African slaves were taken to America, and with them, they brought their musical traditions. America’s strong immigration has also helped its music grow: Europeans came with their own music and background. The most important music genres flourished in USA, mostly created through cultural mixes: hip-hop, blues, country, jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, pop, techno, rock… American music weaves with social and cultural identity and issues of class, race, religion, language, geography, gender and sexuality. But it also reflects the country’s ethnic diversity. The music industry is significant in the USA: it possesses the most influential record companies, radio stations, community orchestras, television channels ( MTV) and specialized magazine ( Rolling Stone). We also have to bear in mind the context in which the songs were written and the artists’s personal choices: some of them chose to break with the common beliefs and trends of their generation and produce a unique portrayal of America. History has always affected and continues to affect arts : music, anchored in reality, it has dealt with important social and political concerns through different periods of time and has helped promote significant ideas. Each one has a different feeling and personal understanding of a song, making it hard to raise a precise and accurate painting of America.
This analysis is mostly based on a personal interpretation and the readers have to consider it purely as a personal experiment, an outline that offers a subjective interpretation of the songs. This article attempts to elaborate a sort of sociological analysis about America, its citizens and their lifestyles through famous songs from American and foreign artists since the early 19 th century to present days. Music has played an important role in the development and the diffusion of an American identity and molded a typical, and sometimes stereotypical, image of the United States. Each day, we witness its diversity and its impact on day-to-day life, worldwide. America In A Song: A Cultural Study Through MusicĪmerican culture has influenced and shaped the world through centuries.
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