Rock Music: Early Influences
"The Heart of Rock & Roll": Early Influences of Rock Music
The origins of rock music are directly connected to the traditional genres of blues, country, folk, gospel, and rhythm and blues. These library resources explain the depth of their impact in influencing rock artists and the establishment of rock 'n' roll.
Books
All Roots Lead to Rock: Legends of Early Rock 'n' Roll by
Chronicles the early years of music that became rock 'n' roll, featuring the stories of artists Frankie Lymon, Julia Lee, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
Call Number: ML3534 .A45 1999ISBN: 0028648668Publication Date: 1999-03-01
Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll by
An essential work for rock fans and scholars, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll surveys the origins of rock 'n' roll from the minstrel era to the emergence of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Unlike other histories of rock, Before Elvis offers a far broader and deeper analysis of the influences on rock music. Dispelling common misconceptions, it examines rock's origins in hokum songs and big-band boogies as well as Delta blues, detailing the embrace by white artists of African-American styles long before rock 'n' roll appeared. This unique study ranges far and wide, highlighting not only the contributions of obscure but key precursors like Hardrock Gunter and Sam Theard but also the influence of celebrity performers like Gene Autry and Ella Fitzgerald. Too often, rock historians treat the genesis of rock 'n' roll as a bolt from the blue, an overnight revolution provoked by the bland pop music that immediately preceded it and created through the white appropriation of music till then played only by and for black audiences. In Before Elvis, Birnbaum daringly argues a more complicated history of rock's evolution from a heady mix of ragtime, boogie-woogie, swing, country music, mainstream pop, and rhythm-and-blues--a melange that influenced one another along the way, from the absorption of blues and boogies into jazz and pop to the integration of country and Caribbean music into rhythm-and-blues. Written in an easy style, Before Elvis presents a bold argument about rock's origins and required reading for fans and scholars of rock 'n' roll history.
Call Number: ML3477 .B47 2013ISBN: 9780810886384Publication Date: 2012-12-21
Devil's Music, Holy Rollers and Hillbillies: How America Gave Birth to Rock and Roll by
Rock music today is universal and its popular history is well known. Yet few know how and why it really came about. Taking a fresh look at events long overlooked or misunderstood, this book tells how some of the most disenfranchised people in a free and prosperous nation strove to make themselves heard--and changed the world. Describing the genesis of rock and roll, the author covers everything from its deep roots in the Mississippi Delta, key early figures, like deejay "Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips and gospel star Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and the influence of so-called "holy rollers" of the Pentecostal church who became crucial performers--Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.
Call Number: ML3917.U6 C67 2016ISBN: 9781476662299Publication Date: 2016-05-23
Crossroads: How the Blues Shaped Rock 'n' Roll (And Rock Saved the Blues) by
The blues revival of the early 1960s brought new life to a seminal genre of American music and inspired a vast new world of singers, songwriters, and rock bands. The Rolling Stones took their name from a Muddy Waters song; Led Zeppelin forged bluesy riffs into hard rock and heavy metal; and ZZ Top did superstar business with boogie rhythms copped from John Lee Hooker. Crossroads tells the myriad stories of the impact and enduring influence of the early-'60s blues revival: stories of the record collectors, folkies, beatniks, and pop culture academics; and of the lucky musicians who learned life-changing lessons from the rediscovered Depression-era bluesmen that found hipster renown by playing at coffeehouses, on college campuses, and at the Newport Folk Festival. The blues revival brought notice to these forgotten musicians, and none more so than Robert Johnson, who had his songs covered by Cream and the Rolling Stones, and who sold a million CDs sixty years after dying outside a Mississippi Delta roadhouse. Crossroads is the intersection of blues and rock 'n' roll, a vivid portrait of the fluidity of American folk culture that captures the voices of musicians, promoters, fans, and critics to tell this very American story of how the blues came to rest at the heart of popular music.
Call Number: ML3521 .M56 2013ISBN: 9781555537449Publication Date: 2013-06-11
Americanaland: Where Country & Western Met Rock 'n' Roll by
A musical genre forever outside the lines With a claim on artists from Jimmie Rodgers to Jason Isbell, Americana can be hard to define, but you know it when you hear it. John Milward's Americanaland is filled with the enduring performers and vivid stories that are at the heart of Americana. At base a hybrid of rock and country, Americana is also infused with folk, blues, R&B, bluegrass, and other types of roots music. Performers like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Gram Parsons used these ingredients to create influential music that took well-established genres down exciting new roads. The name Americana was coined in the 1990s to describe similarly inclined artists like Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, and Wilco. Today, Brandi Carlile and I'm With Her are among the musicians carrying the genre into the twenty-first century. Essential and engaging, Americanaland chronicles the evolution and resonance of this ever-changing amalgam of American music. Margie Greve's hand-embroidered color portraits offer a portfolio of the pioneers and contemporary practitioners of Americana.
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9780252043918Publication Date: 2021-08-03
Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States by
Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States reflects the fascinating diversity of regional and grassroots music in the United States. The book covers the diverse strains of American folk music--Latin, Native American, African, French-Canadian, British, and Cajun--and offers a chronology of the development of folk music in the United States. The book is divided into discrete chapters covering topics as seemingly disparate as sacred harp singing, conjunto music, the folk revival, blues, and ballad singing. It is among the few textbooks in American music that recognizes the importance and contributions of Native Americans as well as those who live, sing, and perform music along our borderlands, from the French speaking citizens in northern Vermont to the extensive Hispanic population living north of the Rio Grande River, recognizing and reflecting the increasing importance of the varied Latino traditions that have informed our folk music since the founding of the United States. Another chapter includes detailed information about the roots of hip hop and this new edition features a new chapter on urban folk music, exploring traditions in our cities, with a case study focusing on Washington, D.C. Exploring American Folk Music also introduces you to such important figures in American music as Bob Wills, Lydia Mendoza, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters, who helped shape what America sounds like in the twenty-first century. It also features new sections at the end of each chapter with up-to-date recommendations for ""Suggested Listening,"" ""Suggested Reading,"" and ""Suggested Viewing.""
Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9781617032646Publication Date: 2012-04-30
The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times by
This book relays the complete history of gospel music, paying special attention to the relationship between gospel and other African American musical forms in America such as jazz and R&B. It discusses specific gospel music singers as well as the world of the gospel church itself. Includes black-and-white photos.
Call Number: ML3187 .H44 2002ISBN: 0879100346Publication Date: 2004-07-01
The Death of Rhythm & Blues by
From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down," this passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous position of black culture within white American society. In a fast-paced narrative, Nelson George's book chronicles the rise and fall of "race music" and its transformation into the R&B that eventually dominated the airwaves only to find itself diluted and submerged as crossover music.
Call Number: ML3479 .G46 2004ISBN: 0142004081Publication Date: 2003-08-15
Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World by
One of Kirkus Reviews Best Music & Entertainment Books of 2017As heard on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross & seen on PBS Newshour"Nothing short of masterly."-- The Wall Street Journal"A remarkable history of skiffle.... Bragg impresses throughout with engaging prose and painstaking research. He further enlivens the text with personal insights and witty asides that give the material a unique cast few professional writers would dare.... an accomplished work."-- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)"Superb account of the politically aware, working-class skiffle craze of the 1950s.... Writing with an expert practitioner's appreciation for music, Bragg tells the story of British rock-'n'-roll's forerunner with verve and great intelligence." -- Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)Skiffle -- a "do-it-yourself music craze with American jazz, blues, folk, and roots influences - is a story of jazz pilgrims and blues blowers, Teddy Boys and beatnik girls, coffee-bar bohemians and refugees from the McCarthyite witch hunts. Skiffle is reason the guitar came to the forefront of music in the UK and led directly to the British Invasion of the US charts in the 1960s.Emerging from the trad-jazz clubs of the early '50s, skiffle was adopted by the first generation of British "teenagers" -- working class kids who grew up during the dreary, post-war rationing years. Before Skiffle, the pop culture was dominated by crooners and mediated by a stuffy BBC. Lonnie Donegan hit the charts in 1956 with a version of Lead Belly's "Rock Island Line" and soon sales of guitars rocketed from 5,000 to 250,000 a year.Like punk rock that would flourish two decades later, skiffle was home grown: all you needed were three guitar chords and you could form a group, with mates playing tea-chest bass and washboard as a rhythm section.ROOTS, RADICALS AND ROCKERS is the first book to explore the Skiffle phenomenon in depth -- Billy Bragg'fs meticulously researched and joyous account shows how Skiffle sparked a revolution that shaped pop music as we have come to know it.
Call Number: ML3536 .B73 2017ISBN: 9780571327744Publication Date: 2017-07-11
What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record? by
Using the essentially rhetorical (some might say theological) question: "What was the first rock 'n' roll record?" as its starting point, this unique book nominates 50 records for the honor, beginning with an early live recording, "Blues, Part 2" (1944) and ending with Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956). Forewords by Billy Vera and Dave Marsh.
Call Number: ML3534 .D38 1992ISBN: 0571129390Publication Date: 1992-10-01
Articles
- "How Sister Rosetta Gets Them Rolling" by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 9 May 1964
- "Elizabeth Cotten: Domestic, 71, Sings Folk Songs of Own Composition in Village" by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 6 November 1965
- "The Men Who Make the Blues: Howlin' Wolf" by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969
- "Mahalia Jackson: Why Mahalia's Still in the Book" by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 May 1969
- "Hank Williams and Honky Tonk" by Martin Hawkins, Record Mirror, 1 May 1971
- "Unravelling the Legend of Robert Johnson" by Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 19 June 1971
- "The Hard Times and Blues of Mr. Country, Jimmie Rodgers" by Joe Sasfy, Unicorn Times, December 1976
- "Growin' Fat on the Grapes of Wrath" by Mick Farren, New Musical Express, 23 July 1977
- "Muddy Waters: Loud & Clear" by Tony Russell, The History of Rock, 1982
- "Pete Seeger: The Voice of America" by Phil Sutcliffe, Mojo, April 2009
- Rock's BackpagesAn archive of music journalism and popular music writing of the last 60 years. Includes 38,000 articles on all subcategories of popular music.
Archival Materials
Bruce Bastin Collection, 1899-2001
Bruce Bastin is a folklorist, author, and director of Interstate Music. This collection includes reference sound recordings of blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, western swing, Latin American, and world music.
Charles Brown Collection, 1987-1999
This collection contains audio recordings, photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, and promotional materials relating to the rhythm and blues career of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Charles Brown.
Archie Green Collection, 1944-2009
A significant folklorist, Archie Green's collection consists of audio, such as field recordings, lectures, live performances, and commercial recordings, pertaining to his research on folk music. This collection also includes video recordings relating to documentary films about American vernacular music.
Peter Guralnick Collection, 1935-2021
This collection includes audio recordings of interviews and other research materials on country, blues, and gospel music of the American South. Some of the research conducted by Pete Guralnick involves musicians like Robert Johnson, Sam Cooke, Muddy Waters, and Howlin' Wolf.
Stefan Grossman Collection, 1967-2007
Steve Grossman is the founder of Vestapol Productions, which released and reissued audiovisual content of prominent American roots artists. In particular, the collection contains audio and video recordings of Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Cotten, Reverend Gary Davis, John Fahey, Son House, Skip James, Dave Van Ronk, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Doc Watson, Bukka White, and Howlin' Wolf.
Bill C. Malone Collection, 1950s-2016
Bill C. Malone is a historian of country music. This collection contains audio and video recordings, newspaper clippings, scholarly articles, notes, and photographs about the history, culture, and performers of country, folk, bluegrass, and gospel music.
Mike Seeger Collection, 1923-2012
Mike Seeger was a member of the musical Seeger family and New Lost City Ramblers. Rock musicians, such as Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, have cited Seeger as a major influence. This collection includes field and interview audio recordings pertaining to folk and old-time musicians, such as Elizabeth Cotten (FT-20009/3754), Ola Belle Reed (FT-20009/3725), Maybelle Carter (FT-20009/8821), and Bill Monroe (FT-20009/3764).
John S. Ullman Collection, 1960-1970
John S. Ullman was a manager for folk artists, such as Elizabeth Cotten and Mike Seeger. This collection contains audio recordings of workshops produced by Ullman and features American roots artists, such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Doc Watson, Mike Seeger, Roscoe Holcomb, John Lee Hooker, New Lost City Ramblers, Bill Monroe, Reverend Gary Davis, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Ralph Stanley, and Big Joe Williams.
Audio
The Music Library holds more than 60,000 sound and video recordings you can check out. Use the library catalog to find their call numbers, then ask for them at the Music Library Circulation Desk.
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Ex. ALL FIELDS: Sister Rosetta Tharpe |
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Pay attention to the item's location; there are several collections on campus that have music materials.
When you find a recording you are interested in, click on its Subject tab to find similar items. If the item you want is checked out or we don't own it, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan.
Videos
American Roots Music by
Roots Music. American Popular Music-History. Race Music. Hillbilly Music. Folk Music. Blues Music. Jazz Music. Gospel Music. Cajun Music. Notes: Narrated by Kris Kristofferson. Directed by Jim Brown. Produced by Brown, Sam Pollard, and Jeff Rosen. Senior Editor, Sam Pollard. Written by Charles Wolfe. Directors of Photography, Bob Boccaccio, SOC, Peter Pilafian and Bob Fiore. Edited by Paul Petrissans and Anand Kamalakar. Episode II. This Land Was Made For You and Me. Capturing the music of America's cultural folkways - root music including Cowboy and Western Swing [Chapter I] began with the academic work of John Lomax to collect and archive, record. This kind of music which reached popularity with singing cowboy stars from Ken Maynard to the remarkable Gene Autry. Western swing, with its roots in bluegrass and blues, got its start in the Depression in the form of music like Bob Wills. In Chapter II, Lead Belly and Lomax, archivist John Lomax found Huddie Ledbetter 'Lead Belly' in Louisiana's Angola prison creating an historic pairing of scholar and musician. In almost biblical ascension, Ledbetter influenced the folk music and movement led by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger [Chapter III, Woody Guthrie]. [Chapter 4] Bluegrass - Bill Monroe began the bluegrass movement which would explode when Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs became part of his string band. Merle Travis' guitar style brought the Kentucky hills variation on bluegrass. Chapter 5 Honky Tonk, the music of the juke and beer joints of Texas, exemplified by Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, and Kitty Wells with her classic Honky Tonk Angel. But it was Hank Williams who took country music to its next level. Chapter 6 - The Blues & Radio and the music of Sonny Boy Williams and Robert Junior Lockwood and the broadcasting of The King Biscuit Time, possibly the first Afro-American show broadcast on radio in the South. Not long after King Biscuit Time, Rufus Thomas and the great B. B. King and the Memphis Blues sound became popular. Then Sam Phillips discovered Elvis Presley. Among those interviewed: Bob Green, Pete Seeger, Ray Benson, Bonnie Raitt, Alan Lomax, Tiny Robinson [Ledbetter's niece], Kyle Cantrell, James Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Kingsbury, Kitty Wells, Willie Nelson, Robbie Robertson, Sonny Payne, James Cotton, B. B. King.
Episode IV. All My Children of the Sun. Chapter I - Cajun music got a shot as part of the cultural revival of this Louisiana based musical form after the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Louis Balfa's music was a hit at the festival and revived the music among the young. Chapter II - Zydeco as exemplified by Clifton Chenier̀. Chapter III - Tejano. In Texas, Narciso Martinez led the movement introducing Mexican-American music [called Tejano or Tex-Mex] into the mainstream. Mingo Saldivar led the music into an era of bi-lingual performance with his band's mixture of country/western and Tejano styles and Flaco Jimenez fusion of Tejano and jazz ock extended the impact of the accordion dominated sound. Chapter IV - Native American. American Indian music represents part of a culture. Their language and songs were muted by restrictions in schools created to Americanize the tribes in the 1890s. Since the '70s a revival has occurred in Powwows. The emphasis of religion in the music is detailed. Chapter V - Nakai & Marabal. Robert Mirabal's use of traditional dress and images in his rock based music. Chapter VI - Evolution of Roots. This segment synthesizes and updates us on roots music in the new millennium. Gospel music is an example of how roots music continues to expand and evolve - From the surprise success of Edwin Hawkins' Oh Happy Day to Kirk Franklin's hip hop gospel; Robert Branch teaching and playing blues in the schools; alternative country revisionist style by Gillian Welch, to younger and younger bluegrass music by young people by Ketch Secor. Among those interviewed: Ann Savoy, Marc Savoy, Steve Riley, Valerio Longerio, Flaco Jimenez, Manual Pena, Mingo Saldivar, Charlotte Heth, Robert Mirabal, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Robbie Robertson, Rae Ann Red Owl, Edwin Hawkins, Billy Branch, Steve Earle, Ricky Skaggs. Bonus materials: Performances by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her choir singing Down By the Riverside; Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys performing Ossun Two-Step, Valerio Longoria performing Rosalito.
Episode III. The Times They Are A-Changin'. Chapter I [Chicago Blues] is about the influence of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and the electric blues style of Delta blues men who went North to Chicago, singing the songs of Willie Dixon. Chess Records was their label the same label as Muddy's protegee Chuck Berry. When the young English and American musicians of the '60s [Beatles, Stones, Cream] paid tribute the blues greats, they became the rock interpreters of the great bluesman tradition. Chapter II [B. B. King] became synonymous with Beale Street and the popularization of the blues. Chapter III, The Golden Age of Gospel, is blues' counterpoint starting with the Golden Gate Quartet who set the precedent for groups ranging from the Five Blind Boys, Dixie Hummingbirds and the Soul Stirrers and the women gospelers like sister Rosetta Tharpe and the penultimate gospel soloist, Mahalia Jackson. Showmanship in gospel was personified by groups like the Clara Ward Singers. From their gospel roots came Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke and the Staple Singers. Chapter IV The Weavers introduced Lead Belly's Irene and Woody Guthrie's So Long. The Weavers begat The Kingston Trio, New Lost City Ramblers which led to the Folk Revival [Chapter V], and Chapter VI, Newport Folk Festival and the arrival of Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary. The Newport Festival also revived root music and created new found folk stars such as Doc Watson, Mississippi John Hurt. The music of the Civil Rights music came out of the Festival as well. Among those interviewed: Keb 'Mo, Marshall Cross, B. B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Paul Oscher, Cissy Houston, Flaco Jimenez, Bernice Johnson-Reagon, Gordon Stoker, Mavis Staples, Linwood Heath, Robbie Robertson, Pete Seeger, Harold Leventhal, Peter Yarrow, John Cohen, John Sebastian, Doc Watson, Dick Waterman, Sam Lay,
Features historic and documentary footage of 20th century pioneering artists. Includes blues, country, gospel, folk, Cajun, sydeco, bluegrass, tejano and Native American music.
Call Number: 65-DVD864Publication Date: 2001
The Blues: A Musical Journey by
Volume 1: Feel like going home. Director Martin Scorsese pays homage to the Delta blues. Musician Corey Harris travels through Mississippi and on to West Africa, exploring the roots of the music. The film celebrates the early Delta bluesmen through original performances and rare archival footage. Performances: Corey Harris, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Salif Keita, Habib Koité, Taj Mahal, Ali Farka Toure, Otha Turne, Muddy Waters, Keb' Mo', Willie King, Lead Belly. Interviews: Corey Harris, Sam Carr, Toumani Diabate, Willie King, Dick Waterman, Taj Mahal, Johnny Shines, Otha Turner, Ali Farka Toure, Habib Koité, Salif Keita,Keb' Mo'. Volume 2: Soul of a Man. Director Wim Wenders explores the lives of his favorite blues artists in a film that is part history and part personal pilgrimage. The film tells the story of these artists' lives in music through a fictional film-within-a-film, rare archival footage, and covers of their songs by contemporary musicians.Performances: T-Bone Burnett, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Shemekia Copeland, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Skip James, Garland Jeffreys, Chris Thomas King, J.B. Lenoir, Los Lobos, John Mayall, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, Vernon Reid, Marc Ribot, James "Blood" Ulmer, Lucinda Williams, Cassandra Wilson.
Volume 6: Red, White, and Blues: Director Mike Figgis joins musicians such as Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Tom Jones, performing and talking about the music of the early sixties British invasion that reintroduced the blues sound to America. The post-war traditional jazz and folk revival movements produced the fertile ground for a new kind of blues music--entirely influenced by the authentic black blues of the USA, and, for the most part, entirely ignored by the good citizens of the US. It was new in the sense that certain key musicians took the blues and molded it in an entirely personal way to fit the new awareness of the UK in the sixties. Performances: Jeff Beck, Big Bill Broonzy, Cream, Lonnie Donnegan, Georgie Fame, Chris Farlowe, Tom Jones, B.B. King, Peter King, Alexis Korner, Albert Lee, Lulu, Humphrey Lyttelton, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Van Morrison, Rolling Stones, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, Jon Cleary. Interviews: Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Van Morrison, John Porter, Humphrey Lyttelton, George Melly, Lonnie Donnegan, Chris Barber, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, B.B. King, Albert Lee, Chris Farlowe, Bert Jansch, Eric Burdon, Stevie Winwood, Davey Graham, Georgie Fame, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green. Volume 7: Piano Blues. Director--and piano player--Clint Eastwood explores his life-long passion for piano blues, using a treasure trove of rare historical footage in addition to interviews and performances. Performances: Marcia Ball, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles Jay McShann, Pinetop Perkins.
Volume 3: Road to Memphis. Director Richard Pearce traces the musical odyssey of blues legend B.B. King in a film that pays tribute to the city that gave birth to a new style of blues. Pearce's homage to Memphis features original performances as well as historical footage. Performances: Fats Domino, Rosco Gordon, B.B. King, Little Milton, Little Richard, Bobby Rush, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, The Coasters. Interviews: Bobby Rush, B.B. King, Rosco Gordon, Rufus Thomas, Calvin Newborn, Hubert Sumlin, Chris Spindel (WDIA program officer), Don Kern (WDIA Production Manager), Dr. Louis Cannonball Cantor, Cato Walker III, Little Milton Campbell, Sam Phillips, Ike Turner, Jim Dickinson. Volume 4: Warming by the Devil's Fire: Director Charles Burnett presents a tale about a young boy's encounter with his family in Mississippi in the 1950s, and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly strains of gospel and the devilish moans of the blues. Performances: Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Cotten, Reverend Gary Davis, Ida Cox, Willie Dixon, Lightnin' Hopkins, Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Vasti Jackson, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Victoria Spivey, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Dinah Washington, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson. Volume 5: Godfathers and Sons: Drector Marc Levin travels to Chicago with hip-hop legend Chuck D (of Public Enemy) and Marshall Chess (son of Leonard Chess and heir to the Chess Records legacy) to explore the heyday of Chicago blues as they unite to produce an album that seeks to bring veteran blues players together with contemporary hip hop musicians. Performances: Lonnie Brooks, Paul Butterfield, Common, Chuck D and Public Enemy, Bo Diddley, Sam Lay, Ike Turner, Pinetop Perkins, Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Smokey Smothers, Koko Taylor, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, "Electric Mud Band", Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Blind Arvella Gray, Carrie Robinson. Interviews: Marshall Chess, Chuck D, Jamar Chess, Phil Chess, Koko Taylor, Magic Slim, Common, Sam Lay.
A seven-part television series of personal and impressionistic films, viewed through the lens of seven world-famous directors, capturing the essence of blues music and delving into its global influence, from its roots in Africa to its inspirational role in today's music.
Call Number: 65-DVD18034Publication Date: 2003
Country Music by
Ken Burns chronicles the history of a uniquely American art form, rising from the experiences of remarkable people in distinctive regions of the nation. From its roots in ballads, hymns, and the blues to its mainstream popularity, viewers will follow the evolution of country music over the course of the twentieth century as it eventually emerged to become America's music. Features never-before-seen footage and photographs, plus interviews with more than 80 country music artists.
Call Number: DVD-875Publication Date: 2019
American Epic by
THE BIG BANG: In the Roaring 20s, music scouts with cutting-edge recording technology set out across America to capture the unsung voices of everyday folk. This is the Big Bang of modern popular music – the first time America hears itself.
Call Number: OnlinePublication Date: 2017Say Amen, Somebody by A documentary that follows gospel singer Willie Mae Ford Smith from her home to jumping church services to an emotionally galvanic singing convention. Also features Thomas A. Dorsey, her mentor and the man credited with inventing gospel music, Delois Campbell Barrett, and other gospel singers.
Call Number: DVD-60Publication Date: 2001
That Rhythm, Those Blues by
In the small towns and cities of the south in the 1940s and 1950s, black rhythm-and-blues singers performed in warehouses, tobacco barns, movie theaters and halls. The endless one-night stands were all a step toward the big time at the famed Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem, where the most talented, recognized black performers played. The story of the Apollo reflects the era of sanctioned American segregation and carries a message about the relationship between black and white America. It is the story of camaraderie tested by racial tension and the great financial and artistic success of rhythm-and-blues.
Focuses on the rhythm and blues music performed by black musicians during the 1940s and 1950s through the small towns and cities of the South.
Call Number: 65-V1985Publication Date: 1988
Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones: Live at the Checkerboard Lounge by
In the middle of an American tour, the Rolling Stones paid a visit to Buddy Guy's club, The Checkerboard Lounge, to see the legendary Muddy Waters perform. Before long they joined Waters on stage, and the occasion was recorded and captured on camera.
Call Number: DVD-599Publication Date: 2012
A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly by
This collection of artists and songs features new versions of Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly's most important and influential music. In interviews and performances filmed in a variety of locations the superstars of today pay tribute to these two legendary folk heroes.
Call Number: DVD-1075Publication Date: 2000
Suggested Subject Headings
"Rock music -- Influence"
"Blues (Music)"
"Country music"
"Folk music"
"Gospel music"
"Rhythm and blues music"
Pictorial Works
American Roots Music by
"American roots music - encompassing blues, country & western, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, Tejano, Native American, and other uniquely American genres of folk music - originated and was nurtured in small communities and spread across the nation." "American Roots Music is the companion book based on the PBS series of the same name, resulting from three years of research and a unique collaboration between the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Experience Music Project, and Ginger Group Productions, with major support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Public Broadcasting Service, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and AT&T."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
American Epic by
The companion book to the groundbreaking PBS and BBC documentary series celebrating the pioneers and artists of American roots music--blues, gospel, folk, Cajun, Appalachian, Hawaiian, Native American--without which there would be no jazz, rock, country R&B, or hip hop today. Jack White, T. Bone Burnett, and Robert Redford have teamed up to executive produce American Epic, a historical music project exploring the pivotal recording journeys of the early twentieth century, which for the first time captured the breadth of American music and made it available to the world. It was, in a very real way, the first time America truly heard herself. In the 1920s and 1930s, as radio took over the pop music business, record companies were forced to leave their studios in major cities in search of new styles and markets. Ranging the mountains, prairies, rural villages, and urban ghettos of America, they discovered a wealth of unexpected talent--farmers, laborers, and ethnic minorities playing styles that blended the intertwining strands of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. These recordings form the bedrock for modern music as we know it, but during the Depression many record companies went out of business and more than ninety percent of the fragile 78 rpm discs were destroyed. Fortunately, thanks to the continuing efforts of cultural detectives and record devotees, the stories of America's earliest musicians can finally be told. Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty, who directed and produced the documentary with American musician Duke Erikson, spent years traveling around the US in search of recollections of those musical pioneers. Their fascinating account, written with the assistance of prize-winning author Elijah Wald, continues the journey of the series and features additional stories, never-before-seen photographs, and unearthed artwork. It also contains contributions from many of the musicians who participated including Taj Mahal, Nas, Willie Nelson, and Steve Martin, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible journey across America. American Epic is an extraordinary testament to our country's musical roots, the transformation of our culture, and the artists who gave us modern popular music.
Music Makers: Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America by
Taking readers on a soulful ride into the past, "Music Makers" is a stunning and poignant look into the lives of a forgotten, mistreated group of musicians: those helped by the Music Maker Relief Foundation to assist artists working in the blues, R & B, hillbilly music, and other "roots" forms of music. 160 photos.
