This is going to be a fluid blog post, as I will add songs as I learn about them.
My boys and I love those old historical songs from the '50s and '60s and they're a unique tool for learning American and World History. This playlist would be great for homeschooling, brick-and-mortar schooling or for road trips.
The following list is in more-or-less chronological order of the event or time period, not the song itself, and only includes songs that are family friendly and don't include questionable language or mature themes.
1100s
1104-1164: "One Rode to Asa Bay" by Bathory about the Christian missionaries to Scandinavia
1200s
1200s and beyond: "Scarborough Fair" by Simon and Garfunkel about the 45-day-long fair held in Scarborough in Yorkshire
1400s
1431: "Joan of Arc" by Arcade Fire
1499: "Amerigo" by Patti Smith: This song is more poetic than straight historical, but it's still worth a listen.
1500s
16th Century: "Seven Cities of Gold" by Rush
1591: "Lord Grenville" by Al Stewart about Sir Richard Grenville who died in a naval battle versus the Spanish
1700s
circa 1755: "Yankee Doodle" performed by James Cagney
1763-1767: "Sailing to Philadelphia" by Mark Knopfler about the men who surveyed the Mason-Dixon Line
1773: "Boston Tea Party" by Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Revolutionary War:
born 1786: "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Fess Parker
1800s
1800s: "Ship Ahoy" by the O'Jays about the African slave trade
1804-1808: "Ballad of John Colter" by Fess Parker, about the first Mountain Man
1809-1868: "Ole Kit Carson" by Fess Parker
1814: "The Star Spangled Banner" by Francis Scott Key about the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812.
1815: "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton. He sings numerous historical songs, but this one is our favorite.
1820s: "Nantucket Sleigh Ride" by Mountain about the American whaling industry
1830s: "The Reservation" by Paul Revere and the Raiders or "Trail of Tears" by John Denver about the Indian Removal Act
1842: "The Testimony of Patience Kershaw" by the Unthanks about child labor in coal mines
1859-1881: "Billy the Kid" by Marty Robbins. This song takes a bit of historical license, but is still fun.
1860-1865 (Civil War):
- "Rebel Soldier" by Waylon Jennings about a Confederate soldier,
- "Two Brothers" by Chris Stapleton,
- "Johnny Reb" by Johnny Horton,
- "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez
- "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" written by Patrick Gilmore
- "Battle Hymn of the Republic" written by Julia Ward Howe
- "Dixie's Land" (AKA "I Wish I was in Dixie") by Daniel Decatur Emmett
- Civil War Songs
1861: "Battle of Bull Run" by Johnny Horton
1863: "Ballad of the Alamo" by Marty Robbins. Marty Robbins is another who sings numerous historical songs.
1863: "Missionary Ridge" by Shovels and Rope about the Battle of Missionary Ridge
born 1863: "Casey Jones" by Johnny Cash
1870: "Red River Valley" by Gene Autry about the Wolseley Expedition in Manitoba
1870s: "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer" by Johnny Cash
1872: "Mr. Powell" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils about the second Powell Expedition down the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon
1876: "Mr. Custer" by Larry Verne, a novelty song about the Battle of Little Bighorn
1876: "The Burial of Wild Bill" by Frank Jenkins' Pilot Mountaineers
late 1800s: "Wabash Cannonball" by Roy Acuff or Johnny Cash or Boxcar Willie about the Wabash Cannonball Express as it traveled on the Great Rock Island train route
1888: "Semper Fidelis" by John Philip Sousa, the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps
1896: "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa, the National March of the United States of America
1900s
early 1900s: "Rox in the Box" by The Decemberists about miners in Butte, MT
early 1900s: "Maple Leaf Rag" by Scott Joplin, the King of Ragtime
1906: "Anchors Aweigh" by Charles A. Zimmerman and Alfred Hart Miles, the official song of the United States Navy
1912: "The Titanic" by Roy Acuff or "Titanic" by the Carter Family
1915-1916: "On Battleship Hill" by PJ Harvey about the Gallipoli Campaign to take Constantinople
1917: "U.S. Field Artillery March" by John Philip Sousa, the official song of the U.S. Army
WWI: "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen
1920: "Red Wine" by Woody Guthrie about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial
1923: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might be Giants
1927: "Lindbergh - The Eagle of the USA" by Vernon Dalhart, another artist who sings numerous historical songs
1927: "Lindy Comes to Town" by Al Stewart
1929: "The Night Chicago Died" by Paper Lace, inspired by Al Capone and the Valentine's Day Massacre
WWI and WWII: "Trains" by Al Stewart about the role of trains in both world wars
1939: "Wild Blue Yonder" by Robert MacArthur Crawford, the official U.S. Air Force song
1940s: "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford: A song about the life of a Kentucky coal miner or "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean about mining in general
1940s: "He Ain't Heavy, He's my Brother" by The Hollies, became the slogan for Fr. Flanagan's Boys Town.
1941: "London Pride" by Noel Coward about the bombings of London
1941 (May): "Sink the Bismarck" by Johnny Horton
1941 (October): "Reuben James" by The Kingston Trio about the sinking of the USS Reuben James
1942: "Midway" by Sabaton
1942-1946: "Kenji" by Fort Minor about the Japanese-American internment
1943: "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies about the riots in Los Angeles
1949-1989: "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel
1960: "Ruby's Shoes" by Lori McKenna about Ruby Bridges
1963: "Dallas 1 PM" by Saxon about the John F. Kennedy Assassination
1963, 1968: "Abraham, Martin, and John" by Dion about Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John F. Kennedy
1971: "City of New Orleans" by Arlo Guthrie about the Illinois Central Railroad's City of New Orleans
1972: "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" by U2 about the killing of 23 Irish citizens by British troops in Northern Ireland
1975: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot
1976: "Suite Madame Blue" by Styx about the United States' Bicentennial
1982: "Countdown" by Rush about the Space Shuttle Columbia
1982-2000: "Yankee Rose" by David Lee Roth about the Statue of Liberty's renovation
1986: "Red Alert" by Saxon about the Chernobyl explosion
2000s
