If you wanted to learn American music history in ten easy installments, you'd divvy the nation's history into ten segments of twenty-five years each (rounding up to 250 years of music), and then you'd simply pick a song for each of the twenty-five year installments, symbolizing and epitomizing American music during that era.
Here are my ten:
1776-1800: Yankee Doodle
The quintessential song of the American Revolution. Written originally by an English musician in 1770, the song was reportedly popular for both redcoats and continental soldiers. The colonist's adoption of the tune was an act of re-appropriation, since the lyrics are decidedly derisive of the Yankees (critiquing our podunk fashion sense in the line about sticking a feather in their hat and calling it Macaroni - that is, fine Italian fashion). We owned our backwater status by making the song an early anthem, and defeating the redcoats to boot.
1800-1825: The Star-Spangled Banner (1814)
1825-1850: Oh! Susanna (1848)
See, the thing is, we're a very racist country. Stephen Foster wrote a bunch of popular songs that became part of the American songbook, but lots of them are unabashedly racist. Any honest survey of American music should acknowledge this painful past, and the fact that for nearly a century minstrelsy and Jim Crow songs were among the most popular forms of entertainment. Even the seemingly benign Foster tunes, like Oh! Susanna, have troubled pasts.
1850-1875: When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1863)
The question of slavery dominated the politics of the 1850s, leading to the Civil War of the 1860s, and the failure of Reconstruction into the 1870s. There are a few iconic Civil War songs, but the one that has become the most famously haunting is probably When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Written by Patrick Gilmore, the lyrics are seemingly upbeat, but the contrasting somber music has given the tune its staying power.
1875-1900: Stars and Stripes Forever (1896)
The last quarter of the 1800s was marked by imperialism. It's the era of the Spanish American War, the annexation of Hawai'i, and a vast, rapid growth in population. The frontier was tamed, indigenous peoples wiped out, and America's emerging as a global force to reckon with. John Philip Sousa was an innovative composer of flashy, catchy, unabashedly patriotic marching songs. The recording is also interesting since it is a recording - an example of the nascent technology that would change music in the 20th century.
1900-1925: St. James Infirmary Blues (1927)
1925-1950: This Land is Your Land (1945)
It was a time of unrest and social upheaval - of Depression and War. Much of Guthrie's output focuses on labor unions, socialism, and hesitation about joining the war effort (until Pearl Harbor, then the songs change their tune). By far his most famous song, This Land Is Your Land echoes those themes: the original draft of the lyrics (not surprisingly, given the title and chorus) had an indictment against private property. Now it's taught to little children throughout America from California to... well, you get the idea.
1950-1975: Respect (1967)
From the 1950s to 1970s, Rock and Roll and R&B changed music. From Little Richard to Motown, the era was full of amazing performers and songwriters. While Rock and Roll became globally popular, though, R&B and Soul music stayed more of an American genre, and Aretha Franklin was the high priestess of Soul. With lyrics originally by Otis Redding, Respect became an anthem that reflected the times - a rallying cry both for the Civil Rights movement, and the women's rights movement.
1975-2000: Bring the Noise (1988)
The biggest musical development in the last quarter of the 20th century was inarguably Hip Hop. Public Enemy is the pivotal group between the genre's early pioneers (Run DMC, EPMD, and Eric B and Rakim) and the culturally-conscious artists who would emerge in the 1990s (Notorious BIG, Nas, and The Fugees). In a tradition going back to Yankee Doodle, Public Enemy takes the criticism thrown at them ("hip hop is just noise") and wears it as a badge of honor. Even the album title was provocative: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
