Music That Everyone Should Hear At Least Once

I am trying to gather music as a project of Music Appreciation for my two children. I home-school my six and eight year old kids and want to provide some educational music either as exclusive learning or to enhance other subjects.

I started with Classical Music and have found an excellent list of perhaps the most famous 100 classical pieces. As I started listening to them I thought about a wide selection of music that I have heard since I was born in ’65 up through today.

I remember music like that of Scott Joplin, for example. While I am not a fan, I did enjoy “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin. Ragtime music had a resurgence with the introduction of the Oscar-winning movie “The Sting” in 1973 which had “The Entertainer” as it’s theme song. Ragtime was in the spotlight for a while back then in 1973 along with it's history.

I wish to compile a list of that type of music; I wish to list music that affected history, re-lived history, became iconic for many years, or had renewed interest on a large scale.

I would, for example, like to list the names of some ‘negro spirituals’. I would then not only play them with the kids, but share with them information about the horrors of the negro community during and after slavery years. How did the songs help? Are they a reminder of the past today?

What songs will always be reminiscent of Woodstock? Vietnam? The Holocaust? Was that song joyous or used to overcome grief? What was the story of that composer?

I am primarily interested in anything pre-1980. I can think of modern stuff later. I am not presently interested in how Curt Cobain and Nirvana was ‘representative of Generation X’ and how Rap changed the world. I want older stuff.

Will you share with me a song, composer, or event that has historical significance? I want ALL GENRES. It’s not about what music I like and you like, per se. I want music that teaches, inspires, and informs, NOT JUST TODAY but multiple generations.

Rather just a list, or a name, perhaps you can share significant details as to why you feel it’s significant. Why should it be on a list of MUSIC THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AND HEAR AT LEAST ONCE!

I think this could be fun for all of us.

Ken
Who knows? If we do well enough, this may become a STICKY!

Music from the 70's onward is getting a lot of attention already. You can sit through six hours of VH1 Remembers or count downs and get a chance not only to reminisce but get some historical ideas. We will get to those another year.

I only left the 70's in (for my interests) since much of it was not just another rebellion but was Vietnam War related. The music of the last twenty years in the anti-war is not the same to me. Anyway, it's like any history we learned in school; School would teach ancient history, pre-historic, local, world, modern, constitutional, etc.

I am choosing to keep the common era for it's own consideration. I agree that Kurt Cobain was a very well respected writer and artist, and was not disrespecting him nor his fans. Just the same, I do not want to discuss the current trends of fashion as affected by Shakira, Lil Kim, Beyonce, Jenifer Lopez, Jessica SImpson and Puff Daddy. Another time.

I want to reach back into history of music and work forward.