1950s-60s Music
It was billed as three days of "peace, music and love" before it happened in August 1969, as hundreds of thousands of people converged on a New York dairy farm. What was this?
Woodstock
Don McLean's American Pie (1971) remains one of the most popular sons of all time. What is the song about?
The Day the Music Died
A slowly growing global health emergency would come to impact music, starting in the 1980s (many musicians died; there was some element of shunning people because of this). What was it?
The AIDS epidemic
Who was Bessie Smith?
Bessie Smith was an early blues and jazz singer, who is recognized as a pioneer in the genre. (She died in 1937 at the age of 43 from injuries sustained in a freak automobile accident.)
From what musical is the song, "My Shot?"
For extra credit: what is the song about?
Hamilton
Taking that one chance you have to make something of yourself in the wider world
When did alternative rock become popular?
1990s
What orchestra performed a medley of video game music that we listened to in class?
London Philharmonic
What major big band band leader/trombonist was killed during World War II?
Glenn Miller
What is surf music?
A genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly in Southern California
Stevie Nicks was a member of what prominent 1970s band?
Fleetwood Mac
Who was the lead singer of Nirvana and what happened to him?
Kurt Cobain; committed suicide after struggling with drug use/addiction
Name the tour he was preparing for when Michael Jackson died in 2009?
What two individuals are recognized as the 'greatest musical theater writing partnership of the 20th Century?'
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
What two artists and albums were the catalyst for the progressive rock movement and genre?
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds; Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
What instrument is prevalent in the music of many James Bond movies?
Trumpet
We studied two groups who incorporated the heavy use of brass instruments in popular music beginning in the 1970s and continuing to this day. What are the names of those two groups?
Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire
What was the 1960s musical British Invasion?
A period when several British bands/musicians found mainstream, success in the US and worldwide
What was one of the most popular genres of the 1970s, which was ridiculed by many musicians and industry outsiders (but which remains fairly well liked to this day)?
Disco
Boy bands were a major part of the explosion of what kind of music in the 1990s?
Pop
Who founded Motown?
Berry Gordy, Jr.
What is "That's Entertainment?"
A 1974 retrospective of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) movie musicals through the 1950s
What are the characteristics of progressive rock (name three)?
Musical ambition, expanded instrumentation, embrace of technology, close ties to classical music, concept albums, literary lyrics
James Horner won Academy Awards for best original score and best original song for what movie?
Titanic
When was big band/swing music popularity at its highest?
1930s-early 1940s
One musician was most criticized by conservative Americans in the 1950s/early 1960s because they believed he was corrupting youth?
Elvis Presley
We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions and Bohemian Rhapsody are songs by what band?
Extra credit: Who was their lead singer?
Queen
Freddie Mercury
What group created We Are the World?
USA for Africa
Where did American blues music originate?
Mississippi Delta/Southern United States
Who wrote the story Phantom of the Opera is based upon?
Gaston Leroux
What genre are Nirvana and the Smiths most closely associated with?
Alternative rock
Name three things a film soundtrack aims at achieving.
Establish setting; create atmosphere; call attention to elements; reinforce/foreshadow narrative; give meaning/translate character actions; creates emotion.
Rap evolved in conjunction with/as a result of what related genre?
Hip hop
What was 'The Day the Music Died?'
February 3, 1959 - the day Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) were killed in a plane crash in Iowa
Describe funk music
Funk de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on the strong rhythmic groove of a bass line played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drummer
For the first time, a different age group determined what songs/genres were most popular because they became the largest music consumers.
Who were they?
Teenagers/youth
Why was Motown so significant?
Why was Walt Disney's work in Steamboat Willie important?
First instance of synchronized sound in animation
What progressive rock song/album is Mike Oldfield known for?
Tubular Bells
What is incidental music?
Often background music, intended to add atmosphere to the action and can be more sounds than traditional 'music.'
When did country music first become commercial?
Early 1920s
Bob Dylan has been a major musical force for more than six decades, since 1959. While he has been associated with many genres, in the 1960s he was one of the biggest leader of what type of music? (Hint: affiliated with social change movements)
Protest Music
Loggins and Messina were a popular rock duo during the 1970s. What were the names of the two musicians?
Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina
Name three of the 1980s' top musical genres.
New wave; electronic dance; glam metal; smooth jazz; thrash metal; dance-pop; quiet storm
What music did the blues derive its sound from?
Slave work songs, ragtime, church music, minstrel show music
What 1927 sound film we discussed in class truly changed film technology moving forward?
The Jazz Singer
What city was the apex of alternative rock (hint: where grunge was founded)?
Seattle
For what composition was John Williams honored by the American Film Institute and the Library of Congress?
Star Wars soundtrack
According to "Score: A Film Music Documentary," music appeals to us in part as the result of a neurotransmitter that triggers sensations of pleasure and well-being. What is that neurotransmitter?
Dopamine