Some trends in pop music over the last thirty years coincide with which party controls the White House. Based on these trends, let’s look at what an Obama presidency would mean for pop music. While it may seem too simplistic to assume that R&B and urban music would gain in popularity under an Obama presidency, trends show that under Democratic presidents, types of music that once had a predominantly black audience cross over for pop success.

The first example is the rise of the Motown sound, which gained mass popularity in the 60’s when President Johnson was in the White House. Before Motown, few R&B bands broke through to the mainstream. But Berry Gordy’s record label established a funky, up-tempo R&B sound that appealed to mass audiences of mixed races. While Motown’s success is rightly attributed to Gordy’s musical vision and business sense, no doubt that new attitudes about race at the time also contributed.

The Carter administration also saw the rise of an underground R&B sound that crossed over for mass appeal- Disco. The disco movement ran nearly simultaneously to Carter’s presidency. Like Motown, Disco music was a popularized version of earlier R&B sounds, repackaged for a racially mixed audience. While disco music represented the hedonistic and expressive mood of the 70’s, by the end of the decade people were tired of both disco and Carter, and a change was in the air.

After more than a decade of Republican rule, the Democrats were back on top in the 90’s, and new kinds of dance music were popularized from the R&B underground. While rap and house music started in the 80’s, they didn’t cross over for mass appeal until the Clinton administration. Rap music’s crossover is best exemplified by Will Smith, who in the 90’s became a mega star due to the hit TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” The 90’s also saw the rise of pop-rap artists like MC Hammer, Young MC, and Vanilla Ice.

Likewise, house music, relegated to underground dance clubs in the late 80’s, broke out into the mainstream under Clinton with crossover hits from house artists C&C Music Factory, Snap!, and Crystal Waters. Like the disco trend of the 70’s, which saw Rod Stewart, Kiss and the Rolling Stones making disco records, popular artists were also cutting house music tracks in the 90’s. Madonna and Cher resurrected their careers by making crossover house records during Clinton’s presidency.

In an Obama administration expect up-tempo dance tracks to re-emerge in popularity. Given the current global appeal of electronic dance music based in house and disco styles; it makes sense that dance music, which has declined in popularity in the US, would make a comeback under Obama. Recently rap music has trended towards appealing to a core audience, but it is likely that an Obama presidency would see a more pop-oriented strain of rap with lyrics that focus more on having fun and dancing. Music fashion would also follow these trends, a combination of 70’s tailored clothes (oversized collars, unbuttoned dress shirts and bellbottoms) with a 90’s rap sensibility (bright colors like early TLC, crazy hairstyles and XXXL shirts and pants).