American Music History Course Outline

Early Blues follows the history of sharecroppers and descendants of enslaved people in the Mississippi Delta as they combined African rhythms and work songs giving birth to American music.

Playlist includes Robert Johnson, Son House.

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Early Jazz explores the rich cultural history of the diverse port city of New Orleans and the early days of jazz music, America’s art form, as it developed from the circle dances in Congo Square.

Playlist includes Jelly Roll Morton, Kid Ory.

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Jazz Age displays the beauty of the Harlem Renaissance and the legendary artists, poets, writers, scholars, and musicians who thrived during the explosion of art, music, and culture.

Playlist includes Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong.

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Country & Folk examines how country music passed down through the oral tradition comforted during the Great Depression as protest movements gave rise to folk singers.

Playlist includes Hank Williams, The Carter Family.

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Electric Blues journeys from a sharecropping south through the Great Migration to bustling northern cities and the power of electric blues sowing the seeds of rock and roll.

Playlist includes Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf.

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Bebop reveals that amid the backdrop of the Cold War, American jazz musicians promoted freedom across the globe while facing America’s contradictions at home.

Playlist includes Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk.

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Rock and Roll surveys diverse early pioneers of American roots music who put all the pieces together and gave birth to America’s most famous export. 

Playlist includes Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley.

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British Invasion describes the American roots of the British Invasion when a motley generation of jazz and blues lovers absorbed the music in tattered post-war England.

Playlist includes The Beatles, The Rolling Stones.

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Surf Music celebrates the perfect storm that gave rise to surf music and culture during a golden age in mid-century Southern California.

Playlist includes Dick Dale, The Beach Boys, The Ventures.

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Motown discusses the music machine in Detroit that flourished amid the backdrop of protests across America’s burning cities, desegregating music and moving society forward.

Playlist includes The Supremes, Marvin Gaye.

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Soul Music reviews the post-civil rights era when a small-town rural music studio inspired the groove for legendary soul singers amid a period of rising Black pride in America.

Playlist includes Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin.

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Psychedelic Rock explores the influential sounds that defined a generation who rebelled against war and middle-class society with an aim to change the world.

Playlist includes Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors.

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California Country highlights a group of singer-songwriters who journeyed out west and forged personal music that reflected the times and the country’s mellow mood.

Playlist includes Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Eagles.

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Southern Rock traces outlaws as they made their own rules and southern sons who reclaimed the blues as southern rock emerged in the aftermath of the civil rights era.

Playlist includes Willie Nelson, Allman Brothers Band.

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Rap Music explores the music, graffiti art, and hip-hop culture that arose amid despair and crumbling buildings as forgotten inner-city kids demanded society’s attention.

Playlist includes The Sugarhill Gang, Run-D.M.C.

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Punk & Ska shows how a generation raged against capitalist society in the wake of renewed conservatism at home while British youths expressed unity and spread anti-racism abroad.

Playlist includes Ramones, The English Beat.

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Grunge discusses a generation left behind as bleak music in Seattle makes known their disappointment in society’s broken promises and the end of the American Dream.

Playlist includes Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam.

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Disco examines the rise of glittery music and underground culture from nightclubs in New York City to the mainstream American heartland and the inevitable cultural backlash.

Playlist includes Donna Summer, Bee Gees.

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​Tin Pan Alley highlights the early decades of the twentieth century, when Jewish immigrants composed America’s unfolding story.

Playlist includes songs by Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.

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Zydeco music explores a distinct and fascinating Louisiana French music descended from Canadian exiles that influenced rock and roll.

Playlist includes Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco.

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​Wartime Music swings morale as military bands and jazz crooners lift spirits at home and abroad amidst the tragic WWII era.

Playlist includes Glenn Miller, The Andrews Sisters.

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Opry Sweethearts highlights the indomitable spirit and immense contributions to country music by women during the golden age.

Playlist includes Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Linda Martell.

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Cocktail Music holds sway between early rock and roll and the civil rights era when glamour glossed over a society at the breaking point.

Playlist includes Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin.

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Blues & Folk Revival highlights how the folk music scene inspired a renewed interest in early blues music and the forgotten legends.

Playlist includes Son House, Skip James.

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Mexican Music examines the rise of Mexican cultural music as passionate leaders of labor movements advocated for change.

Playlist includes Lydia Mendoza, Vicente Fernandez.

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Native American Sounds highlights the immense influence of Indigenous culture on American music despite efforts to marginalize.

Playlist includes Charley Patton, Robbie Robertson.

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Funk Music showcases the Afro-Cuban rhythms of New Orleans and the uniquely influential Midwest funk capital of Dayton, Ohio.

Playlist includes The Meters, Ohio Players, Lakeside, Zapp.

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​Heartland Rock describes a genre of music that sprang up amid the rise of globalization and the decline of small-town American life.

Playlist includes Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp.

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Hard Rock explores a peak era of record sales and arena concerts amid excess and debauchery along Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.

Playlist includes Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Guns N Roses.

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Folk Rock highlights a period when feminism rode a third wave and women made considerable strides in politics and the music industry.

Playlist includes Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant.​