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More Later,


Anne

Rocco's Rock n Roll Revue

It seems that more than a few of you might know one of our most valuable assets here at the Rock & Roll Library, my good friend MacDougall. (Pictured above with "Good Night Sweetheart" vocalist Pookie Hudson at the 2005 Doo Wop Hall of Fame inductions)

MacDougall taught US History and American Popular Culture at Newton North High School with his lovely wife and Math teacher Jo Ellen Hillyer for more than 35 years. He also produced Rocco’s Rock n Roll Revue, an annual 50’s Music Revue at Newton North for more than 25 years.

Years before I started the Rock & Roll Library, MacDougall was already pursuing our education mission on his own. He regularly referenced relevant songs in his classroom and taught students about the power of song. In a range of topics from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement his students learned that popular music could not only discuss important topics but that it could even affect change in our world.

Not to be limited by his classroom, MacDougall’s alter ego “Rocco” was born. Hundreds of students sang and danced their way through the annual Rocco show which gained Iconic stature in Newton, Massachusetts.

I met MacDougall through a mutual friend - Blue Suede Bopper, author and UMASS professor Reebee Garofalo. Reebee’s quite a character and music historian himself but when he introduced me to MacDougall I knew I was in for it.

MacDougall has been a Rock & Roll Library in-house historian, member of the Music Archive Advisory Board, Education Advisory Board, Song Lesson Contest review panel and general reference resource ever since.

I spoke with him earlier today and he was very excited to hear that so many friends, colleagues and former students were supporting our fundraising efforts. When you donate you have the option to dedicate your contribution to someone, many of you dedicated yours to MacDougall.

I also promised him that I’d let everyone know that his 2007 pick for Album of the Year is Bette LaVette’s The Scene of the Crime and that he’s also raving about Shelby Lynne’s new album, Just A Little Lovin' on Lost Highway Records that includes interpretations of nine Dusty Springfield songs.

If you'd like to reconnect with MacDougall email blog@rocklibrary.com and I'll be happy to forward messages to him

For friends and fans of MacDougall I give you Rocco and the Celestials singing “1,000 Miles Away” from 1983



Thank you for your generous contributions.

We only have until 3PM tomorrow (Thursday) 1/31 to collect as many donations as possible.

If you haven’t already done so, please make your donation now!

More later,

Anne

Where to start...

I refuse to have writer's block during my first blog entry but the writer's block doesn't seem to be cooperating...

I have some exciting news that I hope to announce here very soon about the Rock & Roll Library. If you're not familiar with Rock & Roll Library I encourage you to check out RockLibrary.com. We're building a free online archive of music history along with some fun interactive features like This Day in Music History and Music Trivia.

Our goal is to include music from ALL genres and eras.

When we started adding to the Music Archive we started with some core rock acts complimented by some early influences, icons from other genres and a few of today's most popular artists. The archive still has a lot of growing to do but we continue to add artists, albums, songs, events, photos news and more on a regular basis. Eric Clapton is our current featured artist at RockLibrary.com and a great way to start exploring the Music Archive and see its potential for growth.

Beyond the Music Archive and features for music fans we also create educational programs that integrate popular music into all subjects; for example, if students are studying the American Civil War, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (written by Robbie Robertson and recorded by The Band) could be used to stir student's interest and raise interesting questions for discussion.

For example, the line: "Stoneman's Cavalry came and they tore up the tracks again" raises several questions for students:

Who's Stoneman? (George Stoneman was a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War and later Governor of California)
What's a cavalry? (military troops that fight on horseback)
Why did they tear up the railroad tracks? (destroying railroad tracks halted supply shipments across the south and made the war more difficult for the Confederacy)

This song can also be used in English classes to teach a wide range of topics including poetry, theme and narrative voice.

That's an overview of the Rock & Roll Library and I guess that it's as good a place as any to start this blog. I'll post more about our programs later.

Feel free to submit questions or comments and I'll try to be good about responding and definitely check back for blog updates as they'll be coming fast and frequently for the next few weeks.

Peace,
Anne
http://www.rocklibrary.com/