Music Medium: Songs And The Civil Rights Movement
Music Medium – Final Assignment
LBailey
COMM 202 6380 Media and Society (2142)
Professor Thompson
March 02, 2014 Music carries a deeper message and meaning that lives outside the realm of entertainment. It has a way of capturing the predominant mood that reflects the time of its creation, seizing and sometimes prolonging the emotions surrounding the events and occurrences within each decade. What was occurring in the world at the time a musician wrote a song frequently had an enormous influence and impact on the music produced. The love of music seems to be the common thread that creates a bond throughout every generation, and in turn, music is attached to and is frequently used to define an era. “The impact of music is impossible to measure” (Vivian, pg. 254). A musical timeline …show more content…
holds and transports the details of significant events of its period, telling stories of the cultural and political milieu of the time. Composition through songs to create musical harmony has healed, uplifted, restored and empowered generation after generation, bringing people together to communicate in ways that are unexplainable. “Music means relaxation for some, while others simply enjoy listening to the sounds, melodies, and rhythms that music brings to their ears, minds, and hearts” (utexas.edu, 2014).
The 1960’s era was defined as the "British Invasion” (thepeoplehistory, 2013). The early to mid-1960 's was heavily influenced by the hippies culture, The Rolling Stones, Motown, Ed Sullivan, the Beatles and Rock n Roll. This point in history was a time of turmoil and disruption in society, “A cultural race barrier was transcended on an unprecedented scale” (Vivian, pg., 239) and this was evident in the fashion of the time, attitudes and even in the music. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the war in Vietnam at its peak, and the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement all created a mood of confusion and uncertainty on American culture. "Dion DiMucci sang Dick Holler 's 1968 song 'Abraham, Martin, and John ' referring to John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr" (AmericanSongwriter.com, 2014). With the "British Invasion”, it was the arrival of The Beatles bringing a type of sound that influenced the way people interacted with music and musicians. The "Motown Sound" and R&B music played key significance regarding the Civil Rights movement and integration in American society during the sixties. “It can be argued that the racial integration of music paved the way for the accelerated Civil rights movement in the 1960’s that profoundly changed the U.S. society” (Vivian, pg., 239).
The electrifying rave of the 1970’s saw disco dance, lighthearted music that encouraged fun and more socializing. Many people had grown tired of the killing and fighting that occurred during the sixties and used the dance clubs and other happy places as refuge. Gloria Gaynor’s disco hit record "I Will Survive" became an anthem. Although the song is about love and breaking up, people could related to “I Will Survive”. It spoke to everyone that sought peace as a celebration of surviving the sixties. The racial integration of music brought people together; the Village People, the Bee Gees, Dianna Ross and Rod Steward were contributors. Disco/Club, Punk and Progressive, New Wave, Soul and Funk music created their mark during this era. “Entertainment can be political, potently so” (Vivian, pg., 239). In the midst of this transitional period, the country witnessed and survived the resignation of Richard Nixon and the ending of the Vietnam War. “Following the counterculture of the 60s, the 70s created a trend of relaxing music as well as dance music” (thepeoplehistory.com/70, 2013). The 1970’s served as the musical conduit from the upheaval of the 1960’s, to the blissful and lively songs that set the tone for music of the1980’s.
“On August 1, 1981, the world was introduced to Music Television.” (huffingtonpost.com, 2013). With the advent of Music Television (MTV), the focus on music shifted; image, appearance and artistry became a significant part of making and producing music. “When it came to music during this decade, nothing was understated, not the sound, not the fashion” (thepeoplehistory.com/80, 2013). As a mass media platform, MTV changed the landscape of music. This new cable network significantly shifted the paradigm; you no longer just listened to your favorite songs, now you can also watch them 24 hours a day. Music genres of the 1980’s were Hip-Hop, New Wave and Hair Metal. Tragically, a former Beatles musician, John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment on December 8, 1980 by a crazed fan. In his honor, numerous songs have been written in John’s memory, for the sake of this paper, Queen - Life is Real (Song for Lennon) was selected.
We all can relate to Bette Midler’s rendition of “From A Distance” that served as inspiration to the United States Army troops and the rest of the world during the early 1990 's Gulf War. Everyone seems to love this song, it was a hit across mass media and was “voted best song of all time” (massmedia.net, 2014) and won numerous awards including a Grammy. During the early 1990 's, Techno music got its start, Hip-hop/rap endured its popularity, and Pearl Jam and Nirvana emerged bringing new types of rock and roll bands. This decade was the electronic age; the music industry started its turn from cassette tape, vinyl’s, and CDs to MP3, eMusic, Napster and shazam. The first p2p network dedicated to sharing music files was Napster, providing a space online where music was uploaded and shared; nonetheless, they ignored copyright protections, making the activity illegal. “In the 1990’s, the music recording industry, entrenched in its traditional ways of doing business, was in a frenzy with music-swapping software sales eroding profit dramatically” (Vivian, pg., 418). Napster crumbled in a federal court case.
Between the years 2000 – 2010 the music industry experienced a radical shift in the way people accessed and listened to music; with the end of the Napster saga, music-swapping was ruled illegal, and “in 2005 the Supreme Court noted that Grokster had explicitly promoted copyright infringement, putting them also out of business” (Vivian, pg., 418). In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched "The Facebook". After which, YouTube, Flickr, Pandora and other social media platforms grounded their roots, opening the doors for streaming music instead of downloading or purchasing actual CDs. According to Nielsen’s U.S. Entertainment Consumer Report, “music streaming increased a full 24% from 2012 to 2013, while downloaded sales decreased 4.6%.” (socialnomics.net, 2013). This era also witnessed the dominant takeover of both rap and hip-hop music, Lady Gaga’s success as “Forbes put her on its Most Powerful Celebrity list, ahead of Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Tiger Woods and LeBron James” (Vivian, pg., 235) . Mass media also influenced the way we experience music, reaching national audiences through performance television, shows like American Idol and the Voice and music videos on MTV. We also experienced the enormous over reaction of Y2K, the malicious acts of 9/11, and Celine Dion’s version of God Bless America “For a younger generation and in our post 9/11 world, Celine Dion 's God Bless America version may have eclipsed all others”(voicesyahoo.com, 2007). We even witnessed the US government 's mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, and America elected the first black president of the United States. While the decade is still in progress, we will just have to wait and see how the music of this epoch will continue to form its relationship to the time; the rest remains to be uncovered.
The rhythms, harmony and the various sounds of music certainly changed from decade to decade; nonetheless, all of its compositions inspired and reflected the times. Writers, composers, singers and musicians did not just make music just for the fun of it; they use music to hook into and join activists. Music has always been weaved into the culture of events, in communities, across the nation and around the globe. Music is a movement. “Music and singing played a critical role in inspiring, mobilizing, and giving voice to the civil rights movement. They give the people new courage and a sense of unity. I think they keep alive a faith, a radiant hope, in the future, particularly in our most trying hours’’ (Stanford.edu, 2014). The peace movement of the sixties, and its connection to the Civil Rights, may not have endured without the strength that lives within the music. John Kennedy and Martin Luther King did not survive the revolution and counter-culture of the sixties and the music of that era echoed both social movement, politics, and saw pioneering musicians and artists who dared to take a stand. The fierce determination to use music to break the depressing mode became more predominant during the 1970’s thru to 1980’s. Music served as crotch that aid to form a retreat from the turbulent cultural behavior of the previous decade. As the 1990 's brought music videos, CDs and CD players, musical expression took another leap.
The music of the 2000 's highlighted many genres, reproduced pop melodies from the nineties, many artists are between the two decades are still relevant today. Like the sixties with the Civil Rights movement and the many upheavals, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War in the 1990’s, the 2000 decade illustrated much of the same suffering. The 9/11 attacks, economic depression, hurricane and weather disasters and two wars in the Middle East, music is still finding ways to strike a supportive balance, like disco in the 1970’s, upbeat and optimistic records like Dance-Pop, Hip-hop and Indie Rock; at the same time mirroring the pain, uncertainly and anxiety being experienced. Over the past sixty years, listening methods have drastically changed; technologies have created more advanced ways of listening to our favorite songs. What remain are the powerful messages and emotions that music is capable of reflecting, transferring and maintaining.
References
Americansongwriter (2009, December, 2). Behind The Song: "Abraham, Martin and John". Retrieved from http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/12/behind-the-song-abraham-martin-and-john/
Azlyrics (2014). DION LYRICS - Abraham, Martin And John. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dionband/abrahammartinandjohn.html
Huff Post (2013, August 1). The Very First Videos That MTV Aired. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/mtv-first-aired-music-videos_n_3690085.html
Mediamass (2014, February 24). From a Distance’ voted best song of all time. Retrieved from http://en.mediamass.net/culture/from-a-distance/best-of-all-time.html
Socialnomics (2013, December 2). How Social Media and Streaming Have Influenced the Music Industry. Retrieved from http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/12/02/how-social-media-and-streaming-have-influenced-the-music-industry/
Stanford.edu (2014).
Songs and the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_songs_and_the_civil_rights_movement/
Thepeoplehistory (2013). 1960 's Music played in the 60 's Bands groups singers memories from The People History Site. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60smusic.html
Thepeoplehistory (2013). Music from the 1970s with the top hits, popular groups and singers from the decade. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70smusic.html
Thepeoplehistory (2013). 1980 's Music played in the 80 's Bands groups singers memories from The People History Site. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html
Utexas (2014). What is Music. Retrieved from http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~syverson/worldsfair/exhibits/hall2/yoshimura/music.htm
Vivian, John. (2012). Media Mass Communication (11th). Pearson Inc. Print.
Yahoo Voices (2007, November 16). God Bless America: Most Popular Versions of Irving Berlin 's Patriotic Song - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com. Retrieved from
http://voices.yahoo.com/god-bless-america-most-popular-versions-irving-657485.html
LBailey
COMM 202 6380 Media and Society (2142)
Professor Thompson
March 02, 2014 Music carries a deeper message and meaning that lives outside the realm of entertainment. It has a way of capturing the predominant mood that reflects the time of its creation, seizing and sometimes prolonging the emotions surrounding the events and occurrences within each decade. What was occurring in the world at the time a musician wrote a song frequently had an enormous influence and impact on the music produced. The love of music seems to be the common thread that creates a bond throughout every generation, and in turn, music is attached to and is frequently used to define an era. “The impact of music is impossible to measure” (Vivian, pg. 254). A musical timeline …show more content…
holds and transports the details of significant events of its period, telling stories of the cultural and political milieu of the time. Composition through songs to create musical harmony has healed, uplifted, restored and empowered generation after generation, bringing people together to communicate in ways that are unexplainable. “Music means relaxation for some, while others simply enjoy listening to the sounds, melodies, and rhythms that music brings to their ears, minds, and hearts” (utexas.edu, 2014).
The 1960’s era was defined as the "British Invasion” (thepeoplehistory, 2013). The early to mid-1960 's was heavily influenced by the hippies culture, The Rolling Stones, Motown, Ed Sullivan, the Beatles and Rock n Roll. This point in history was a time of turmoil and disruption in society, “A cultural race barrier was transcended on an unprecedented scale” (Vivian, pg., 239) and this was evident in the fashion of the time, attitudes and even in the music. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the war in Vietnam at its peak, and the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement all created a mood of confusion and uncertainty on American culture. "Dion DiMucci sang Dick Holler 's 1968 song 'Abraham, Martin, and John ' referring to John Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr" (AmericanSongwriter.com, 2014). With the "British Invasion”, it was the arrival of The Beatles bringing a type of sound that influenced the way people interacted with music and musicians. The "Motown Sound" and R&B music played key significance regarding the Civil Rights movement and integration in American society during the sixties. “It can be argued that the racial integration of music paved the way for the accelerated Civil rights movement in the 1960’s that profoundly changed the U.S. society” (Vivian, pg., 239).
The electrifying rave of the 1970’s saw disco dance, lighthearted music that encouraged fun and more socializing. Many people had grown tired of the killing and fighting that occurred during the sixties and used the dance clubs and other happy places as refuge. Gloria Gaynor’s disco hit record "I Will Survive" became an anthem. Although the song is about love and breaking up, people could related to “I Will Survive”. It spoke to everyone that sought peace as a celebration of surviving the sixties. The racial integration of music brought people together; the Village People, the Bee Gees, Dianna Ross and Rod Steward were contributors. Disco/Club, Punk and Progressive, New Wave, Soul and Funk music created their mark during this era. “Entertainment can be political, potently so” (Vivian, pg., 239). In the midst of this transitional period, the country witnessed and survived the resignation of Richard Nixon and the ending of the Vietnam War. “Following the counterculture of the 60s, the 70s created a trend of relaxing music as well as dance music” (thepeoplehistory.com/70, 2013). The 1970’s served as the musical conduit from the upheaval of the 1960’s, to the blissful and lively songs that set the tone for music of the1980’s.
“On August 1, 1981, the world was introduced to Music Television.” (huffingtonpost.com, 2013). With the advent of Music Television (MTV), the focus on music shifted; image, appearance and artistry became a significant part of making and producing music. “When it came to music during this decade, nothing was understated, not the sound, not the fashion” (thepeoplehistory.com/80, 2013). As a mass media platform, MTV changed the landscape of music. This new cable network significantly shifted the paradigm; you no longer just listened to your favorite songs, now you can also watch them 24 hours a day. Music genres of the 1980’s were Hip-Hop, New Wave and Hair Metal. Tragically, a former Beatles musician, John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York City apartment on December 8, 1980 by a crazed fan. In his honor, numerous songs have been written in John’s memory, for the sake of this paper, Queen - Life is Real (Song for Lennon) was selected.
We all can relate to Bette Midler’s rendition of “From A Distance” that served as inspiration to the United States Army troops and the rest of the world during the early 1990 's Gulf War. Everyone seems to love this song, it was a hit across mass media and was “voted best song of all time” (massmedia.net, 2014) and won numerous awards including a Grammy. During the early 1990 's, Techno music got its start, Hip-hop/rap endured its popularity, and Pearl Jam and Nirvana emerged bringing new types of rock and roll bands. This decade was the electronic age; the music industry started its turn from cassette tape, vinyl’s, and CDs to MP3, eMusic, Napster and shazam. The first p2p network dedicated to sharing music files was Napster, providing a space online where music was uploaded and shared; nonetheless, they ignored copyright protections, making the activity illegal. “In the 1990’s, the music recording industry, entrenched in its traditional ways of doing business, was in a frenzy with music-swapping software sales eroding profit dramatically” (Vivian, pg., 418). Napster crumbled in a federal court case.
Between the years 2000 – 2010 the music industry experienced a radical shift in the way people accessed and listened to music; with the end of the Napster saga, music-swapping was ruled illegal, and “in 2005 the Supreme Court noted that Grokster had explicitly promoted copyright infringement, putting them also out of business” (Vivian, pg., 418). In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched "The Facebook". After which, YouTube, Flickr, Pandora and other social media platforms grounded their roots, opening the doors for streaming music instead of downloading or purchasing actual CDs. According to Nielsen’s U.S. Entertainment Consumer Report, “music streaming increased a full 24% from 2012 to 2013, while downloaded sales decreased 4.6%.” (socialnomics.net, 2013). This era also witnessed the dominant takeover of both rap and hip-hop music, Lady Gaga’s success as “Forbes put her on its Most Powerful Celebrity list, ahead of Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, Tiger Woods and LeBron James” (Vivian, pg., 235) . Mass media also influenced the way we experience music, reaching national audiences through performance television, shows like American Idol and the Voice and music videos on MTV. We also experienced the enormous over reaction of Y2K, the malicious acts of 9/11, and Celine Dion’s version of God Bless America “For a younger generation and in our post 9/11 world, Celine Dion 's God Bless America version may have eclipsed all others”(voicesyahoo.com, 2007). We even witnessed the US government 's mishandling of Hurricane Katrina, and America elected the first black president of the United States. While the decade is still in progress, we will just have to wait and see how the music of this epoch will continue to form its relationship to the time; the rest remains to be uncovered.
The rhythms, harmony and the various sounds of music certainly changed from decade to decade; nonetheless, all of its compositions inspired and reflected the times. Writers, composers, singers and musicians did not just make music just for the fun of it; they use music to hook into and join activists. Music has always been weaved into the culture of events, in communities, across the nation and around the globe. Music is a movement. “Music and singing played a critical role in inspiring, mobilizing, and giving voice to the civil rights movement. They give the people new courage and a sense of unity. I think they keep alive a faith, a radiant hope, in the future, particularly in our most trying hours’’ (Stanford.edu, 2014). The peace movement of the sixties, and its connection to the Civil Rights, may not have endured without the strength that lives within the music. John Kennedy and Martin Luther King did not survive the revolution and counter-culture of the sixties and the music of that era echoed both social movement, politics, and saw pioneering musicians and artists who dared to take a stand. The fierce determination to use music to break the depressing mode became more predominant during the 1970’s thru to 1980’s. Music served as crotch that aid to form a retreat from the turbulent cultural behavior of the previous decade. As the 1990 's brought music videos, CDs and CD players, musical expression took another leap.
The music of the 2000 's highlighted many genres, reproduced pop melodies from the nineties, many artists are between the two decades are still relevant today. Like the sixties with the Civil Rights movement and the many upheavals, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War in the 1990’s, the 2000 decade illustrated much of the same suffering. The 9/11 attacks, economic depression, hurricane and weather disasters and two wars in the Middle East, music is still finding ways to strike a supportive balance, like disco in the 1970’s, upbeat and optimistic records like Dance-Pop, Hip-hop and Indie Rock; at the same time mirroring the pain, uncertainly and anxiety being experienced. Over the past sixty years, listening methods have drastically changed; technologies have created more advanced ways of listening to our favorite songs. What remain are the powerful messages and emotions that music is capable of reflecting, transferring and maintaining.
References
Americansongwriter (2009, December, 2). Behind The Song: "Abraham, Martin and John". Retrieved from http://www.americansongwriter.com/2009/12/behind-the-song-abraham-martin-and-john/
Azlyrics (2014). DION LYRICS - Abraham, Martin And John. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dionband/abrahammartinandjohn.html
Huff Post (2013, August 1). The Very First Videos That MTV Aired. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/mtv-first-aired-music-videos_n_3690085.html
Mediamass (2014, February 24). From a Distance’ voted best song of all time. Retrieved from http://en.mediamass.net/culture/from-a-distance/best-of-all-time.html
Socialnomics (2013, December 2). How Social Media and Streaming Have Influenced the Music Industry. Retrieved from http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/12/02/how-social-media-and-streaming-have-influenced-the-music-industry/
Stanford.edu (2014).
Songs and the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_songs_and_the_civil_rights_movement/
Thepeoplehistory (2013). 1960 's Music played in the 60 's Bands groups singers memories from The People History Site. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/60smusic.html
Thepeoplehistory (2013). Music from the 1970s with the top hits, popular groups and singers from the decade. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70smusic.html
Thepeoplehistory (2013). 1980 's Music played in the 80 's Bands groups singers memories from The People History Site. Retrieved from http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/80smusic.html
Utexas (2014). What is Music. Retrieved from http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~syverson/worldsfair/exhibits/hall2/yoshimura/music.htm
Vivian, John. (2012). Media Mass Communication (11th). Pearson Inc. Print.
Yahoo Voices (2007, November 16). God Bless America: Most Popular Versions of Irving Berlin 's Patriotic Song - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com. Retrieved from
http://voices.yahoo.com/god-bless-america-most-popular-versions-irving-657485.html