![](http://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/805951/721f723c016ac71c9a6c232b194e09e4376d436a/original/fb-img-1712586380576-copy.jpg/!!/b%3AW1sicmVzaXplIiwxODAwXSxbIm1heCJdLFsid2UiXV0%3D/meta%3AeyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ%3D%3D.jpg)
Rod MacDonald began his career as a singer/songwriter in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1973. He has 21 songs in the Smithsonian Folkways collection and 12 solo CDs, including the 2018 release "Beginning Again". He performs at festivals and in clubs and concerts locally and throughout North America and Europe, and was named Best Local Acoustic Performer in Broward and Palm Beach counties by New Times, and one of the Ten Magnificent Musicians of Palm Beach County by the Palm Beach Post. An instructor with LLS since 2006, his previous series include Folksinging in Modern Times, The Great American Songbook, The Roots of Rock & Roll, and Mastery Of The Art.
From sheer talent, breaking new ground, or outselling their rivals, a few artists are foremost practitioners of their art. Their work is legendary, their styles imitated, but never surpassed, their triumphs and losses brilliantly conveyed in their music. From the deep baritone of Paul Robeson to the crystalline harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash; from the Gulag-defying symphonies of Shostakovich to the rock operas of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody; from the intense lyricism of Bob Dylan to the lyric soul of Nina Simone, great artists rise above their peers and critics to tell our story.
This course will examine the work, biographies and enduring importance of these musical artists and attempt to sort myth from reality, using updated videos and excerpts from feature films, live performances and a few surprises.
1. More Than a Song - Paul Robeson, Dimitri Shostakovich
2. Historic Voices - Marian Anderson, Maria Callas
3. The Words Of Poets - Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan
4. The Great Story - “A Star Is Born,” “Bohemian Rhapsody”
5. The Great Story - Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder
6. The Sweetest Sound - Crosby, Stills & Nash, Rod Stewart
7. The New Broadway Musical - Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon, Hadestown
8. No Time For Crying - Nina Simone, Mavis Staples