Survey of American Music Timeline

By sammyfodroczi

  • Benjamin Franklin invents the Glass Harmonica

  • Billings "New England Psalm Singer"

  • Star Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key's lyrics)

    Became a national song by 1931.
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    Trail of Tears

    The Trail of Tears was a forced migration of Native American tribes due to the government finding gold and wanting the land for white settlers. They were forced to migrate to what is now Oklahoma with no food or water, and harsh consistent walking. The dates in our class power-points are 1830-1842, and the broad dates in further research are 1831-1850. The Trail of Tears is significant because it represents the way the American government has forced Native Indian tribes to shrink over time.
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    PT Barnum & Jenny Lind US Tour

  • Gottschalk "The Banjo"

  • Slave Songs of the United States

    This was the first example of a systematic effort to preserve and create a collection of the music of the slaves that worked on plantations in the south. This was a big deal as it had not been attempted before now to collect this music and preserve it in a way that could educate people. The melodies and words were observed directly from the singers in hope to keep it as authentic as possible.

  • Carnegie Hall, New York (Date Completed)

  • Dvorak String Quartet "American"

  • Amy Beach "Gaelic Symphony" (Composed)

  • Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag"

  • WC Handy St. Louis Blues

    This was the first recorded blues song that was recognized as the blues, and influenced pop and jazz music as well. ASCAP labeled it the "most recorded song of the first half of the 20th century, outdone in the entire country only by 'Silent Night.'" It also helped establish the 12-bar blues form and lowering of the 3rd and 7th scale degrees.
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    Broadway's 1st Golden Age

  • Cajun: (1st commercial recording)

  • Florence Price "Symphony No.1"

  • Copland "El Salón México"

  • "God Bless America" (Kate Smith's Original Recording)

    Composed in 1918, revised in 1938, first recording 1939

  • Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial

  • Duke Ellington's "Cottontail"

  • "This Land is Your Land" (Guthrie's Recording)

  • Bluegrass

    According to the presentation it emerged from 1945-1948, and other research generally says the 1940s.

  • Folk Song U.S.A.: the 111 Best American Ballads

    This publication of folk songs made it so people had access to the songs of previous generations and made it more accessible to continue on the traditions of passing on folk music. Alan Lomax has had certain controversies with using other cultures' music for his own gain, but with this one I believe the only issue would be that the folk songs were being learned outside of the traditional context of oral tradition, which could be seen as not authentic to the music.

  • John Cage "Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano"

    Written between 1946-1948
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    “We Shall Overcome” (when adopted by the Civil Rights movement)

    This song was adopted by the Civil Rights Movement in the late 50s - early 60s.

  • Alan Freed - date he coined the term "Rock & Roll"

  • Bernstein "West Side Story" (Broadway Premiere)

  • Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue'

  • The Beach Boys "Good Vibrations"

  • Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (album)

  • Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors"

  • Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"

  • "Walk This Way" Video - Aerosmith & Run DMC

  • John Adams "The Death of Klinghoffer"

    Dates written in presentation 1990-1991

  • James Horner Soundtrack for "Titanic"

  • Miranda "Hamilton" (Premiere)