songwriting — Bunk History

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The Powerful Tune That Drives ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’

A melody can carry an undeniable purpose even before it gets paired with a lyric.

by Jon Batiste via The Atlantic on November 7, 2017

The Monitor: The Punk Album that Predicted Our Politics

How Titus Andronicus drew on Civil War lore to frame contemporary social divides.

by Alex Sayf Cummings via Tropics of Meta on November 4, 2017

Joni Mitchell: Fear of a Female Genius

One of the greatest living artists in popular music still isn’t properly recognized.

by Lindsay Zoladz via The Ringer on October 16, 2017

How Country Music Went Conservative

Country music is assumed to be the soundtrack of the Republican Party. But it wasn't always that way.

by On The Media via WNYC on October 6, 2017

Patriotism, Partisanship, and “The Star-Spangled Banner”: A View from the Early Republic

Music continues to hold an allure for elites seeking to politicize patriotism in support of their privilege.

by Michael D. Hattem, Billy Coleman via The Junto on September 28, 2017

Mavis Staples singing on stage, head back and hand raised.

Mavis Staples on Prince, Trump, Black Lives Matter, and Her Exercise Regimen

Mavis Staples' lyrics span from the civil-rights-era to today's societal issues.

by Mavis Staples, Elon Green via The New Yorker on September 11, 2017

Otis Redding

Five Magnificent Years

A recent Otis Redding biography examines what was and what could have been, 50 years after tragedy struck.

by Geoffrey O'Brien via New York Review of Books on September 10, 2017

The Umpire Strikes Out: Baseball Music and Labor

The classic baseball hit "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" has a lot more to do with U.S. history than one might think.

by Wendi Maloney via Library of Congress on July 31, 2017

How "This Land Is Your Land" Went From Protest Song to Singalong

Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” has lost a bit of its protest oomph—in part because of a decades-long denial of its later verses.

by Mark Allan Jackson, Erin Blakemore via JSTOR Daily on June 15, 2017

All 213 Beatles Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best

We had to count them all.

by Bill Wyman via Vulture on June 7, 2017

When Nina Simone Sang What Everyone Was Thinking

“Mississippi Goddam” was an angry response to tragedy, in show tune form.

by Tom Maxwell via Longreads on April 20, 2017

How The Hutchinson Family Singers Achieved Pop Stardom with an Anti-Slavery Anthem

"Get Off the Track!" borrowed the melody of a racist hit song and helped give a public voice to the abolitionist movement.

by Tom Maxwell via Longreads on March 7, 2017

Bob Dylan and The Band performing on stage

The Brotherhood of Rock

The story of how The Band, in Robbie Robertson's words, "acted out an ideal of democracy and equality."

by Greil Marcus via New York Review of Books on March 2, 2017

“Jingle Bells” History Takes Surprising Turn

A researcher in Boston discovers that the beloved Christmas favorite was first performed in a Boston minstrel hall.

by Joel Brown via BU Today on December 8, 2016

The Song That Never Ends: Why Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September' Sustains

How the Earth, Wind & Fire hit "September" came into being, and why it continues to unite the generations on the dance floor.

by Dan Charnas via NPR on September 19, 2014

A Raised Voice

How Nina Simone turned the movement into music.

by Claudia Roth Pierpont via The New Yorker on August 11, 2014

Black and white photo of Charlie Rich on a hammock.

Dear Charlie

Charlie Rich, the tragic soul man whose legacy was largely forgotten after his brief period of fame.

by Joe Hagan via Oxford American on January 7, 2014

The 10 Best Songs About Illegal Immigration

Over the past decade, music devoted to the cause of amnesty for undocumented immigrants has flourished across the U.S.

by Gustavo Arellano via OC Weekly on November 12, 2013

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”: The Story of Katie Casey and Our National Pastime

The little-known story of one of the best known sing-along songs, and its connection to women's suffrage.

by George Boziwick via Our Game on October 8, 2013

Pete Seeger.

American Dreamers

Pete Seeger, William F. Buckley, Jr., and public history.

by William Hogeland via Boston Review on May 1, 2008

Mystic Nights

The making of “Blonde on Blonde” in Nashville, Tennessee.

by Sean Wilentz via Oxford American on September 20, 2007

Painting of Woody Guthrie smoking a cigarette while playing a guitar.

Woody Guthrie: Folk Hero

Guthrie challenged the commercial aesthetic of the pre-rock era through a performance style that was almost combatively anti-musical.

by David Hajdu via The New Yorker on March 21, 2004

A bronze statue of Willie Nelson.

Willie Nelson at 70

"The Essential Willie Nelson" compilation demonstrates the continuity of Nelson's style across a variety of musical genres.

by Gene Santoro via The Nation on October 30, 2003

Lady Soul Singing it Like It Is

In 1968, Time Magazine searched for the elusive definition of "soul."

via TIME on June 28, 1968

Sheet music cover for "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be A Soldier," 1915.

"I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier"

The sound of antiwar protest in 1915.

via Voices & Visions

Taylor Swift's Instagram post endorsing Kamala Harris. Swift is holding a cat and facing the camera, dressed in black.

Taylor Swift and the History of the Celebrity Endorsement

Do pop culture interventions in presidential elections make a difference?

by Addie Mahmassani via New Lines Magazine on October 23, 2024

Miles Davis Kind of Blew It With His ‘Greatest Ever’ Jazz Album

Sixty-five years later, a critic argues that “Kind of Blue” is the least challenging of Davis' works.

by Colin Fleming via The Daily Beast on August 17, 2024

Bruce Springsteen performing at the New Haven Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut circa 1977-1978.

Springsteen's U.S.A.

Steven Hyden's new book about Bruce Springsteen's iconic "Born in the U.S.A" album is the product of a lifelong passion for the music of "The Boss."

by Matt Hanson via American Purpose on July 1, 2024

The Go-Go's on July 30, 1981. From left, Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Belinda Carlisle, and Gina Schock.

We Got the Beat

How The Go-Go’s emerged from the LA punk scene in the late ’70s to become the first and only female band to have a number one album.

by Lisa Whittington-Hill via Longreads on January 16, 2024

An painting depicting a murder ballad, with the murder happening in the background and a band playing music in the foreground.

Blood Harmony

The far-flung tale of a murder song.

by David Ramsey via Oxford American on December 5, 2023

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