• Lived from 1841-1904
• Originally from Czechoslovakia (called
Bohemia when he was there)
• Parents ran a butcher shop
• Moved to Spillville, IA http://www.mapquest.com/maps?state=IA
• Moved to New York in 1892 and earned $15,000 (today it is worth about $355,000)
• Returned to Czechoslovakia in 1895

• 1 st song he wrote was a polka; was a complete failure
• Eventually became the greatest composer of his time
• Nationalistic composer
- Wrote music about his country and folk music
• “From the New World Symphony”
- 1 section- Goin’ Home (Largo movement)
http://youtu.be/2g8p3JLSzsA

• Used Folk music of America
- African American
- Native American
• Slavonic Dances
- based on Folk songs from
Czechoslovakia

• Lived from 1891-1971
• Born in Ohio
• When 11 yrs. old
– Taught himself to play the cornet (he later played in the Canton Marine Band)
– Began composing

• 1 st composition was published when he was 17 yrs. old
• Composed over 300 pieces of music
• Wrote mostly Marches and Circus Music
• 1909 played for a circus band
• When 21 yrs. old, he wrote “Barnum and
Bailey’s Favorite” (his most famous march) http://youtu.be/TUy9mkOd2Us

• In 1917 he married Ruth Lovett
– She joined him in the circus band- he was bandmaster and she played the calliope
• In 1920 they moved to Fort Dodge, IA http://www.mapquest.com/maps?state=IA
– He was bandmaster of the Municipal Band for 51 years
– He ran a music publishing company
– Ruth sold musical instruments

• “Hawkeye Glory” for the University of
Iowa
• “Hawkeye Fair” for the Iowa State Fair
• “Trombone King” http://youtu.be/NAjN6_tIfDE
• “In Old Portugal”

• Born March 1, 1904; died Dec. 15, 1944
• Born in Clarinda, IA
• In 1942, enlisted in the U.S. Army
– Conductor of the U.S. Army-Air Force Band
• On Dec. 15, 1944, his plane disappeared over the English Channel

• Played the trombone
• Became a bandleader and arranger of swing music
• 1 clarinet and 4 saxophones in his arrangements
• Glenn Miller Orchestra- 1937

• “Chatanooga Choo Choo” (Gold) http://youtu.be/kIQq1j1-AQU
• “In the Mood”- his biggest hit http://youtu.be/bR3K5uB-wMA
• “Moonlight Serenade”- theme song http://youtu.be/GCMNWBCUk8c

• Don- born in 1937 (Kentucky)
Phil- born in 1939 (Chicago)
• Eventually moved to Shenandoah, IA
• Parents- Ike and Margaret
– Folk and country music performers
• Brothers began singing with parents at
6 and 8 yrs. old
– Continued to perform with parents through
High School

• 1950- brothers went to Nashville
• Don wrote most of the music
• From 1957-1959
– 6 songs on the Top 10 Country Hits
– 7 songs on the Top 10 Pop Charts
• 1973- Brothers broke up as a duo
– Don wrote songs; recorded solo albums
– Phil wrote music; had a radio show “In
Session”

• 1983- Got back together
• Recorded “Very Best Hits” album
• 1986- Inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
• Introduced drums at the Grand Ole
Opry
• Style of music- cross between Rock and
Roll and Country

• “Keep on Lovin’ Me”- 1 st single
• “Bye, Bye Love” - 1 st big hit- 1957
– Received #1 on Country charts and #2 on
Pop charts http://youtu.be/I4oBEF2-eLo
• “Wake Up Little Susie” http://youtu.be/CByPkTZtnzU
• “All I Have to Do is Dream” http://youtu.be/m24uUzJgfwQ
• “Cathy’s Clown”- #1 in 1960

• Bradford, IA (now part of Nashua)
• “The Little Brown Church in the Vale”
– Song written in 1857
• Another name is “The Church in the
Wildwood” http://youtu.be/wpOeU28951g
• Song was written before the church was built
– Song by Dr. William S. Pitts
• Dentist and teacher of singing

•
•
•
• Church modeled after the song
• Church is known for weddings

• Born and raised in Mason City
• Lived from 1902-1984
• Parents- John and Rosalie Willson
– Siblings- Dixie and Cedric
• Meredith’s mom was originally Rosalie
Reiniger; she was from Charles City
– Rosalie’s dad was a Charles City judge
• His mom taught him music at 7 yrs.
• After high school, he went to New York
City
• Played with John Philip Sousa and New
York Philharmonic Orchestra

• 1929 turned to conducting and composing (lyricist)
• Late 1930’s he was musical director for
NBC in San Francisco
• Wrote music for movies
• Received 2 Academy Award nominations
• During WWII he was a Major in the
U.S. Army- Armed Forces Radio
Services

• 1957- “The Music Man” (musical)
• Based on his life growing up in Mason City
• “76 Trombones” http://youtu.be/ODu888i14-I
• “’Til There Was You”
• “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little” http://youtu.be/jbhnRuJBHLs
• “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” (musical)
• “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You”
• “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like
Christmas” http://youtu.be/z3rJX3U9yM8

• Rock band from the 80’s and 90’s
• From Charles City
• Members as of 1987 (all siblings except
Brent)
– Tom Litterer- bass; lead vocals
– Steve Litterer- guitars; vocals
– Carleen Litterer- keyboards; vocals
– Brent Estlund- guitars; vocals
– David Litterer- drums

• Started around 1973
• When group started performing together,
Carleen was 15, Tom was 17, Dave was 19, and Steve was 21
• Their mother used to yodel on local radio stations in the 40’s and 50’s
• The Litterer Band toured at some popular ballrooms in Minnesota, which put them on the map
• Worked for Litterer Window Siding company between shows

• Dave quit in 1993 and replaced by Dan
Kelly
• Dan Kelly left in 1995 was was replaced by Jeff Reints
• Carleen and Brent left in 1995 and were replaced by Ted Smaley and Jason
Herman

• Around 1982 started recording under the name “The Litterer Brothers Band”
• In 1985 changed name to “The Litterer
Band” with the recording of “Rock This
City” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=melwcokHHks
• In 1987 “She’s So Dangerous” http://youtu.be/p5OffQi9NiY
• “Prisoner of the Heart” http://youtu.be/H8RRkzNcVK4
• Band is no longer recording
• Last show was in Waverly, IA in 1997

• Rock band from Des Moines formed in 1995
• Shawn Crahan (drummer) and Paul Gray
(bassist) started the band and called it The
Pale Ones
• Others joined and the name changed to Meld
– Anders Colsefni- guitarist; vocals
– Donnie Steele- guitarist; in 1996 he left the band due to Christian beliefs
– Joey Jordison- main drummer
– Josh Brainard- 2 nd guitarist
– Corey Taylor and Jim Root are now part of
Slipknot, but originally were members of Stone
Sour

• Ideas for songs came from late night sessions with Gray, Crahan, and Jordison at a gas station where Jordison worked
– They came up with the name Slipknot
• They were forced to self-finance their 1 st recording- cost $40,000
• Late June 1998- signed a 7-album deal for
$500,000
• Debut album released in 1999

• “Wait and Bleed”
– #27 on UK Singles Chart
– In 2000 won Best Single Award
• “Spit It Out” http://youtu.be/2c0Pdoldihc
– #28 on UK Singles Chart
• “The Subliminal Verses”
– Charted on 8 different charts including
Billboard 200
• 2001album “Iowa” gained popularity
• As of May 2010, they have sold over 14 million records worldwide

• On May 25, 2010, Paul Gray (one of the founders) died from an overdose.
• It took the band a year before they played in public again.
• In August 2012, they returned to Iowa for the 1 st time in over 3 years.
• They performed in their own festival, Knotfest.

• Rock band from Des Moines formed in
1992
– Founded by Corey Taylor (later became lead vocalist for Slipknot) and Joel Ekman
(former drummer; stayed in Des Moines and started a family)
– Shawn Economaki- bassist
• In 1995 Jim Root joined (now is part of
Slipknot)
• Stone Sour was complete in 1996

• Corey Taylor- Lead vocals; rhythm guitar; piano
• Shawn Economaki- bass guitar
• Jim Root- lead guitar; keyboards
• Josh Rand- rhythm guitar
• Roy Mayorga- drums; percussion

• 2002-2003
– Josh Rand joined
– Band recorded “Stone Sour” album in Cedar
Falls
• Charted #46 on the Billboard 200
– “Bother” featured on the “Spider Man” soundtrack and sung by Corey Taylor http://youtu.be/Q-pXD0FXLQ8
• Reached #2 on Mainstream Rock Chart, #4 on
Modern Rock Tracks, and #56 on Billboard Hot 100
• 3 Grammy Award nominations for Best
Metal Performance
– “Get Inside” 2003
– “Inhale” 2004
– “30/30-150” 2006

• Born Feb. 26, 1982
• Born in Iowa City, IA
• Moved to Arizona in 1986 due to repeated bouts of pneumonia he battled as a child
• Pursued music after graduating high school in 2000

• “I'm not one to take lessons, so I decided that the only way I was going to learn how to sing, if what they were saying was true, was to go in my car and put on any sort of music from a vocalist that might be really hard to mimic, turn it on as loud as possible and try to hit all those notes.” - Nate Ruess

• In 1998, was vocalist of
Nevergonnascore, a punk band
• In 2001, Nate created the band The
Format with his friend Sam Means
• In 2008, he created the band Fun.
– Jack Antonoff of Steel Train and Andrew
Dost of Anathallo

• “We Are Young” (2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhbW6mCshLw
– Received #1 on Billboard Hot 100 in 2012
– Fun. won a Grammy on Feb. 10, 2013, for this song
• “Some Nights” (2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQkBeOisNM0&playnext=1&list=PLC4F49D02F9D
2F3D0
– Reached #3 on Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on
Alternative Songs chart
• “Carry On” (2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-y74YPjTiw