Music History Courses.
Six weeks, two hour sessions.

The pre-rock and roll period, its socio-cultural context, and major figures (Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton). Early rock and roll: DJ Alan Freed, Bill Haley and His Comets, and New Orleans artists Little Richard and Fats Domino.

The rockabilly scene in Memphis, Tennessee - Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Wanda Jackson. The Chicago R&B scene, with Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley.

The so-called 'Transition Period,' 1958-1963: Brill Building pop, Girl Groups, Phil Spector, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, and surf rock (the Beach Boys, Dick Dale).

Wrapping the Transition Period, then into folk: the context for the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s, and artists like Woodie Guthrie, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Bob Dylan.

Folk rock (the Byrds, Bob Dylan) and the singer-songwriter genre (Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen). Beginning the British Invasion section.

The British Invasion and the context for the emergence of UK acts in the US. Focus on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, with the Who and the Kinks also covered.

This course starts with early African American music, including work songs and minstrelsy, which provides some socio-cultural and musical context for the next six weeks. The blues is the first major topic, and we'll look at musical and lyrical features of this style, as well as the 12-bar blues form. The first blues style to examine is acoustic blues of the Mississippi delta (Charley Patton, Robert Johnson), and its transformation into the electric Chicago blues (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf).

Continuing with the blues, we'll look at some of the earliest records sold as blues, which are the “classic blues” of Bessie Smith. The variety continues with the big band jazzy blues of T-Bone Walker and BB King, and two regional varieties: Texas blues, and Piedmont blues.

To finish up the blues section we have a variety of artists including Leadbelly, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, and the 60s folk blues revival. Next, we'll examine some 1950s R&B styles, including jump blues (Louis Jordan), and sweet soul (The Drifters). Gospel is the last topic of the week, where we'll look at early vocal groups, the Staple Singers, and the Reverend CL Franklin.

This week is all about soul. Some of the earliest singers to combine elements of the sacred and profane, gospel and R&B, were Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. Our breakdown of the many regional soul record labels begins in Detroit with a detailed look at Motown (The Temptations, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5).

Continuing with the regional soul labels, we'll go to Memphis for Stax Records (Otis Redding; Booker T & the MGs; Isaac Hayes), and Hi Records (Al Green). Next, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which is home to FAME studios and the Muscle Shoals sound (Aretha Franklin). We'll wrap up the soul section with a look at some of the 60s and 70s soul sounds coming out of New Orleans and Chicago.

James Brown and his band are widely credited with creating funk in the mid-1960s. We'll look at how funk emphasizes the African as opposed to the European elements of soul music. There were changes to funk in the 1970s, exemplified by George Clinton and Parliament; Sly Stone and the Family Band; Kool & the Gang; and the Meters. Finally, a brief look at how funk, along with the Philadelphia sound, leads into early disco.