‘From Bessie Smith to Beyoncé,’ N.J. historical society takes look at a century of American music

A local historical society believes America is a nation filled with music as diverse as its people, influenced by cultures from around the world.
That’s why a program called “From Bessie Smith to Beyoncé” will be featured Sunday at the Harrison Township Historical Society.
Composer, guitarist and producer Kevin Hanson will journey through a century of popular music to offer an insider’s perspective on the evolution of American music. He has performed and recorded with The Roots, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Usher, Jill Scott, Bobby Caldwell, Terrell Stafford and Bernadette Peters, a statement from the historical society said.
“The presentation will look at music decade by decade,” Hanson told NJ Advance Media on Friday. “We’ll look at the socio-political impact on popular music like the marketing of so called ‘race records’ subsequently being marketed as R&B and soul music. We’ll look at how it impacted the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, both the messaging and the content of the songs, and how political views were expressed in popular music.”
In addition to being a session musician and stage performer, Hanson, 52, has taught at The University of the Arts, Swarthmore College, and Rowan and Temple universities.
“Kevin brings first-hand knowledge of American popular music, having performed with many of the top recording artists today,” said James Turk, a program coordinator for the historical society.
Hanson was born and raised in Spokane, Washington, and arrived on the Philadelphia musical scene in 1992. He quickly got gigs with The Roots, a popular hip-hop group that now also serves as a house band on the Jimmy Fallon late-night NBC show.
New Jersey has a rich tradition of musicians who were born or came of age here. Including Frank Sinatra, Frankie Valli, Dionne Warwick, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Whitney Houston. Other musicians, such as The Isley Brothers and George Clinton, of Parliament-Funkadelic, gained fame while living in New Jersey.
The Isleys worked out of Teaneck, and named their record label T-Neck. Clinton had a barbershop in Plainfield where he and others first formed the Parliament.
Hanson said he may include some Jersey musicians in his presentation Sunday at at Richwood Academy Cultural Center in Harrison, which also includes the Mullica Hill section of town.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at [email protected].