The American Form Of Music

To begin, Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee. She is the fourth of twelve children of Robert and Avie. Furthermore, Dolly Parton described her family as dirt poor, which is expressed in her song “A Coat of Many Colors” (Perone, James). From the start, music was extremely important to Dolly Parton. She first started performing in Church with her family. It has even been noted that she, “…loved performing since [she] was big enough to wrestle [her] little brothers and sisters into sitting long enough for [her] to sing them [her] latest musical masterpiece.” Also, as a child she sang on the local radio and television program in Eastern Tennessee. At the age of thirteen, she recorded her single “Puppy Love” and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry. You know that someone is going to go far in life if they are that young and have already accomplished what most wish they could.

The lovely artist grew up with 11 siblings. They were a poor family and lived in a small cabin. Music has always been an important thing in her life. Dolly Parton has been active with her music since she was a child. Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs. The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, she moved to Nashville and after that her initial success came as a songwriter.

In the 1920’s, blues was a very popular and dominating genre in the music industry. Generally, the blues was sung by African American women because according to the book entitled, “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” by Angela Davis, “…The most widely heard individual purveyors of the blues—were women.” (Davis 4) The blues delivers certain emotions such as sadness, loneliness, love, sex, and feelings about the certain circumstances the artist may be going through at the time. Two women who dominate this style of music are Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. As stated by “Gay & Lesbian Biography”, “The careers of Rainey and Smith are closely interwoven.” Ma Rainey is a woman who is admired for both her amazing vocals and her ability to entertain. Bessie Smith is a woman who started off as a background dancer for her peer Ma Rainey, but then went on to emulate her by outdoing her success. Both women are very talented musicians who can not only sing and entertain, but they also create an impact as two of the most influential feminists during the 1920’s who helped shape the blues into what it is today.

In the American Revolution, music played an important part of American culture no matter what sector of society. The music of the era served as a social commentary on the political concerns of the period aside from entertainment. The music was expressed through many forms, songs, hymns and varied instrumental musical traditions that reflected the social conditions which created it. Church music was an important source of spiritual inspiration and expression of the patriotic sentiment. The music in the Revolutionary period in the thirteen colonies varied according to region and the region’s prevalent religious views, it was used for revolutionary propaganda and expressed the tensions and sentiments of the revolutionary culture of the time.

Music during the progressive era progressed drastically during this time period. Songs became more complex, and sophisticated. They told the stories of individuals lives, or the lives of a certain group of people. The songs showed how people felt about political issues and personal matters. Not only did music change, but new forms of music were created. Brilliant musicians and songwriters were discovered during the progressive era. All and all, some amazing musical discoveries happened during the progressive era.

Dolly is one of the few entertainers that will follow a song from start to finish being the songwriter, the singer, and producing the songs for album production.

This became to be known as the famous R&B. It is said that R&B “mixed the rural sound of the blues with the electrified edge and raucous rhythms of the city streets” (Yudkin 262). Key singers and musicians of this type of music were Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. Their singing and playing were characterized by speedy songs with an insatiable beat, and screaming lyrics. The other early influence on rock and roll was country music, in which R&B was mixed with western/country vibes. Famous country music singers/musicians of that time were Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and the early sound of Elvis

The events at Altamont shocked the world and helped popularized the Rolling-Stones and the way concerts can go out of control. The views of this film establish an image of the aesthetics of the culture of the time period were drugs had a major influence on American culture. People’s actions at concerts and the way they danced, dressed and behave gave the perspective that some of these people weren’t in the right state of mind to think first before they acted out. Music has an importance and has always developed a connection with people that sponsored different feelings on events and topics going on in America. This period in general has been known to be a love revolution. After the success of Woodstock, which happened four months earlier, people

Commercially, some women have experienced extreme success while under the country music umbrella. Shania Twain, one of the most popular artists in the 1990s, “Not only is [...] country music’s most successful female artist, she also recorded the genre’s most successful album of all time, Come On Over in 1997” (McCarthy, par. 3). Taylor Swift’s 2013 arena tour to support her last country album was the most lucrative tour in North America that year, bringing in more than $113 million in ticket revenue (Sisario, par. 16). Critically, women have fared extremely well in recent years. A movement to make music acknowledging the genre’s roots has been lead by a group of female country musicians- to the admiration of critics and fans alike, if they get the chance to hear the music. Since 2014, seven of fifteen nominees for the Grammy Award for country album of the year have been women, with two of the three winners being female (Leight, par. 28-30). If women are given the opportunity to be heard on the radio and develop a fanbase, the chances to achieve a high level of prosperity are just as high as their male counterparts’. The level of critical success experienced by some new female artists shows that women and the themes they portray in their songs appeal to many people, even if the music is not being heard by the

Throughout its history, music has permeated the significant events of American history. Its effect on American society and the way the American people cope with each event has only grown as popular music evolves and new genres reach more and more individuals. People can remember where they were and their exact surroundings to amazing detail when asked about life-changing events in history. Older generations will remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their children will remember when Kennedy was assassinated and when man walked on the moon. Their grandchildren will remember much of the turmoil of the ‘70s and ‘80s and their great grandchildren grew up in the world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. Even one’s surroundings during the start or end of a relationship or personal events such as graduation, getting a driver’s license, or getting married can all be paired with the music that was popular at the time.

Music has played a vital role in human culture and evidence based on archaeological sites can date it back to prehistoric times. It can be traced through almost all civilizations in one form or another. As time has progressed so has the music and the influences it has on people. Music is an important part of popular culture throughout the world, but it is especially popular in the United States. The music industry here is, and has been, a multi-million dollar business that continues to play an important role in American popular culture. This is also a art form and business that is forever changing as the times and more importantly, technology changes. Technology has changed the way music is made as well as how it is produced,

There are many things that influence cultures around the world, some of these things being big and some of these things being small. One of the largest impacts on cultures would be music and poetry. It seems that these two things, more than anything else, tie people together and give them common grounds (Earhart). These two things not only have the power to tie people together but they also have the ability to tear them apart. For example music has influenced the way people dress, act, and even talk (Syncrat).

Music defines our culture. As Americans, we listen to music while we drive our cars, are at work, doing housework, studying, etc. We have songs for special occasions: Christmas, Hanukah, birthdays, weddings, parties, etc. We have taken songs from the various cultures that make us diverse: Arabic, German, Mexican, Native American, etc. We have many genres: country, hip-hop, rap, pop, blues, jazz, rock, heavy metal, etc. And although we may think of music as simple and easy, looking at all this makes one realize how diverse and complex our music truly is. Two things that contribute to this diversity are theme and symbolism.

Dolly Parton’s 1973 iconic “Jolene” is a tale about a woman pleading her husband’s mistress to stop seeing him because she knows she can't compete with her beauty. Even though,

Music plays a significant rule in our lives. It’s a melody and rhythm we live in. It plays a very essential rule in our day to day to life when it comes to expressing feelings, passing time and for other uses as well. Though we in general may not think about how music has changed so much in the past few decades we must acknowledge the fact todays music is the outcome of the various change in the past. Today’s majority of music we hear is what we define as more as a “westernized” music. Considering other cultures in the world, a huge impact of western music is seen within them. Westernization and modernization are two different words with different meanings and they have two different impacts on a society. Modernization is used to define the improvements and show a progressive transition from one stage to another. Westernization is the concept of being influenced by the customs and techniques of the western society and reflecting them in a non-western culture. This essay will discuss furtherly about the impact of the western society on music cultures of North India and Korea by looking from both the positive and negative point of this impact.