Podcast appearances and mentions of todd decker

Host Diana Korte speaks with Musicologist and Washington University Professor of Music Todd Decker,  who specializes  in commercial US popular music, about the first of his five books, “Music Makes Me: Fred Astaire and Jazz.”                                            Is stunning dancer and singer Fred Astaire also one of the great jazz artists of the twentieth century? He is best known for his unforgettable dancing in the movie musicals of the 1930s, but in Music Makes Me, Todd Decker argues that Astaire's work as a dancer and choreographer—particularly in the realm of tap dancing—made a significant contribution to the art of jazz.   In 30 films from the 1930s to the 1950s, he danced elegantly—often to jazz--with the leading women dancers of the day including 10 times with fan favorite Ginger Rogers. Among his most popular movies were the timeless classics Top Hat,You Were Never Lovelier, and Swing Time.          

SHOW BOAT COMPOSER: Jerome Kern LYRICIST: Oscar Hammerstein II BOOK: Oscar Hammerstein II SOURCE: Edna Ferber's novel Show Boat (1926) DIRECTOR: Zeke Colvan, Oscar Hammerstein II CHOREOGRAPHER: Sammy Lee PRINCIPLE CAST: Jules Bledsoe (Joe), Howard Marsh (Gaylord), Helen Morgan (Julie) OPENING DATE: Dec 27, 1927 CLOSING DATE: May 04, 1929 PERFORMANCES: 572 SYNOPSIS: Spanning fifty years, a show boat, The Cotton Blossom, goes up and down the Mississippi River, chronicling the lives of the boat's performers, owners, and stagehands. As American society changes, so do the ideologies of those on the Cotton Blossom. Show Boat departed from the standard fare of musical comedies, comic operetta, and vaudeville revues, definitively envisioning a style of musical theatre in which dances, song, and dialogue served a unified dramatic arch. The serious subject matter, dealing with racism and unrequited love, was also a departure from the frivolous subject matter on musical theatre stages, establishing a new genre of musical storytelling. Susan Stroman, the choreographer for the 1994 revival, delves into the impetus behind musicalizing Edna Ferber's novel, the collaboration between Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Florenz Ziegfeld's concern about the show's success, and the reaction to the story in the 21st Century. Susan Stroman is a five-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer most known for Crazy For You, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys, and The Producers. Her work has been honored with Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel and a record six Astaire Awards. She directed and choreographed The Producers, winner of a record-making 12 Tony Awards including Best Direction and Best Choreography. SOURCES Block, Geoffrey Holden. “Show Boat: In the Beginning.” Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim, Oxford University Press, 2004. Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater, W.W. Norton, 2010. Culwell-Block, Logan. “5 Musicals That Got Major Revisions When They Returned to Broadway.” Playbill, 20 Apr. 2017. Davis, F. James. “Mixed Race America - Who Is Black? One Nation's Definition.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service. Decker, Todd. Show Boat: Performing Race in an American Musical, Oxford University Press, 2015. Decker, Todd. Who Should Sing ‘Ol Man River'? The Lives of an American Song by Todd Decker, Oxford University Press, 2014. Kantor, Michael, director. Broadway: The American Musical. PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 12 Oct. 2004. Kruger, Miles. Show Boat: The Story of a Classic American Musical. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. (Updated soft cover edition - New York: Da Capo, 1990)  Lunden, Jeff. “'Showboat'.” NPR, NPR, 17 Apr. 2000. Maslon, Laurence. American Musicals: The Complete Book and Lyrics of Eight Broadway Classics 1927-1949. Library of America, 2014. Rich, Frank. “A Musical Theater Breakthrough.” The New York Times, 21 Oct. 1984. Swardson, Anne. “Showdown Over 'Show Boat'.” The Washington Post, 17 May 1993. “Ziegfeld Follies | History Detectives.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service. Show Boat, Studio Cast Recording, EMI (1988) Show Boat starring Irene Dunn and Paul Robeson, directed by James Whale, Universal Pictures (1936) Show Boat starring Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, directed by George Sidney, MGM Studios (1951) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Yetman, Todd Decker, and Nick Synodis talk about learning how to learn, coaching versus teaching, the “game” of Decathlon, and other shenanigans that will make you smile whether you’ve been in the program for a day or 28 years (like Todd)!

What can one Broadway tune reveal about the history of American race relations? In his book "Who Should Sing Ol' Man River?: The Lives of an American Song," musicologist Todd Decker explores how the meaning of "Ol' Man River" has been reshaped over time. Discover the song's surprising journey from Broadway ballad to pop anthem, dance ditty, activist anthem, and beyond. (A version of this episode was first released in 2013.)

March 19, 2013. Part of the American Musicological Society-Library of Congress lecture series, musicologist Todd Decker discusses his research into the creation of the hit Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II musical "Show Boat." Decker's research was principally conducted in the Kern and Hammerstein collections in the Music Division. Speaker Biography: Todd Decker is the chair of the music department at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also serves as an associate professor of musicology. He received his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He is the author of three books: "Music Makes Me: Fred Astaire and Jazz" (2011), "Show Boat: Performing Race in an American Musical" (2013), and "Who Should Sing Ol' Man River?: The Lives of an American Song" (2014). For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6835

What can the history of one Broadway song reveal about American race relations? In Who Should Sing Ol' Man River?: The Lives of an American Song, now available through Amazon and Oxford University Press, musicologist Todd Decker explores how one show tune has been shaped and reshaped over time. Decker joined Hold That Thought to share how "Ol' Man River" transformed from a Broadway ballad into a dance ditty, an activist anthem, and more.

In his upcoming book Who Should Sing "Ol' Man River"?: The Life of an American Song, Todd Decker, associate professor of musicology at Washington University in St. Louis, reveals how one song has been shaped and reshaped over time. From Paul Robeson to Frank Sinatra - from the era of big bands to the civil rights movement - every performance of "Ol' Man River" has a political dimension involving the evolution of race relations in the United States. Whether performed as a dance ditty or a means of protest, the seemingly endless malleability of this 1927 Broadway tune provides a window onto the many ways that American music has been used to express both personal and cultural identity.

The recent Occupy Wall Street movement and its ongoing spread, along with the cover essay in the October 2011 issue of Harper’s that draws what the author of that piece sees as a direct link between Mormonism’s economic ideals and its rise in influence in society at large, and certain factions of the Republican Party in particular, provide excellent springboards for a great discussion about LDS views about wealth, dangers that arise in times of prosperity, business principles, economic systems, cultural attitudes that sometimes suggest a connection between righteousness and financial successes, and much more. And that’s what this podcast episode contains. In dialogue with each other and Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon, panelists Joanna Brooks, Todd Decker, and Jason Brown provide a far-ranging discussion that draws important distinctions between an LDS culture that seems to writers, pundits, and many outsiders to be quite like the picture painted by the Harper’s article (which is, of course, accurate in certain ways) and the long history of Mormon theological teachings about the dangers that are inherent in wealth and prosperity and divorcing oneself from the labor of one’s own hands, the sacredness of community, and economic systems that forefront care for one another. These are difficult issues, and this podcast is full of terrific observations, both light and serious, and wonderful invitations for deep self-examination. Can and will those who find themselves recognizing that they a sympathy with the Occupy movement or have other hesitations about capitalism as it operates today do more than just talk?

Recent decades have seen a decrease in emphases of and public and internal discussions of many of Mormonism’s most distinctive doctrines and practices--including many that are often thought of as "weird." Has this trend of downplaying Mormon differences from mainline Christian views, as well as many of Mormonism's interesting and unique blend of views about human progression, the nature of God and humans, God’s power and goals for the world, the idea of a Heavenly Mother, and so forth, been a net positive or negative for the tradition? Clearly Mormonism is more publicly accepted today (with obvious exceptions), but would this have happened even without this shift toward emphasizing agreements with other faiths rather than because of it? Have the costs associated with being better accepted been too high? Is the current trend of downplaying differences something that can be reversed? Should it be? How do doctrines and practices come in and out of prominence within Mormonism? In this podcast, Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon and panelists Joanna Brooks, Todd Decker, and Scott Heffernan engage in a far-ranging discussion of these issues and basically have a great time discussing (mostly with great affection) some of these unique Mormon emphases along with their current status within the tradition and whether or not those currently enjoying less of a role will/should stay that in the background. In the end, there was just too much to be discussed, so this particular episode mostly lands as a good beginning point for listeners to jump in: What are your favorite deemphasized LDS teachings or practices? How do you feel about where the LDS Church is today in terms of what is emphasized publicly or in internal discussions?

Film professor Todd Decker will discuss film and music of the 1950s. Student: Vara Lyons