the essay about Popular Music artist before 1960s
Music
Final Essay Assignment
Due: November 15, 11:59pm, submitted online. Late papers will be accepted; however, there will be a 5% deduction per day late.
Length: 6-8 pages (12-point font, double spaced) or roughly 2000-2500 words.
Sources and Citations: Use at least 5 sources for your essay, at least 3 of which have been published independently of the internet (peer-reviewed web publications, such as academic journal articles accessible through JSTOR or ProQuest, are acceptable). You may use either Chicago Style footnotes or APA Style parenthetical citations to cite your sources. Directions for both citation formats are available on many websites and at the Writing Centre.
Assignment Guidelines: Select a popular music artist active before 1960 who does NOT represented in the required listening for this class. Select one song by that artist that came out before 1960 and make a case for why that artist and song should be included in the required listening for a class called “Popular Music until 1960.” You may discuss more than one song by your artist, but you should select and focus on ONE song and argue why it should be required listening for this course. This requires that you think about what constitutes historical, cultural, social, and/or musical significance and demonstrating that your selection has it. In doing so it may be useful to relate your song to the musical movement or genre it is associated with (e.g., vaudeville, gospel, blues, Tin Pan Alley, etc.), and to demonstrate how it relates to broader social, historical, political, and/or cultural issues.
You should provide relevant background information on your selected artist; however, this is NOT a biographical essay assignment, and your coverage of the artist’s biography should be limited to information relevant to her/his/their historical significance. Be sure to discuss musical details and how they contribute to the significance and/or impact of your chosen song. Explain how the song works and what kinds of meanings it offers, and to whom. What musical elements are important to this particular song? How do they contribute to the meanings of the song? Why does this song matter?
You must choose an artist that is NOT represented in the required listening for this course. Thus, the following artists should NOT be used for this assignment: Thomas Moore, Robert Burns, Henry Bishop, Henry Russell, Thomas Dartmouth Rice, George Washington Dixon, Dan Emmett, Stephen Foster, James Bland, The Hutchinson Family, Louis Jullien, Charles K. Harris, Monroe Rosenfeld, Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Irving Berlin, Bob Cole and J. Rosamund Johnson, James Reese Europe, May Irwin, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, George M. Cohan, Al Jolson, Jelly Roll Morton, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, James P. Johnson, Joe “King” Oliver (King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band), Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Paul Robeson, Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Gene Austin, Mamie Smith, W.C. Handy, Gladys Bentley, Bessie Smith, Blind Willie Johnson, Robert Johnson, Fiddlin’ John Carson, The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Fletcher Henderson, Chick Webb, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, Gene Autry, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys, Sons of the Pioneers, Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, John Lomax, Alan Lomax, Lead Belly, Mississippi John Hurt, Woody Guthrie, Arizona Dranes, Bessie Johnson, Elder Curry and His Congregation, Washington Phillips, Thomas Dorsey, Sam Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ray Charles, Clarence “Pine Top” Smith, Meade “Lux” Lewis, Professor Longhair, Louis Jordan, The Dominoes, Wynonie Harris, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, Ruth Brown, “Big” Joe Turner, Bill Haley & the Comets, Junior Parker, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Wanda Jackson, The Chords, The Crew Cuts, The Spaniels, The Platters, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Dion and the Belmonts, The Chantels, Pat Boone, Debbie Reynolds, Ricky Nelson
Furthermore, you may not use post swing-era jazz artists such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Charles Mingus, etc. Jazz distanced itself from “popular music” after the 1930s and positioned itself closer to “classical” music. Dalhousie offers a course dedicated to the history of jazz (MUSC 2020), and such paper topics would be more appropriate for that course.
If you are not sure whether a certain artist is an appropriate choice for your essay, consult with the professor.
Marking:
1. Overall Impression
(Excellent): Author directly addresses main question or issue, and adds new insight to the subject not provided in lectures, readings, or class discussions. The author makes use ideas and information presented in class and is able to synthesize this knowledge and relate it to material not covered in the course.
(Good): Author competently addresses main question or issue, but does not add much new insight into the subject. That said, it is clear that the author has learned a great deal in class and through researcch and is able to communicate this knowledge to others.
(Needs improvements): Author attempts to address main question or issue, but fails. The author has retained some information from the course, but does not fully understand its meaning or context and cannot clearly convey it to others.
(Poor): Essay does NOT address main question or issue, and it is obvious that author has not retained any information from the course.
2. Argument
(Excellent): Essay contains a clear argument—i.e., lets the reader know exactly what the author is trying to communicate.
(Good): An argument is present, but reader must reconstruct it from the text.
(Needs improvements): Author attempts, but fails, to make an argument (e.g., starts with a rhetorical question/statement or anecdote that is never put into context).
(Poor): No attempt is made to articulate an argument.
3. Evidence
(Excellent): Provides compelling and accurate evidence that convinces reader to accept main argument. The importance or relevance of all evidence is made clear. There are no gaps in reasoning—i.e., the reader does not need to assume anything or do additional research to accept main argument
(Good): Provides necessary evidence to convince reader of most aspects of the main argument but not all. The importance/ relevance of some evidence presented may not be totally clear. Reader must make a few mental leaps or do some additional research to fully accept all aspects of main argument.
(Needs improvements): Not enough evidence is provided to support author’s argument, or evidence is incomplete, incorrect, or oversimplified. Information from lectures and readings is not effectively used.
(Poor): Either no evidence is provided, or there are numerous factual mistakes, omissions or oversimplifications. There is little or no mention of information from lectures and readings.
4. Source
(Excellent): Evidence is used from a range of sources, which may include course lectures, course readings, and independent research. Research sources include scholarly books, websites, or journal articles, etc.
(Good): Evidence is used from many sources, but author relies heavily on a more limited set of sources. Some effort is made to go beyond material presented in class when required, but not much. If outside sources are used, they are primarily non-scholarly (i.e., intended for a general audience) and/or web-based
(Needs improvements): Uses only a few sources. Few or none of the sources are scholarly publications.