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Babry Ellen Written
A diary entry written on 2 January 1666 is the earliest existing reference to the song. It suggests that the piece may have originally been written for a stage performance.
Fun fact: Bob Dylan credits the song for inspiring his piece "Girl From the North Country." -
Soldier's Joy (fiddle tune)
The Illinois Humanities Center states that this piece dates back to as early as the 1760s.
It is rated in the top 10 most played Old Time Fiddle tunes. -
Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair
This song was a parlour song, meaning that it was meant to be performed in the homes of the middle class.
When modern music was banned from the radio in 1941 after the ASCAP boycott, this song was repeatedly played, to the point that people were joking that Jeannie's hair was going grey. -
The Coo Coo (Coo Coo Bird)
This folk-lyric song of British origin was one of the most common songs in Appalachia.
It is said to have been written between the years 1870 and 1900, during the development of the industrial United States. -
Stack O' Lee Blues
The song was published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923.
It is about the murder of Billy Lions by "Stag" Lee Shelton.
A version that was by Lloyd Price reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. -
Castle House Rag
Europe's Society was the first black group to sign a contract with a record company. The piece's musical form is very typical of ragtime style with themes aranged into one large structure. -
St. Louis Blues
The song features call and response between Smith and Armstrong on the coronet.
Three European aspects are used in this piece: Tin Pan alley form, African American 12-bar blues, and habanera and tango dance rhythms in the B section.
W.C. Handy wanted to avoid the monotony in 3-line folk blues. -
Tiger Rag
This song begins with each of the musicials playing full-out, which was very unlike the other pieces of its day. The high energy of the music and the shout choruses brough both excitement and intensity to new music. -
April Showeres
This song, like "My Blue Heaven," is a Tin Pan alley song, but this one features a larger than life and more theatrical approach, making the piece a statement, not just a thought. Imagery is present throughout, Although the song may at first sound old-fashioned, at its time it was the opposite, as its focus on the perfomer and delivery of the lyrics was new to American music. -
Long John
This song is a perfect example of a call and response song. It features one man singing a line, with a group responding with the same words and notes.
It combines religious and secular feelings, showing the desire to be free felt by both slaves and prisoners. -
Dippermouth Blues
The Creole Jazz Band was the first New Orleans jazz group to establish a successful reputation outside of the South. Improvisation play a large role in this recording, as the Creole band's recording features a lot of collective improvisation. -
Black Snake Moan
The singer doesn't necesarily need to keep time. Jefferson never played this song exactly the same way twice.
The song is full of imagery and improvisation.
Not only in this song, but in other pieces, the sexual themes were frowned upon by "respectable" people. -
East St. Louis Toodleoo
Duke Ellington was fond of pushing the extremes when it came to music - having instrumentalists play the high and low extremities of the instrument's range. The song was one of the great African American dance pieces of the late 1920s and early 30s. -
My Blue Heaven
Gene Austin is regaurded as one of the greatest crooners of the 1920s, having mastered the electric microphone. Like many Tin Pan alley songs, this piece uses imagery through its lyrics to create images and feelings of nature and serenity. -
Blue Yodel No. 2
The loosely connected stanzas suggest the familiar patterns of the 12-bar blues.
This song features a strong choral and rhythmic regularity with the guitar. -
Wrappin' It Up (The Lindy Glide)
The music has a very continuous feeling, created by having the bass player play on all 4 beats of each measure.
The accents on the offbeats allowed for a swinging groove, which when combined with the fluid pulse, gave an accent on every other beat. -
Caravan
The drummer in this piece, Sonny Greer, never had any drum parts written out, he just focused on supporting the work of the other musicians with his own. He didn't specialize in flashy drum solos, and he added to the overall texture with wire brushes, mallets and exotic percussion instruments.
Though thepiece cannot be identified as a specific Latin American rhythm, it evokes the habanera-inspired "Spanish tinge." -
Taking A Chance On Love
The crooners who were featured on selected arrangements of songs were often those whose names appeared on teh record label.
The opening introduction is 24 bars of instrumetnals, in which the prass plays a melody and the reeds respond. -
Nancy With the Laughing Face
This was the dawn of the postwar era! Sinatra's performance included many tempo rubato moments, when the orchestra slowed for anticipation. He keeps the feeling of movement in persective by conveying central emotion and keeping distance. -
Choo Choo Ch' Boogie
This song included the 12 bar blues form and an 8 bar chorus, showing references to African american music and Tin Pan alley forms. The boogie woogie successfully linked country music and blues. -
It's Mighty Dark to Travel
They avoided ammplified instruments to keep the song sounding traditional, which was unlike many postwar era bands. The bluegrass at its core is music for instrumentalists, present in the breakways meant to showcase the players. -
Mambo No. 5
This piece abolished the traditional 2-part head montuno structure. The mambo is essentially a simplification of the formal and rhythmic complexity of Afro Cuban music for new audiences. -
Mama He Treats Your Daugher Mean
The vocalist creates the feeling of complaining by squeaking on words such as "mama," "man," and "understand." The 16 bar blues were essentially the original 12 bar form expanded wiht 4 extra bars. -
Hound Dog
Presented female empowerment through commanding vocals and blunt lyrics. The informal sense of the piece is evident through relaxed rhythms and howls from the male band. -
Hoochie Coochie Man
The guidar with a rock steady rhythm and blues licks counterpoised teh voice, creating a musical conversation. The Delta Blues were emotional, as seen in teh growling vocals and distortion of guitar notes to sound like cries. -
You Send Me
Sam Cooke's gentle, yet intense performance evoked crooning and his agile voice hooked listeners.
The white backup singers caused controversy, but it s important to separate social identity and musical style. -
The Twist
Performed as a cover by Chubby Checker, this song resulted in a large-scale social acceptance of the free-form dancing which this song evoked.
Many other songs of the 1960s were inspired by this, and were dance-oriented. -
Georgia On My Mind
This recording was Ray Charles's first #1 pop hit.
It also reached #3 on the rhythm and blues chart. -
Be My Baby
Recorded by The Ronettes, this song features and aggressive and distinct rhythm of the solo drum which hooks the listener.
it also features a full orchestral string section, pianos, a singer with backups which presents a wall of sound at full tilt. -
Uptown
Sung by The Crystals, this song features Spanish elements, and given that it is set in New York, it evokes the feeling of Spanish Harlem.
This was one of only a few pop songs of the 60s that presented class inequities and economic injustice in the lyrics and theme. The downtown sections are in minor, which evoke hard work. -
A Change Is Gonna Come
The central theme of Cooke's personal experiences motivated his decision to write this in the first person.
The emotional connection and passion in the piece make it one of the most highly regarded songs of all time. -
My Girl
The Temptations's performance of this piece was, and continues to be what engages the listener.
The repeating bass motive and guitar on top establish the beat and hook the listener. -
Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
This piece features a call and response between Brown and the instruments.
The music is shaped more by rhythmic patterns than chord changes or melodic lines. -
You Can't Hurry Love
Although there is no distinct pattern, catchiness is not sacrificed for sophistication, and The Supremes deliver sophisitication in this piece.
The song is about waiting, and this theme is represented in both the music and lyrics - the A section is kept until the end, and the supposed repition of the lyrics "you can't hurry love" are held until the top of the following section. -
Good Vibrations
The sound of the song becomes more important than the sense. The listener is more intrigued by the overall presentation than the story/meaning.
There is no name for the form, as it is very individual and distinct, unlike any other piece. -
Respect
Aretha Franklin took a risk covering a song that the composer had originally written for himself.
In Franklin's version, she puts herself in the position of power, using the first person instead of third, evident in the modified lyrics. -
Piece of My Heart
Janis Joplin pushed her voice to the extreme limits, saying that she would prefer a short, exceptional career than a long, unexceptional one.
Joplin was inspired by blues singers Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton. -
It's Too Late
Carole King is a prime example of a successful singer-songwriter. This song reached number one and stayed there for five weeks.
The lyrics reflect King's maturity as an artist and a person, as does the shift from light rock to soft jazz throughout the song. -
Oye Como Va
Santana's song largely relies on improv guitar solos.
He uses the electric guitar's ability to sustain long notes to create long, flowing, melodic lines instead of playing torrents of fast notes to show off technique. -
Supersition
Stevie Wonder, when he was 21, signed a contract with Motown which gave him full control over his music as singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer.
He used overdubbing to record his own instrumentals and vocals, and layer them into one piece. -
Love's Theme
The danceability and string-dominated melody make this a sucessful record.
This was just the first of a long line of instrumental-only disco records. -
Love to Love You Baby
Producer Giorgio Moroder uses the multitrack recording board to build up layers of sound texture and then strip them away to reveal the basic pulse of the music.
Although the original recording is nearly 17 minutes long, the version that made the Billboard singles charts was edited down to 5 minutes to fit the framework of top 40 radio. -
Hotel California
The Eagles's greatest hits album was the first platinum album, selling 26 million copies.
The long guitar solos at the end over the verse chords reemphasize the feeling of eing stuck (as heard in the lyrics)
