American Popular Music

American

Popular

Music

Larry Starr & Christopher Waterman

Copyright ? 2003, 2007 by

Oxford University Press, Inc.

This condensation of AMERICAN

POPULAR MUSIC: FROM

MINSTRELSY TO MP3 is a

condensation of the book

originally published in English

in 2006 and is offered in this

condensation by arrangement

with Oxford University Press, Inc.

Larry Starr is Professor of Music

at the University of Washington.

His previous publications include

The Dickinson Songs of Aaron

Copland (2002), A Union of

Diversities: Style in the Music of

Charles Ives (1992), and articles

in American Music, Perspectives

of New Music, Musical Quarterly,

and Journal of Popular Music

Studies. Christopher Waterman

is Dean of the School of Arts and

Architecture at the University

of California, Los Angeles. His

previous publications include J¨´j¨²:

A Social History and Ethnography

of an African Popular Music (1990)

and articles in Ethnomusicology

and Music Educator¡¯s Journal.

Clockwise from top:

Bob Dylan and Joan

Baez on the road;

Diana Ross sings to

thousands; Louis

Armstrong and his

trumpet; DJ Jazzy Jeff

spins records; ¡®NSync

in concert; Elvis

Presley sings and acts.

American

Popular

Music

Larry Starr & Christopher Waterman

C O N T E N T S

?

Introduction.............................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER 1: Streams of Tradition: The Sources of Popular Music.........................

6

CHAPTER 2: Popular Music: Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries ............. 12

An Early Pop Songwriter: Stephen Foster ........................................... 19

CHAPTER 3: Popular Jazz and Swing: America¡¯s Original Art Form...................... 20

CHAPTER 4: Tin Pan Alley: Creating ¡°Musical Standards¡± ..................................... 26

CHAPTER 5: Early Music of the American South: ¡°Race Records¡± and

¡°Hillbilly Music¡± ....................................................................................... 30

CHAPTER 6: Rhythm & Blues: From Jump Blues to Doo-Wop ................................. 34

Big Mama Thornton ................................................................................ 39

James Brown and Aretha Franklin........................................................ 40

Jazz Gallery ............................................................................................. 44

CHAPTER 7: Country Music: Songs of Tradition and Change ................................ 56

Hank Williams ......................................................................................... 61

CHAPTER 8: Rock ¡¯n¡¯ roll : A Generation¡¯s Identity .................................................. 62

Bob Dylan ................................................................................................. 70

CHAPTER 9: Music: The Business ................................................................................ 72

Bill Haley and ¡°Rock Around the Clock¡± .............................................. 65

CHAPTER 10: Music Technology: Innovations and Controversies ............................ 76

The Electric Guitar.................................................................................. 80

CHAPTER 11: ? Hip-Hop: The ¡°Rapper¡¯s Delight¡± ......................................................... 82

Prince ........................................................................................................ 88

The Message ........................................................................................... 89

CHAPTER 12: ? World Music Collaborations: Crossing Cultural Boundaries ............ 90

Glossary .................................................................................................... 94

Introduction

P

opular music, like so much

of American culture, reflects

a kaleidoscope of contribu?

tions, a cross-fertilization of styles,

and a blending of dreams. It could

hardly be otherwise in this nation

of immigrants. Arguably the United

States is a perfect musical laborato?

ry: take people from every corner of

the globe, give them freedom to cre?

ate. Distribute their effort: by sheet

music, phonograph, radio ¡ª or, for

the younger reader: by Blu-ray Disc,

mp3, Internet stream.

And what results! European

ballads recast with African poly?

rhythmic textures or blended with

a Cuban-flavored habanera (bold?

faced terms are defined in the glos?

sary) or a more ¡°refined¡± rumba.

¡°Cold¡± bop. ¡°Hot¡± jazz. ¡°Acid¡± rock.

¡°Gangsta¡± rap. We might speak less

of a singular American popular mu?

sic than of a constellation of mutu?

ally-enriching American popular

¡°musics.¡± Elvis Presley borrows from

African-American blues, and black

Motown stars recast ¡°white¡± pop.

Ask Khmer-American rapper Prach

Ly, also known as ¡°praCh,¡± about

American popular music and he¡¯ll

speak of growing up with Snoop

Dog, Dr. Dre, Run DMC, and Public

Enemy on the radio and of cutting

his first album in his parents¡¯ garage.

Lacking a mixing board, Prach used

a karaoke machine and sampled old

Khmer Rouge propaganda speeches

for his powerful musical condemna?

tion of the Cambodian genocide.

We hope the pages that follow

convey a sense of creative ferment,

of artistic drive, and of how Ameri?

cans, borrowing from diverse musi?

cal traditions, have made their own

original contributions to humanity¡¯s

truly universal language. The reader

will encounter here crooners and

rappers, folkies and rockers, the

¡°King,¡± a Prince, and the ¡°Queen of

Soul.¡± Explained here is the latest in

musical technology, from the solidbody electric guitar to the lossless

compression digital file. And read?

ers will learn about the people who

make the music, truly American in

their stunning diversity. Theirs are

perhaps the most wonderful stories

of all.

Musicians gather around the great Louis Armstrong, seated at the piano.

Armstrong grew up in New Orleans in the early part of the 20th century and

gave the world a lasting legacy ¡ª jazz.

3

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