This is part of my Pop Music in the ‘80s series. The Rise of a New Sound By the early 1980s, pop music was undergoing a transformation away from the disco sounds that permeated the last half of the 1970s. The success of Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna had shattered racial and gender barriers while […]
This is part of my Pop Music in the ‘80s series. The Fight for Visibility: Race, Sexuality, and Breaking the Mold When MTV launched in 1981, it was a revolution in music consumption—but not an inclusive one. The network’s original format was overwhelmingly white and rock-oriented, largely shutting out Black artists under the guise of
A decade of cultural shifts and technological advancement
As we look back at 2009, it’s clear that it was a year of significant transitions in popular music. From the rise of electropop to the continued dominance of hip-hop and R&B, the Billboard Hot 100 charts of 2009 paint a vivid picture of a diverse and evolving musical landscape. Let’s take a journey through
A Year That Defied Doomsday
@yourmusiceducationFebruary 3, 1959 was “The Day the Music Died” as Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson meet their untimely end in a plane crash in Iowa. You would never know this simply by looking at the Hot 100 charts that year. Rock ‘n’ Roll was a cultural force of course, but
@yourmusiceducationThe 1960s were a decade of tremendous political and cultural change in the United States. The first of the baby boomers who were rock ‘n’ roll teenagers in the 1950s began to assume leadership roles throughout American society and they continue to impact society (our most recent two presidents were from this group born in
