It’s gotta be rock ‘n’ roll music: Glenn Gass took students on a pioneering Magical Mystery Tour of the music that shaped a generation
Glenn Gass arrived at Indiana University Bloomington more than 40 years ago with a background in classical music and composition. He’ll retire at the end of the semester having created a modern masterpiece.
In rock history.
Known as “Doctor Rock,” Gass created the first rock history classes offered by a school of music, the IU Jacobs School of Music.
The classes became so popular that Gass has taught more than 60,000 students in his career, and often has been voted the most popular professor on the IU Bloomington campus.
The success of the classes led to additional rock history courses and eventually the creation of a certificate program at IU. Other colleges and universities have seen that success and popularity and added rock history courses to their offerings.
Gass’ passion for the music and his classes also has inspired some students to go on to successful careers in the music industry.
“Glenn blazed a trail in teaching rock music, and no one I’ve ever seen has come close to him,” said Anthony DeCurtis, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine who earned a doctorate in American literature at IU and has lectured in Gass’ classes. “Best of all, he is energized by the music and passionate about it.
“However sophisticated his thinking about it, he makes his knowledge visceral so that his students could feel it. The level of talent, conviction and insight he brought to his teaching inspires me to this day.”
Description of the following video:
[Video: Glenn Gass appears and speaks]
I was a graduate student planning to be a classical music composer. And I started teaching rock history to pay my way through grad school.
[Video: A montage of Gass teaching over the years]
Gass speaks in voiceover: And it sort of turned into a career I thought I’d keep ’til I didn’t get tenure, and then do something else. And then I got tenure, and got promoted, and I’m retiring. And I don’t know; somehow it turned into a life. And somehow it’s still fun.
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
In 1983, we had two classes you could take as a non-major: Music apprec., studying Beethoven, and then my rock history class, and then Beatles.
[Video: A montage of Gass teaching over the years]
Gass speaks in voiceover: And now we’ve got a whole program — you can get a minor in music as a non-music major. It is the IU School of … Jacobs School of Music. I think like a lot of us here, we take for granted where we are …
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
… but we are at the — arguably the world’s greatest school of music.
[Video: A young Gass stands before the class, with an overhead projector]
Gass speaks in voiceover: To be able to do what I do, and do it here — that’s really special.
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
I’ve never stopped loving it because I’ve never stopped loving the music that I play, …
[Video: A modern Gass stands before the class]
Gass speaks in voiceover: …and every year I get a new group of students that have never heard Chuck Berry before.
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
So it’s fun all over again for me, and I get to hear my favorite music and cry in class.
[Video: Shots of Gass teaching]
Gass speaks in voiceover: I just get to be 14 my whole life, you know, so that’s … whether that’s good or bad, it works for me. When I get emotionally involved with the music, that’s when it matters to me.
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
And that is actually when it matters to the students too, because they can tell if you’re phoning it in, like, I’m just talking about, you know, the Shirelles because we have to, but if you actually really love “Mama said, there’ll be days like this,” it’s like, oh, that’s, that’s, that’s, you know, aside from special events and special guests kind of things. That’s, that’s the reward for me. I mean, I really do love this music. I don’t try to teach it as a history class. It’s really an appreciation class …
[Video: Shot of Gass looking up and out toward a light, smiling broadly]
Gass speaks in voiceover: … which means that I get to appreciate it every time, too.
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
Bottom line, my job is to get excited about the music, …
[Video: A very young Gass sits on his desk before the class, wearing an IU basketball T-shirt and a denim button-down, speaking enthusiastically]
Gass speaks in voiceover: … if I expect them to. If I can’t, then it’s … it’s hopeless. So I do get excited about it …
[Video: Gass appears and speaks]
… and it’s not fake, you know — I love it.
[Video: black]
[Words appear in a series of bubbles, like text messages: Glenn Gass – History of Rock n Roll. his love of it was infectious.]
[Words appear: Same]
[Words appear: Yes! Agreed! Think about that class often! In fact was oddly thinking of it this morning. One that sticks with you. goosbumps every single class.]
Gass speaks in voiceover: That’s just nice to hear.
[Video: Glenn Gass appears]
I think every teacher dies to think that there are students out there thinking that. I know there are a lot that aren’t, but to know that there are some, that … that means the world. I mean, that’s, that’s … your reward as a teacher is that, so, you know, I’m really grateful that I’ve been able to have that and receive that. I’m not sure that most chemistry teachers get that because it’s chemistry, even though they’re great — I know they are — but because it’s rock-and-roll, they somehow feel like oh, we share this bond, and so like that’s, you know, that that’s like, an unearned run for me, but I’ll, I’ll take it.
[Video: Students come to the front of the classroom to hug Gass as the rest of the class stands and applauds]
[Video: Fade to black]
[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]
[Words appear: Indiana University]
[Words appear: indiana.edu]
[End of transcript]
Gass, Rudy Professor and Provost Professor of Music in the Music in General Studies program, said it was important to teach classes about rock ‘n’ roll in a way that didn’t kill the passion the music creates. First and foremost, he wanted students to appreciate the music.
“It was always my goal to teach a rock class so that if Keith Richards wandered in, he’d like what he heard,” Gass said.
Although the Rolling Stones’ Richards has never wandered in, many other rock stars have participated in one of his classes: John Mellencamp, Lou Reed, Bo Diddley, Neil Young and Booker T. Jones of Booker T. & the M.G.s, to name a few.
But it was the Beatles who hooked Gass on rock ‘n’ roll and started him on his journey of teaching rock history.
Glenn blazed a trail in teaching rock music, and no one I’ve ever seen has come close to him.
Anthony DeCurtis, IU alumnus, contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine and creative writing lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania
‘This Boy’
Gass was one of the nearly 73 million TV viewers who watched the British band perform on the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964.
From then on, all Gass wanted to do was talk about the Beatles — or look like them. His second-grade teacher even let him wear in class a Beatles wig that she gave him, so he wouldn’t have to sport a bald head that resulted from an operation to remove a birthmark. He even wrote a letter to the Beatles, which the teacher saved and gave to his mom.
“I have five of your records. I have twenty-five Beatle cards. I think you sing very good. You look so crazy with you funny haircuts,” Gass wrote in the letter.
Little did Gass know then that he’d eventually be teaching a class about the band he loved the most.
“They’re like Beethoven,” said Gass, 64. “They’re the best that rock ever produced because they aimed the highest of anybody. I don’t think anyone has aimed that high before or since.”
However, it was a different genre of music that eventually presented the Greencastle native with the opportunity to teach rock history.
‘Roll Over Beethoven’
Gass learned classical music as a boy by playing the violin. And while attending a prep school in Andover, Massachusetts, he became interested in contemporary classical music. He later studied at the New England Music Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1977.
After graduation, a friend from the conservatory who was working for the University of Wisconsin at Baraboo helped Gass land his first professional job: teaching rock history and jazz to college students during the day and to inmates at a maximum-security federal penitentiary at night. (The university ran a program for the penitentiary.)
He described it as a great experience.
Gass said one inmate told him, “When I’m in your class I don’t feel like I’m in prison because I’m listening to music, and I could be anywhere listening to music.”
“Talk about the power of music to deliver you,” Gass said. “I think that’s the first time I really thought rock — or jazz — could rise to that level.”
In the fall of 1978, Gass arrived at Indiana University to start on a doctorate in composition and a career as a composer. When he needed a way to finish paying for graduate school, he revived the rock history class from his time in Wisconsin.
He taught a class on the Beatles at the Collins Living-Learning Center in the fall of 1982. The following spring, he taught his first History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Music class. But it wasn’t easy in the beginning.
“There was an old guard here,” Gass said. “It was an outrage to teach rock ‘n’ roll at the world’s greatest music school. It was a battle.”
However, Gass had support from Charles Webb, then the dean of the music school, and Henry Upper, the associate dean.
He also received a helping hand from some faculty, such as psychology professor Jim Sherman, who let Gass record songs from his large, personal doo-wop collection to use in class. Many of those records were out of print and difficult to find, Gass said.
“It was pretty amazing,” Sherman said. “Nothing like History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Music existed anywhere at the time.”
With support from administrators, Gass’ rock history classes took off — eventually necessitating help in teaching them and giving rise to the Music in General Studies program. Starting in the 1990s, additional rock history courses were developed and added. The program now offers 10 rock history courses for credit, including classes on the blues, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa and the Beach Boys.
“He recognized not only the importance of the music itself but also the value in offering these types of courses for college credit to undergraduates,” said Connie Cook Glen, director of the Music in General Studies program. “His enthusiasm and professionalism brought others into the fold, so that now the significance of rock history courses as part of the curriculum is recognized across the country.”
Students enjoy Gass’ classes because he’s charismatic, passionate and expressive, and the significance of the classes is rooted in the cultural context he provides, Glen said.
“Glenn’s approach of embedding the music in cultural developments means that he brings up important questions of social history and current events,” she said.
The Music in General Studies program also offers specialty classes, such the music of war and peace and the James Bond franchise, for example.
“We are the only school in the country that covers so many facets of rock history from the music vantage point,” Glen said.
Description of the following video:
[Video: Woman appears]
[Words appear: Constance Cook Glen, Director, Music In General Studies, Jacobs School of Music]
Constance speaks: Thank you, Glenn. Thank you for all you have done for the Music in General Studies program for the Jacobs School of Music — for the world! If we think of all the students that you have impacted, what is it, 60,000 students, you’ve made their lives better. You made them happier. I love how your passion informs your teaching –your passion, your enthusiasm, your knowledge, vast amounts of knowledge about so many different things. Not just the Beatles, not just rock-and-roll history, so many things. We really are going to miss you. We’re missing that charisma; we’re missing that open smile. We’re missing that that real commitment to sharing your life with your students, to sharing emotion, to not being afraid to tell them sad things. It’s really a remarkable thing; the students respond so well to that. Thank you again, thank you for everything you’ve done for Music in General Studies. I’ll be seeing you. You’re gonna have lots of great adventures in the future, and we’ll want to hear about them. Thank you.
[Video: Man appears]
[Words appear: Jim Sherman, Professor Emeritus, Psychology]
Jim speaks: I guess I would say this about Glenn when, when people hear that someone is teaching a course in rock-and-roll history, or the Beatles, or Bob Dylan, they think it’s a way just to entertain students with music. But Glenn was much more than that. He not only exposed them to music, but he taught students how music shaped the culture, the politics, the history, the economy of the times. He was more than a presenter of music. He was a great teacher. I remember most vividly for me in his courses was his covering of the Beach Boys, and especially “Good Vibrations,” which he thought was one of the great songs of the era, and how excited and animated he was going through each bar and each measure. So, you know, he’s the one, in my view, who started this idea of teaching genres of music as a course, especially rock and roll, and it’s really caught on nationwide. My son is on the faculty at UC Davis in California. And they now have a course on the history of rock-and-roll. And my son, who’s a psychologist, has put in for teaching a course on punk rock, which was his era. So, you know, Glenn has had effect not only locally but nationally, and, you know, it’s a great loss that he’s retiring, but as one who recently retired, I understand.
Video: Man appears]
[Words appear: Andrew Hollinden, Senior Lecturer, Jacobs School of Music]
Andrew speaks: You know, it’s a little hard for me to talk about Glenn and the history of rock-and-roll here at IU without speaking in personal terms. Back in the ’80s, I was here studying music composition, and rock music — music that I grew up on and loved as much as any other — was not part of that curriculum at all. It’s something almost kept under wraps, I thought. Anyway, you can imagine my surprise and how thrilled I was when I saw Glenn offering the history of rock-and-roll, and that music that I love so much being taught with such passion and being given academic credibility. So of course, I wanted to be a part of that. So I offered to become his assistant and he hired me, and our as our friendship grew and as our partnership grew, he allowed me to start teaching rock-and-roll courses and developing rock courses and teach alongside of him and be his rock-and-roll brother here at IU. So, for that I’m eternally grateful. So I would like to congratulate Glenn on this long career, thank him for opening up this whole topic in the academic setting here, and allowing me to be part of it, and being so nice to me and my family. I wish you nothing but the best and congratulate you on this long career of yours, and we’re going to miss you very much.
[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]
[Words appear: Indiana University]
[Words appear: indiana.edu]
[End of transcript]
‘Come Together’
While the creation and proliferation of rock history classes is an important part of Gass’ legacy, so, too, is the impact he and the classes have had on students. Sometimes that comes in the form of personal messages.
“Every semester I get emails from students saying something to the effect, ‘This music saved my life or changed my life,'” Gass said. “Enough students every semester say this music really, profoundly moved me. That makes it really worthwhile.”
Some students have told him that learning the music their parents loved has given them a connection that has strengthened relationships.
“It’s funny that music that was famous for tearing generations apart now kind of brings them together,” Gass said.
Gass and his rock history classes also created unique opportunities and career paths for some students.
With the help of IU’s Overseas Studies Program, Gass took students to England some summers to study the Beatles in London and Liverpool. The first trip was in 1998.
“The Beatles in England class is one of the highlights of my teaching at IU,” Gass said.
Andy Hollinden, IU’s other full-time rock history professor, was studying music composition at IU in the late 1980s, when Gass was pursuing his doctorate. Hollinden was performing with his band Lather, Rinse, Repeat at a bar in Bloomington on April 15, 1987 — tax day — so the band played the Beatles’ “Taxman.” When Hollinden saw Gass walk in, he wondered if the rock professor would love or hate their performance.
After the show, Hollinden introduced himself and said if Gass ever needed an assistant for his courses, he’d be interested.
“I had no idea a college course could be so fun and thrilling and educational, and have long-lasting life impact,” Hollinden said.
‘In My Life’
In the summer of 1989, Hollinden taught the rock history class when Gass needed time off. Later he took over Gass’ rock history class at IUPUI. Eventually he received permission to develop his own rock history classes, such as the music of the ’70s and ’80s, Frank Zappa and the Beach Boys.
“I would not have my career if Glenn had not set in motion History of Rock ‘n’ Roll at IU,” Hollinden said.
And Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Booker T. Jones wouldn’t have an honorary doctorate from IU if it weren’t for Gass. The songwriter/keyboardist for Booker T. & the MGs, which achieved fame with the 1962 smash single “Green Onions,” studied music composition at IU while returning home to Memphis, Tennessee, on the weekends to play music. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from IU in 1967 and received the honorary doctorate in 2012.
“I worked on that for a good 20 years,” Gass said. “I was really happy for that. Jones gave a great commencement speech. He was deeply moved, in tears.”
IU alumnus John Jackson, senior vice president and head of artists and repertoire for Sony Music division Legacy Recordings, said the rock history classes set him up for his career. He oversees the music catalogs of performers such as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.
Jackson took History of Rock ‘n’ Roll Music I as a freshman in the fall of 1992 and was enthralled by the experience.
“He was the first person I saw who took rock music seriously but made it fun,” Jackson said. “He has such enthusiasm and passion for it.”
For example, Gass’ deconstruction of “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys — described as a mini symphony created by band songwriter/bassist/vocalist Brian Wilson — is legendary, with the professor a frenetic ball of energy: pacing, arms gyrating and drawing on the chalkboard to illustrate the changes in the song.
Description of the following video:
[Video: Glenn Gass appears]
Glenn speaks: The “Good Vibrations” thing has become this sort of almost weird legend thing, where I draw …
[Video: Glenn Gass scribbling wildly on a chalkboard in the 1980s]
[audio: “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys][Audio: Glenn Gass Voiceover]
Glenn speaks: on the chalkboard in scribbles, which are meant to represent the different parts of “Good Vibrations.” Where it builds up and the melody goes from the high part down to the low part, and that duh, duh, duh, duh, comes in, the theremin. And then you have this little interlude section, because Brian Wilson really did treat it like a mini symphony.
[Video: Glenn Gass appears]
Glenn speaks, gesturing broadly while explaining the music: With little interludes spaced about like that, with the part where the hold… when everything starts going backwards. Down, instead of up, and sparse, instead of thin. And just like a composer might have a little flute come in before BANG! the symbols and the trumpets, and nobody had had that kind of dynamic range in a pop song before, not even the Beatles.
[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]
[Words appear: Indiana University]
[Words appear: indiana.edu]
[End of transcript]
On the last day of class, Jackson told Gass that he’d be willing to serve as an assistant if the professor needed the help.
Jackson helped Gass and Hollinden and took every rock course possible. He also used IU’s Individualized Major Program to create the world’s first bachelor’s degree in rock history.
“It was the highlight of the time I was in Bloomington, for sure,” Jackson said.
He said those classes helped him understand the artists, their backgrounds and their motivations, and the social and political contexts of the times. That has translated directly to things he does now, such as picking the proper songs and video clips to match the story arcs of documentaries, or creating themed collections.
John Strohm, president of Rounder Records, sat in on Gass’ History of Rock Music I class in the summer of 1985 when he wasn’t even a student. His girlfriend, Freda Love, was, and Gass was fine with him attending the lectures, too.
“We absolutely loved Glenn,” Strohm said. “We found the class thrilling. He had so much enthusiasm and passion. It’s probably the most interesting and engaging class I’ve ever taken.”
After the summer, Strohm and Love headed to Boston to start a music career, which included time in the band Blake Babies. When they returned to Bloomington for a show, Gass was thrilled with their success, Strohm said.
Every semester I get emails from students saying something to the effect, ‘This music saved my life or changed my life.’
Glenn Gass
Description of the following video:
[Video: IU student 1 appears]
[Words appear: Students from Glenn Gass’ The Music of Bob Dylan class]
Student 1, a white male with glasses, speaks: Hi, Glenn. This is my third class with you in three semesters. Every part of my week — this class is my favorite. I listen to the music all of the time, and I talk to my friends all the time about what I learned about it. And I just want to say thank you for letting me — or equipping me — with the tools to enjoy music more.
[Video: student 2 appears]
Student 2, a white female in a Carhartt knit hat, speaks: Hi, I took your first class my first semester here, and I finished out with Bob Dylan my last semester, and I just wanted to say thank you for your classes. They’ve made my experience at IU much better.
[Video: student 3 appears]
Student 3, a white male in a Grateful Dead baseball cap, speaks: Hey, man, I don’t really know what to say, but yeah, you taught my dad and me. So I really appreciate it. All the music, all the stories. Never forget it. Thanks.
[Video: student 4 appears]
Student 4, a white male with a ponytail, speaks: Hi, Glenn. Again, like everybody else, not much to say besides, thank you as someone who didn’t listen to any this music before. Knowing that I got to learn about old music in the best way possible — through you — is one of the true joys of college. So thank you.
[Video: student 5 appears]
Student 5, a white male with curly hair, speaks: Hi, Glenn. Thank you so much for everything that you’ve taught me. It goes so far beyond the music. Thank you so much.
[Video: student 6 appears]
Student 6, a white male with shoulder-length hair and glasses, speaks: Hi, Glenn. I’m really lucky to have been able to have the chance to take all of your classes over my last four years here. They’ve been the absolute highlight of my college experience, and really one of the best experiences of my life in general. You have a completely unparalleled passion for the music, and thanks for all the time you spent here. It really mattered.
[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]
[Words appear: Indiana University]
[Words appear: indiana.edu]
[End of transcript]
After a 10-year music career, Strohm finished college, went to law school and became a music lawyer. In 2017, he was named president of Rounder Records.
He said that what he learned from Gass’ rock history course provided an important foundation for what he does today.
“My foundation of musical knowledge — history, culture, business and impact on society — is absolutely essential to all of the work I’ve done in music,” Strohm said. “Glenn set me on a course that has continued throughout my life of understanding the narratives around music and contributed to my passion for music discovery. He let us know that it was OK to be super excited about music because it really is amazing.”
After this semester, though, it will be up to Hollinden and others to excite and teach students about rock history.
‘When I’m 64’
Gass said he used to think that he wouldn’t retire because he enjoyed teaching rock history so much. But time has a way of passing and making it evident to oneself that retirement is right.
“It was not easy,” Gass said of the decision.
But the timing is right. Gass and his wife, Julie, have two sons. Mathew — who was born on Beatles vocalist/guitarist John Lennon’s birthday — graduated from IU a few years ago. Julian, a senior at IU who is named after Lennon’s oldest son, will graduate this spring. The thought of retiring the same year Julian graduates seemed ideal, Gass said.
Although IU postponed all commencement ceremonies because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the real disappointment is not being able to teach students face-to-face for the last month, Gass said.
“I was already thinking of what special songs I would play and looking forward to having my family there on the last day,” Gass said.
Fortunately, his family came to the last-ever Beatles class in December, and before spring break, Julian came to what proved to be his last face-to-face class. Gass showed a video of his son, a drummer, backing up Booker T. Jones on “Green Onions” in 2012, when Jones received his honorary degree.
“So that was a good way to go out: tying in music, my family and IU, even if it was unplanned,” he said.
Gass said he plans to remain in Bloomington, regroup and see what sounds fun to do. Teaching lifelong learning classes is a possibility. So are classes for senior citizens.
“Since they are now the Beatle cohort,” he said with a smile.
While retirement will be a big change, Gass said he’s been fortunate to teach rock history far longer than he ever anticipated.
“I think I have enjoyed this more than any music career I possibly could have had,” Gass said. “In fact, I know I have, because I got to teach the music that I love.”
Description of the following video:
[Video: Glenn Gass stands onstage playing guitar, next to a keyboard player, singing “Imagine” by John Lennon]
[Audio: muisc plays]
[Video: Glenn Gass as a child stands against a wall in a white button-down shirt]
[Video: Text on screen: Glenn was born April 8, 1956
[Video: Glenn Gass as an adolescent in a checkered shorts outfit reading a comic book]
[Video: Text on screen: He grew up in Greencastle, Indiana]
[Video: Return to Glenn Gass standing onstage playing guitar, next to a keyboard player, and singing “Imagine” by John Lennon]
[Video: Glenn Gass as a young man holds his arm in the air]
[Video: Text on screen: He taught a Beatles class in 1982]
[Video: Student in very 1980s Molly Ringwald-type clothes and hair, bobbing her head along to music]
[Video: Text on screen: He started teaching the history of rock ‘n’ roll in 1983]
[Video: Several students listening to music in a classroom]
[Video: Text on screen: His classes became so popular they regularly filled up]
[Video: Several students, including the 1980s girl, sitting in a classroom, smiling and listening]
[Video: Text on screen: Eventually more rock history classes were created]
[Video: a classroom full of students paying attention]
[Video: Glenn Gass stands in front of a class in a lecture hall, leaning against the grand piano behind him and gesturing]
[Video: Text on screen: Now students can earn a certificate in rock history]
[Video: Glenn Gass stands smiling and looking up]
[Video: Text on screen: He taught more than 60,000 students in his career]
[Video: Return to Glenn Gass and band onstage playing “Imagine” by John Lennon, finishing the song and thanking the audience]
[Video: Text on screen: Imagine that]
[Video: Black]
[Video: Text on screen: Thanks, Glenn]
[Video: The Indiana University trident appears]
[Words appear: Indiana University]
[Words appear: indiana.edu]
[End of transcript]
Story by Kirk Johannesen
Images by Chris Meyer and James Brosher
Videos by Tyler Lake
Page design by Cadence Baugh Chang