American Roots Music explores the traditional musical cultures that have interacted with one another in the United States, including various immigrant groups as well as the Native American population. Its focus, however, is on demonstrating the connection between these folk idioms and the popular styles they influenced. It urges its viewers to appreciate the people and ideas behind popular culture in the United States during the last sixty years.
The DVD's episodes are organized according to a chronology, but one based on influence rather than existence. In other words, musical cultures and important figures are discussed in the order in which they came to be known in mainstream U.S. culture rather than the order in which immigrant groups brought them to the country. As such, the first episode, “When First unto This Country,” focuses on African American spirituals and the role of the Fisk Jubilee Singers in spreading them; Appalachian music and its popularization as early country music; and the early development of blues and gospel. The second, “This Land Was Made for You and Me,” looks at the work of folk song collector Alan Lomax and the songs of Woody Guthrie along with the evolution of country music and the blues—and the eventual birth of rock ‘n’ roll—from the 1930s to the 1950s. “The Times They Are A-Changin'” continues the story with coverage of later blues and gospel music along with an exploration of the folk revival in the 1960s. The final episode, “All My Children of the Sun,” explores the music of several other ethnic groups in the United States that have enjoyed more widespread recognition since the folk revival, including Cajuns, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans.
This organization serves the primary purpose of the filmmakers well; it effectively demonstrates how and when various forms of traditional music have become influential and/or popular. There are, however, disadvantages in organizing the DVD in this manner. For example, it provides more extensive coverage of the most influential styles and more limited coverage of the others. This choice reflects history: The music of Native Americans has not been as influential on mainstream musical culture in the United States as blues or Appalachian song. Even so, this bias may make the series slightly less useful to viewers interested in cultures that have come into the mainstream more recently or whose earlier influence would fall into the category of exoticism. Some instructors might also bemoan the need to extract individual chapters to focus on a particular genre, but this process seems little more than an inconvenience given the easy navigability of the DVD set.
The coverage of key figures is excellent. Blues legends Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, and B. B. King; pioneers of country music such as Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, and Bill Monroe; gospel artists Mahalia Jackson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe; important contributors to the folk revival movement such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers; and other significant traditional musicians such as Valerio Longoria and R. Carlos Nakai are all discussed in considerable detail. The list of contemporary musicians interviewed for the series is equally impressive, and the diversity of their collective output speaks to the wide-ranging relevance of the music being studied. The performance footage is also exemplary, and it is nicely integrated into the narrative and the interview segments. The DVD set includes bonus performances by six of the featured artists.
I have found segments of the series useful in a number of different classes. I have, for example, used segments on blues and early country music when teaching rock ‘n’ roll. The commentary, however brief, from Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards makes the segment on Robert Johnson especially timely. Even more useful, though, may be the chapter on blues and the radio in the 1940s; focused on activity in Memphis, it concludes with a discussion of Elvis Presley's first record—featuring a blues tune by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup and Bill Monroe's legendary “Blue Moon of Kentucky”—and includes portions of an interview with his first manager, Sam Phillips.
Although the list of possibilities for other genre-focused courses abounds, material appropriate for more general topics is also included. The segments on Woody Guthrie and the folk revival, for example, are pertinent to discussions of the ways in which people use music to enhance the lyrics and message of a song. The chapter on Alan Lomax would undoubtedly help introduce students to the methods of ethnomusicology. Furthermore, various historical and social issues are introduced in the series, and relevant excerpts could easily be used to enhance student understanding of the concepts of appropriation and identity. Most important, this DVD can help students to gain a better understanding of the cultural interactions that gave birth to the music they currently enjoy—such as hip hop, rock, and contemporary country—while simultaneously broadening their exposure to the country's cultivated musical tradition and its similarly eclectic heritage.
American Roots Music is thus an excellent pedagogical tool, not because it is ideal in every way, but because it excels in its primary purpose. It successfully highlights the connections between traditional and popular music within the United States, it challenges its viewers to reframe their understanding of the country's popular music and culture, and it accomplishes these goals in an accessible, even entertaining, way.
