Historians give the honor of being America's first native composer to Francis Hopkinson of Philadelphia (1737-1791), a leader of the American Revolution and a close friend of George Washington, the first president. Music experts, however, credit William Billings
(1746-1800) with being a revolutionary force in early American song. A self-taught composer who never ceased complaining about musical rules, Billings wrote what he called "fuging" tunes. They have been called clumsy and crude, but they were full of joy, had contagious rhythms and were easy to learn.
Of all the forms of popular singing and theater to emerge in early 19th century America, none was as influential — or so characteristically American — as the minstrel show. In these shows, which appeared in the 1820s and lasted well into this century, white performers in costume impersonated black song, storytelling and dance.
The minstrel show produced Stephen Foster (1826-1864), considered America's first great songwriter. Despite little musical training, Foster had the gift of writing simple, irresistible songs that captured American feelings. Even today, almost everyone knows a handful of Foster's songs by heart. Among them was "Oh! Susanna", sung by thousands of miners during the Gold Rush of 1849.
Also popular in the late 1800's was marching band music. The most prominent composer and bandleader was John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), who first gained fame as director of the United States Marine Corps Band. Sousa's sunny, patriotic music, such as "The Stars and Stripes Forever", remain all-time public favorites at parades, civic festivals and the like.
Most American composers and performers of serious "art" music, however, remained dominated by European musicians and traditions throughout the 19th century. Edward MacDowell (1861-1908) stands out among the serious American composers during this period. With the best training Europe had to offer, MacDowell established his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic as a brilliant pianist and composer of romantic works. A leader in music education, he headed the first department of music at a major United States college, Columbia University, in 1896.
MacDowell's blending of traditional romanticism with new music forms strongly influenced some later American composers, including the outstanding neoromanticist Samuel Barber (1910-1981). At the time MacDowell was struggling to raise public awareness of serious music, ragtime, a development of Dixieland and southern "barrelhouse" music, was raising spirits in parlors and theaters across the country. The first black American music to gain large popularity, ragtime was primarily piano music featuring almost continuous syncopation. Ragtime's greatest composer was Scott Joplin (1868-1917), who wrote two ragtime operas and believed his music stood the test of comparison with European classical music.
The blues, which developed from African folk songs and Christian religious music, is typically a lamenting song with an undercurrent of resignation and often humor. The greatest of the early-recorded singers were often women, including Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1886-1939) and Bessie Smith (19001937).