Gospel Music's Influence

Warm Up:1) Play the short clip from Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” Listen closely to the lyrics and identify the central message of the song. Identify the person mentioned in the lyrics

In your groups, answer the questions at the following link. Make sure you enter all group names.

http://goformative.com/student#/assignments/AJYM443

Guided Practice:   

1) Play Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman" (1954). 

a) Listen closely to the lyrics and identify the central message of the song. Identify the key figure mentioned in the lyrics: ___________________

b) Think about whether the song reminds you of any music you have heard before:

________________________

2) Play an excerpt from the Southern Tones’ “It Must Be Jesus” (1954). 

a) Listen closely to the lyrics and identify the central message of the song.

b) Identify the key figure mentioned in the lyrics: ________________

c) Think about whether the song reminds you of any music they have heard previously.

                   

3) Discuss in groups:

a) How similar are the three songs, musically speaking?

b) What is similar, and what changes?

c) How has the central figure in the song changed through the three versions?

d) What has happened to the overall meaning of the song and the emotions it portrays through the three versions?

e) Who is Kanye West? What kind of music is he known for?

f)  Does “Gold Digger” have anything to do with Jesus? With religion in general? With love?

g) Why might Kanye West have borrowed from a traditional R&B song in “Gold Digger”?

h) What does the Ray Charles sample bring to West's song?

i) What do these three clips suggest about how Gospel music has influenced and continues to influence popular American music?

Part 2:

Listen to and compare the following hits:

1) "(He Is) Wonderful” (1959), by Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, and “Loveable” (1956), which was originally released under the name "Dale Cook."

a) What overall effect do they have on the listener?

b) Complete the song comparison chart.

2) Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Didn't It Rain" (1964) and Little Richard, "Tutti Frutti" (1957)

a) Why might white audiences be receptive to music that was influenced by the music of the African-American church?

b) Complete the song comparison chart.

2) The Jordanaires, “Dig a Little Deeper” (1950) and Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires, "Too Much" (1957). 

a) What does the second comparison have in common with the first? Who are the singers singing about in each song?

b) How similar are the vocal stylings of "Didn't It Rain" and "Tutti Frutti"?

c) Would it matter whether they were even aware of this influence when listening to popular music?

Assessment: Write a paragraph explaining how Gospel music influenced pop music of the 50's and 60's.

Closure: S. Share sentences.Vocab: comparison, receptive