LibGuides: On the Road: 7-12 Women Who Rock: Songwriting & Point of View

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Women Who Rock: Songwriting & Point of View

Suggested grade level: 7-12

This research guide serves as a resource for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Education Department course, Women Who Rock: Songwriting & Point of View. For additional information on the course and for more teacher resources, see: http://rockhall.com/education/distance-learning/courses/WWR-Songwriting/

A successful songwriter must learn to master musical composition and creative writing. Lyrics often reflect the times while simultaneously employing the use of rhyme scheme, metaphors, and other poetic devices to work in tandem with musical arrangements. In this class, students will explore different song writing techniques by female musicians from the 1960s until now, understanding distinct musical styles and points of view in cultural and historical terms. Students will analyze lyrics by the Crystals, Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith and Nicki Minaj, interpreting meaning and contextualizing perspectives while also dissecting song structure.

Search the Catalog

Databases

These research databases can be accessed within the Library and Archives.

American Song
ArchiveGrid
International Index to Music Periodicals
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975
Popular Culture explores the dynamic period of social, political and cultural change between 1950 and 1975. The resource offers thousands of color images of manuscript and rare printed material as well as photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia from this exciting period in our recent history. The Library and Archives of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum contributed over 7,000 items from its collections to the project. The database allows you to explore an interactive chronology to learn a wealth of fascinating facts, take a tour of the site's visual resources, and watch video footage to experience the spectacular sights and sounds of the period for yourself.
Rock's Back Pages

For Your Students

Girls Rock by Robyn Goodmark; Adrienne Yan (Illustrator); Kim Gordon (Foreword by)
Call Number: ML3795 .G66 2008
Explains how to form a rock band, choose a band name, work with other musicians, write songs, promote the band, and plan shows
The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls by Carrie Brownstein (Foreword by); Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls Staff
Call Number: ML3795 .R643 2008
A guide to help female musicians find out how to form a band, play instruments, write songs, and other jobs in the field of rock music
Start Your Own Band by Marty Jourard
Call Number: ML3790 .J68 1997
Start Your Own Band gives you the inside dirt on finding the right equipment, songwriting basics, meeting and melding with band members, getting the most out of rehearsals, recording your music; finding the right professionals - agents, lawyers, publicists, studio technicians, and others - and not getting ripped off; the art of getting gigs; marketing and public relations 101; the pitfalls you may encounter - and how to avoid them; and much, much more!

Online Resources

The Crystals fan page
Rock Hall Inductee Profile: Aretha Franklin
A profile of Aretha Franklin put together by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Rock Hall Inductee Profile: Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
A profile of the husband and wife songwriting team put together by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Rock Hall Inductee Profile: Gerry Goffin and Carole King
A profile of the songwriting team put together by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Rock Hall Inductee Profile: Patti Smith
A profile of Patti Smith put together by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Rock Hall Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll App
This app allows you to explore the history of rock, starting with the 1920s through 2000 by decade, artist, and song title.

Video

25th anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts by HBO presents
Call Number: 25794-X Time Life (set)
Includes performances by Aretha Franklin and Patti Smith
Aretha Franklin: live at Park West / WTTW/Chicago by Aretha Franklin
Call Number: VHS FRAN-A LIVE 1993
The tomorrow show with Tom Snyder. Punk & new wave by NBC
Call Number: DVD COLL TOMO-P 2006
ISBN: 9780738933511
Includes interview footage with Patti Smith

Objectives

These resources, pulled from class discussion and selected from the Library and Archives' collections, will help you to:

Give examples of ways songwriters convey point of view
Interpret the lyrics of songs by applying knowledge of poetry and historical references, especially considering women’s positions in society throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
Identify songwriting elements, three major songwriters of American popular music and contextualize songwriting trends historically and culturally.

Books

Aretha Franklin by Mark Bego
Call Number: ML420.F7362 B44 2001
Aretha Franklin's soulful voice has earned her fifteen Grammies and the honor of being the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. An uncompromising survivor, Aretha has stirred millions with her classic hits, including, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Respect." But she has also faced daunting personal challenges: her mother's desertion; teenage pregnancy; several unhappy marriages; and a tragic shooting that led to the death of her father. With unique access to key figures in Aretha's past, and a new chapter revealing the most recent events both personal and professional in the life of the diva, this is the definitive biography of the woman who captivated the music world of the early fifties and became a star.
Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace by Aaron Cohen
Call Number: ML420.F7362 C64 2011
For two days in January 1972, Aretha Franklin sang at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles while tape recorders and film cameras rolled. Everyone there knew the event had the potential to be historic: five years after ascending to soul royalty and commercial success, Franklin was publicly returning to her religious roots. Through new interviews, musical and theological analyses as well as archival discoveries, this book sets the scene, traces the recording’s traditional origins and pop infusions and describes the album’s enduring impact.
Guys Who Wrote 'Em by Sean Egan
Call Number: ML390 .E33 2004
Sean Egan's The Guys Who Wrote 'Em seeks to put right the lack of recognition for compositional geniuses who for most of their careers have chosen to use their musical skills to help not themselves but others achieve stardom. Amongst those to whom respected music journalist Egan has been granted access are Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Eddie and Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Bobby Hart, Joey Levine, Graham Gouldman, Chip Taylor, Tony Macaulay, Nicky Chinn, Mike Stock and Matt Aitken.
Nicki Minaj by Isoul Harris
Call Number: ML420.M563 H377 2012
From her outrageous outfits to her private life, this is the Mick Minaj manual: everything any fan would want and need to know. From humble beginnings in Trinidad to being snapped up by hip-hop king Lil Wayne in New York, Nicki has defied the odds and become a global superstar.
Patti Smith by Nick Johnstone
Call Number: ML420.S657 J64 2012
Nick Johnstone, respected music journalist and long time fan, unravels the story of the girl from Chicago who mixed poetry, underground theatre, jazz and rock, and who played a key role in shaping the New York punk scene of the mid-Seventies.
Patti Smith Complete, 1975-2006 by Patti Smith
Call Number: ML54.6.S657 P38 2006
Collects lyrics, notes, reflections, and photographs spanning Patti Smith's career, in a volume containing new artwork from her latest albums and previously unpublished photographs by Annie Liebovitz and Robert Mapplethorpe
The Poetics of American Song Lyrics by Charlotte Pence (Contribution by, Editor); Robert McParland (Contribution by); David Daniel (Contribution by); Stephen M. Deusner (Contribution by); Claudia Emerson (Contribution by); Beth Ann Fennelly (Contribution by); Keith Flynn (Contribution by); Jes
Call Number: PN1059.S7 P64 2012
The Poetics of American Song Lyrics is the first collection of academic essays that regards songs as literature and that identifies intersections between the literary histories of poems and songs.
Reading Song Lyrics by Lars Eckstein
Call Number: ML2800 .E35 2010
Reading Song Lyrics offers the first systematic introduction to lyrics as a vibrant genre of (performed) literature. It takes lyrics seriously as a complex form of verbal art that has been unjustly neglected in literary, music, and, to a lesser degree, cultural studies, partly as it cuts squarely across institutional boundaries.
Women Icons of Popular Music by Carrie Havranek (Editor)
Call Number: ML82 .H38 2009
Women Icons of Popular Music puts the limelight on 24 legendary artists who challenged the status quo and dramatically expanded the possibilities of women in the highly competitive music world. Using critical acclaim and artistic integrity as benchmarks of success, this can't-put-down resource features rich biographical and musical analyses of a diverse array of musicians from country, pop, rock, R&B, soul, indie, and hip-hop. It goes beyond the shorter, less detailed biographical information found in many women in rock compendiums by giving readers a more in-depth understanding of these artists as individuals, as well as providing a larger context-social, musical, political, and personal-for their success and legacy.
Women who rock : vision passion power by James Henke (editor)
Call Number: ML141.C58 R65 2011
Explores the role and impact of female musicians in the world of rock and pop music, from early 20th century roots artists to contemporary stars of the Aughts, through photos, clothing, and memorabilia.
The Words and Music of Patti Smith by Joe Tarr
Call Number: ML420.S657 T37 2008
An analysis of the work of Patti Smith and of her influence on rock 'n' roll and popular arts

Audio

Amazing Grace by Aretha Franklin
Call Number: CD FRANK-A AMAZ 1990
Aretha now by Aretha Franklin
Call Number: CD FRANK-A ARET-N 1993
Dream of life by Patti Smith
Call Number: CD SMIT-P DREA 1996
ISBN: 0078221882828
Easter by Patti Smith Group
Call Number: CD SMIT-P EAST 1996
Horses by Patti Smith
Call Number: CD SMIT-P HORS 2006
I never loved a man the way I love you by Aretha Franklin
Call Number: CD FRANK-A INEV 1995
Pink Friday : Roman reloaded by Nicki Minaj
Call Number: CD MINA PINK-R 2012
Wall of sound: the very best of Phil Spector, 1961-1966 by Phil Spector
Call Number: CD SPEC-P WALL 2011
Includes songs by The Crystals

Archival Resources

New to Archives? Check out:

Hall of Fame series. Aretha Franklin.
In this Rock Hall program, Aretha Franklin performs and discusses her early career on Columbia Records, her later career on Atlantic Records, gospel music, songwriting, and recording.
Immaculate Funk: The Jerry Wexler Story. Aretha Franklin
In this uncut footage from the film Immaculate Funk, Aretha Franklin discusses her work at FAME Studios with Jerry Wexler.
Adele
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Aretha Franklin
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Carole King
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Ellie Greenwich
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Joni Mitchell
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
Laura Nyro
This catalog search provides links to a variety of archival materials in our collections on this artist.
ARC-0290 Patti Smith Collection
The Patti Smith Collection spans the years 1972 to 1993, with the bulk of the material dating between 1974 and 1978. The collection consists of items documenting Smith's career as an artist and musician, including clippings, correspondence, artwork, handwritten lyrics and poetry, photographs, and posters. The collection provides rich insight to the personal life and career of Patti Smith, as well as documentation of her music and art.