Spotify playlist: Breaking down 150 years of college football

The funny thing about music is its direct correlation with its present day. Through the retrospective funnel of history, the musical notes and often rhythmic lyrics teleport you to an era we will never experience again firsthand. They act as pop culture textbooks. But better. Music integrates feeling within sound. And the result is an etherial — but transformative — experience.

For college football, the pop culture documentation begins on Nov. 6, 1869 — the date of the first game ever played in intercollegiate football.

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Socially, the United States has evolved since, and so has college football. To best show the transformation, we've compiled a Spotify playlist of 150 songs, one song for each corresponding year of college football and its national champion. Unfortunately, Spotify only shows you 100 songs in the embed below, so you'll have to click the box to see the full library. 

I guess Spotify thinks 150 songs in one playlist is overkill, but we don't!

Each No. 1 song from 1940-present day was picked from Billboard's Top 100 Songs of the Year and the remaining 70 years were selected through research, review and discussion.

Tell us your favorite team-song duo in the FCS's Facebook comment section.

JUMP TO FULL PLAYLIST

Late 19th century: The expansion era

Key songs: "Oh my Darling, Clementine" (1884), "22nd Regiment March" (1889), "The Washington Post" (1890), "America the Beautiful" (1895)

The innocent and redundant beats of nursery rhymes danced on tongues in the latter-half of the 19th century, but as the familiar sounds of "Oh, my Darling, Clementine" rocked babies to sleep, America's Armed Forces were making their own mark on the popular tunes of the day. Marching bands were — and still are — a cornerstone in all branches of the military with the aid of composer John Philip Sousa, who helped make marches popular and attractive to the ear.

The dance between percussion, strings and horn instruments are no better illustrated than through "The Washington Post." , Sousa is credited for "bringing the United States Marine Band to an unprecedented level of excellence." And paired with the two-step dance, the march soon became the most popular song in America and Europe. The United State Marine Corp. continues to the play tune, along with the "22nd Regiment March."

Now, you must be asking how football fits into all this? As Ivy League schools commanded the stage in the mid-1800s, college football cut the wheel toward unfamiliarity and found unrelenting fandom. All regions of the U.S. became exposed to the gridiron game during the late 19th century. Colleges in the eastern United States took onto the new sport quickly with Notre Dame and Penn State playing their first game in 1887.

And the appeal wouldn't stop at sunset. Just 100 miles south, the first night game was played in Mansfield Pennsylvania on Sept. 28, 1892.

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As the sport expanded, many of the most historic rivalries began during this time, including the famous Army-Navy Game. Nov. 29, 1890, marked its genesis, and Navy shut out the oldest military branch in the U.S., 24-0. Army would even the series in 1891 with a 32-16 victory. Though many families at the time might've had a connection with the armed forces, the gridiron duel probably humanized the branches, while further instigating competitive natures between the academies.

Just 25 years after The Civil War (1861-65) and 28 years before America's entrance into World War I (1917-18), allegiance toward the union was growing throughout the country, along with the popularization of "America the Beautiful" in 1895. Katharine Lee Bates wrote her original poem as she traveled through Colorado. According to the Library of Congress, the majesty of the region's mountains and ample skies inspired her poem, which became popular in The Congregationalist — a weekly newspaper. 

Early 20th century: Modernization

Key songs: "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1904), "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (1908), "The Spaniard that Blighted My Life" (1913), "I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Solider" (1915), "California, Here I Come" (1924), "The Best Things in Life are Free" (1927), "Singin' in the Rain" (1929)

Apart from Lafayette's tie with Princeton in 1896, Michigan broke the Ive League's stronghold on the national championship picture in 1901 and did not relinquish the title until 1905.

It took over an additional decade for the Ivy League era to be overtaken. Aside from Michigan, Notre Dame responded with its own surge toward success under Knute Rockne in 1913. What was once an unknown Catholic school in the Midwest, the Fighting Irish became a trademark college football brand with Rockne's . Rockne and Notre Dame won, 35-13. 

Notre Dame's reputation forever changed that day. New immigrants, many of whom were Catholics from Europe, flocked to admire the underdog Irish.

"Our team looked like that wave. They had last names like the people in that immigration wave. They dressed like them," Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick told the Associated Press on Nov. 1, 2013, — the 100th anniversary of the Army game. "The cadets were traditional America. So the tension created that day, at this weird intersection of historical facts, made us America's team in a fundamental way. The new America, the America that was arriving on Ellis Island, they just adopted us."

"California, Here I Come" depicts that excitement and anxiousness in the new Americans. Though the tune represents a different region of the union, it pairs well with Notre Dame's spike in popularity, European immigrant's flock to the brand and its first national title in 1924. The future annual rivalry between University of Southern California — which began on Dec. 4, 1926 — only makes the irony stronger. 

HISTORY:  | 

One year after the ignition of Notre Dame-USC rivalry, the musical Good News opened on Broadway. It debuted a reoccurring favorite song in pop culture, "The Best Things in Life are Free." Football largely became romantic around this time, as shown best in the musical plot. Football star Tom Marlowe falls in love with student Connie Lane. Notre Dame's Rockne even received credit for the featured song "Advice in Football Technique," according to Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik — authors of Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Show of All Time. 

It's blatantly obvious Rockne's effect on football outstretches the imagination and continues on. Exhibit A: The Rockne coaching tree includes Alabama legend Bear Bryant and NFL giant Vince Lombardi, figures who shaped the sport into its modern image.

Mid-1900s: National spotlight

Key songs:  "Georgia on my Mind" (1930), "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "Over the Rainbow" (1939), "White Christmas" (1942), "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956), "All Shook Up" (1957) 

Aside from LSU's shared title with Penn in 1908, teams from the South were not the dominating figures they are today. Georgia Tech won the South's first college football championship in 1917 until Alabama busted the door in 1925 and 1926. The two teams traded southern domination until Texas Christian won it first title in 1938, followed by Texas A&M in 1939. 

Once they made their introduction, the national spotlight followed. And so did the fascination with the South. In 1930, "Georgia on My Mind" became one of the most popular songs in the country, and today the favor transcends trademark. In 1979, the song was designated Georgia's official state song and is now an anthem of the University of Georgia's football games. 

WALK-ONS: 

Southern California finally broke through in 1931 with its first national championship. Eyes had been on the West Coast, specifically Southern California, because of the construction of Hollywood and the motion picture industry, creating a new forum for the music industry. "White Christmas" captured the hearts of Americans in 1942 with the Hollywood musical film Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire and 1954's sequel White Christmas, starring Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Billboard calls the evergreen holiday tune 

Besides the technical and strategical innovations at the turn of the 20th century, the national spotlight era introduced new avenues for teams to play opponents from different regions. These initiatives . Recognition by the Associated Press weekly poll began in 1936, following the first Heisman Trophy presentation to Chicago's Jay Berwanger. 

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Notre Dame kept cruising through the mid-1900s. In 1943, the Irish won their fifth national championship, corresponding with the most popular song of the year, "I've Heard that Song Before." 

Unlike the expansion era when popular songs coincided with war, jovial yet distracting tracks became important from 1939-45 during World War II. A key representation is in 1944 and 1945 were when "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby and "Till the End of Time" by Perry Como were the most popular songs of their respective year. Many Army soldiers with eligibility returned from fighting in Europe to win consecutive national titles in 1944 and 1945 — during the Lombardi coaching era. 

Today's game

Key songs: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1964), "Hey Jude" (1968), "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" (1972), "Call Me" (1980), "Physical" (1982), "When Doves Cry" (1984), "Faith" (1988), "I Will Always Love You" (1993), "Macarena" (1996), "Believe" (1999), "In Da Club" (2003), "Yeah" (2004), "Irreplaceable" (2007), "Low" (2008), "God's Plan" (2018), "Old Town Road" (2019)

Enough of the social studies. It's time to have fun some fun with this! Most college football fans know what happened after 1960. More bowl games were created and that led to the Bowl Championship Series (1998-2013) and now the College Football Playoff (2014-present). Since instances like 1964 — when Alabama, Arkansas and Notre Dame tied for the title and shared that year with 1964's most popular song "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (how cute) — happened frequently, the title game was incorporated in 1998 and crowned just one national champion — unless you're LSU and South Carolina, who had to share their title not only with each other but also with 50 Cent's 2003 smash hit "In Da Club."

Penn State had endured this turmoil in two previous national title races (1911, 1912), and finally pocketed its first consensus national championship in 1982. The Nittany Lions' "Physical" performance over Georgia matched Olivia Newton-John's Billboard topper of the same name. But no performance mimicking a year's Top 100 song has outshined Notre Dame's 1988 championship performance and Georgia Michael's all-time hit "Faith."

Florida tried. And the Gators might've succeeded. After LSU's championship year in 2007 paired with Beyonce's No. 1 Billboard hit "Irreplaceable," the Gators won their second title in three years in 2008. Flo Rida got "Low" but the Gators got back on top — both finishing the year No. 1.

Most recently, Dabo Swinney and his Clemson Tigers did the unthinkable in 2018 — blowing out defending champion Alabama, 44-16 — for their second title in three years. Sound familiar, Florida? Maybe it was "God's Plan." It definitely could've been. But this year it might be different. A team might have to take their horse to the "Old Town Road" to pull out the 2019 championship. 

too. much. sauce.

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB)

Playlist: Celebrating 150 years of college football