The course features exclusive video interviews with Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Hugo Burnham of Gang of Four, Amanda Palmer, Duke Levine of the J. Geils Band, British session drummer Dave Mattacks who also toured with Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson, rock promoter Don Law, mastermind of Parliament and Funkadelic George Clinton, and producer Jack Douglas, who has worked with John Lennon, Aerosmith, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and many others.

You will be encouraged to think independently by participating in online discussions about key trends and developments in rock history, in addition to completing assignments that require added research and exploration to gain new perspectives. We’ll look at the past, but also where rock music is going, treating rock ‘n’ roll as a vibrant, fluid attitude where nothing is sacred or predictable.

Course author Steve Morse brings three decades of in-depth experience with rock headliners to the course. During his 30-year tenure as the senior rock music critic at the Boston Globe, he interviewed such artists as the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, U2, Joni Mitchell, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, as well as many others involved in a variety of aspects within the music industry.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Identify the major artists in rock music, including their influences and their legacy
• Recognize the musical styles that informed rock
• Identify the key trends that helped rock redefine itself through the decades
• Associate the historical context of culture, society, politics, and prejudices that impacted rock
• Assess the major business and technological innovations that continue to move rock music forward

Syllabus

Lesson 1 Dawn of Rock & Roll

Lesson 2 Rock’s Racial Integration, Followed by a Backlash; Payola; and Moving Beyond the Day the Music Died

Lesson 3 Rock Regains Its Luster, the British Invasion of the Beatles and Rolling Stones

Lesson 4 More New Branches in the 60s—Soul Music, Funk, Bob Dylan and Folk-Rock, and the Birth of Protest Music

Lesson 5 More British Invasion Acts, Plus Guitar Heroes Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Alvin Lee, British Folk-Rock, and The Rawness of Garage Rock

Lesson 6 Progressive Rock, the Birth Of Psychedelia, the Summer Of Love, and Acid Rock in San Francisco and L.A.

Lesson 7 Turning the Corner to the 70s

Lesson 8 Americana, Reggae, Blues Power in the Arenas, and New Superstars in Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, and Fleetwood Mac

Lesson 9 The Extreme Rebellion of Punk

Lesson 10 New Wave, MTV Superstars, Arena Rock, the 80s Soar

Lesson 11 Rock’s Social Conscience, a Trend Toward Irreverence, Surging Female Stars, Alternative Rock, Two Woodstocks, and Angry Rap-Metal in the 90s 

Lesson 12 More from the 90s, then the Effect Of 9/11 and Rocking into the 21st Century

Requirements

Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements