This guest post comes from former contributor Patrick Iber. Patrick is assistant professor of history at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he teaches courses in U.S. foreign relations, transnational history, and Latin American culture and politics. You can read his past posts here.
Like many other professors do, I’ve integrated good deal of music into the U.S. survey. Often it comes at the beginning of class, serving to orient the students to the topic of the day. Sometimes I add more in the middle or at the end, part of my effort to reset attention after the blocs of lesson or lecture. It’s always popular with students (especially as the music gets more contemporary), but it’s far from frivolous. It add layers of emotion, connecting students to the structures of feeling that moved people to action in the past. It also does work in developing the skill of critically reading culture, including popular culture, and not just text.
With that short introduction, I thought it would be useful to share the list of music I’ve generated to match most of the topics I address in my post-1865 survey. In general, I’ve tried to choose music that was a) popular, b) innovative, and c) comments either through its lyrics or its performance on the issues of the day. In a few cases, the music is anachronistic, but refers back to the issues under discussion. Where the logic of the choice might not be clear I’ve added a few brief notes. I’d love for this list to get improved by hearing about the choices others have made. Finally: a tip of the hat to Kevin Kruse, who offered some very useful suggestions.
The Civil War:
- Battle Cry of Freedom, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhCheCryopA (Battle Cry of Freedom has both Union and Confederate versions, so students can compare the different meanings of freedom that each gives to the cause.)
Reconstruction:
- Go Down Moses, http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/78
Capital and Labor:
- Pete Seeger, “I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_yC4ffyGiw
Women’s emancipation,
- Daughters of Freedom, https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1871.7102334/
- Billy Murray, “Your Mother’s Gone Away to Join the Army,” http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/3609
Jim Crow:
- Billie Holliday, “Strange Fruit”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs
World War I:
- George M. Cohan, “Over There,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6hRDS3LvQQ
Roaring 1920s:
- Duke Ellington, “Bugle Call Rag,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd5SZXcfD0o
The Great Depression:
- Bing Crosby, “Brother, Can you Spare a Dime?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU
The New Deal:
- Earl Robinson / Paul Robeson, “Ballad for Americans,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnXyGr668wg (When discussing McCarthyism later I talk about Robeson and the Peekskill Riots, so this gets revisited.)
- “One Big Union for Two” (from ILGWU musical Pins & Needles), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Wp9kMp3Ac
World War II
- Vera Lynn, “We’ll Meet Again” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcunREYzNY (When discussing the Cold War I show clips from Dr. Strangelove, and this song is used as the ending music over nuclear apocalypse, so it gets a callback.)
- The Four Vagabonds, “Rosie the Riveter,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE2z_N1fM5E
Post-war society / 1950s:
- Chuck Berry, “Maybellene,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v124f0i0Xh4
- Elvis Presley, “Jailhouse Rock,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qka6JrKUM5U
- Richie Valens, “Come on Let’s Go,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ziSLGVQOSg
- The lack of political content in contrast to previous weeks is part of the point here: pointing to the desire for normalcy as well as the baby boom and the large teenage market.
Civil rights:
- Bob Dylan, “The Times They are A-Changin’,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ
- Nina Simone, “Mississippi Goddam,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ25-U3jNWM
Vietnam War:
- Jimi Hendrix plays Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKAwPA14Ni4
- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, “Ohio,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCS-g3HwXdc
Nixon:
- Merle Haggard, “Okie from Muskogee,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cbjlLFl4U
Carter:
- Tom Paxton, “I Don’t Want a Bunny Wunny,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFAOCBY8zrI
Reagan:
- Charlie Daniels Band, “In America,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxSc3ylAkg
Culture Wars of the 1980s:
- Madonna, “Like a Prayer,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ
- Public Enemy, “Fight the Power,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk
1990s:
- Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg
- And don’t miss the Smells Like Teen Spirit shovel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeb5LdAyLC8
9/11:
- Toby Keith, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNrdmjcNTc
- Meow Mix theme (used for CIA torture), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTunhRVyREU
New Gilded Age:
- Kanye West, “All Falls Down,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kyWDhB_QeI (I use this song to discuss the Bush-era pre-crash economy of heightening inequality and anxious materialism.)
- Beyoncé, “Formation,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40020b94Avk
