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Over the past eight decades the lyrics of blues recordings have provided valuable insights into the opinions and feelings of singers and songwriters. Commentaries concerning workplace relations, self esteem, romantic involvements, financial security, clothing styles, alcohol use, religion, health, death, and other universal human issues have been persistent. Yet it is rare to find students or teachers engaged in the investigation of blues lyrics that address personal involvements with technology. Nevertheless, there is a clear pattern of lyrical observations concerning communication, transportation, and even information technology in both the titles and lyrics of recorded blues tunes. The following study provides a brief narrative along with lengthy illustrative lists of blues songs and recent instructional research studies to assist classroom teachers and popular music researchers in assembling profiles about blues--appropriated technology references and themes.

Examines images of bridges in the titles and lyrics of contemporary recordings that are metaphors for social relationship changes. Lists over 100 recordings that are available as instructional resources for secondary school teachers, popular culture scholars, bridge enthusiasts, or lyric analysts. (Contains 19 references.) (Author/LRW)

Discusses the use of biographical studies to illustrate the development of particular musical styles. Recommends that music teachers add segments from contemporary recordings to enable students to view twentieth century singers and musical genres from lyrical sources. Lists over 125 specific songs in a discography of potential teaching resources. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the images of women in popular song lyrics, provides an introductory survey of female imagery featured in popular tunes, and includes a discography containing a selected compilation of 100 recordings that feature images of women. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of the use of daily habits or common social activities by anthropologists and sociology teachers to illustrate the power of popular culture focuses on the role of coffee. Provides a list of more than 60 specific songs and albums that could be used for classroom discussion. (Author/LRW)

Utilizes the lyrics of popular recordings to illustrate how intense emotional involvements can affect individual behavior as it examines the lyrical question, "What kind of fool am I?" The commentary is supplemented by an extensive discography featuring more than 150 recordings released over the past five decades. (AEF)

Argues that recorded music from 1941-45 served as a domestic and overseas morale-booster for Americans. Discusses the audio images of home-front stability communicated to soldiers and provides a bibliography of over 60 popular recordings illustrating direct references to letter exchanges, epistolary tendencies in lyrical communication, and songs recorded by male and female vocalists. (Author/PEN)

By combining several years of negative public health data, political pressuring and legal mandates, and mixed journalistic commentaries with 50 years of lyrical observations, social studies instructors can creatively demonstrate the shifting climate of cigarette smoking in the United States. A discography is provided of more than 100 recordings that illustrate diverse tobacco-related images. (Author/AEF)

It can be intellectually stimulating for students to examine images of the medical profession as depicted in popular song lyrics. Reflection on medical metaphors allows students to assemble a more reasoned perspective on professional health care reality. A variety of medical imagery is detailed that can be adapted for classroom instruction. A discography of theme-related songs is provided. (Author/AEF)

Suggests ways for music teachers to capitalize on student interest in contemporary sounds. Gives recommendations for class examination, examples of recordings and print articles to foster student enthusiasm and class participation. Discusses curriculum tie-ins with nursery rhymes, fairy tales, oral history, and social commentary, listing songs featuring childhood characters, social protest, racial discrimination, urban decay, politics, and women's rights. (PEN)

Discusses the tendency of popular music critics to attempt to censor explicit, suggestive commentaries. The potentially negative impact of record banning within a democratic society is briefly explored. A taxonomy of sex-related lyrical themes is assembled to provide postsecondary school teachers with an overview of recorded content available between 1950 and 1992. (Author/AEF)

Discusses the emergence of the horror genre in U.S. mass media, including literature, films, songs, and television. Examples of thematic and character exchanges among major media areas are described; the interest of youth in horror is discussed; and songs of horror and humor are described. (41 references) (LRW)

Examines the images of war represented by popular recordings. Divides the century into four periods based on wars: 1914-38, 1939-63, 1964-89, and 1990-91. Reports that the popular image of the United States at war as represented in music has been positive for all periods except Vietnam, although each period had its share of protest. Lists resources and recordings. (DK)

Discusses popular music as a vehicle for cultural interchange between the United States and Great Britain between 1943 and 1967. Highlights include the early domination of U.S. record business interests and artistic styles established through the U.S. wartime and post-war military presence in England, and the later domination by British recording artists. (17 references) (LRW)

Explores the differing lyrical perceptions of war and military activity depicted in popular songs during World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. The role of music in reinforcing patriotism is discussed, as well as the antiwar sentiment of the Vietnam era. (31 references) (LRW)

Illustrates the use of baseball cards as cultural artifacts and how to make sociological inferences and historical generalizations from them. Focuses on Black players and the issue of racial integration in major league baseball. Includes chronologies of racial integration on teams and inductions of Black players into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (NL)

Depicts ways popular song lyrics can stimulate discussion either in music, social studies, humanities, or language arts classes. Considers lyrics' ability to explain social, cultural, and political phenomena. Provides a chronological outline from 1962 correlating political events, personalities, songs, and the artists. songs. Identifies uses of nursery rhymes and fairy tales in popular songs. Also lists suggested readings. (CH)

The article discusses the difficulty of capturing the genius of recording artists through written words and the changing perspectives of critics, fans, and family members over time. It highlights the sustained greatness of artists like Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin. The focus is on a 4-CD compilation titled "Aretha," which features 81 songs spanning Aretha Franklin's career. The compilation offers a comprehensive overview of her vocal abilities, piano skills, song selection, and personal observations. It includes well-known hits as well as previously unheard cuts and rarities, showcasing Aretha's experimental nature. The article also includes two introductory commentaries, one emphasizing Aretha's role as a black female freedom fighter and the other providing a chronological review of her career. It mentions other Aretha Franklin recordings available and highlights her commercial success on the Billboard charts. The article concludes by noting Aretha's roots in Detroit and the missed opportunity for her to join Motown Records. [Extracted from the article]

Argues that using popular recordings that feature baseball imagery is an innovative way to introduce students to the pluralistic nature of U.S. life. Outlines a variety of themes that use baseball history to develop concepts about social change, cultural values, and individual achievement. Lists audio recordings that have baseball themes. (DB)

Suggests the variety of Christmas songs (sacred, secular, traditional, and nontraditional) recorded since 1940 offers enormous potential for use in social studies classrooms. Argues these songs provide insights into cultural history and social change. Suggests several classroom activities discussing and classifying Christmas songs. Includes a selected discography and bibliography. (CH)

Many books and articles have provided instructional perspectives on record label founders, their stables of performing artists and studio musicians, and their particular stylistic venues. Teachers must be able to access compact discs in order to translate print ideas into audio illustrations. The following material supplements an earlier IJIM article titled "Apple and Atlantic, Stax and Sun: Teaching About Contemporary Music From a Record Label Perspective." This CD discography features an alphabetical listing of more than fifty (50) labels with more than two hundred (200) discs that have been issued during the past two decades., There are many outstanding vinyl compilations that depict the histories and salute the successes of particular record labels. From Ace to Atlantic, from Sue to Vee-Jay, album anthologies have been [...]

Where's the Money, Honey? With this sonic heritage of lyrical commentaries about money matters, it is predictable that blues-oriented Jasmine discographer Neil Slaven elected to compile a decade of African-American audio complaints concerning monetary malfeasance. Dire cash circumstances echo throughout recordings like "I Need Money (Keep Your Alibis)" by Slim Harpo, "Last Dime Blues" by Blind Willie McTell, "I Need Some Money" by John Lee Hooker, and "Ain't Got No Money Now" by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell. [Extracted from the article]

This terrible decision reduces a listener's opportunity to hear the growth and development of the "5" Royales as an evolving post-gospel, R&B, and proto-soul exemplar. The Apollo executives then suggested a new name - The "5" Royales - and a new stylistic direction - self-penned R&B tunes - for the former choir boys from Winston-Salem. The roots of 1960s soul music can be traced to the 1950s R&B and pop recordings of individual vocalists like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Clyde McPhatter, and Jackie Wilson. [Extracted from the article]

Music teachers usually encourage their students to examine contemporary songs either through biographical studies of artists and composers or from particular stylistic perspectives. It is not uncommon for instructors to link these two elements: Louis Armstrong with jazz, B.B.King with blues, James Brown with soul sounds, and Johnny Cash with country music. The following bibliographic resource guide suggests that the investigation of record labels can broaden student understanding of the modern music industry by integrating artist/genre information with specific city images (Memphis), special studio bands (Booker T. and the M.G.'s), successful record company moguls (Berry Gordy), and efforts by performers like The Beatles to secure artistic independence (Apple). Business teachers, social studies instructors, and popular culture researchers can stimulate innovative and integrated learning opportunities by focusing on ... Alligator, Apple, Atlantic, Motown, Stax, and Sun., Record labels represent specific segments of larger music industry interests. For example, Tamla and Gordy were small units of the Motown Recording Corporation empire during the 1960s. The managerial or [...]

Tribute recordings provide diverse opportunities for teachers to utilize eulogies to classic singers and salutes to specific songwriters, geographic regions, and music styles as instructional topics. Historical perspectives on artists' careers are invariably mixed with retrospectives on studio productions, longevity, and influence. Social Studies classes, popular culture courses, and other music-related instructional settings can benefit from the investigation of commercial compact disc compilations that present tribute themes. This study features a selected list of annotated CD resources along with a lengthy bibliography of print materials explaining and illustrating the tribute recording phenomena., Audio technology is the life's blood of many music education programs. It is also the avocational preference of most high school and college students. While personalized perspectives of singers and [...]