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Dave Fox and Neill Clegg’s students at Greensboro College have spent the past several weeks reviewing the history and stylistic nuances of pop music.

On Monday night, they got to see a chart-topping artist in the flesh.

Joey Barnes, drummer for the rock band Daughtry, sang a few songs and offered his insights on the writing process, digital music and Frank Sinatra.

The course, titled “The Top 10 Pop Songs of the Past 50 Years,” has, over the past semester, featured live performances by Clegg and Fox, as well as local soul singer Jay Bird. The two instructors have known Barnes pretty much his whole life through his father, Joey Barnes Sr., a musician they had played with many times.

“We always knew when he was in town, and he keeps in touch with us on Facebook,” Clegg said. “And my wife, Victoria, said, 'Why don’t you call him, see if he wants to come sing some songs?’ Not knowing what he might say, she contacted him on Facebook, and he was completely gracious about it, said he would love to do it.”

The 33-year-old Greensboro native has performed with several local groups over the years. In 2006, he teamed up with “American Idol” contestant and McLeansville resident Chris Daughtry.

He showed up at the Lea Center at Greensboro College and began with a rendition of Sting’s “Every Breath You Take.” He then took some questions from the class.

Someone asked, “How do you write a corporate pop song?”

He laughed and said to listen to the first Daughtry album. Major labels typically want songs to be about three minutes, he said, with the chorus repeated as many times as possible.

But he had good things to say about the Internet’s influence on the music business.

“It’s helped millions of up-and-coming artists get their stuff out,” he said. “You don’t have to owe people money, you don’t have to be signed. On your MacBook, you can create a full record and throw it on iTunes.”

He finished the evening with a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” calling the crooner a true rock ’n’ roll artist.

“Rock ’n’ roll is not just about the music; it’s about the lifestyle,” he said. “You look at all the things that he went through, all the things that he saw, it’s a wonder he made it to 82.”
 

Contact Robert C. Lopez at 691-5091 or robert.lopez@news-record.com