Paper #1: A Researched Essay

Topic: The Number One Song in America on….

We all have a special day in our lives: the day we were born: our birth-day, (technically our date-of-birth). By an intersection of history , there is a song that was Number One in America on the day you were born.

A. Look up: However you like, whatever your source: find out what was the number one song in America on the day you were born.

***** Make sure that you are looking for the Number One song as listed on the Billboard Hot 100 list***** for the Week of your Date of Birth: (the Charts are done on a weekly basis). (Many of you may want to start your search by putting the phrase Billboard Hot 100 list into Google (or your preferred search engine)…

***This is Important: You are looking (technically) for the song that was

Number 1 the Week of your birth…

the charts will always say “Number One …for the week ending” (date)…use the song that includes the week of your date of birth.

I underlined the phrase the day we were born because you were only ‘born’ once. Being “born” means that your mom gave birth to you. This only happened once. The question is asking you to find the #1 Song in America on this day/date/year combination: that One Day that Your Mom Gave Birth To You. This happened only once on one day [by number], in one certain month, in one certain year. Clearer? Good!

B. Research:
1. THE SONGS, including who wrote it, who performed it, and other information you think is relevant for your paper.
2. THE LYRICS (unless it s an instrumental piece); what is the story that the lyrics tell? What, if any, is the meaning of the lyrics? Plus any other information you think is relevant for your paper.
3. THE SONGWRITER(S), especially if they are different than the performers, plus any other information you think is relevant for your paper.
4. THE PERFORMER(S), their hit(s) their career, etc., plus any other information you think is relevant for your paper.
5. REFERENCE your sources in the paper, using your preferred method of crediting those sources.

C. Writing:
Write an original essay about your Birthday Number One songs which includes writing about 1. What your research indicates about items 1 through 4 in the list under letter “B” (song, lyrics, writers, performers) and 2. The style of the music, using musical terms garnered from your learning through this Music Appreciation course and 3. the emotional content of the song based upon the lyrics and style. Once you’ve completed that, compare and contrast the two songs. How are they alike in music style and other ways. How are they dissimilar?

D. Requirements:
1. Length: minimum 1000. Your word count should not include the lyrics or your sources listings. Those words are not included in the word count of the content of the paper.
2. Sources list: List your sources at the end of your document. The minimum number of different sources is FIVE. Wikipedia is technically not a source. However, you may use it to access the original articles used in their articles which are found by way of the links at the bottom of the article (at wikipedia) that you want to use. Sources may now websites or other media. Put the sources in alphabetical order.

E. Extra Credit: Find the back story to the song. For example, was the song inspired by some personal event in the songwriter’s life? If so, tell us what it is. Is it fictitious? ‘Back Story’ answers the question “What brought about the song’s creation?”

F. Grading: Please focus your writing on the song (musical style and lyrical content) while providing pertinent information on the performer(s) and songwriter(s).

YOUR RESEARCH AND WRITING ABOUT THE SONG : (50/100)
1. the song (10)
2. the lyrics (10)
3. the songwriter(s) (10)
4. the performer(s) (10)
5. the comparison of the two songs (10)

REQUIREMENTS: (30/100)
1. length (10)
2. sources (list) (10)
3. sources (quality) (10)

QUALITY: (20/100)
1. On time? (10/100)
2. Overall quality (10/100)

TOTAL: 100 points

Back Story Extra Credit: (5)..Back Story is how the song came about. Is it ‘real’, based upon real events, or fictional?

Email me if you are interested in a separate extra credit paper related to this project.

The Researched Essay (Paper) should be submitted via the Dropbox at our course site.

Please double-space your paper before submitting it to me. Thanks!