Music B27
Music B27 – History of American Popular Music | Bakersfield College | Spring 2012
Course Materials
iTunes Playlist: Music B27 Required Listening
Supplemental Readings and Videos
YouTube Video Playlist for Music B27
The Root: The Music Industry’s Funny Money
NYT: EMI Is Sold for $4.1 Billion
Film: Afro-American Work Songs in a Texas Prison
Film: Rhythm & Blues Review (1955) feat. Big Joe Turner
NPR: Sam Cooke’s Swan Song of Protest
A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement at the White House (Watch for extra credit! Submit a 2-pg typed review by the final class session.)
Online Resources
Library Research Workshops Schedule
EasyBib.com – free citation maker
Essay Questions for Listening Assignment #1 – Due on March 8
1. Watch this video featuring DJ Aaron LaCrate: How to Lift a Beat, and then listen to this recent segment on NPR: Digital Music Sampling: Creativity or Criminality? Then, write a one-page response that addresses the following issues: Under what circumstances do you think sampling should be allowed? Who should get creative credit when a piece of music is sampled - the original artist or the DJ who sampled it? How is sampling culture similar (or not) to oral tradition in West African music, African-American music during slavery, and early blues?
2. Read the sleeve notes to Alan Lomax’s LP of Mississippi prison songs from 1947. Then, listen to “Early in the Mornin” (on our iTunes playlist), which was originally issued on this LP. Which of the eight performance characteristics of West African music are apparent in this performance? In your own opinion, what similarities does this music share with contemporary hip hop and rap?
3. How did artists like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Kitty Wells introduce and articulate a distinct female perspective in their respective genres of music? Describe at least three examples from your listening assignment. Here is an article on Kitty Wells that may be helpful.
Essay Questions for Listening Assignment #2 – Due on May 3
1. Listen to this 10-minute story on NPR Music: Sam Cooke’s Swan Song of Protest. Write a one-page response to the following questions: what events in Cooke’s life led to the creation of “A Change is Gonna Come”? Why do you think this song became regarded almost immediately as a civil rights anthem? Listen to the song, read through the lyrics in your Listening Guide, and then discuss the dramatic relationship between the music and lyrics that makes this song such an effective and enduring work of art.
2. Coming soon.
3. Coming soon.
