American music began with the songs of black American slaves. Black slaves in the south sang work songs and religious songs. When the slaves got their freedom after the Civil War they began to tell their stories in music called the "blues", especially in the area around the Mississippi River. The word "blue" means sad and these songs are usually about sad stories.
At the beginning of the 20th century black people moved from the south to the north to find work and they took their music with them to cities like Chicago and Detroit. John Lee Hooker was one of the first musicians to use electric guitars. In the 1950s Elvis Presley was the first white singer to sing music that came from the blues. In the 1960s "soul" was born from the old style blues with singers like Ottis Redding.
"Jazz" was born in the city of New Orleans, on the Mississippi River. It too probably began with the songs and dancing of black slaves. Black musicians like Louis Armstrong or BB King became famous in the 1920s in Chicago, and jazz music became popular all over the world after it travelled to New York and Paris in the 1930s.
Another popular kind of American music is "country", which started from the music of the Scottish, English and Irish people who came to live in the USA. It became very popular in the 1920s. Famous country singers include Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash.
In the late 60s and early 70s the hippy movement gave rise to artists like Bob Dylan, Jimmy Hendrix or Janis Joplin.
In the 1990s a new kind of music called "rap" became popular in New York. It came from black and Puerto Rican people and this music was about a dangerous life on the streets, where there was fighting and killing. Rappers don't really sing. Instead, they talk very fast over music. Some famous rappers are Wu Tang Clan, Eminem, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliott.
Most recent American music bands include groups like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kings of Leon or The Killers.
TASK: In groups you are going to do a cover version of an American song. Do you dare sing it to the class? If the answer is no then you will have to record your audio and upload it to spreaker or video and upload it to Youtube or vimeo.
STUDENTS' WORK:
Counting stars (Version los trolazos - Official video) from Pablo Fernández Melgarejo on Vimeo.
My Sharona (The Knack) by José Ismael, Jesús, Alex Martínez and José Antonio.
The Climb (Miley Cyrus) by Elvira and Marina.
21 Cover Guns (Green Day) by Mª José Buendía, Silvia, Celia Campuzano and Mª José Bermúdez.
Sick of Love (Robert Ramírez) by Carlos, Gabi, Pedro Gabarrón, Pablo Villegas and Miguel.
Radioactive (Imagine Dragons) by Cecilia, Laura y Mireia.