EVDOL 31 - Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and the Genesis of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Edward Barnes
On December 4, 1956, four young musical pioneers—Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash—came together by chance at the Sun Records studios in Memphis. An impromptu jam session followed, as the four played and sang through the country, blues, and gospel classics they shared and loved. A seminal moment in the genesis of rock ‘n’ roll, this four-session online course explores not only the stories of these trailblazing artists but the origins of rock ‘n’ roll itself. This course traces the musical roots of these four legends and their role in the confluence of musical styles—folk, gospel, country, bluegrass, western swing, and rhythm and blues—that intersected in the mid-South of the 1950s to shape the sound of rock ‘n’ roll. Included is a look at several African-American artists of the same period, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Big Mama Thornton, and their influence on the Million Dollar Quartet.

Biography: Edward Barnes (BM ‘79, MM ‘80, composition) is an award-winning composer-lyricist and/or producer of more than 50 works of opera, theater, radio shows, and recordings. His work has been seen around the world from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the Opera Company of the Philippines and San Francisco Mime Troupe. He has been a resident artist at the Instituto Sacatar (Brazil), Ucross Foundation (Wyoming), and Fundación Valparaíso (Spain), and served as the executive director of Gotham Chamber Opera, producing director of MasterVoices, and managing director of American Lyric Theater. He has won Guggenheim and NEA fellowships and the Stephen Sondheim Award for the creation of innovative musical theater.

4 Weeks

Mondays 5:30–7pm ET

June 9–June 30

Online Only

$300