Tri-Co Philly: Philadelphia Music City

MUSI 005C | Wednesday, 12-3 p.m. 
James Blasina, Swarthmore College

Since its foundation as a city, Philadelphia has been a regional, national, and global center of musical creativity. Drawing on the “music” side of the previously taught “Popular Music & Media” course, this course will investigate the history and contemporary conditions of music making in Philadelphia and its region. In its early history, Philadelphia was the second city of the British Empire, before becoming the first capital of the United States. As a city in the Empire it was tapped into global music trends, and as a new capital city, it continued to cultivate a rich musical life—both professional and amateur. Governing and diplomacy, after all, required music! (In fact, music has played a role in diplomacy in Philadelphia to the present day!). In the nineteenth century, Philadelphia was home to a vibrant music publishing industry, and many of the institutions that animate our contemporary musical life—the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Curtis Institute, for example—were founded during this time. The Great Migrations of the early twentieth century brought thousands of African Americans from the rural south to work in our region’s industrial plants; with them arrived musical traditions— blues, gospel, and later, jazz—that would put the city at the forefront of popular musical developments. As recording and listening technology grew during the first half of the twentieth century, Philadelphia benefited from its proximity to the Victor Record Company, in Camden, NJ. Successive waves of immigrants would bring diverse musical traditions, but also deploy musical performance as a means of entering an American “mainstream” (which will be investigated and problematized in this class). Television shows like American Bandstand brought Philadelphia’s musical youth culture to the living rooms of the nation, and propelled rock ‘n’ roll starts. Artists like Nina Simone, whose family relocated to Philadelphia, made music explicitly political, through involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

Despite its pride in being an “underdog city,” Philadelphia has been a leader in musical creativity, and a full participant in regional, national, and global musical discourses. In sum, this course is a history of music in Philadelphia, but also a musical history of Philadelphia. By that I mean that students will learn about music in the city that either emerged here or was part of global musical trends and flourished here (or both!), but will also learn to use music as historical evidence for uncovering the history and contemporary life of the city. No background in music will be necessary.