Lectures

Lifelong Learning Society, Florida Atlantic University

Jupiter, FL
Place: Auditorium, Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus
Email: ollijupiter@fau.edu Phone: 561-799-8547

Friedberg Auditorium
Osher/FAU Lifelong Learning
777 Glades Rd
Boca Raton, FL
561-297-3185    olliboca@fau.edu

 

Osher/FAU Lifelong Learning
Florida Atlantic University
Fall 2023

 Music Americana:
The Birth Of Rock & Roll

Jupiter, FL
Tuesdays 2:30 pm
11/14, 11/21, 11/28, 12/5
(live and recorded for later viewing)
561-799-8547  llsjuptr@fau.edu

Boca Raton, FL
Wednesdays 3:00 pm
11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/29,
561-297-3185   olliboca@fau.edu

Building on the work of earlier artists in blues, jazz, gospel and country, uniquely American musicians such as Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis, The Everly Brothers and many others created a new sound, an explosion of energy full of rhythym and excitement that forever changed popular culture and enriched the soundtrack of our lives. This course will examine this dynamic and entertaining music through the work, biographies, and enduring legacies of rock and roll pioneers, with performances on video, cd, and live.
Lecture 1: The Piano Men: Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Lecture 2: Guys With Guitars: Bill Haley & The Comets, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly
Lecture 3: Voices For The Ages: Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison
Lecture 4: Groups & Girls: Doo Wop, The Everly Brothers, Connie Francis

Instructor Rod MacDonald
Recipient of the LLS 2012 Distinguished Faculty Award

Rod MacDonald began his career as a singer/songwriter in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1973. He has 21 songs in the Smithsonian Folkways collection and 13 solo CDs, including the 2020 release "Boulevard". He performs at festivals and in clubs and concerts locally and throughout North America and Europe, and was named Best Local Acoustic Performer in Broward and Palm Beach counties by New Times, and one of the Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County by the Palm Beach Post. An instructor with LLS since 2006, his previous series include Folksinging in Modern Times, The Great American Songbook, The Roots of Rock & Roll, and Mastery Of The Art.

To register
561-297-3185   olliboca@fau.edu
561-799-8547  llsjuptr@fau.edu

The Search For The Birth Of Rock & Roll

with Rod MacDonald
& The Humdingers

Wednesday, December 6 @ 7 pm
Barry and Florence Friedberg Auditorium,
FAU Boca Raton Campus
(561) 297-3185   
olliboca@fau.edu

Tuesday, December 12 @ 7 pm
Lifelong Learning Complex, FAU Jupiter campus
(561) 799 - 8547 or ollijupiter@fau.edu

How did it start? From Count Basie’s boogie woogie, the swagger of Big Mama Thornton and Big Joe Turner, the backbeat of country dance music and the fervor of old-time gospel, rock and roll exploded onto the world stage in the 1950s. Teens everywhere learned to “Rock Around the Clock,” “Come Go With Me,” “Stay” and “Don’t Be Cruel,” as Doo wop filled the air and the beat of Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry filled the dance floor. From Elvis, Buddy Holly, Connie Francis and Bobby Darin to folk rock and the British Invasion to the present, popular music has channeled rock and roll ever since. Join Rod & the Humdingers for a low-decibel journey through the favorite songs and colorful characters of the Search for the Birth of Rock and Roll.

 

--Rod MacDonald became one of Greenwich Village’s top singer-songwriters during the 1970s and 80s and today performs throughout North America and Europe. In South Florida, he has been named “Best Local Acoustic Artist” by New Times and one of the “Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County” by The Palm Beach Post, who named his 2014 CD, Later That Night, “Best Local CD of 2014.” He has been a Music Americana instructor at FAU since 2006.

 

Biographical Information:

Rod MacDonald began his career as a singer/songwriter in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1973. He has 21 songs in the Smithsonian Folkways collection and 12 solo CDs, including the 2018 release "Beginning Again". He performs at festivals and in clubs and concerts locally and throughout North America and Europe, and was named Best Local Acoustic Performer in Broward and Palm Beach counties by New Times, and one of the Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County by the Palm Beach Post. An instructor with LLS since 2006, his previous series include Folksinging in Modern Times, The Great American Songbook, The Roots of Rock & Roll, and Mastery Of The Art.

Past Classes

Music Americana:
A Lifetime Of Song

Instructor Rod MacDonald
Recipient of the LLS 2012 Distinguished Faculty Award

From sheer talent, breaking new ground, or outselling their rivals, a few artists are foremost practitioners of their art. Their work is legendary, their styles imitated, but never surpassed, their triumphs and losses brilliantly conveyed in their music. From the deep baritone of Paul Robeson to the crystalline harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash; from the Gulag-defying symphonies of Shostakovich to the rock operas of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody; from the intense lyricism of Bob Dylan to the lyric soul of Nina Simone, great artists rise above their peers and critics to tell our story.

This course will examine the work, biographies and enduring importance of these musical artists and attempt to sort myth from reality, using updated videos and excerpts from feature films, live performances and a few surprises.

1. More Than a Song - Paul Robeson, Dimitri Shostakovich
2. Historic Voices - Marian Anderson, Maria Callas
3. The Words Of Poets - Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan
4. The Great Story - “A Star Is Born,” “Bohemian Rhapsody”
5. The Great Story - Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder
6. The Sweetest Sound - Crosby, Stills & Nash, Rod Stewart
7. The New Broadway Musical - Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon, Hadestown
8. No Time For Crying - Nina Simone, Mavis Staples

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, they were the top-selling band in history, and still are. The four members, not yet 30, then went on to successful solo careers, each topping the charts on his own. While George Harrison expressed his spiritual yearnings in “Isn’t It a Pity” and John Lennon tried to “Imagine” a different world, Paul McCartney became the biggest-selling songwriter of all time with such pop classics as “Live And Let Die,” and Ringo Starr led his All-Starr Band on “It Don’t Come Easy” tours.

Join Rod MacDonald & The Humdingers for a fun and low-decibel tour through the lives, music and genius of these unique artists, as told in their songs.

Rod MacDonald, guitar, has 12 CDs of his songs, including 2018’s Beginning Again, as heard on WLRN’s Folk and Acoustic Music. He performs frequently in South Florida and throughout North America and Europe, and is a lifelong devotee of popular song. He has been an instructor with LLS since 2006.

Bill Meredith, drums, is the backbone of several Palm Beach County rock and roll bands, including Big Brass Bed and Illumination. He has toured throughout the US and Canada, and appears on more than a dozen CDs.

Brad Keller, keyboards, has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and with Maynard Ferguson and the Ink Spots, is the jazz piano instructor at Palm Beach State College and has taught music in Palm Beach County public schools for twenty years. He is also the co-author of the “Jazz Cats” books used internationally to introduce young students to jazz.

Doug Lindsey, bass and vocals, has been playing in south Florida bands for 30 years.

John Smotherman, lead guitar, plays with Big Brass Bed, Illumination and several Palm Beach County bands. His exquisite solos caused the Palm Beach Post to label him one of the “Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County.”

Breaking in as a Nashville songwriter with hits like “Nightlife” and “Crazy” (the most played song in the history of American jukeboxes), Willie Nelson rose to popularity by transcending country music with his jazz-inflected guitar and such classic songs as “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain,” “On The Road Again,” “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” and “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” A sophisticated musician and gentle singer, his multi-platinum album of jazz standards, “Blue Skies,” is among the top collections of the Great American Songbook.

Join Rod MacDonald & The Humdingers for a fun and low-decibel tour through the life, music and genius of this legend of American music, as told in his songs.

Rod MacDonald, guitar, has 12 CDs of his songs, including 2018’s Beginning Again, as heard on WLRN’s Folk and Acoustic Music. He performs frequently in South Florida and throughout North America and Europe, and is a lifelong devotee of popular song. He has been an instructor with LLS since 2006.

Bill Meredith, drums, is the backbone of several Palm Beach County rock and roll bands, including Big Brass Bed and Illumination. He has toured throughout the US and Canada, and appears on more than a dozen CDs.

Brad Keller, keyboards, has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and with Maynard Ferguson and the Ink Spots, is the jazz piano instructor at Palm Beach State College and has taught music in Palm Beach County public schools for twenty years. He is also the co-author of the “Jazz Cats” books used internationally to introduce young students to jazz.

Doug Lindsey, bass and vocals, has been playing in south Florida bands for 30 years.

John Smotherman, lead guitar, plays with Big Brass Bed, Illumination and several Palm Beach County bands. His exquisite solos caused the Palm Beach Post to label him one of the “Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County.”