Music Commons^™

Gender, Politics, Market Segmentation, And Taste: Adult Contemporary Radio At The End Of The Twentieth Century, Saesha Senger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation explores issues of gender politics, market segmentation, and taste through an examination of the contributions of several artists who have achieved Adult Contemporary (AC) chart success. The scope of the project is limited to a period when many artists who figured prominently in both the broader mainstream of American popular music and the more specific Adult Contemporary category were most commercially viable: from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. My contention is that, as gender politics and gendered social norms continued to change in the United States at this time, Adult Contemporary – the chart, the format, and the …

Enduring Music: Migrant Appalachian Communities And The Shenandoah National Park, Madeline Marsh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper is an archival study of the displaced children of families formerly living in the Shenandoah National Park which spans from Strasburg to Waynesboro, Virginia. The study looks at interviews, from the JMU Special Collections archives, of these children in the 1970-80s, nearly fifty years after their forced migration from the 197,438 acres that comprised the park. Change and pressure during the 1930s-40s combined with national policy began the nostalgic preservation and veneration of the culture of these people of the Blue Ridge Mountains; through the archives, a clear and diverse picture of the perspectives and lifestyles of people …

Cowboy Art Song: A Contextual And Musical Analysis Of Libby Larsen's "Cowboy Songs", Ann Gabrielle Richardson

Dissertations

This dissertation sprang from a combination of two personal interests: cowboy culture and classical art song. The union of my cowgirl heritage with my career as a classical vocalist has long fueled an interest in a particular niche of repertoire: soprano art song with thematic connections to the North American cowboy. A conducted state of research reveals no scholarly literature exploring this specific topic. Libby Larsen’s collection, Cowboy Songs, fulfills the aforementioned niche, successfully capturing the spirit, musical idioms, and cultural themes of the North American cowboy.

Chapter I lays a contextual foundation for cowboy song, providing a catalogue …

“Alexander Hamilton Embodies Hip Hop.”: The Words That Sparked A Revolution, Lindsey Garrant

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This paper focuses on Alexander Hamilton, one of the most influential founding fathers, and how he embodies a genre of music known as hip hop. There are many aspects of hip hop culture that Alexander Hamilton embodied. The examples of hip hop culture used in this article are the Tupac Shakur and Biggie Small rivalry, Nas writing his way out of the Queens housing project, the “Ten Crack Commandments”, and “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy. Examples from Alexander Hamilton’s life consist of his rivalry with Aaron Burr, writing his way out of poverty, the duel code of honor, the …

From Swing King To Swing Kids: The Jazz Era Of ‘Big Band Orchestras’ In World War Ii, Katie Victoria Burnopp

Student Scholar Showcase

Known as the ‘King of Swing’, clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (1909-1986) threatened the Nazi cause during WWII. With intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate swing music during World War II. The particular problems of this study were to: (1) identify how the swing music of Benny Goodman (1909-1986) influenced adolescents in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany; (2) explore the Nazi party view on ‘swing’ music of the era; (3) examine how the music of Charlie and his Orchestra became used as a tool for Nazi propaganda; and …

"Through Me Tell The Story": A New Historical Analysis Of Bob Dylan As A Nobel Laureate, Abby Mangel

Theses

Bob Dylan's receipt of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 for "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition" is perhaps the strongest validation for New Historicism as a method of literary analysis. The individual puzzle pieces of Dylan's postmodern rock poems are themselves little bits of history, but combined within the context of the massive paradigm shifts of the 1960s, they become something new and entirely relevant to the nonstop turmoil of contemporary life in America.

Undated Book Of Poetry, Songs, And Sheet Music, Marie-Jeanne Laurendeau

Marie-Jeanne Laurendeau

Undated book of poetry, songs, and sheet music written by Marie-Jeanne Laurendeau in French and English.

Black Us Army Bands And Their Bandmasters In World War I, Peter M. Lefferts

Glenn Korff School of Music: Faculty Publications

This essay sketches the story of the bands and bandmasters of the twenty seven new black army regiments which served in the U.S. Army in World War I. The new bands underwent rapid mobilization and demobilization with their regiments over 1917-1919. They were for the most part unconnected by personnel or traditions to the long-established bands of the four black regular U.S. Army regiments that preceded them and that continued to serve outside Europe during and after the Great War. Pressed to find sufficient numbers of willing and able black band leaders for these new regiments, the Army turned to …

Splitting Hair: Reviving The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical In The 1970s, Bryan M. Vandevender

Faculty Journal Articles

When Hair premiered on Broadway in 1968, the musical garnered attention

for its reflection the current cultural moment. Critics acknowledged

this congruence of form, content, and zeitgeist as the production’s greatest

asset. This alignment with the Vietnam era proved a liability nine

years later when Hair received its first Broadway revival, particularly

when the musical’s authors replaced many of the libretto’s cultural references

with allusions to the 1970s, further illuminating the musical’s

inherently time-bound qualities.

Rhapsody In Red, White And Blue: The Co-Evolution Of Popular And Art Music In The United States During World War Ii, Douglas A. Kowalewski

Student Publications

World War II was a watershed event in twentieth century American history. All aspects of life, including music, both found roles to play in the war effort and were forever altered by the conflict. Past work on the subject of American music in World War II tends to focus heavily on the nature and impact of popular music during this time period. While this paper will review and build upon this scholarship, art music during the war will also be considered. Using two distinctly different, yet complementary, autobiographies – those of army band musician Frank Mathias and composer Gunther Schuller …

Music And Race In The American West, William Steven Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the complexities of race relations in the nineteenth century American West. The groups considered here are African Americans, Anglo Americans, Chinese, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. In recent decades historians of the West have begun to tell the narratives of racial minorities. This study adopts the aims of these scholars through a new lens--music. Ultimately, this thesis argues that historians can use music, both individual songs and broader conceptions about music, to understand the complex and contradictory race relations of the nineteenth century west.

Proceeding thematically, the first chapter explores the ways Anglo Americans used music to …

Carpenter, Howard R., 1919-2016 (Mss 613), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 613. Manuscript orchestral music for several pieces composed by Howard R. Carpenter, a music professor at Western Kentucky University from 1953 to 1984.

“Ain’T It A Pretty Night?”: An Analysis Of Carlisle Floyd’S Susannah As An Allegory For The Socio-Political Culture Of The United States In The 1950s, Melissa L. Allen

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This capstone thesis discusses the applicability of Carlisle Floyd’s 1955 opera, Susannah, as an allegory for the socio-political climate of the United States in the 1950s. In order to do so, a musical analysis of the opera’s score was then performed for its use of folk song conventions and verismo operatic conventions. The libretto was analyzed for the use of social conventions of Southern Appalachia. Characters actions and musical content were then judged on whether (1) their actions were in line with the social conventions of traditional Appalachian culture and (2) if their musical content used/reflected conventions of traditional Appalachian …

Songs Of The Cajuns: A History And Analysis Of Joie De Vivre: Five Impressions Of Acadian-America, Wendy Kay Moss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

My exploration of Cajun song, from its origins as a French ballade into popular American song, will reveal the musical characteristics of Cajun music. My study’s purpose is to increase ones understanding of the history of Cajun song and its music, and then determine why it is missing from the canon of American song repertoire. My study will include an analysis, performance and recording of Cajun song settings composed and arranged by Arles Estes. My investigation will research five traditional Cajun songs as they pertain to Estes’ settings in order to broaden the roots of American song literature and enhance …

Lane, Thomas Sylvester, 1858-1942 (Sc 3083), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding Aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3083. Memo book containing information about singing schools[?] established in Edmonson and Warren counties in Kentucky. Includes a photograph of Thomas Sylvester Lane and his wife Ella Zade (Houchin) Lane.

Guest Editor's Introduction, Sherlynn Allen-Harris

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Acknowledgments And Disclaimer, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

2018 Call For Submissions, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The "Noble Savage" In American Music And Literature, 1790-1855, Jacob Mathew Somers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the aftermath of the War of 1812, America entered a period of unprecedented territorial expansion, economic growth, and political unity. During this time American intellectuals, writers, and musicians began to contemplate the possibility of a national high culture to match the country’s glorious social and political achievements. Newly founded periodicals urged American authors and artists to adopt national themes and materials to replace those imported from abroad, and for the first time Americans began producing their own literary, artistic, and musical works on a previously inconceivable scale. Though American writers and composers explored a wide range of “national themes,” …

A Former Student And Colleague Remembers Gil Scott-Heron, Linwood Gato Martinez-Bentley

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Gil Scott-Heron, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Play American, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Just seventy years ago, a Fortune poll reported that 62 percent of Americans listened to classical music, 40 percent could identify Arturo Toscanini as an orchestral conductor, and nine million listeners (11 percent of American households) tuned in to weekly Metropolitan Opera broadcasts from New York City. Astonishing. The “grand orchestra,” wrote Charles Edward Russell in 1927, “has become our sign of honor among the nations.” (excerpt)

The Politics Of Engagement In The Digital Age, Sherlynn Allen-Harris

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Books: Suggestions For Further Reading, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Black Lives: The Effect Of The Digital Age On African American Identity And Political Participation, Lauren Grimes

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Regennia N. Williams

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Wings Over Jordan And The Scholarship Of Oral History, Regennia N. Williams, Glenn Brackens

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Parton Paradox: A History Of Race And Gender In The Career Of Dolly Parton, Lindsey L. Hammers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With a career that has spanned over five decades, country music artist Dolly Parton has continually redefined her image and her music to remain relevant. By incorporating the musical and lyrical stylings of disco and other popular music genres into her songs, Parton moved beyond music’s color line to increase her popularity as an artist. This thesis shows how Parton established a distinct career that catered to different audiences as she traversed the musical color line and repackaged what feminism looked like to country music fans during the Women’s Movement of the 1960s. Placing Parton’s actions in conversation with music’s …

The Relationship Between Lowell Mason And The Boston Handel And Haydn Society, 1815-1827, Todd R. Jones

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The relationship between Lowell Mason (1792–1872) and the Boston Handel and Haydn Society (est. 1815) has long been recognized as a crucial development in the history of American music. In 1821, Mason and the HHS contracted to publish a collection of church music that Mason had edited. While living in Savannah, GA, Mason had imported several recent British collections that adapted for church tunes works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Ignaz Pleyel. His study with German émigré Frederick L. Abel allowed him to harmonize older tunes in standard counterpoint. In the historiography of American …

Nothin' But A Good Time: Hair Metal, Conservatism, And The End Of The Cold War In The 1980s, Chelsea Anne Watts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers a cultural history of the 1980s through an examination of one of the decade’s most memorable cultural forms – hair metal. The notion that hair metal musicians, and subsequently their fans, wanted “nothin’ but a good time,” shaped popular perceptions of the genre as shallow, hedonistic, and apolitical. Set against the backdrop of Reagan’s election and the rise of conservatism throughout the decade, hair metal’s transgressive nature embodied in the performers’ apparent obsession with partying and their absolute refusal to adopt the traditional values and trappings of “yuppies” or middle-class Americans, certainly appeared to be a strong …