This course, part 1 of a 2-course sequence, examines the history of rock, primarily as it unfolded in the United States, from the days before rock (pre-1955) to the end of the 1960s. This course covers the music of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and many more artists, with an emphasis both on cultural context and on the music itself. We will also explore how developments in the music business and in technology helped shape the ways in which styles developed.
Rock emerged in the mid 1950s as a blending of mainstream pop, rhythm and blues, and country and western--styles that previously had remained relatively separate. This new style became the music of the emerging youth culture and was often associated with teen rebellion. We will follow the story of how this rowdy first wave of rock and roll (1955-59) was tamed in the early 60s but came roaring back with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and then went psychedelic by the end of the decade.
What's included
1 video7 readings
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1 video•Total 4 minutes
Introduction•4 minutes
7 readings•Total 70 minutes
Welcome to the Course•10 minutes
General Overview•10 minutes
Syllabus•10 minutes
Grading and Logistics•10 minutes
Music Fundamentals•10 minutes
Listening Guides (19 videos)•10 minutes
About the Professor•10 minutes
The World Before Rock and Roll (1900-1955)
Module 2•2 hours to complete
Module details
The Role of Tin Pan Alley in mainstream pop, the formation of a national audience through radio and the rise of television, the pre-rock pop of Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, and Les Paul and Mary Ford; rhythm and blues in the years before rock and roll; country and western and the rise of Nashville.
What's included
11 videos
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11 videos•Total 95 minutes
The Music Business in the First Half of the 20th Century•7 minutes
Radio and Regional vs National Audiences•9 minutes
The Stars of Pop Music Before Rock and Roll•12 minutes
Les Paul, Inventor - The Role of Technology•6 minutes
Origins of Country & Western (pre WWII)•9 minutes
The Rise of Nashville•13 minutes
Rhythm and Blues (Pre 1945)•8 minutes
Rhythm & Blues (Post 1945)•11 minutes
Regional R&B Radio in the 1950s•7 minutes
Doo Wop and Gospel•6 minutes
Hokum Blues and Sexual Lyrics•5 minutes
The Birth and First Flourishing of Rock and Roll (1955-59)
Module 3•2 hours to complete
Module details
Chart crossover and cover versions, the first hits of Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Little Richard, the rise of Elvis Presley, the music of Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, the rise of American Bandstand, the payola scandal and the "death of rock and roll."
What's included
8 videos1 assignment
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8 videos•Total 88 minutes
The Rise of Youth Culture in the 1950s•12 minutes
Radio and Records•13 minutes
Crossovers and Covers•10 minutes
The First Rock and Rollers Cross Over•14 minutes
The Rise of Elvis Presley•13 minutes
Sam Phillips Selling Elvis Contract•3 minutes
Rockabilly in the Wake of Elvis•13 minutes
The Day the Music Died•11 minutes
1 assignment•Total 60 minutes
The World Before Rock and Roll and The Birth and First Flourishing of Rock and Roll•60 minutes
The Demise of Rock and the Promise of Soul (1959-63)
Module 4•1 hour to complete
Module details
Was this era the dark ages for rock music or was it a golden era cut short by the British invasion? The music of teen idols, the folk revival, early surf music, sweet soul, rockabilly pop, and girl groups. The Brill Building songwriters and the rise of the producer. Playlets and splatter platters.
What's included
9 videos
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9 videos•Total 81 minutes
Audiences and Marketing - The Search for the Next Elvis•4 minutes
The Brill Building Approach to Pop•8 minutes
Teen Idols•7 minutes
Producers and Girl Groups•9 minutes
Sweet Soul•7 minutes
TV, Movies, and Dance Crazes•15 minutes
The Folk Revival•11 minutes
Rockabilly Popsters•8 minutes
Surf Music•11 minutes
The Beatles and the British Invasion (1964-66)
Module 5•2 hours to complete
Module details
The Beatles transform the UK music scene and then invade America. Other Beatles-type British bands. The London blues scene and the Rolling Stones. Other Stones-type bands. The Who and the Kinks.
What's included
10 videos1 assignment
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10 videos•Total 83 minutes
Introduction•4 minutes
The Early 1960s in the US & UK•12 minutes
The Rise of the Beatles•11 minutes
Beatles as Students of American Pop Music•5 minutes
Beatles From Craftsmen to Artists•10 minutes
Blues in the UK•5 minutes
The Rolling Stones Emerge•8 minutes
The Stones in The States•6 minutes
Other British Bands•11 minutes
The Kinks and the Who•12 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
The Demise of Rock and the Promise of Soul (1959-63) and The Beatles and the British Invasion (16964-66)•30 minutes
American Responses (1965-67)
Module 6•1 hour to complete
Module details
Dylan, the Byrds and folk rock. Garage bands in the northwest. Sonny and Cher and the legacy of Phil Spector. TV rock, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Monkees. Music in New York and Los Angeles.
What's included
7 videos
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7 videos•Total 76 minutes
Dylan as the New American Songwriter•12 minutes
Dylan Goes Electric•9 minutes
Folk Rock and the Byrds•12 minutes
The Phil Spector Legacy•12 minutes
Meanwhile, Back East•8 minutes
Garage Bands•9 minutes
TV Rock•15 minutes
Motown Pop and Southern Soul (1960-69)
Module 7•2 hours to complete
Module details
Berry Gordy and the rise and first flourishing of Motown. Atlantic, Stax, and southern soul (Memphis, Muscle Shoals, New York). Parallels between Motown and Stax. James Brown and the roots of funk.
What's included
7 videos1 assignment
Show info about module content
7 videos•Total 74 minutes
Preamble •7 minutes
Hitsville, USA: Motown•14 minutes
The Motown Performers•14 minutes
Soulsville, USA: Stax and Southern Soul (7:25)•7 minutes
The Stax Performers (12:06)•12 minutes
Motown, Stax, the British Invasion, and the American Response (6:37)•7 minutes
James Brown (12:44)•13 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
American Responses and Motown Pop and Southern Soul•30 minutes
Psychedelia (1966-69)
Module 8•2 hours to complete
Module details
How can music be psychedelic? Underground psychedelic scenes in San Francisco and London. Psychedelia in LA. The Summer of Love and the rise of hippie culture. The birth of FM rock and rock magazines. Woodstock and Altamont.
What's included
9 videos
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9 videos•Total 103 minutes
LSD, Music, and the Trip•13 minutes
The Beginnings of the Hippie Aesthetic•9 minutes
Pushing the Envelope Beatles and Beach Boys•13 minutes
Psychedelia in San Francisco - Subculture•11 minutes
Psychedelia in San Francisco – Important Groups•14 minutes
Psychedelia in London and Underground Favs•12 minutes
Psychedelia in London – Mainstream Stars•11 minutes
Los Angeles and Elsewhere•12 minutes
A Hippie Nation•9 minutes
Final Exam
Module 9•1 hour to complete
Module details
Final exam for this course.
What's included
1 assignment
Show info about module content
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
Final Exam•30 minutes
Instructor
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R
RC
5·
Reviewed on Jan 10, 2021
Amazing how everything was organized and very glad to learn of the History of Culture in western world! Great teacher and materials given in this course!! I love it!
A
AK
5·
Reviewed on Apr 16, 2020
Would highly recommend this course for those interested learning about the roots of Rock and where the great bands of the 60's got their musical influence from.
B
BL
5·
Reviewed on Mar 12, 2018
Provided insight into what I was listening to as a pre-teen. I didn't have the exposure to some of the older roots or the an understanding of the business forces that shaped the music I had access to.
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