AMERICAN POPULAR SONGS OF THE THIRTIES, FOURTIES, AND FIFTIES

For a certain generation, the popular music of this period remains a constant in their lives, uncomplicated music full of purity and innocence, with singable melodies, interesting harmonies, and sensible lyrics!  Why have these enduring songs been  enjoyed by so many people over these many years?  And why in the Fifties did this genre of music begin to fall victim to the rock-and-roll movement, and to the musical cacophony and NOISE that followed, a movement catering to the lowest common denominator of musical intelligence?

This course of seven two-hour sessions will survey the musical trends and cultural forces that influenced and shaped American popular music during this "Golden Age," and the factors that lead to its demise.  The songwriters and performers who brought this wonderful music to us will be examined and critiqued.  The great "standards" of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley will be featured as we learn about Rodgers and Hart (and Hammerstein), the Gershwins (George and Ira), Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren and other lyricists and composers.  Performers such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Dinah Shore, the Dorseys (Tommy and Jimmy), Jo Stafford, Nat "King" Cole and others will be highlighted.  Of special interest will be an explanation of the technical "anatomy" of a typical popular song of this period: harmonic structure, musical form, and melodic techniques.  Critical listening will be emphasized.  This course will be similar to the one that was presented in 2003 and 2004.

Course format will be a combination of lecture, live performance (piano), selected CD recordings, discussion, an inexpensive paperback reference book, and weekly "name that tune" contests.  Overhead transparencies will be utilized, and supplementary reading will be encouraged, though not required. 

Class is limited to 28 members.

FRANK LOGAN is a native of Topeka, Kansas, and a graduate of Dartmouth College.  He earned a master’s degree in composition from the Indiana University School of Music.  A pianist since the age of four, he has had a lifelong interest in American popular music, nurtured by teenage years spent playing with local dance bands and combos.  Frank is a retired Dartmouth administrator and a 32-year resident of Hanover.  He is currently a volunteer musician at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and a frequent performer at regional senior centers, retirement communities and other gatherings.