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Somebody once asked
a gospel singer if he was an entertainer or a preacher. He answered,
“Yes.”
Michael Lasser’s
talks at museums, universities, and libraries all over the country are,
likewise, a mix of substance and entertainment, serious purpose and
lighthearted irreverence. After all, he says, “I’m talking about
popular songs, not the future of the Republic.” |
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“One of the most telling moments happened at the end when you asked if
anyone had questions. One visitor said, ‘Yes. Is there any more!’”
Melinda Georgeson
Director of Education
The Norman Rockwell Museum |
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That doesn’t mean
he isn’t serious about American songs and the men and women who wrote
them. As he explains:
I
do think popular music has something valuable to tell us about
ourselves if we stop and listen to it. It opens a revealing and
entertaining window on American attitudes for the last 150
years. For the last 25 of those years, I’ve been talking about
popular music as social history — about songs and the America they
reflect.
Lasser’s subjects range from the
beginnings of the minstrel show in the 1830s to the arrival of rock ‘n’
roll in the 1950s. In the last eight years, he’s averaged more than two
dozen talks and concerts per year in a total of 36 states and the
District of Columbia – from Maine to California, Florida to Washington,
Mississippi to Minnesota.
In
addition to the talks, he also performs with singers Cindy Miller and
Alan Jones. “Nobody in his right mind wants to hear me sing,” he says,
“but Cindy and Alan have a gift for being able to perform the songs of
two centuries with insight and delight, and my job is to give the songs
context in an entertaining way.”
For
more information about talks select the links below:
*Current
Calendar for Scheduled Talks
*Talks
and Concerts - a partial list of available programs
*Select
comments from talk organizers
*Where
Michael has given his talks
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Calendar of Scheduled Talks
2008
Wonderful Town Is "a Helluva Town"
Monday, July 7, 2008, 9:30 a.m.
A talk and book signing
Rochester Athenaeum, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester,
NY
"Happy Days Are Here Again": An Hour of Politics and Pop
Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 6:00
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago
Walking Alone: The Songs of World War II
Monday, November 10, 2008, 10:00
a.m.
Talk and book signing
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
Antonia's Music: The Popular Tunes of Her Time
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 2:00
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, Wichita, KS
"Where God Makes the Scenery": The Sense of Place in
American Song
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 1:30
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa
"Hear that Lonesome Whistle": Songs from the Age of Steam
Friday, November 28, 2008, 7:00
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Nelston-Atkins Art Museum, Kansas City
"Let's Go Slumming, Nose Thumbing, At Park Avenue": The
Songs of the Great Depression
Sunday, December 14, 2008, 2:00
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Memphis
2009
"It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow": The Past, Present, and
Future of Popular Music
Monday, January 26, 2009, 10:30
a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Talk and book signing
Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning, Sarasota and Venice, FL
"Building a Paradise: How America's Songwriters
Discovered America
Thursday, January 29, 2009, 2:00
p.m.
Talk and book signing
Mennello Museum of Art, Orlando
"As Time Goes By": Pop Songs as Pop Icons
Monday, March 16, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Talk and book signing
Van Liebig Arts Center, Naples, FL
Title - TBD
Date
Talk and book signing
Des Moines Art Center
"The Hip-Horray and Bally-Hoo": New York Songs of the
1930's
Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 12:05
p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Talk and book signing
Massillon Museum, Massillon OH
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