I never would have expected you to not know of Powerhouse, and I'm tickled that I got to introduce you to it.
I got turned on to the classics by Academic Decathlon. Many of the assigned classics were totally recognizable by us high schoolers as "Road Runner/Coyote", "United Airlines Commercials", "Beef it's What's for Dinner", etc. I was fascinated by this as I never had suspected that these were classical pieces before they were jingles and backing tracks.
In doing more research for this I keep coming across horribly racist beginnings to all kinds of classic songs, like Oh Susanna and Camptown Races, which are both minstrel blackface tunes.
Also, when googling something racist, I shudder at what Google's records are saying about me.
"Racist Indian war chant"
"Stereotypical Indian drum beat"
"Prejudice music Indians"
All I get is horrible things and I still haven't found the damn tune I want.
Some are oddly hard to find, even when you have a title and history out there. There isn't a decent version of "How Dry I Am" on YouTube.
Anyone think of anything to add?
I'm considering putting in small introductions since I can't get the notes to work the way I want them to. I adore that some of these are hundred-year-old masterpieces and others are simple ragtime ditties and want to talk about origins just a tiny bit.