Write a 6?8 page (maximum) essay on ONE of the following topics (1) Cover Versions The contemporary image of a barbershop quartet is a group of white men dressed in turn?of?the?century clothes. The roots of the style, however, lay in African American barbershops of the late nineteenth century. Barbering was a low?status occupation performed by European immigrants and African Americans. In the black community, barbershops often served as hubs of social and musical activities, and the close harmonies and performance styles of the barbershop quartet style developed in this milieu. The early recording industry contributed to the racial shift from black to white barbershop quartets by recording primarily white barbershop groups. Once barbershop became popular in the 1930s, it was promoted by an organization called the SPEBSQSA (Society for the Preservation of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America). The group, like many other male fraternal organizations before the Civil Rights era, admitted only white members; over time, the shift of barbershop from a black to a white art form became complete., This regrettable pattern of appropriation was and continues to be found in almost every arena of music?making in the United States. Discuss the cover version phenomenon as it relates to the major record companies in the 1950s. Be sure to address the financial ramifications endured by African American artists by placing the practice within the segregationist context of the time. Suggest “Sh’ Boom” The Chords (1954) and The Crew Cuts (1954) as a case study.

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(2) The Music of the Beatles “From the word go we decided we shouldn’t make formula things, we should try to be as different as possible…plan was to have a single every three months and an album twice a year…as soon as the Beatles realized their creative abilities in the studio, they got hooked on this thing of really building something new each time….For my part, I felt it [Sgt. Pepper’s] was the album which turned the Beatles from just an ordinary rock band into being significant contributors to the history of artistic performance. It was the turning?point. It was the watershed which changed the recording art from something that made amusing sounds into something which will stand the test of time as a valid art form: sculpture in music if you like” (Martin 1979). Write an essay on the music of the Beatles. Your discussion will provide a brief historical survey of the context of the British Invasion, and will detail the transformation which occurred in their musical style during the early? to mid?1960s: suggest “Love Me Do” (1962) and “Tomorrow Never Knows” (1966) as a case study.

YORK UNIVERSITY