Alexander Shashko joined the Department of African American Studies in 2005; he holds an MFA in Post-1865 American History from The University of Michigan and a Bachelors of Arts in History and Political Science from The University of Wisconsin-Madison. Shashko currently gives two to three lectures each semester for the department; Hip-Hop and Contemporary American Society (AfroAmer154) tells the story of hip-hop’s origins in Jamaica and the Bronx, its evolution across North America, and its emergence as a global phenomenon. Shashko’s Black Music and American Cultural History (AfroAmer156) explores how Black music shaped the social, musical, and political landscape of the United States from the end of World War II to the present. Both courses are offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. He has been selected for the UW-Madison Housing Instructor Award ten times, most recently in 2024. Since 2015, Shashko has been a Voting Member for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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“Sing” | Sesame Street Cast
Like so many folks in my generation, Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood are where our music history begins. “Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear” is as close to a perfect manifesto for loving oneself as you’ll ever find.
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“Mystery Train” | Elvis Presley
His music was a big part of growing up, but that’s not why this particular song makes the list. I already loved the song when I found Greil Marcus’ classic book of music criticism named after the song, Mystery Train. That book, with its extended essays on Elvis, Sly Stone and Randy Newman, showed me how you could understand America through its music, and write about music almost as powerfully as the music itself. Critics like Amiri Baraka, Dave Marsh, Greg Tate and Robert Christgau joined Marcus on my bookshelf, and they have been lodestars for my teaching ever since.
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“Eight Days A Week” | The Beatles
As a kid, I played this song the most from my mom’s collection of 45s. I didn’t really know what they were singing about but the joy in The Beatles’ voices was unmistakable. There are few musical moments that make me happier than that rare fade-in that opens the song.
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“Ooo Baby Baby” | Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
That voice. That melody. Those harmonies. Beauty that defies description. I could choose a different favorite Motown record tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. But this is one that takes the title the most. And hearing Smokey sing it live? The crowd still swoons.
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“Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” | The Spinners
When I think about tucking my transistor radio under my childhood pillow way past bedtime, this is the song I think about. Much of my love for rhythm & blues comes from nights falling asleep to Philly soul.
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“The Promised Land” | Bruce Springsteen
This is a statement of purpose, one I’ve taken to heart as a call to grapple with some of our society’s most vexing challenges in my work and life. It’s also an affirmation of community through the many friends I’ve made in our shared appreciation for an artist who spent decades articulating a generosity of spirit we need more than ever.
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“Caravan of Love” | Isley Jasper Isley
One of the most important lessons I hope to impart to my students is that their music is a link in the chain of tradition even as it’s also something new. Maybe I subconsciously learned that with this song, with its echoes of “Love Train” by the O’Jays and “People Get Ready” by The Impressions. The sound was out of time, too, an eighties song with a lush, early seventies vibe.
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“Private Eyes” | Hall & Oates
This is the first song from the first album I ever bought. In retrospect, maybe it was ordained that I connected strongly with blue-eyed soul. The opening blast of drums, bass, guitar and keyboard on this song still hits me every time. And the hand claps!
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“It’s Tricky” | Run-DMC
I can still remember where I was when I heard this song for the first time, walking home from my friend’s house down Ardmore Street with my Walkman. I was listening to hip hop since “Rapper’s Delight,” but this is the song that really hit me, with the ping-pong swing of the flow, punches of metal guitar and lyrics that were equal parts defiance and comedy.
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“Paid in Full” | Eric B & Rakim
This is the link between my past and our present. That’s partly because it’s one of those songs that reminds you of the monumental creativity that African Americans have channeled into music, producing a monumental body of art that still defines popular music around the world, and which I have the honor of teaching. It’s also because this song still sounds like the future.
