PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music
If teaching a unit about the history of popular music in America, this PBS web site supporting their four-part TV broadcast of a few years ago would make a great resource. Includes lesson plans and oral histories too.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Freedom Riders and Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement
In this lesson plan, students will consider "The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Techno Pop
Feature series on "The Secret History of Technology and Pop Music," traced partly through the story of an Indiana company that stopped making pianos and started cutting 78 rpm records using the talents of famous jazz musicians and others.
Other
Parlor Songs Academy: Music as Propaganda in World War I
Scroll through the history of the use of popular music as propaganda until reaching the lengthy section about how music was used, not just in the United States, but throughout the world as propaganda in World War I. Find the lyrics and...
Library of Congress
Loc: Music for the Nation: Music Published, America, 1870 1885
A wonderful collection of sheet music from the Library of Congress. Search this site to find the primary source documents of music published in America from 1870 through 1885. The site is separated into many different topics with an...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 33: 8 Rap
Rap music and hip-hop were the pop music of the nineties. Learners of all ages liked to mimic the rappers they listened to on CD's, tapes, and the radio. This lesson builds on students' interest in rap music as well as their enjoyment of...
Library of Congress
Loc: Music and u.s. Reform History: Stand Up and Sing
Throughout American history, popular music has reflected the mood and opinions of the times. By exploring sheet music, students analyze issues related to industrialization and reform to answer the essential question, "How does society...
Yale University
Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Listening to Music
Twenty-three university-level lectures on how to listen to and how to appreciate Western music. Emphasis is on classical music but jazz, pop, the blues, and rock are also considered.
Other
Unstrung History of American Guitar: The Guitar and the Birth of American Music
The guitar in America began as an instrument used in popular music in the city and then branched out to minstrel shows, ragtime, and even jazz. Read about the history of this ubiquitous instrument and how it took on its American character.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 20: The 1960s Through Music
By listening to and analyzing the lyrics of selected examples of popular music from the 1960s era, students will develop a greater understanding of the historical and political forces as well as the emotional climate of the decade. This...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Lesson 50: Using Music to Teach Personal Narrative
The personal narrative, apart from appearing as an option in the writing component of many state assessment tests, is a form of writing which allows students the chance to reflect seriously and honestly on important events in their own...
Other
3rd Ear Music: The Music of South Africa
3rd Ear Music is a comprehensive resource of South African music, past and present. The organization started its collection in 1964 and it now offers links to several South African artists, history of SA music and recordings.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Music of the United States
Very thorough resource for music in the United States. History, genres, and references can be found on this site. Includes sample audio recordings.
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Hey, I Known That Song: Literary Analysis of Popular Music
This PDF lesson plan uses the Lyrics to "I Was a Kaleidoscope" by Ben Gibbard and the song "I Was a Kaleidoscope" by Death Cab for Cutie to analyze the poem and determine its meaning.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 35: The Melting of the Cold War
As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 44: Compositional Techniques
Young music students rarely see or, better still, hear a connection between the different types of scales, modes, intervals and other compositional techniques such as meter, tonality, and form used in both traditional 'Art' music and...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Three: Gospel Music Meets a Wide Audience
The third lesson deals with the emergence of gospel as a form of popular music among a general public. Gospel is a musical genre with roots in the African American church, particularly in the South. Between the 1940s and the 1960s,...
Brown University
Brown University Library: African American Sheet Music: James Bland
This website is an excellent source for information on James Bland and his music. Includes images of his sheet music, complete with notes and links to related information on African-American music and popular music from the post-Civil...
PBS
Pbs: American Roots Music: Lesson Two: Desegregating the Airwaves: Blues on the Radio
This instructional activity deals with the emergence of the blues as a form of popular music on the radio, beginning in Helena, Arkansas in 1940. Students will understand and discuss the relationship between technological and social...
Other
Museum of Making Music: The Ukulele and You
Exhibition of the origin and history of the ukulele and its significance to American popular music.
Other
American Film Institute: 100 Years . . . 100 Songs
With this list, the American Film Institute presents its choices for the 100 greatest songs in film. The list includes choices from popular films such as The Sound of Music, Cabaret and The Producers.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken
From the American Experience series on PBS, this is "The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken", a comprehensive multi-media look at the early American popular country music group.
Other
Alien Travel Guide: Musical Styles
A descriptive site on the many styles of music. There is information on everything from chamber music to rap.
Other
Afro Disc: Africa Music Reviews
A radio host talks about new music from West Africa. While profiling four popular artists, the substance in this site describes the flavor of the popular music.