2026-06-19
23 分钟This is In Conversation from Apple News.
I'm David Green in for Shemitah Basu.
Today, the music that changed America.
This summer marks the 250th anniversary of the United States,
and many of us are taking time to reflect on our history and the forces
that have made America what it is today.
As I was reflecting on how to mark this milestone, I thought about an art form that unites us, brings us joy,
and has the ability to affect great change, music.
I wanted to have us see the power that music can have in our political world.
That's Anna Harwell-Chalenza, a musicology professor at Johns Hopkins University,
and the author of the book On the Record Music That Changed America.
Her book tells the story of a range of musical works from the Star-Spangled Banner all the way to Hamilton,
that whether the artist intended to or not changed how Americans think about the issues that define us,
and sometimes even motivated lawmakers to act.
I sat down with Anna to explore her four favorite examples from the book,
how they show up in our lives today, and why music is at the heart of America's story.
We can't talk about our nation having a big birthday without talking about the Star Spangled Banner.
You do focus on that in the book and talk about that the song really was imbued with different meanings
and different political purposes over its lifetime.
Let's start with what the political climate was when Francis Scott Key composed these lyrics in 1814. Yeah.