The purpose of this tape is to ask you to investigate the social function and implications of the most common genre of popular song, the love song. Simon Frith claims that one of the most important functions of song is to make emotions available to the listener. For each of the following songs, please explore the image of love produced, the wisdom, experience, or advice shared, and the value these messages might have to the listener. After listening to each of the songs, please write a brief essay on the social function of the love song in American life.

#1 "I dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair," 1854

by Stephen Foster (1826&emdash;1864)
Performed by Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano & Gilbert Kalish, piano
Songs by Stephen Foster Nonesuch 9 79158-2 ©1972

Love songs reflect and communicate the social mores of their times. This song by the nineteenth-century composer Stephen Foster tells of an idealized, chivalrous love.

#2 "That’s Amore," 1953

Written by Jack Brooks and Harry Warren
Performed by Dean Martin
Eh, Paisano! Rhino R2 72577 ©1997

When is someone is love? When is love true? These seem to be the questions answered by heart-throb and Italian-American vocalist Dean Martin. Do you feel that this song perpetuates any ethnic stereotypes, possibly those derived from early Hollywood film stars such as Rudolph Valentino?

#3 "I Love You," 1983

Music: traditional, lyrics by Lee Bernstein
Performed by Barney and the Backyard Gang
The Groove Juice Special Columbia/Legacy CK 64898 ©1996

This is arguably the most influential love song heard today. My kids sing this song a bunch and it often produces some rather touching moments. Certainly, "The Barney Song" has given them a vehicle for communicating "love" &endash; at least a particular version of idealized familial love. I’m not asking you to like this song &endash; that’s not the point here. What I’d like you to think about is the social function of this song. What does it mean that public television in the United States has created this character of Barney the purple dinosaur and used it to communicate a certain version of "family values." If you don’t watch as much Barney as I do, I should tell you that every single episode and video (with one exception) that I have seen ends with Barney leading a rendition of this song surrounded by a group of adoring children.

#4 "Lemon Tree", 1962

Will Holt
Performed by Peter, Paul, and Mary, 1962
10 Years Together Warner Bros. 3105-2 ©1970

This group was formed in 1961 in New York City and is part of the urban folk revival that swept through college campuses at this time. They were probably the most successful acoustic folk group of the 1960s and played a huge role in popularizing Bob Dylan’s music with their cover of "Blowin’ in the Wind." The group includes Peter Yarrow (b. 1938, vocals and guitar), Noel Paul Stookey (b. 1937, vocals and guitar), and Mary Travers (b. 1937, vocals).

From their eponymous first album, the song "Lemon Tree" falls into the communicates the wisdom of experience category. Not all love songs idealize love this one in fact say that... (you fill in the blank).

#5 "Love and Marriage", 1965

Written by S. Cahn and J. Van Heusen, Arranged by Nelson Riddle
Performed by Frank Sinatra (b. 1915), 1965
Sinatra Reprise: the very good years Reprise ©1974

According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia, Sinatra is...

#6 "That Old Black Magic" 2:30

by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen
Performed by Ella Fitzgerald, 1955
75th Birthday Celebration MCA GRD 2-619 ©1993

#7 "Hello, I Love You" 1:46, ca. 1968

The Doors (formed 1965 in Los Angeles)
Jim Morrison (1943-1971, vocals); Ray Manzarek (1935-, kybds);
Robby Krieger (1946-, gtr.); John Densmore (1944-, drums).
The Best of the Doors Elektra 9 60345-2 ©1985

The Rolling Stone encyclopedia calls Morrison’s lyrics "adolescent posturings, but with a sexually charged deliver." For me this dismissive statement discounts the social validity of their ideas for its time period. During this time, the Doors consciously shaped their image into an art rock band with philosophical sophistication. Morrison’s sex symbol "Lizard King" persona was both a parody and an exhibition. In December 1967, he was arrested for public indecency in New Haven, Connecticut and in August of the following year he was arrested for disorderly conduct aboard an airplane en route to Phoenix. In March 1969, he was arrested in Miami, Florida for "lewd and lascivious behavior by exposing his private parts and by simulating masturbation and oral copulation" onstage. He was trapped in Miami for almost a year, but charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. The publicity surrounding the arrest inspired a short-lived Rally for Decency movement.

What kind of love does Morrison describe here and how does it function with gender stereotypes? How much of this song is for show and sales? How much might reflect gendered expectations or the realities of love in the hippie era?

#8 "Tell Him" 1997

Performed by Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand
Song by Linda Thompson, Walter Afanasleff, and David Foster
Let’s Talk About Love 550 Music/Epic BK 68861 ©1997

This duet enacts the very process of sex/relationship education as the elder star, Barbra Streisand (b. 1942), offers advice to Celine Dion about love and expression emotion when dealing with men. Note that Streisand is the top-selling female artist in music industry history with 50 albums (30 gold), over 52 million in record sales, and 15 films.

#9 "Cruel To Be Kind" 1:26, 1970

by Nick Lowe and I. Gomm
Performed by Nick Lowe (b. 1949 in Woodbridge, England)
Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe Columbia CK 45313 ©1989

"Cruel to be Kind" is Lowe’s only top 40 song, but it made a big impact reaching #12 on the charts in 1979. Known for his ironic pop songs, Lowe here produces an interesting mix of music and lyrics. He has not been commercially successful of late, but became a millionaire as his song, ""(What’s So funny ‘Bout) Peach, Love and Understanding" was covered and included on the soundtrack to The Bodyguard.

#10 "What’s Love Got to Do With It", 1984

by Terry Britten and G. Lyle
Performed by Tina Turner (b. Annie Mae Bullock, 1939)
Simply the Best Capitol D101195 ©1991

According to the (somewhat sexist) Rolling Stone Encyclopedia article:

Ike Turner and his wife Tina were first known for their late-Sixties and early-Seventies recording and their soul revue. Ike Turner was also a seminal figure in the early years of rock & roll as both a performer and a talent scout, and in those days Tina was one of the most flamboyant, overtly sexual performers in rock, singing is a blues rasp and suggestively caressing her microphone. Beginning in 1976, when Tina snuck out of a hotel with just 36 cents in her pocket and left [escaped?] Ike, she embarked on one of the longest but ultimately most successful comebacks in rock history.

"What’s Love Got to Do With It" hit #1 in 1984 and helped sell over 5 million copies of her album Private Dancer (#3). The song won a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Song of the Year. The album was Record of the Year and another cut on the album ("Better Be Good to Me") won for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Do you think that the song’s success had to do with a possible autobiographical performance of the song? How could Turner’s personal experience influence the listener’s interpretation?

#11 "For Other Eyes" 1992

by Elvis Costello (b. 1954) and the Brodsky Quartet
The Juliet Letters Warner Bros. 9 45180-2 ©1993

This song is from one of my favorite crossover albums: favorite because it shows musicians from the popular and classical spheres finding mutual respect and inspiration in the work of the other. It is an entire CD of songs based on a true news story. Apparently to this day, people all over the world write letters addressed to Juliet Capulet in Verona Italy. People must find some solace or relief in writing to this mythological Shakespearean character from the play, Romeo and Juliet. Here Costello and the Brodsky String Quartet have built a cycle of songs on letters Juliet might have received, ranging from love letters and junk mail to this song about suspicion and infidelity.

#12 "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", 1975

Words and music by Paul Simon (b. 1941 in Newark, New Jersey)
Negotiations and Love Songs, 1971&emdash;1986 Warner 25789 ©1988

After the 1970 breakup of the 60s folk rock ensemble of Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon went on to a successful career as a songwriter and performer. (Garfunkel all but disappeared.) "50 Ways..." hit #1 in 1975 and helped the album Still Crazy After All these Years reach #1 and win a Grammy for Best Album. The album and song are purportedly about the dissolution of Simon’s first marriage.

#13 "My Gold Ring" 6:51

The Brothers Figaro (Bonk / Parlapiano)
Gypsy Beat Geffen 24295 ©1985

I interviewed this band for a newspaper article in 1991 and have treasured my complimentary cassette ever since. The song is about a divorce.

#14 "I Will Survive" 1979

Written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren
Performed by Gloria Gaynor (b. 1949)
Pure Disco Polydor 31453 5877-2 ©1996

"I Will Survive" could be considered the Disco anthem of the late 1970s. The song hit #1 on the pop chart and #4 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. It pushed the album, Love Tracks, to platinum (over 1 million in sales). Gaynor continues to tour the U.S. and Europe, where she has enjoyed particularly popularity in Italy. She has begun writing her own material, some of it in a gospel vein. I’ve included this song because of its inclusion in an gender paper from earlier in the term. How does this song function in a social environment?

#15 "Candle in the Wind"

Performed by Elton John
by Bernie Taupin (b. 1950) and Elton John (b. 1947)
Diana Princess of Wales, 1961&emdash;1997 London 289 460 000-2 ©1997

Last year, this version of the John/Taupin ode to Marilyn Monroe became the fastest and biggest selling album in history. I bought my copy at Blockbuster Video for $3.99 where it enjoyed a prominent location next to the cash register. It’s a fascinating story about a woman who captured the world’s imagination and heart. Princess Diana’s death had an enormous impact across the globe. How does this song function to help the mourning process? What is the nature of the love it expresses?