MUS 370 History of Rock Music
This course explores rock and roll music from its emergence in the United States in the mid 1950s to its worldwide reach in the present. Students will study its musical forms and performance styles, as well as how rock music has responded to the social, cultural and political changes in the US since World War II. Topics to be explored include: antecedents in work and protest songs, gospel, country, jazz, blues and other popular forms; the rise of rhythm and blues as a prime catalyst for the rock and roll genre; a survey of diverse and hybrid styles including doo-wop, soul, funk, folk, psychedelic rock, heavy metal, disco, glam, grunge and punk; the reciprocal influence of the British Invasion on US rock; and consideration of current trends in hip/hop and rap. Students will place the music in historical and social contexts, including demographic and economic changes, the civil rights movement, the rise of the youth culture in the 1960s, and the influence of technology on shaping the expression of the music and its distribution.