Faculty Profile
Brian Wright
Title
Assistant Professor
Department
Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology
College
College of Music
-
Music Building305
- Brian.Wright@unt.edu
- http://www.brianfwright.com/
Curriculum Vitae
Education
PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 2018.
Major: Musicology
Dissertation Title: How the Electric Bass Became the Norm: An Alternative History of American Popular Music, 1951-1964
MA, University of Nevada, Reno, 2013.
Major: Music
Degree Specialization: Musicology
Dissertation Title: The View From the Bottom: Cultural Explorations of the Electric Bass
BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 2011.
Major: Music History
Current Scheduled Teaching*
MUGC 6950.733, Doctoral Dissertation, Fall 2024
MUMH 5010.002, Introduction to Research in Music, Fall 2024
MUMH 5450.001, Topics in Popular Music, Fall 2024
* Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.
Previous Scheduled Teaching*
MUGC 6950.736, Doctoral Dissertation, Spring 2024
MUGC 6950.733, Doctoral Dissertation, Fall 2023
MUGC 6950.736, Doctoral Dissertation, Spring 2023
MUMH 6900.704, Special Problems, Spring 2023
MUGC 6950.733, Doctoral Dissertation, Fall 2022
MUMH 4920.701, Senior Thesis in Music History, Fall 2022
MUMH 4900.700, Special Problems, Spring 2022
MUGC 6950.733, Doctoral Dissertation, Fall 2021
MUGC 5950.726, Master's Thesis, Spring 2021
MUGC 5950.705, Master's Thesis, Fall 2020
MUMH 5010.001, Introduction to Research in Music, Spring 2020 Syllabus
MUMH 5440.001, Music in the United States, Spring 2020 Syllabus
* Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.
Published Publications
Published Intellectual Contributions
Book Chapter
Wright, B. F. (2023). Elvis Presley in Las Vegas: The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the City of Second Chances. Viva Las Vegas: Music and Myth in America’s City of Second Chances.
Wright, B. F. (2014). "Transvaluing Adam Clayton: Why the Bass Matters in U2's Music". U2 Above, Across, and Beyond: Interdisciplinary Assessments. 17-30. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Press.
Book Review
Wright, B. (2021). Review of Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit. Notes, Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association. 77(3), 421-424.
Wright, B. F. (2019). “Review of The Banjo: America’s African Instrument by Laurent Dubois”. Asian Journal of Latin American Studies. 58(No. 1), 118. https://journals.ku.edu/amerstud/issue/view/1269
Wright, B. F. (2017). “Review of Knowing Jazz by Ken Prouty and School for Cool by Eitan Y. Wilf”. Journal of the Society for American Music. 11(2), 227-232.
Wright, B. F. (2016). “Review of Networks of Sound, Style, and Subversion: The Punk and Post-Punk Worlds of Manchester, London, Liverpool, and Sheffield, 1975-1980, by Nick Crossley”. Other. 72(4), 746-748.
Wright, B. F. (2014). “Review of Bad Vibrations: The History of the Idea of Music as a Cause of Disease, by James Kennaway”. Other. 71(2), 305-307.
Wright, B. F. (2013). “Review of Ecomusicology: Rock, Folk, and the Environment, by Mark Pedelty”. Environmental Values. 22(3), 432-434.
Wright, B. F. (2012). “Review of Grunge: Music and Memory, by Catherine Strong”. Other.
Critical Review
Wright, B. F. (2016). “Review of Jaco: The Film (directed by Paul Marchand and Stephen Kijak) and Jaco: Original Soundtrack”. 9(3), 319-324.
Wright, B. F. (2014). “Review of Under African Skies (directed by Joe Berlinger)”. Other. 1(1), 109-13.
Encyclopedia Article
Wright, B. F., Sheets, A., Bacon, T. (2020). "Electric Bass Guitar". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wright, B. F., Martin, A. R., Mihalka, M. (2020). "Folkways Records". Music Around the World: A Global Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
Wright, B. F., Martin, A. R., Mihalka, M. (2020). "Nordic Jazz". Music Around the World: A Global Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio.
Journal Article
Wright, B. F. (2023). Introduction: What Kenny G Can Teach Us About Jazz. Other.
Wright, B. (2023). Forum: “Revisiting Kenny G”. Other.
Wright, B., Coddington, A., Mall, A. (2021). Looking Towards the Future: Popular Music Studies and Music Scholarship. Other. 18(1), 3-70. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twentieth-century-music/issue/E985ABBC201D432986E7EB44664FB4E6
Wright, B., Coddington, A., Mall, A. (2021). Looking Towards the Future: Popular Music Studies and Music Scholarship: Introduction. Other. 18(1), 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478572220000237
Wright, B., Coddington, A., Mall, A. (2020). Conference Report: ‘The Future of Pop: Big Questions Facing Popular Music Studies in the 21st Century,’ AMS Pre-Conference Symposium. Other. 32(3), .
Wright, B. (2020). Jaco Pastorius, the Electric Bass, and the Struggle for Jazz Credibility. Other. University of California Press.
Wright, B. F. (2019). "Reconstructing the History of Motown Session Musicians: The Carol Kaye / James Jamerson Controversy". Journal of the Society for American Music. 13(1), 78-109. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752196318000536
Wright, B. F. (2015). "'A Bastard Instrument': The Fender Precision Bass, Monk Montgomery, and Jazz in the 1950s". Other. 8(3), 281-303. Taylor & Francis. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17494060.2015.1085888
Magazine/Trade Publication
Wright, B. F. (2016). “Eugene Grew, Long-Lost Motown Session Master”. 84-87.
Webpage
Wright, B. F. (2014). “Interview with Peter Roller, author of Milwaukee Garage Bands: Generations of Grassroots Rock”. Other. IASPM-US Interview Series.
Awarded Grants
Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research
Grant - Research
Wright, B. F., "Small Grants Award," University of North Texas, $1000 Funded. (2024).
Wright, B., "Charles Hamm Fellowship," Sponsored by Society for American Music, National, $2000 Funded. (2021 – 2021).
Wright, B., "Junior Faculty Summer Research Grant," University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2020 – 2020).
| Overall Summative Rating |
Challenge and Engagement Index |
Response Rate |
|---|---|---|
out of 5 |
out of 7 |
% of students responded |
- Overall Summative Rating (median):
This rating represents the combined responses of students to the four global summative items and is presented to provide an overall index of the class’s quality. Overall summative statements include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 5 = Excellent, 3 = Good, and 1= Very poor):- The course as a whole was
- The course content was
- The instructor’s contribution to the course was
- The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
- Challenge and Engagement Index:
This rating combines student responses to several SPOT items relating to how academically challenging students found the course to be and how engaged they were. Challenge and Engagement Index items include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 7 = Much higher, 4 = Average, and 1 = Much lower):- Do you expect your grade in this course to be
- The intellectual challenge presented was
- The amount of effort you put into this course was
- The amount of effort to succeed in this course was
- Your involvement in course (doing assignments, attending classes, etc.) was