Unit 9: Changing America, 1974-2000
UNITED/DIVIDED
“A.I.M. Song”
Severt Young Bear, 1977
A staple of Native American protests and intertribal powwows.
Recording Source
“Yellow Pearl”
Chris Kando Iijima, Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto, and William "Charlie" Chin, 1973
A call for an end to anti-Asian racism.
Lyric source
“What's Going On”
Marvin Gaye, 1971
A call for peace abroad and at home.
Lyric source
“Self Destruction”
KRS-One, 1989
A collaboration created to spread the message of Stop the Violence Movement.
Lyric source | Recording
“Chocolate City”
Parliament, 1975
A funk song describing Washington D.C.
Lyric source | Recording
“If We Must Die”
Olly Wilson, 1991
A call for the oppressed to resist.
Lyric source | Recording
“Born in the U.S.A.”
Bruce Springsteen, 1985
A hit rock song describing the non-heroic return of a Vietnam veteran
Lyric source | Recording | Lesson ideas
“Gangsta’s Paradise”
Coolio, 1995
A rewrite of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” about the gang environment.
Lyric source | Recording
“Ladies First”
Queen Latifah with Monie Love, 1989
A celebration of trailblazing women.
Lyric source | Recording
"Oye mi canto”
Gloria Estefan, 1989
A song encouraging tolerance for people of differing backgrounds and viewpoints.
Lyric source | Recording
“To Be Young, Gifted, and Black”
Nina Simone, 1969
A tribute to Lorraine Hansberry, intended to instill confidence in black children
Lyric source | Recording
WAR AND PEACE
“War”
“In America”
Charlie Daniels, 1980
A song of unification during the Iran Hostage Crisis
Lyric source | Recording
“Russians”
Sting, 1985
A peace song from the last decade of the Cold War
Lyric source | Recording
“Menominee Vietnam War Song”
Myron Pyawasit, ca. 1973
A tribute to Native American veterans of the Vietnam War
Recording
WORK
“Contrabando y traicion”
“9 to 5”
Dolly Parton, 1980
The trials of women in underpaid clerical jobs.
Lyric source | Recording
“Allentown”
Billy Joel, 1982
Coming of age in a rusting steel town.
Lyric source | Recording
HOME
“At Seventeen”
“Dear Mama”
“Mother Earth”
Six Nations Women Singers, 1995
A lament for what the white man has done to Mother earth.
Recording
“Plastico”
“Love Child”
“I Was Born This Way”
“The Message”
“Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)”
“Small Town”
John Cougar Mellencamp, 1985
Rock looks at the virtues of living in a small town, rather than a big city.
Lyric source | Recording
“Mountains O’ Things”
Tracy Chapman, 1988
Comment on the fruitlessness of Yuppie conspicuous consumption.
Lyric source | Recording
“Information Undertow”
Dada, 1998
A look at how our lives are being ruled by technological advances.
Lyric source | Recording
MOVING ALONG
“Clandestino”
“Convoy”
C. W. McCall, B. Fries, C. Davis, 1976
Truckers protest against gas prices and speed limit changes caused by the oil embargo .
Lyric source | Recording
FAITH AND IDEALS
“Controversy”
“We Are the World”
“Fight the Power”
Public Enemy, 1989
A call for listeners to rebel against racial discrimination and economic inequality, even if it
means turning to violence.
Lyric source| Recording
“The Greatest Love of All”
“Man in the Mirror”
“Imagine”
John Lennon, 1971
Written at the height of the Vietnam War, this song has remained a popular peace anthem
Lyric source | Recording
“God Bless the U.S.A.”
Lee Greenwood, 1983
Patriotic song from the Reagan and Bush, Sr. campaigns; revived in the 2001 terrorist attacks
Lyric source | Recording
“From a Distance”
Julie Gold, 1985
A song about a peaceful Earth as seen from space, that became popular during the Gulf War
Lyric source | Recording
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Unit walk-through:
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