American Denim by Stacy Garrop Orchestra - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.11642239S

UPC: 680160698875. 11x17 inches.

In December of 1870, a woman walked into Jacob Davis’ tailor shop in Nevada, wanting to order a pair of work pants for her husband. The man was portly and cut wood for a living, so she demanded a pair that could hold up to both his girth and job. As Davis worked on a pair of heavy duck twill pants, he saw rivets lying on the workshop floor, which he usually used when making horse blankets. Could the rivets be used on twill pants to reinforce pockets that usually tear apart on workmen? Davis added them. In 1871, he began receiving orders for more riveted pairs, as word spread about their strength and durability. By 1872, Davis realized he had something special, but lacked the money to apply for a patent from the U.S. government. He wrote to Levi Strauss, his cloth supplier who operated out of San Francisco, to ask if he would enter in a business agreement for producing riveted pants, should Strauss cover the patent filing fee. By 1873, they succeeded in securing the patent, and by January 1874, Levi Strauss & Company were successfully winning lawsuits against companies who were imitating their product. In the same year, the company’s profits tripled from what they had earned the year before, and Davis and Strauss knew they had an immense enterprise in their hands. The blue jean, more or less as we know it today, was officially born.In AMERICAN DENIM, I explore two time periods and uses for blue jeans. Down in the Mines (movement 1) pays tribute to the use of the early riveted denim as a clothing staple for workmen. Miners, railroad builders, lumberjacks, farmers, and ranchers all made use of what were then called “waist overalls” in their professions. Movement 1 begins with a canary singing in a coal mine. As the canary sings, I introduce a fictitious work song that I based on 1800s folk tunes. As more workers join in the song, the music swells, then dies down as the miners stop singing. The canary returns at the end of the movement.After the second World War, people began to wear denim for leisure. In Rebellious Youth (movement 2), I delve into the 1950s use of denim as a symbol of the rebellion of the younger generation against all types of authority, epitomized in Hollywood movies by Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953) and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). The movement begins with a rowdy, boisterous melody, which soon gives way to a cool, skulking section. The boisterous music returns, bringing the movement to a tumultuous boiling point before the skulking music returns once more. The movement ends with the once-boisterous theme now quietly smoldering.