[NEW CONTENT] American musicians profoundly reshaped 20th-century music by pioneering new genres—most notably jazz, blues, rock and roll, and hip-hop—that transcended national borders to influence global culture, fashion, and social movements. These innovations often emerged from a “melting pot” of diverse traditions, including African rhythms, European harmonic structures, and Scots-Irish ballads. We will look at two of these genres (Blues and Rock and Roll) in four movies this term: A Complete Unknown, the story of Bob Dylan’s arrival and transformation in NYC; Love and Mercy, the story of the making of Brian Wilson’s (The Beach Boys) Pet Sounds album which drove him to a mental breakdown; Ray, the biography of Ray Charles; and Deliver Me from Nowhere which tells the story of the making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska album and his struggle with depression. Audio/Visual, Discussion, Lecture