Modern Popular
Music
Modern Popular Music
Reading “What is pop
music”?
Instructions:
1. Find one partner
2. Decide who will be Reader 1 & who
will be Reader 2
3. Find a piece of blank paper, a writing
utensil, & your article
4. Reader 1 reads 1st paragraph out
loud to Reader 2, Reader 2 listens
carefully & takes notes
5. Reader 2 reads next paragraph &
Reader 1 takes notes
6. Reader 1 & 2 keep switching roles
until entire article is read.
Questions
1. What is the difference
between “pop” and
“popular” music?
2. According to the article,
define “pop” music.
3. What does “Pop Music
Melting Pot” refer to (mean)?
4. What does “art is not a
concern” mean?
5. What characterizes (makes) a
“pure pop” song?
Your popular music
assignment
• Your popular music (not pop) project has two parts
1) An assigned artist
2) A chosen artist
Part 1:
Instructions
You be assigned one popular artist and song from the
following eras:
Pre-1920’s
1930’s
1940’s
1950’s
1960’s
1970’s
1980’s
1990’s
2000’s – today
Part 1 must include the following
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Title of your song
Name of artist (Performer)
Name of music composer
Year song was released
Genre
3 “Did you know…” facts
Analysis of the lyrics: What does it mean?
A 7-fold analysis
What was the purpose of this song? Was it made to
make a statement? Express an idea?
Popular Music Presentation
Instructions (continued)
Each student will choose one song from
the following eras:
• Pre-1920’s
• 1930’s
• 1940’s
• 1950’s
• 1960’s
• 1970’s
• 1980’s
• 1990’s
• 2000’s – today
Part 2 must…
1. Be approved by your teacher
o
No cursing/No Womanizing/etc.
2. Be from a different era than your first artist/song
3. Not be the same artist as someone else
4. Be presented including all the same information
mentioned before
5. What does this song mean to you? How
does it effect/represent you?
Modern Popular Music
Pre -1920’s
John Phillip Sousa
• “The March King”
• Emphasized the
wind ensemble as
opposed to the
string orchestra
• Stars and Stripes
Forever
WC Handy
• “Father of the Blues”
• Introduced a new style
of music to the world
• Did not invent the blues
but brought them to a
worldwide audience
• 1st blues song– Memphis
Blues
• Beale Street
Scott Joplin
• “The King of Ragtime”
• Wrote 2 operas
• Maple Leaf Rag
Jelly Roll Morton
•
•
•
•
Jazz pianist
Conductor
Composer
He claimed that he
“invented” jazz
• Jelly Roll Blues
Modern Popular Music
1920’s
Fats Waller
• New Orleans Jazz
• One of the “Songs of the
Century” – Recording Industry
Association of America
• Ain’t Misbehavin’
Jimmie Rogers
• “Father of Country
Music”
• Guitar, voice
• Yodel
• In the Jailhouse
Now
Louis Armstrong
• “Satchmo”
• Trumpet player and
singer
• Reinvented himself
over many decades as
a combo musician, Big
Band performer,
jazz/pop singer, and
much more
• (Choose a song from
the 20’s)West End Blues
Modern Popular Music
1930’s
Robert Johnson
• “King of the Delta
Blues”
• Used voice and
guitar only
• Dubbed father of
rock and roll
• Crossroad Blues
Billie Holliday
• “Lady Day”
• Along with
Fitzgerald,
considered one of
greatest jazz voices
of all time
• Strange Fruit or God
Bless the Child
Fred Astaire
• Dancer, singer, film
actor, entertainer,
etc.
• Known for dancing
with Ginger Rogers
• Cheek to Cheek
Modern Popular Music
1940’s
Bill Monroe
• The Father of Bluegrass
Music
• High lonesome sound
• Mandolin with bass,
guitar, and fiddle
• Blue Moon of Kentucky
Gene Kelly
• Singer, Dancer,
Choreographer,
Producer, Director, etc.
• Known for numerous
movie musicals
• Singin’ in the Rain
Woody Guthrie
• Noted for his
identification with
o the common man
o the poor
o the downtrodden
• Hated fascism and
exploitation
• This Land Is Your Land
(find the extended
lyrics)
Thelonius Monk
• Pianist who used “stride”
piano techniques
along with more “avant
garde” approach
• Used the entire
keyboard, not just
those notes “in tune”
• ‘Round Midnight
Ella Fitzgerald
• “The First Lady of Song”
• Three octave range
• Known for the ability to
scat
• Her voice sounded
young and youthful
despite her age
• How High The Moon
Modern Popular Music
1950’s
Buddy Holly
• Rock and roll chords
(C, G, E)
• 15 #1 hits on the
Billboard Top 40 in
one year
• Peggy Sue
Elvis Presley
• King of Rock
and Roll
• Huge teen idol
and heart
throb
• Performed
older AfricanAmerican blues
songs
• Jailhouse Rock
Ray Charles
• Rhythm and blues
• Added gospel sound to
rock and roll
• Piano and boogiewoogie sound
• Mess Around
Johnny Cash
• “The Man in
Black”
• Inspired all
country singers
after him
• Folsom Prison
Blues
Miles Davis
• Bebop– Throttled notes
• Cool jazz—
Improvisation
• Modal jazz– No major
or minor keys, just
notes.
• Jazz fusion—Soul, R&B,
and jazz added with
electric instrumentation
• Kind of Blue
Modern Popular Music
1960’s
Frank Sinatra
• Big Band Sound
• One lead singer
with full orchestral
arrangement
• Strangers in the
Night
• My Way
Bob Dylan
• Influenced heavily by
Woody Guthrie
• Became most popular
folk musician since
Guthrie, but lost folk
audience for going to
electric guitar from
acoustic
• Blowin’ in the Wind
The Beatles
• The British Invasion
• Experimentation
with musical
instruments
• Biggest Boy Band
in history
• I Want to Hold
Your Hand
• Hey, Jude
• Strawberry Fields
Forever
Beach Boys
• The original
California Rock
• Experimentation
with musical time
signatures,
electronic music,
instrumentation, etc
• Good Vibrations
Marvin Gaye
• Motown
• R&B meets rock
• I Heard it Through
the Grapevine
Nat King Cole
• Vocalist & jazz
pianist
• Jazz meets popular
music
• L-O-V-E
Modern Popular Music
1970’s
James Brown
• “The Godfather
of Soul”
• Soul music
• Inspired Michael
Jackson and
much of the 80s
• Get Up Offa That
Thing
Led Zepplin
• Earliest Hard rock/
heavy metal
• Heavy bass lines
and guitar
• Kashmir
Bee Gees
• Disco
• Known for 3 part
vocal harmonies
• Stayin’ Alive
Stevie Wonder
• Soul / Funk
• Keyboard heavy
music
• Superstition
Sugar Hill Gang
• MC– Master of
Ceremonies
• A mix of spoken word,
sampled melodies, and
“scratching” records
• Producer: Sylvia
Robinson
• Rapper’s Delight
Ramones
• Often cited as 1st
Punk Rock band
• From New York
• Blitzkrieg Bop
Van Halen
• Album “Van Halen”
one of the “most
revolutionary albums”
of all time
• Formed in Pasadena,
CA
• Runnin’ With The
Devil
Bob Marley
• “Bob Marley and
the Wailers”
• Reggae
• Kettle drums with
basic electric guitar
• Buffalo Soldier or No
woman, no cry
Modern Popular Music
1980’s
Michael Jackson
• Changed pop
music into upbeat
numbers with
synthesized beats
• “The King of Pop”
• Thriller or Beat It
David Bowie
• Singer, Songwriter,
Arranger, producer,
Actor
• Career spans from
1962-present
• Modern Love
Beastie Boys
• New School Rap
• Inducted into Rock
n Roll Hall of Fame
in 2012
• Fight For Your Right
/ Sabotage
Madonna
• Most successful female
artist in the 80’s
• Music Videos pushed
the box in the MTV
music world
• Like a Prayer
Metallica
• Birth of Thrash Metal
• Still active today writing
and touring
• Heavy Guitar solos
• Inducted into “The
Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame” in 2009
• Master of Puppets
Modern Popular Music
1990’s
Nirvana
• Grunge
• Associated with
Generation X
• Come As You Are
Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Alternative Rock
• Notable bass
guitarist
• Scar Tissue or My
Friends or Under the
Bridge
Radiohead
• Electronic
alternative Rock
• Inspired by classical
music
• Fake Plastic Trees
Modern Popular Music
2000’s - now
You all cover this part