American Studies Project

1. American Music
Back 100 years
By: Nayantara Almeida

2. 1920’s During the 1920’s jazz music became very popular in
America and worldwide. New dances were created to showcase
the fast beat of the blues and ragtime.
Jazz music is a genre of music which originated from
African American roots. Jazz music widely uses syncopation,
which is not playing notes on the beat.
A popular artist of the time was Benny Goodman, who
played the clarinet. He was one of the only white Americans
who had success in the genre of jazz.
One of the best known artists of the time was Louis
Armstrong. He released dozens of records during the 1920’s
featuring his amazing trumpet and cornet playing skills.
Video

3. Benny
Goodman

4. Louis
Armstrong

5. 1930’s
During the 1930’s, due to the Great
Depression, many record sales dropped. During
the early 1930’s the popular music was a jazzy
pre-swing music by Louis Armstrong and Fletcher
Henderson. During the later 1930’s the rhythm
and blues songs were recorded by Ellington, Billie
Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cleo Patra Brown.
Additionally, during the 1930’s music recorded by
women began to become famous.
The swing music was recorded by Tommy
Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw. Both
swing and rhythm and blues were very popular
during the 1930’s. These later songs became the
emergence of the American popular music.
Video

6. Ella
Fitzgerald

7. Billie
Holiday

8. 1940’s
During the 1940’s there were many popular genres of
music, including country, pop, and jazz.
In country music, the artists sang about their sadness
and troubles with life. Some popular artists of the time
were Floyd Tillman and Hank Williams.
In pop music, swing was very popular. Some swing
artists were Benny Goodman and Glen Miller. Other popular
artists included Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
In jazz, pure jazz and blues were becoming famous
with artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis
Armstrong and Nat King Cole. Those artists were becoming
successful across the nation.
Video

9. Hank
Williams

10. Bing
Crosby

11. Nat King
Cole

12. 1950’s
During the 1950’s in music, we saw the emergence of early
rock music. There were many types of popular music including the
genres of country, traditional pop (the music that was popular
before rock ‘n’ roll), rhythm and blues, and rock ‘n’ roll.
Video

13. Country
Music
In country music
Johnny Cash
changed this style
from cowboy music
to music about
sorrow, life, and
relationships. He also
changed it to have a
rockish vibe to his
music. Hank Williams
was still a prominent
singer and
songwriter of the
decade.

14. Johnny
Cash

15. Pop
In traditional pop,
which was the music that
was popular before rock
‘n’ roll, some popular
artists were Tony Bennett
and Dean Martin.

16. Tony
Bennett

17. Rhythm
and Blues
Rhythm and
blues originated from
1940’s jazz from
blues to a more
upbeat type of
music. This music
combined jazz, doo-wop,
blues, and
gospel to create a
unique fast sound.
Some popular artists
in this genre were
Lloyd Price and Ray
Charles.

18. Lloyd
Price

19. Early
Rock
The emergence of
rock ‘n’ roll was seen in
the 1950’s. Rockablity
was the early rock
music of the time,
some primary
rockablity pioneers
were Carl Perkins and
Buddy Holly. Later in
the decade rock ‘n’ roll
music started coming
out from artists like
Elvis Presley, “The King
of Rock”, and other
artists like Chuck Berry
and Jerry Lee Lewis.

20. Elvis
Presley

21. 1960’s

22. British
Invasion
During the 1960’s
in American music the
British invasion
started, which meant
that British music
groups from Britain
experienced a
breakthrough of
success in America.
These band groups
changed American
music and what music
was popular. A few of
these groups were the
Beatles and the
Rolling Stones.
Video
Rolling Stones

23. The
Beatles

24. R+B and
Soul
During the
60’s, the
Mowtown record
label was also
becaming
popular. This
label provided
recordings for
soul and R+B
artists, and some
popular groups
such as the
Jackson Five and
The Temptations.
The Temptations

25. The
Jackson
Five

26. Rock
During the 60’s,
rock was divided into
three different groups,
folk rock, psychedelic
rock, and surf rock. In
folk rock the songs
included political
messages. Some artists
in this category were
Bob Dylan, Crosby, and
Simon and Garfunkel.
In psychedelic rock
emerged from folk rock
and drug culture. Some
groups in this category
were the Doors and the
Byrds. Lastly, surf rock
was born on the west
coast. The popular
group that played surf
rock was The Beach
Boys.
Bob Dylan
The Beach Boys

27. Simon
and
Garfunkel

28. 1970’s
There were four popular genres of music
in the 1970s: disco/club music, progressive
rock, punk rock/new wave, and funk & soul.
Video

29. Disco
Disco music
defined the 1970’s,
it touched many
aspects of society
from dancing,
clothing, and how
music sounded. It
was a very short
era . Some popular
artists of the era
were The Bee
Gees, ABBA, and
Donna Summer.

30. The Bee
Gees

31. Progressive
Rock
Progressive rock
was rock music
combined with
opera music. When
in concert these
bands tended to be
spontaneous and
liked to experiment
with their songs.
Some popular
groups in this genre
were Pink Floyd,
Queen, and Rush.

32. Queen

33. Punk
Rock/New
Wave
Punk rock/new
wave music genre
was much like the
rock from the 1960’s
except harder and
more upbeat.
Sometimes these
groups would form
and become popular
and then shortly
breakup because of
drugs and alcohol
use. Some popular
groups in this
category were
Blondie, David
Bowie, and the New
York Dolls.

34. Blondie

35. Funk &
Soul
Funk & Soul
music evolved
from jazz, soul and
R+B, from the
1960’s. Funk
added more beats
and pychedelic
tones to their
music. We saw
funk & soul
become popular
with artists like
James Brown and
the Jackson Five.

36. James
Brown

37. 1980’s
During the 1980’s there were four popular
genres of music pop, hip-hop and rap, new
wave, and hair metal.
Video

38. Pop Music
In pop music in the
1980’s many new talented
stars emerged including,
Michael Jackson, Madonna,
Prince, and Whitney
Houston. These artists had
large levels of fame that
had not been seen since
Elvis and the Beatles.
These stars greatly
influenced pop culture and
fashion trends. Normally a
star would be popular for
no more than a decade,
but these stars were still
popular 30 years after their
emergence and are still
greatly respected American
music artists.

40. Hip-Hop
and Rap
Hip-hop and rap music was
born in New York city in African
American communities in the inner
city. Rap music had a tough time
becoming popular because in the
beginning MTV refused to show or
play music by black artists. After lots
of criticism, MTV finally played the
music and the genre began to get
popular.
With the music on MTV it gave
viewers a chance to see and
understand the genre and rap
became “the new rock ‘n’ roll”.
In this genre artists like Run
DMC, Grandmaster Flash, The
Beastie Boys, Little Cool J, and the
female rapper group Salt ‘n Pepa
this music began to take off.

42. New
Wave
This genre began in
the 1970’s and ended in
the mid 1980’s. The sound
of this music was tied in
with punk rock and dance
music. This music used
cool instruments like
synthesizers and electronic
instruments. This genre
was played a lot on MTV
because it was categorized
with pop music.
These bands had
unique styles that would
become popular with youth
culture. Some of the bands
were Duran Duran,
Blondie, Billy Idol, and The
Culture Club.

44. Hair
Metal
In the 1980’s hair metal
bands had roots in heavy metal,
punk rock, and traditional rock
music to come up with their
unique sound. These songs were
normally party anthems, or
power ballads that focused on
themes like, outlaws, drugs, and
women.
This genre was called hair
metal because in these groups
members would have long
flowing hair. They would also
wear makeup, and spandex to
create an interesting look.
Some of these groups were,
Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Aerosmith,
Def Leppard, Guns n' Roses, and
Poison.
Van Halen

45. Guns n
Roses

46. 1990’s
The era of the 1990’s had pop, rap, and alternative
music, as well-as many one-hit wonders.
Video

47. Early 90’s
During the early 90’s techno
hip-hop music was popular with
artists like MC- Hammer and
Vanilla Ice. Also groups like
Technotronic, had billboard hit
with “Pump up the Jam”.
Around 1992-1993 techno
music still was popular and this
music became the “New rock
music”. These groups were often
young groups, with songs that
had angry lyrics. A song like
Nirvana’s “Smells like teen spirit”,
marked the beginning of the
grunge and alternative rock
period.
Vanilla
Ice

49. Mid 1990’s
Around the middle of the
decade, after years of unhappy
lyrics, the people were ready for a
change and happy rock music
emerged.
This type of music had upbeat
rhythms and catchy lyrics. These
groups also created love and
relationship ballads that were
positive. Some artists in this
category were Blowfish, Sister
Hazel, and The Bodeans.

51. Late 1990’s
By the late 1990’s
“happy rock” had paved
way for a new genre of
music called bubblegum
pop. Artist like Brittney
Spears and Christina
Aguilera were popular in
pop and dominated the
music scene of the late
90’s.
In the late 90’s there
were also traditional boy
bands like N’ Sync and
The Backstreet Boys.

53. 2000’s
During the 2000s all genre’s of music became popular
and the music making business blew up with tons of
artists making music every year.
Video

54. Eminem was the most
popular rapper of the
2000’s decade. He is
known for his many hits
such as “Lose Yourself”
and “Relapse”.

55. Beyonce was
another popular
artist of the decade,
she was known for
being a great
performer and her
hits such as “Crazy in
Love” and “Single
Ladies”.

56. Alicia Keys was a
popular female soul
artist of the decade. She
is known for hits such as
“No One” and “Empire
State of Mind”.

57. Nickelback the most
popular band of the
decade with hit’s like
“Rockstar” and “If Today
Was Your Last Day”.

58. 1927
Swing
music is
born.
1920
Jazz music
becomes
widely
popular
across
America.
Timeline of American
1950
1963
The British
invasion
starts which
leads to
Beatle Mania.
Early rock
emerges,
which soon
leads to
Elvis
Presley,
“The King of
Rock”.
1969
1977
Disco
emerges
through the
movie
Saturday
Night Fever.
Woodstock
occurs, which
defines the
whole decade
of music with
different
styles of rock
music.
1978
Hip-
Hop/Rap
music
emerges
from the
inner city of
New York.
1981
MTV, which shapes the
future for many new
artists launching them
into careers and
televising them into
every American home.
1982
The King of
Pop, Michael
Jackson gets
popular and
changes pop
music forever.
2001
The very first
Apple IPod is sold,
changing how
music is sold
across the globe.
music

59. 100 Years Gone
By…
As you can see, since 1920 American music has greatly
evolved and changed, from blues and jazz to rock, to disco,
to metal, and lastly to pop.
Not only has the sound of the music evolved since the
1920s, but over the past 100 years the music making
industry has changed. Now people are becoming famous
through reality TV and vocal competitions, such as
American Idol which started in the early 21st century.
Now anybody, poor or rich, can make music. The
industry has surely changed over the past one hundred
years, but one thing is certain, Americans cannot get
enough music!

60. Sources
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/20smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/30smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/90smusic.html
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/266420/artists-of-the-decade
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-history-of-american-music--
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