Matos
Rodriguez (1897-1948)
• Carlos Gardel (1890-1935)- French-born star of
tangohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc1wAM9P1UE
• José “El Negro” Ricardo (1888-1937)- Afro-Argentine
musician in tango tradition
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: The Tango
2 of 2
• Francisco Canaro (1888-1964)- Uruguay-born violinist and
bandleader
• Traditional dance band (orquesta típica)
– Two violins, piano, double bass, drum set, bandoneón
– Bandoneón- reedy-sounding cousin of the concertina and
accordionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ZwdmrUjL4
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Afro-Cuban Rumba
• “Enigue Nigue,” performed by AfroCuba de Matanzas, released 1998
• Rumba- originally referred to a family of Afro-Cuban dances, the Africanderived percussion-driven music accompanying them and informal parties
where performances take place
• Instruments: three single-headed drums (conga drums)- tumbadores and
quinto; palitos, claves
• Rumba vocal parts- solo singing and call-and-response patterns
• Montuno section- alternates fixed vocal refrain with solo vocal
improvisation
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOjIl21W89c
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Listening Guide: Mexican Mariachi Music
• “La Negra,” performed by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, released 1959
• Mariachi tradition originated in the western region of Mexico, associated with
state of Jalixco and city of Guadalajara
– May come from French word for marriage, one of the social events at which mariachi
bands play
– Small bands made up of violin, guitar, and other stringed instruments
– Expanded in size and added trumpets
• “Son de la Negra”- traced back to the 19th century, appeared in printed form in
1940
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTwmQ-R7Joc
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Key Terms
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A&R (artists and repertoire)
A Cappella
Arranger
Backbeat
Ballad
“Barbara Allen”
Black spirituals
British ballad tradition
Broadsides
Call-and-response
Cantillation
Chorus
Composer
Dance music
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Dialect
Folk music
Formal analysis
Gospel music
Groove
Hook
Lyricist
Lyrics
Montuno
Musical process
Old-time music
Polyrhythmic
Producer
Rhythm
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Riff
Sharecroppers
“Soldier’s Joy”
Spirituals
String band tradition
Strophic
Timbre
Tune families
Verses
© 2022 Oxford University Press
Key People
• Carlos Gardel
• Dink Roberts
• Francisco Canaro
• James Gideon (Gid) Tanner
• Jean Ritchie
• José (“El Negro”) Ricardo
• Lightning Washington
• Mississippi John Hurt
• Skillet Lickers
• Tommy Jarrell
© 2022 Oxford University Press
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