Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens: the Class Origins of Rock and Roll Summary
American Routes
Spring 2020. HIST 359. AMST 321.
Tuesdays/Thursdays 4:00-5:15. Candler Library 114.
This course satisfies Emory GER for Area VII HAP (Humanities, Arts, Performance)
For the second half of the semester, the permanent link for all our class meetings is: https://emory.zoom.us/j/364171531
You can either click on this link or cut and paste it to your browser to join the class meetings at our regular days and times.
Professor Allen Tullos
allen [dot] tullos [at] emory [dot] edu
Office hours at 327 Bowden: Fridays noon-1:00. And by appointment.
This course explores the roots and routes of selected genres and styles of American vernacular music in the context of history and cultural geography. It explores musical forms, emblematic performers, song content, scenes and audiences, appropriation, circulation, and preservation. Where, when, and why do musical genres emerge, spread as influential streams, or disappear? How do musical genres express changing social history, political protest, cultural identities, structures of feeling, concepts of authenticity, displacement and mobility?
The assigned songs and readings are either linked directly from this syllabus or available through links provided to Emory course reserves.
Check the syllabus regularly (refresh your browser page) for updates and changes.
January 14 Introduction
Introducing several key words for the semester. "Roots" and "routes," song genres, styles, historical cultural geography; social justice; "folk," working class, vernacular, and popular musics. Discussion of syllabus and assignments.
Online Resources:
- Emory Course Reserves — most of the course readings. Emory ID and Password.
- Smithsonian Global Sound
- American Song
- American Routes radio show from New Orleans, hosted by Nick Spitzer.
- Newport Folk Festival
- kexp radio in Seattle
- Allmusic.com
- Pitchfork
Ida Cox, "Death Letter Blues" (1939) LYRICS
Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly), "Death Letter" (1948)
Son House, "Death Letter" (1967) LYRICS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdgrQoZHnNY
Cassandra Wilson, "Death Letter" (1996) LYRICS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnQE0I98Bgs
White Stripes, "Death Letter" (2000)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fM2qhG8mA4
January 16 Routes and Routes
A well-travelled song. Listen to and read about versions of "In the Pines"
https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/americanroutes/topics/roots-and-routes/
Writing Assignment: For class discussion, write 250 -300 words (no more than one page) succinctly contrasting the five versions of "In the Pines." Be sure to mention each version. Consider, for instance, the singers' biographical and geographical situations, styles of singing, the emotions they evoke, how they adapt the song, the instrumentation, etc. Turn in your printed commentary at the end of class.
Read about the history of the song: "In the Pines." (Wikipedia)
In class, discussion of "In the Pines" to illustrate themes that the American Routes course raises about genre and performance style in relation to history, regional geography, social class, race, and gender. Discussion of terms such as "authenticity" and "popular" applied to songs and performers. Excerpt from No Direction Home (2005), Martin Scorsese's film about Bob Dylan.
January 21 Routes and Roots, continued
Read Stephen Wade's chapter on Vera Hall from The Beautiful Music All Around Us (2012). Located in e-Reserves for the American Routes course.
Listen:
Vera Hall, "Another Man Done Gone," (1940)
LYRICS and commentary about the 1940 recording
Willie Turner, "Now Your Man Done Gone" (1940)
Odetta, "Another Man Done Gone" (live audience performance, 1965?)
Johnny Cash, "Another Man Done Gone" (accompanied by Anita Carter) (1965)
For further listening (not required): Spirituals with Dock Reed and Vera Hall (recorded in Livingston, AL. Released by Folkways Records, 1953)
Read about: Folkways Records, founded in 1948 by Moses Asch.
Map of enslaved population 1860.
Black Belt (Wikipedia)
January 23 Folksong Style and Culture: African American Spirituals and the Carolina Low Country Region
View: Maps of The Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Read essay by Lawrence Levine, "Slave Songs and Slave Consciousness." (1977) (PDF available on Emory Course Reserves)
Read/listen to the materials on the Low Country web page. Read about Gullah (Wikipedia).
Read Guy Carawan and Candie Carawan, "Singing and Shouting in Moving Star Hall." (1995) (PDF available on Emory Course Reserves)
Quiz on Wade (from Jan 21), Levine, and Carawan readings.
In class: "Down on Me" sung by Janis Joplin; versions of "Motherless Children," "Michael Row the Boat," other examples of well-travelled songs with roots in nineteenth century African American culture.
Ritchie Havens sings "Freedom (Motherless Child)" at Woodstock (1969).
Moving Star Hall Singers and Benjamin Bligen, "Let That Liar Alone."—Compare with Ray Charles, "Leave My Woman Alone."
Excerpt from documentary "The Language You Cry In" (1999)
Referenced: Slave Songs of the United States(1867). Read about this song collection.
"We Shall Overcome." History of the song.
"We Shall Overcome" March on Washington 1963. Joan Baez.
"We Shall Not Be Moved" March on Washington 1963. Freedom Singers.
January 28 The "Folk," Cultural Mediators, and Ballad Mongers
Read for class discussion: Benjamin Filene, "Setting the Stage" (Chap 1 of Romancing the Folk available at Emory Course e-Reserves.
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing the key points presented by Filene.
Listen: Example of an Anglo-Celtic (or British) ballad: "Dowie Dens of Yarrow" sung by Davie Stewart (1962?). LYRICS and history of song. Read about Davie Stewart.
Pastoral romance and British classical music's use of "folksong": Ralph Vaughn Williams, "Folk Songs of the Four Seasons Suite: The Sprig of Thyme".
Example of cowboy song: "Chisholm Trail" sung by Woody Guthrie. 1944.
Fisk Jubilee Singers recording of "I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray" (1909).
Recent ballad variations:
"The River," Bruce Springsteen. (1980 performance) LYRICS Read about.
"The Auld Triangle" performed by the Pogues (1984) . LYRICS. History of the song.
"Wayfaring Stranger," Rhiannon Giddens (2017). Nineteenth century American ballad.
"An Acre of Land" written and performed by PJ Harvey and Harry Escott. (2017). Contemporary British ballad.
"The Last Living Rose" written and sung by P J Harvey (2010). LYRICS. Contemporary British Ballad.
As you read the Filene assignment, begin listening to fiddle tunes and ballads on the Southern Appalachians webpage. Find an example of a "Child" ballad. An "American" ballad.
For reference: Anglo Celtic (Wikipedia)
English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1904 edition)
What is a Broadside ballad?
January 30 Song Style and Culture: The Southern Appalachian Region
Continue reading and listening to the materials on the Southern Appalachians webpage.
Read carefully the essay by Joseph Wilson and Wayne Martin, "A Brief History of Blue Ridge Music," and listen to the examples.
Browse: Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil J. Sharp, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1917).
In class discussion of Southern Appalachian songs, especially the murder ballad, and Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. (1952 and 1997)
February 4 Southern Appalachians, continued
Continue listening to the materials on the Southern Appalachians webpage.
View John Cohen's documentary film, "The End of an Old Song" (1969). Be sure to turn on closed captioning to understand Appalachian speech and song lyrics.
Quiz on Filene, Chapter 1 (from Jan. 28) and Wilson and Martin essay (from Jan. 30).
In class: Discussion of Southern Appalachians historical background and musical genres.
For reference: Barbara Ellen Smith, "The Dispossessions of Appalachia" (2018).
Carter Family, "No Depression in Heaven" (1936). LYRICS
Bluegrass —a post WWII-era musical genre that builds upon the earlier string band ("old time") music. (Wikipedia).
February 6 Affrilachia: African American history and musical influences in Appalachia.
Read John Jeremiah Sullivan, "Folk Like Us: Rhiannon Giddens and the evolving legacy of black string-band music" (2019) (Emory e-Reserves)
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing Sullivan's article.
Read and listen to the the following materials on the Southern Appalachians webpage: "African American Banjo Styles" and "John Henry" sections.
In class: Presentation and discussion of scenes from Terry Zwigoff's 1985 documentary film "Louie Bluie" https://emory.kanopy.com/video/louie-bluie about the life of African American musician Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, a native of LaFollette, Tennessee. Featuring discussion of African American string band music.
February 11Written and Oral Transmission of Religious Song
Read: Beth Barton Schweiger, "Songs" (2019). ( Emory e-Reserves)
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing Schweiger's article.
Listen to and read about the examples posted at the "Some Varieties of Religious Song in Appalachia" section of the Southern Appalachians webpage.
People to know from Schweiger's chapter: Isaac Watts, Richard Allen, William Walker, Jesse Mercer, B. F. White
February 13 The Emergence of Gospel Music
Read: Robert Darden, "The Foundations of Gospel," People Get Ready! (2004). (e-Reserves)
Jacob Lawrence, Migration Series (1940-41)
More about the Migration Series
Listen to examples discussed by Darden:
Arizona Dranes, "My Soul Is a Witness" (ca. 1928)
Fisk University Jubilee Singers, "My Soul Is a Witness for My Lord" (1920)
Arizona Dranes, "Lamb's Blood Has Washed Me Clean"
Blind Willie Johnson, "Dark Was the Night," (1927)
"Dark Was the Night," Kronos Quartet.
Blind Willie Johnson and Willie B. Harris, "John the Revelator" (Recorded in Atlanta in 1930) LYRICS
Blind Willie Johnson and Willie B. Harris, "Nobody's Fault but Mine," (1927) LYRICS
Drawing upon the tradition: Tom Waits, "Jesus Gonna Be Here" (1992) LYRICS
Tom Waits, "Come On Up to the House" (1992) LYRICS
Rev. Pearly Brown, Georgia street singer. "It's a Mean Old World To Try To Live In,"
William and Versey Smith, "When That Great Ship Went Down" (1927)
LYRICS to "When That Great Ship Went Down"
http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/01/when-that-great-ship-went-down-william.html
Rev. J. C. Burnett, "The Downfall of Nebuchadnezzer" sermon (1938)
Pace Jubilee Singers, "Old Time Religion" (1928)
Famous Blue Jay Singers of Birmingham, "Clanka A Lanka" (1929?)
Mitchell's Christian Singers, "My Poor Mother Died a' Shouting" (1938)
Sam Cook, "Good News" (1964)
Mitchell's Christian Singers, "Traveling Shoes," LYRICS
Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, "Gospel Train" (1937)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Rock Me" (1938). Written by Thomas Dorsey, one of the "fathers' of gospel.
Mills Brothers, "Glow Worm" (1952)
Mahalia Jackson, "Move On Up a Little Higher" (1948)
For reference: Jefferson County [Alabama] Gospel Quartets radio documentary (1992).
https://storycorps.org/listen/jefferson-county-gospel-quartets/
For reference: "Take Me to the River" (1974). Written and recorded by Al Green in Memphis (1974). Gospel inflected soul music.
February 18 Segregating Sound: Race Records and "Old-Time" Music
In class lecture centered upon Miller, "Race Records and Old-Time Music" (2010) (Available on Emory Course e-Reserves)
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing Miller's article.
Read about: Minstrel Show (wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_show
Rabbit Foot Minstrels
"Minstrel Potpourri" Edison Minstrels (1899). https://archive.org/details/EDIS-SRP-0202-22
Read: "Lynching in the US — World War I to II" (wikipedia)
Recordings discussed in class and in Miller's article:
Mamie Smith —- "Crazy Blues." LYRICS. This 1920 record is the first commercial recording of blues music by an African-American singer: "Crazy Blues" was composed by Perry Bradford and sold a million copies in its first year.
"Arkansas Blues" sung by Mary Stafford (1921). LYRICS
"Dinah" sung by Ethel Waters (1925).
"Dinah" performed by Louis Armstrong (1933).
"Mammy" performed by Al Jolson in the film The Jazz Singer (1927)
"Down South Blues" sung by Clara Smith (1924). Read discussion of lyrics in Miller article, pp. 196-197.
"Mississippi Delta Blues" – Jimmie Rodgers (1933). LYRICS.
"T.B. Blues" Jimmie Rodgers (1933?)
"Raise a Ruckus Tonight" from the 1938 film Jezebel
Carolina Chocolate Drops "Cornbread and Butterbeans" (2008). LYRICS.
Fiddlin John Carson (1923) "The Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane"
Fiddlin John Carson (1923) "Old Hen Cackled and the Rooster's Going To Crow"
Fiddlin John Carson's composition "Ballad of Little Mary Phagan" recorded by his daughter Rosa Lee Carson ("Moonshine Kate") in 1925. LYRICS.
Read about Leo Frank and his lynching .
"Soldier's Joy" Fiddle band dance tune recorded by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Atlanta: 1929. Columbia Records. Tanner, fiddle; Clayton McMichen, fiddle, spoken interjections; Riley Pucket, vocal, guitar; Fate Norris, banjo. "Soldier's Joy" is a well known fiddle piece with origins in eighteenth-century Britain. This popular north Georgia band, whose name typified the self-parody often favored by early rural fiddle bands, played with a tangy, wild abandon. The two fiddlers featured here represented strongly contrasting musical impulses: Tanner was a rural, undisciplined hoedown fiddler, while McMichen was a more controlled and eclectic player with a liking for pop music and jazz. They were backed by Riley Puckett, the blind musician from Alpharetta, whose rapid multiple guitar runs were a distinguishing feature of Skillet Lickers recordings.
Charlie Poole, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" (1925). Old time Piedmont string band version.
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" Bluegrass version. (1957). LYRICS.
Bluegrass —a post WWII-era musical genre that builds upon the earlier string band ("old time") music. (Wikipedia).
February 20 The Mississippi Delta and the Birth of the Blues
Read: David Evans, pages 20–bottom 33 of "The Development of the Blues." (Course e-Reserves)
Begin listening to songs on the Mississippi Delta webpage.
Write 250-300 words summarizing only pages 20-33 of Evan's article.
Read for class discussion: Mikko Saikku, "Bioregional Approach to Southern History: The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta
For reference: Charles Reagan Wilson "Mississippi Delta."
US Census map of black population in 1890.
Illinois Central Railroad map.
Presented In class: scenes from two documentary films Gravel Springs Fife and Drum (1972) and The Land Where the Blues Began (1979).
February 25 "Authenticity" Is What You Make It
Read: Dockery Plantation.
Read: Filene, "Creating the Cult of Authenticity," (Course Reserves).
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing Filene's's article.
Lead Belly: "Mr. Tom Hughes Town" (1934). Read Filene, pp. 66-69.
Lead Belly's Last Sessions (1948) http://search.alexanderstreet.com.proxy.library.emory.edu/glmu/view/work/73313 Track 58: "Tom Hughes Town" or "Fannin Street" LYRICS
Track 77: "Rock Island Line"
"Rock Island Line" Lonnie Dongan (1961)
Track 80: "Goodnight Irene"
The Weavers: "Goodnight Irene." (Song begins at 9:18 in the video.)
Continue listening to songs on the Mississippi Delta webpage.
For Reference: Poor Monkey's, one of the last Delta juke joints.
"Sharecropping in the United States" "Convict Lease System"
Alan Lomax: Recording the World (9:24 min).
"Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison" (1966)
February 27 Regional Styles and Blues Routes
Read: Filene, "Mastering the Cult of Authenticity," (Course Reserves).
Write 250-300 words (one page only) summarizing Filene's's article
The Great Migration. Map of the Blues Migration.
US Highway 61
Continue listening to songs on the Mississippi Delta webpage.
Listen to songs on the following webpages: "Texas Blues and Gospel Blues," "Piedmont Blues," "Chicago Blues." Can you distinguish differences between Delta, Piedmont, and Chicago styles?
Robert Pete Williams, "This Wild Old Life" (1994)
Elmore James "Dust My Broom (1951)
March 3 Revising the Blues Narrative
Read: Susan McClary,"Thinking Blues" (2000). (Course e-Reserves)
Write 300 words identifying the most important points in McClary's essay.
Bessie Smith's recording of "St. Louis Blues" (Written by W. C. Handy). Smith (voc); Louis Armstrong (cornet); Fred Longshaw (reed organ). Recorded 1925. LYRICS
Bessie Smith, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (1928).
Bessie Smith, "Thinking Blues," (1928). Read the discussion of this song in McClary's essay.
Ma Rainey — "Deep Moaning Blues" (1928). LYRICS
Memphis Minnie — "Black Rat Swing" (1942) LYRICS
Memphis Minnie — "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" (1941) LYRICS
Robert Johnson — "Cross Road Blues" LYRICS and "Hellhound on My Trail" LYRICS Robert Johnson, vocal and guitar. 1936. Source: Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia, 1998).
"Crossroads" Cream featuring Eric Clapton. 1968.
Skip James — "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" (originally recorded 1931).
Lucinda Williams — "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues"
Janis Joplin "Little Girl Blue" (1969?)
Bettye LaVette, "Things Have Changed" (2018). Written by Bob Dylan. LYRICS
In class excerpts from documentary "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues" (1989)
March 5 Midterm Exam — Bring a blue book.
Material to be covered includes all the reading and listening assignments (to be designated), as well as the class lectures. The midterm will consist of music listening identifications (give title, artist, approx year, and a sentence or two about the song/singer's significance), as well as short-answer and fill-in-the-blank questions.
March 9-20 Spring Break
Due to Emory policy regarding the coronavirus pandemic, classes for remainder of semester to be conducted via zoom on the regularly scheduled days and times. Prof. Tullos will be using the syllabus page for course news updates as well as for assignments. He will also send messages to your emory email address via the OPUS system.
If you have any questions, please email Prof. Tullos. (allen [dot] tullos [at] emory [dot] edu)
For the second half of the semester, the permanent link for all our class meetings is: https://emory.zoom.us/j/364171531
You can either click on this link or cut and paste it to your browser to join the class meetings at our regular days and times.
Tuesday March 24 Discussion of how the class will proceed for the remainder of the semester using zoom and our online syllabus.
Today's topic. The Old Wave: Ethnic Roots and Routes from Tin Pan Alley to Broadway
Read: Klezmer and Tin Pan Alley
Read and listen to the "Klezmer" materials at "Ethic Roots and Routes" page.
Examples of klezmer and its influences to be discussed in class:
Excerpts from documentary about the klezmer revival: "Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden"
"Sher (A minor)" Steven Greenman, first violin; Alicia Svigals, second violin; Walter Zev Feldman, cimbal or hammer dulcimer. This old dance tune was published in Brooklyn in 1916 in Hebrew Wedding Melodies.
Dobriden (G minor) Steven Greenman, first violin; Alicia Svigals, second violin; Walter Zev Feldman, cimbal or hammer dulcimer. This piece, which dates from the mid nineteenth century, was used either on the morning of a wedding or after the wedding to honor the members of the bride's family or the bride and groom themselves. Dobridens were display pieces created by talented klezmorim that used a 3/4 rhythmic structure with a peculiar rhythmic formula at the close of phrases.
Budapest Klezmer Band (2013)
View: "Taraf de Haidouks," scene from Latcho Drom (1993).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQn6Qb-9mD8
The Roma
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/sunday-review/are-the-roma-primitive-or-just-poor.html?_r=0
Yiddish Theatre. 12:39
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoTugbLZOs&list=PLcKI9H6EUVWKyFDCdl1RyWqtOf5FXu9Aq
Black Music and Jewish Music. 1:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZH_RiZ1vjY
Gershwin "Swanee" (1919)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrMruZgnJyc
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue 1924
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpQZxipMLZM
Rhapsody in Blue. George Gershwin (1924)
Playing the klezmer glissando
http://www.classicfm.com/composers/gershwin/guides/clarinet-glissando-rhapsody-in-blue/
Irving Berlin. 2:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxO7D0fcxFo&list=PLcKI9H6EUVWKyFDCdl1RyWqtOf5FXu9Aq&index=2
Cole Porter. 3:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z43IszaqhAQ
"A Sunday Smile" performed by Beirut (2007)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbGiDxg8kwM
Gogol Bordello, "Start Wearing Purple" (2006) Written by Ukranian-born political refugee Eugene Hütz
Polka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka
Frankie Yankovic "Beer Barrel Polka"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eKSVu8ECIo
"Polka Power" by Weird Al Yankovic. (2006)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yugldxpRDMo
"Miserlou" (1927)
"Miserlou" by Dick Dale (1963) Read about "Miserlou"
"Wipeout" the Sufaris (1963).
March 26 Strange Fruit
View this hour-long documentary film online prior to class meeting: "Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song." (Emory ID and Password will be needed for access)
There are a couple of ways that you can access the documentary:
http://proxy.library.emory.edu/login?url=http://emory.kanopystreaming.com/node/175443
Or https://emory.kanopy.com Click "Login in to Emory," type in your usual Emory ID and password credentials, and search "Strange Fruit" in the top toolbar. Clicking on the first search result will take you to the video.
If neither of these links gets you to kanopy, let me know.
Write a 300 word summary of the Strange Fruit documentary for discussion in class.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: STRANGE FRUIT.
Reference: "Lynching in America" interactive map.
Jacey Fortin, "Congress Moves to Make Lynching a Federal Crime After 120 Years of Failure," NY Times, Feb. 28, 2020.
Billie Holiday bio sketch
Media to be featured in class:
"Jews & Blues" an American Routes radio show.
"Shake Sugaree" performed by Rhiannon Giddens.
Robert Johnson — "Cross Road Blues" LYRICS and "Hellhound on My Trail" LYRICS Robert Johnson, vocal and guitar. 1936. Source: Robert Johnson: King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia, 1961).
Also written by Lewis Allan (Abel Meeropol): "The House I Live In" performed by John Legend.
"Tennessee" written and performed by Atlanta's Arrested Development (1992). LYRICS.
"Creating the Equal Justice Initiative Museum in Montgomery"
"A Lynching Memorial Remembers the Forgotten"
"Blood on the Leaves," Kanye West (2013)
God Bless the Child, Billie Holiday
March 31 New Orleans, Louis Armstrong, and the Beginnings of Jazz
Read a short diatribe against jazz from the 1921 Ladies Home Journal. Anne Shaw, "Does Jazz Put the Sin in Syncopation?" (Course e-Reserves)
Read the following three chapters from Lawrence Bergreen's biography Louis Armstrong. (All available on Course e-Reserves):
Chapter 4, "Coal Cart Blues"; Chapter 5, "Hotter than That"; and Chapter 6, "Lazy River." As you read, listen to Louis Armstrong Centennial Show on American Routes Radio devoted to Armstrong and his influences. Follow the show on the Playlist.
Write 300 words summarizing key insights from the three assigned chapters from Bergreen's biography of Armstrong.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: ARMSTRONG.
Louis Armstrong, "West End Blues" (1928)
Armstrong, "Mack the Knife" (1959) Read about this song, written by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.
April 2 Creolization: Cajun and Zydeco Musics
Read: Patrick B. Mullen, pages 170-178 of chapter "Come Back to Texas: From 'Bogalusa Boogie' to 'Soy Chicano' (Course e-reserves) .
Write 300 words summarizing Mullen's chapter.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: MULLEN.
Browse: Cajun and Zydeco (Wikipedia)
In class: scenes from documentary film J'ai été au bal (1989) available at https://emory.kanopy.com/video/jai-ete-au-bal-i-went-dance
Listen to songs on "South Louisiana" webpage:
"Acadian One Step." Early Cajun recording. Joe Falcon, accordian; Cleoma Breaux Falcon, guitar; Ophy Breaux, fiddle; unknown, triangle. Recorded in Atlanta, 1929. Joe Falcon (1900-1965) and his wife Cleoma Breaux (d. 1941) made the first Cajun music record ("Allons a Lafayette") for Columbia in 1928. Falcon and Breaux's recordings were extremely popular in Louisiana and opened up the Cajun record market. Cleoma was the vocalist on their recordings. Falcon played accordion for dances and cajun fais do-dos in his home area.
"Jolie Blonde." Hackberry Ramblers, recorded in New Orleans, 1936. Luderin Darbone, fiddle; Lennis Sonnier, guitar and vocal; Wayne Perry, fiddle; Julius "Papa Cairo" Lamperez, guitar. The most popular Cajun band of the mid-1930s, the Hackberry Ramblers, led by fiddler Luderin Darbone from Evangeline, were a progressive group that incorporated influences from mainstream country music, western swing, and blues. "Jolie Blonde," often referred to as the Cajun national anthem was the Ramblers most popular recording. In 1946, Harry Choates became the first Cajun performer to have an impact on commercial country music with his hit recording of the song as "Jole Blon." Source: Le Gran Mamou, Vol. I. (Country Music Foundation, 1990).
"Zydeco Sont Pas Salé" Clifton Chenier, piano accordion and vocal. (ca 1992) Chenier did not invent zydeco, but he defined it with every performance. Source: Cajun Music and Zydeco, Rounder Records, 1992.
"La Danse De Mardi Gras." Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys. Since the late 1980s, Riley and his group have earned a reputation as one of the premier bands playing the traditional Cajun repertoire, bringing the old songs to enthusiastic audiences in dancehalls and on stages around the world, and more recently writing original material that carries the tradition forward. Their interpretation of the minor-key "La Danse de Mardi Gras," one of the oldest Cajun songs, shows how powerful and plaintive this music can be. Source: Louisiana Spice: 25 Years of Louisiana Music on Rounder Records, 1995.
"Reuben's Train" and "Alberta," performed by Bonsoir Caitin (2010)
April 7 Hillbilly to Honky Tonk
Read: Richard Peterson, Chap. 10 only: "Honky Tonk Firmament" (1997) (Course Reserves) and Bob Dylan's 2015 MusiCares speech.
Write 300 word summary of Peterson's chapter.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: HONKY TONK.
Listen:
Stanley Brothers, "Rank Strangers" (196?) LYRICS
Bob Wills — "Steel Guitar Rag" (1936)
Ernest Tubb — "Walking the Floor Over You" (originally recorded 1941). LYRICS
Hank Williams — "Honky Tonkin'" (1948), "Lost Highway", LYRICS
"I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" LYRICS
Floyd Tillman "Slippin' Around" (1949)
Jimmy Wakely and Margaret Whiting — "Slipping Around" (1949) A pop cover version.
Hank Thompson "The Wild Side of Life" (1952)
Kitty Wells — "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" (originally recorded 1952)
Wanda Jackson, "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" (1958) LYRICS
Wanda Jackson and Justin Townes Earle, "Am I Even a Memory?" (2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHPy6fJcV2o
Johnny Cash — "Big River," (1958) — "Ring of Fire" (1963)
George Jones, "She Thinks I Still Care" (1958) LYRICS
Carl and Pearl Butler, "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (1962)
Patsy Cline, "Crazy" (1962)
George Jones and Melba Montgomery, "We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds" (1963)
Loretta Lynn, "Don't Come Home a' Drinkin'" (1967) LYRICS, "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1969) LYRICS
"The Pill," (1975) LYRICS,
Merle Haggard, "Hungry Eyes" (1969) LYRICS
Johnny Paycheck, "The Pint of No Return" (1979)
Johnny Cash, "Hurt" (2002) LYRICS Written by Trent Reznor
April 9 Memphis, Cleveland, and the Emergence of Rock 'n Roll
"When the mode of the music changes, the walls of the city shake." –Plato
Read: George Lipsitz, "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens: The Class Origins of Rock and Roll." (Course e-Reserves).
On YouTube, sample the songs Lipsitz discusses.
Write 300 page summary of Lipsitz chapter.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: ROCK & ROLL.
Listen to songs on "Memphis" website.
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, "That's All Right" (1946)
Elvis Presley, "That's All Right" (1954)
Louis Jordan, "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" (1947)
Roy Brown, "Good Rockin Tonight" (1947)
Wynonie Harris, "Good Rockin Tonight" (1948)
Jackie Brenston with His Delta Cats, "Rocket 88" (1951)
Ruth Brown, "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" (1955)
Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956)
Jerry Lee Lewis , "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" (1957)
April 14 Seasons of Protest
Read: "Protest Songs in the United States"
Draw upon the assigned reading and the songs posted below to write a 300 word, historically informed, commentary on US protest music. Be ready to discuss your written commentary. Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: PROTEST.
John Prine (1946–April 7, 2020)
John Prine, "Paradise," (1971) Read about. LYRICS
Brandy Carlisle sings John Prine's "Hello in There" for the Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert (April 9, 2020).
John Prine, "Sam Stone" (1971) LYRICS
Woody Guthrie "Dust Bowl Blues" (1930s)
Woody Guthrie, "This Land Is Your Land" (written 1940)
Billie Holiday "Strange Fruit" (1939). Written by Lewis Alan (Abel Meeropole) Read about "Strange Fruit"
"Tennessee" written and performed by Atlanta's Arrested Development (1992). LYRICS.
"Pirate Jenny" Performed by Nina Simone. (1992) LYRICS. From The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. Read more about the song.
Sarah Ogan Gunning sings her composition "Come All You Coal Miners." LYRICS.
"Clay County Miner" written and sung by Hazel Dickens. (1974?) LYRICS
"Black Lung" American ballad written by Hazel Dickens. Sung by Kathy Mattea (2007). LYRICS. What is black lung disease?
"Cotton Mill Man" Jim and Jesse (1976 performance) LYRICS
Excerpt from documentary Eyes on the Prize. "Birmingham 1963"
John Coltrane "Alabama" (1963) Written in response to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963, an attack by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four African-American girls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saN1BwlxJxA
Another song in reaction to the Birmingham church bombing: Nina Simone performs "Mississippi Goddamn." (1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM
"Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) Bob Dylan,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwgrjjIMXA&list=RD8qDkC4yJxdc&index=25
Bob Dylan, "Masters of War" (1963)
"Eyes on the Prize," Mavis Staples.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZWdDI_fkns
Bettye Lavette and Jon Bon Jovi "A Change Gonna Come" (Obama Inaugural, 2009). Written by Sam Cooke. LYRICS.
"Goodbye Earl" (2009). Dixie Chicks.
Kendrick Lamar. "Alright" (2015) LYRICS
April 16 Quiescence and Resistance in the 1960s and '70s
Read: George Lipsitz, "Who'll Stop the Rain" (1994). (Course Reserves).
On YouTube, listen to songs mentioned by Lipsitz.
Write 300 word summary of Lipsitz chapter.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: 1960s.
Percy Faith, "Theme from A Summer Place" (1960)
Four Freshmen, "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" (1960)
Beach Boys, "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" (1962?)
Ronettes, "Be My Baby" (1963)
Beach Boys, "Don't Worry Baby" (1964)
Martha and the Vandellas, "Dancing in the Streets" (1964)
Phil Ochs, "I Ain't Marching Anymore" (1965)
Sgt. Barry Sadler, "The Ballad of the Green Berets" (1966)
Aretha Franklin, "Respect" (1967), "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" (1968)
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son" (1969) LYRICS
Merle Haggard, "Okie from Muskogee" (1969) Read about.
Neil Young, "Ohio" (1970) Read about.
Janis Joplin "Little Girl Blue" (1969?)
Carly Simon, "That's the Way I Always Heard It Should Be" (1971)
Joni Mitchell, "Hejira" (1976) LYRICS
James Brown, "The Big Payback" (1973)
April 21 Origins of Hip Hop
Read: Tricia Rose, "All Aboard the Night Train," (1994). (Course reserves)
Draw upon Rose's chapter to write a commentary (one to two pages) about the social and cultural context out of which the musical form "rap" emerged.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: HIP HOP.
Deep background in African American oral traditions, toasts, boasting talk. "The Signifying Monkey"
Begin video at approx. 54:30
Hip Hop history. VH1. Part 1 ("And You Don't Stop)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v43FLqEx1JU
Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP7MLPrO80A
"Rapper's Delight," Sugar Hill Gang, (1979)
"The Message" — Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, 1982. — LYRICS.
"Roxanne's Revenge" — Roxanne Shante, 1984.– LYRICS
"Roxanne Finally Gets Her Revenge" New York Times, March 20, 2018.
"Who Protects Us from You?" 1989. Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One. LYRICS.
"Ladies First" — Queen Latifah, 1989. LYRICS.
"Illegal Search" LL Cool J 1990 LYRICS
"911 is a Joke" Public Enemy, 1990. LYRICS
"Fight the Power" Public Enemy, 1990. LYRICS
Recommended: Art Crimes: City Walls: United States
April 23 Uneasy Listening: Badlands and Dirty Boulevards
Read: David P. Szatmary, "The Generation X Blues." (2010). (Course Reserves)
Write a 300 word summary of Szatmary's chapter.
Prior to class, e-mail your summary to Prof. Tullos using the subject line: GEN X .
Generation X (Wikipedia)
Listen to Szatmary's examples on YouTube, Spotify, etc.
Songs referenced by Szatmary or mentioned in lecture:
Patti Smith, "Gloria" (1975) LYRICS
Bruce Springsteen, "Badlands" (1978) LYRICS
Ramones, "I Wanna Be Sedated" (1978) LYRICS
X, "We're Desperate" (1981) LYRICS
Black Flag, "Rise Above" (1981) LYRICS
Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime" (1983) LYRICS
Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the USA," (1984)
Acoustic Version LYRICS
The Replacements, "Bastards of Young" (1985) LYRICS
R.E.M., "Driver 8" (1985) LYRICS
R.E.M. "Fall on Me" (1986) LYRICS
Peter Gabriel, "Big Time," (1986) LYRICS
Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car" (1988) LYRICS
Lou Reed, "Busload of Faith" (1989) LYRICS
Lou Reed, "Dirty Boulevard" (1989) LYRICS
Metallica, "One" (1989) LYRICS
My Bloody Valentine, "Shallow" (1992). Irish band, "Shoegaze" landmark.
Nirvana, "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993) LYRICS
"Dirty South" Goodie Mob (1995) LYRICS
Everclear, "Father of Mine" (1997) LYRICS
Read: Riot Girl scene
Sleater-Kinney, "Jumpers" (2005) LYRICS
Jay-Z, "Hard Knock Life" (1999)
Jay-Z interviewed by Terri Gross and discussion of Decoded.
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/16/131334322/the-fresh-air-interview-jay-z-decoded
For reference. Matt Miller, "Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the US South" (2008)
Black Eyed Peas , "Street Livin'" (2018) LYRICS
R.E.M., "These Days" (1986) LYRICS "We are hope despite the times."
April 30. No Final Exam.
Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens: the Class Origins of Rock and Roll Summary
Source: https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/americanroutes/
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