John Rumble, a historian with the Country Music Hall of Fame, spoke with our class on January 15 about the history of American popular music from the late nineteenth century until 1960. Using the production of culture view of the media and popular arts, he explained the growth and evolution of the music industry over the 80+ years in which it was formed and cultivated as a dominant part of American culture and commerce.
<Tab/>Dr. Rumble described the key players who made the past 100 years the "century of American music." …