The American Musicological Society and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF) in Cleveland, Ohio, collaborate on a lecture series that brings scholarly work to a broader audience and showcases the musicological work of the top scholars in the field.

The AMS / Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Lectures provide a public forum that brings music research to a broader audience. Individuals who have based their research on musicological topics oriented to the RRHOF Archives and Collections are invited to submit lecture proposals. Preference will be given to topics dealing directly with rock and roll music, but proposals dealing with neighboring traditions (i.e., blues, country, jazz, as well as hip-hop, singer-songwriters, etc.) will also be considered.

Upcoming Lectures

‣ 5 December 2024: Amy Coddington: “How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop”

Past Lectures

‣ Robin James: “What was the Modern Rock 500? What One Ohio Radio Station’s Annual Countdown Can Tell Us about Gender, Omnivorous Consumption, and the Differences between 'Modern Rock,' 'Alternative,' and 'Indie'”

‣ Kimberly Mack: “'History Lesson': The Enduring Sonic and Political Legacy of Living Colour's Time's Up”

‣ Evan Rapport: “'Raw Power' and 'Pure Rock and Roll': Musicality and Race in Early American Punk”

‣ Katherine Reed: “Sound and Vision: Set and Sound Design in David Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour”

‣ Brian Wright: “Play Guitar with the Ventures!: How Amateurs Reshaped Rock 'n' Roll”

‣ Theo Cateforis: “Soft/Loud”

‣ Eric Hung and Leslie Li: "Recovering Early Asian American Voices In American Popular Music: Two Girl Groups"

‣ Matt Brennan: “The Tyranny of the Snare Drum"

‣ Patrick Rivers & Will Fulton: The Music and the Machines: The SP-1200, the MPC, and the Evolution of Hip Hop Beat Making"

‣ S. Alexander Reed: "There Is No Pilot: How Laurie Anderson’s Big Science Diagnosed a World Beyond Control"

‣ Sara Gulgas: Baroque Rock: An Embarrassing Stain on Rock’s Harder Image?"

‣ Joshua Duchan: "Billy Joel and the American Musical Landscape"

‣ Tammy Kernodle: "Hope for a New Tomorrow: Transcendence and Resistance in the Gospel Blues of Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Mavis Staples and Roberta Flack"

‣ Daniel Goldmark: "Anthologizing Rock and Roll: Rhino Records and the Repackaging of Rock History"

‣ Steven Baur: "Toward a Cultural History of the Backbeat"

‣ Jacqueline Warwick: "Dad Rock and Child Stars"

‣ Stephanie Vander Wel: "Rose Maddox's Roadhouse Vocality and the California Sound of 1950s Rockabilly and Honky-Tonk"

‣ Mark Clague: "'This Is America': Jimi Hendrix's Reimaginings of the 'The Star-Spangled Banner' as Social Comment for Woodstock and Beyond"

‣ Samantha Bennett: "Rock, Recording and Rebellion: Technology and Process in 1990s Record Production"

‣ Christopher Doll: "Nuclear Holocaust, the Kennedy Assassination, and 'Louie Louie': The Unlikely History of Sixties Rock and Roll"

‣ Loren Kajikawa: "Before Rap: DJs, MCs, and Pre-1979 Hip Hop Performances"

‣ Andrew Flory: "Reissuing Marvin: Musicology and the Modern Expanded Edition"

‣ David Brackett: "Fox-Trots, Hillbillies, and the Classic Blues: Categorizing Popular Music in the 1920s"

‣ Albin Zak: "'A Thoroughly Bad Record': Elvis Presley's 'Hound Dog' as Rock and Roll Manifesto"

Application

The AMS / Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Lectures provide a public forum that brings music research to a broader audience. Individuals who have based their research on musicological topics oriented to the RRHOF Archives and Collections are invited to submit lecture proposals; nominations for potential speakers are also encouraged. Preference will be given to topics dealing directly with rock and roll music, but proposals dealing with neighboring traditions (i.e., blues, country, jazz, as well as hip-hop, singer-songwriters, etc.) will also be considered. To submit a lecture proposal, fill out the form linked below by 15 January 2025. Selected speakers will receive support for travel and accommodations.

Eligibility

Proposed lectures must be based on original research. Topics directly related to Rock and Roll will be given preference.

Award & Notification

Decision notifications will be sent in early April. The selected lecture(s) will be scheduled in coordination with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Support for travel and accommodations will be provided.

Important Notes:

Start your application early. You may save an incomplete form and continue later. You MUST click the 'Submit' button at the end of the form to submit your application. Applications not submitted by the deadline cannot be considered.  Upon submission of your application form you will receive an email confirmation. You may also view your application by signing into your Submittable account and clicking "My Submissions".

If you have any questions about your application, please contact the AMS office at ams@amsmusicology.org. For technical questions about Submittable, please visit submittable.com/contact.

Application Deadline: 11:59pm EDT, 15 January 2025

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Library & Archives is the site for the AMS/RRHOFM Lecture Series.

It is located on the campus of Cuyahoga Community College  at 2809 Woodland Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115.  

See this location on Google Maps

Visit the RRHOFM Library & Archives website

RRHOFM Home