American Music Timeline

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American Music Timeline
Part I: Colonial Music
by David Johnson

1640	The Bay Psalm Book, Cambridge, Massachusetts, first book printed in British Colonial America, entire Book of Psalms translated into English meter; indicates dominance of religious music Top
Circa 1700	Black slaves include songs based on Old Testament stories in their worship services; beginnings of Negro Spirituals Top
Circa 1775	British soldiers sing "Yankee Doodle" to mock colonists; Americans adopt it as their own tune Top
Circa 1776	"Johnny's Gone for a Soldier," adaptation of Irish folk tune, popular during American Revolutionary War Top
Next: Francis Scott Key writes "The Star-Spangled Banner"