Unit 1: pg 1-15, 16-33

Transcription

1 Unit 1: pg 1-15, Studying Rock - Elvis came on the scene in the 1950 s starting a shocking movement that the Beatles, Madonna, and Prince continued in the coming decades - Term rock and roll is generally used to describe the first wave of Rock from o Others term rock as music after 1964 Rock History in the Media - Magazines such as Rolling Stone and Mojo, books, and cable networks such as VH-1 and MTV take the history of rock and bring it to the general public, promoting interest in rock history - In many cases, information found in the popular media is designed primarily for entertainment and can be skewed and unreliable due to the majority of revenue for these outlets being brought in through advertising The Fan Mentality - Fans of rock music listen frequently to the music of a particular artist, group or style and gather interesting facts about both the artists and the music - When it comes to studying music, it is important to keep the fan mentality at bay, as fans tend to ignore artists they do not like, which create an imbalanced learning curve Chart Positions - Charts help us draw general conclusions about the general popularity of a song or album at the time it was released - Charts can also be useful to compare certain songs on the way they fared on different charts (ex. Song may be #1 on country music chart, but only #5 on Billboard chart) - Charts help to avoid the fan mentality - However, charts are not precision instruments for measuring a song or albums success, and they do not accurately reflect the influence of some songs - They are the best instruments to judge listeners changing tastes, even if they are flawed - Record Industry awards gold records for sales of 500,000 units and platinum awards for over 1 million units sold which is a more accurate measurement of popularits of an album or single Four themes of Rock Development - Four themes (outlines throughout the chapters of the text): o social/political/ cultural o race/class/gender o development of music business o development of technology - Music business has changed dramatically since the 1950s, as the rock element of business has grown - Rise of radio in 1920s or TV after WW2 contributes to the development of music technology as well as culture - Race class and gender are essential to understanding the origins and stereotypes of rock Tracking the Popularity Arc

2 - In the 1970s few New Yorkers were aware of the emergence of the punk rock scene until it took spotlight in The rise of punk from a small, regional underground scene to mainstream pop culture, and its subsequent retreat follows a pattern called popularity arc o Most specific rock styles follow this template How did this style arise? When did it peak in popularity? Does it still exist in culture somewhere? What to listen for in Rock - Musical Form: the structure and organization of different sections in a song or piece - Instrumentation: the types of instruments used in a given recording can drastically change the way a song sounds and allow for variation within a performance - Rhythm: the ways musical sounds are organized in time - Beat: regular rhythmic pulse - Meter: the way of organizing rhythm and beats, how many beats per measure, how beats may be subdivided o Simple meter: when each beat is evenly divided into two parts o Compound meter: when each beat is evenly divided into 3 parts o Duple: meter grouped into 2 parts o Triple: meter grouped into three beats o Quadruple: meter grouped into 4 beats o Note: if time signature has /8 it is compound, if it has /4 it is simple o Quadruple compound time is thought of as shuffle rhythm (12/8) - Verse: section with repeating music and non-repeating lyrics - Simple verse form: employs only verses - Chorus: section that repeats the same music and lyrics in each presentation - Rocket Rocket Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats 3. First rock and roll song 4. This song is in a quadruple meter; each bar is divided into four beats. You can count the beats ONE-two-Three-four in time with the bass on the recording. Beat one is the strongest, beat three is the second strongest and beats two and four are weak. a. The meter is simple because each beat is divided into two parts; you can hear this most clearly by counting along with the saxophones from 00:50. b. The song is played with a shuffle rhythm; the beats are divided into two, but the two parts are unequal: ONE-(and)-uh-two-(and)-uh-Three-(and)-uh-four-(and)-uh. The word and in brackets is silent. This type of rhythm is also called swing rhythm. 5. The instrumentation of this song includes electric guitar, drums, piano, and saxophones. Work to distinguish each sound in the mix. 6. Musical form: simple verse 7. Song features: first rock and roll song, actually written by ike turner,

3 12 Bar Blues - Common structural pattern found in rhythm and blues, rock and roll, many styles of jazz - Consists of 12 groups of 4 beat measures o Falls into 3 groups of 4: measure length, phrasing and lyrics, chord structure o First four measures: phrase; feature a lyric repeated in the subsequent 4 measures; the lyric in the final four measures often complete the thought begun in the initial phrase Question-question-answer o First line in each verse is repeated in the second phrase, with the third phrase completing the thought with a new line - Doo-Wop progression: most often associated with doo-wop of 1950s o Can form the underlining structures of songs line Sh-Boom, a chord on every beat forming a harmonic pattern that repeats through the entire song except the bridge Sh-Boom 1. Sh-Boom 2. The Chords 3. Doo-Wop 4. Quadruple meter, simple, shuffle rhythm 5. Instrumentation: drum, electric guitar, saxophone, bass, piano, solo vocals, lead vocals 6. Musical form: simple verse with interludes and a bridge 7. Song features: The record rose to #3 on the rhythm-and-blues charts and #9 on the pop charts (#2 and #5, respectively, on the list of Most Played Jukebox Hits), an almost unheard of feat for a crossover hit at that time. The Chords were also the first R&B group in the 1950s to put song in the Pop Top 10 Heartbreak Hotel 1. Heartbreak hotel 2. Elvis 3. Genre: blues 4. meter/ rhythm: quadruple compound, shuffle in four 5. Instrumental: bass, piano, guitar, drums 6. Musical form: simple verse 7. Song features: heavy use of echo and reverb, elvis first ever gold record

4 AABA Form - Associated with mainstream pop before the birth of rock and roll - 32 bar scheme, most common formal pattern in Tin Pan Alley songs o First 2 bar phrases are similar (A-A), third is different (B), last is similar to the first 2 (A) - When entire AABA structure is repeated: Full Reprise - When only part of AABA form returns: partial reprise Simple Verse Chorus - Single musical pattern is used at the basis for both verses and choruses in a song - Melody portion may change from verse to chorus, while the chords underneath stay the same - Biggest difference between simple verse and simple verse chorus is the presence of a repeating set of lyrics to form a chorus Contrasting Verse Chorus - The verses and choruses of a song employ different music o May also include a bridge or section that provides a contrasting non-repeated section of music and lyrics and turns into a verse or chorus Great Balls of Fire 1. Great balls of Fire 2. Gerry Lee Lewis 3. Genre: rock and roll, country 4. Meter/ rhythm: quadruple simple 5. Instrumentation: piano, drums, bass, vocals 6. Form: AABA, full reprise 7. Song features: reached #2 on the Billboard pop charts, #3 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the country charts, his first original recording, ranked as 96 th greatest song in history The Carter Family Can the Circle Be Unbroken Words and Music by A.P. Carter, recorded in Released before the era of country charts in the United states Form: Simple verse chorus Time Sig: 2/4 with dropped beats Instrumentation: Acoustic guitar, two female and one male voice, with one female voice taking lead during verses and choruses sung in three part harmony

5 The Crickets That ll Be the Day Words and music by Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison and Norman Petty, produced by Norman Petty. Reahed #1 on the Billboard pop Best Selllers in Sotres chart, and #2 on the Billboard R&B Best Sellers in Stores chart in 1957 Form: Contrasing verse-chorus with instrumental bridge Time Sig: 12/8 shuffle in 4 Instrumentation: Electrical guitar, acoustic bass, drums, lead and backup vocals Simple verse: - all verses based on same music, no chorus Simple verse chorus: -verses and choruses based on same music Contrasting verse-chorus: - verses and choruses based on different music AABA: Verses and bridge based on different music; can employ full or partial reprise - The rhythmic patterns drummers play work something like the gears of a clock, with some gears moving quickly and others moving more slowly. The high-hat or ride cymbal is often used for the fastest notes, played in a regular stream. The bass and snare drums are generally played at slower intervals, and often seem to be in dialogue with one another. -Most drummers will use one pattern for verse and another for bridges or choruses, and also break the pattern to play drum fills that help lead the music from section to section. -The bass player s job is to lock in with the drummer rhythmically, and to provide the important bass notes to the chord progressions played by the guitar and or keyboards. Within the rhythm section, the bassist is a kind of bridge between the rhythmic and harmonic dimensions of the music. -The distance between the tuning of guitar and bass strings is what musicians call an octave a lower or higher version of the same note. - the rhythm guitar fleshes out the harmonic dimension by playing full chords, - the electric guitar produces little sound on its own, but can reach high volume levels when connected to an amplifier. - the rhythm guitar part complements the bass and drum parts - the singer focuses on the melodic dimension of the music - The singers job is to create melodic interest and deliver the lyrics in a convincing manner-one that does not seem contrived or unnatural in comparison with normal speech. - in order to create contrast in arrangements, an instrumental solo is often introduced somewhere past the midpoint in a song. This might be a saxophone solo(the Coasters Yakety Yak ), a guitar solo(jimi Hendrix s Purple Haze ), or a piano solo(jerry Lee Lewis Great Balls of Fire ).

6 - Sometimes in arrangement can feature several solos, as in Yes s Roundabout In all of these cases, the instrumental solist is the central focus of the music for the duration of the solo, taking the place usually reserved for the singer. The job of the rhythm section remains the same as it was during the other sections of the song. In this regard the solo is itself subordinate to the sung sections of the track. - horn sections often consist of compbination of trumpets, trombones and saxaphones used to give a tune a little more punch - strings can make an arrangement sound bigger and more elegant. Strings are often saved until late in the arrangement and are employed to give the end of the track a convincing lift. - Deep Purples smoke on the water is a prime example of how rock music from the mid 1960 s is organized in terms of instrumentation. The track follows the contrasting verse-chorus formal pattern: has a lengthy intro, then four verse-chorus pairs, then with a coda rounding the tune off. - smoke on the water begins with the electric guitar alone play a four measure blues-inflected riff that is then repeated. The third time through the guitar riff, the drums enter(0:17) first the high hat alone and on the fourth time through, the snare drum as well. - two principal approaches to thinking about what a recording represents. First is to think of the recording as an audio snapshot. This is meant to reproduce a live performance as faithfully as possible. This is used frequently with classical, jazz, and folk music. The second approach is to exploit the possibilities offered by the studio. These sounds would be impossible to re-create in a live setting. - the recording studio aslo allows instruments to be combined in ways that would not easily work in a natural acoustic setting. This has been shown in the early 1970 s in shows for combining instruments - snapshot approach, it is crucial to find a space with good acoustics - artificially create a room sound-often referred to as ambience- via electronic means, and effect is called reverb. Most commercially available electronic reverb units (or digital plug-ins) offer settings that reproduce the sound of small rooms, medium-size rooms, large rooms, auditoriums of various sizes, churches, and number of unnatural spaces - echo occurs when sound bounces back to our ears to create two sonic images of the same event - Where Did Our Love Go? offers an example of studio reverb when we hear the clapping. - the most famous echo can be found on Elvis Presley s Sun recordings - the more reverb or echo, the farther away the sound seems to be - Frequency also plays a major role in recording techniques, as equalizers are used to affect the quality of most sounds. Each note played by an instrument is acalled its fundamental but along with this note, every instrument also subtly produces otherm higher notes that help to form the tone, or timbre - Adjusting frequencies of sound is often called EQ which is short for equalization. A good recording is EQ-ed to produce a balanced distribution of frequencies. EQ can also help to highlight certain instruments, and keep instruments in a similar range from covering each other up, resulting in a crisper, clearer, more defined sound. - first decade or so, most rock music was recorded and realised in monophonic sound, mono, meaning speaker playback and no possibility of stereo imaging.

7 - Almost all the Beatles records, for instance were original released realised in mono, with later stereo s however, stereo was preferred format for albums and FM radio - mid 1970s complex stereo mixes had become the norm - music projects progressed in tandem throughout the late 60 s and 70 s, as listeners purchased more sophisticated stereo equipment to get the full effect of the music - Sonic Landscaping is controlling the way of hearing the stereo effect. Using the right left speaker in combination - Mixing: combination of ambience, EQ, stereo placement and overall volume-are controlled from a mixing board. This is used for one to record the sound to tape and secondly to playback - in classical music the job is to capture the natural ambient. - use of tape after WW2 allowed engineers to begin experimenting with multi track tape, creating recording from multiple performances. Early recording tape could store three tracks of music. As the 60 and 70 s progressed more became available - digital audio workstations became less needed when software such as GarageBand and ProTools came out, which are now considered the older mixing boards - Josie by Steely Dan is structured using compound AABA form, meaning that each sections of the AABA is made up of smaller verse and chorus sections. - Variuous forms of video based media-including television, films and music videos have enabled rock musicians to reach audiences visually as well as aurally. Images are formation of cultural tastes for dance, fashion and behavior s, variety shows presented compelling rock performances on network television. Often historical because they included real time (not lip synced) music performances. - early dance shows included American Bandstand and the Arthur Murray Party. American Bandstand ran till the 1980 s. During 1970 s disco oriented shows such as Soul Train and Dance Fever continued this tradition, 1980 s audiences enjoyed programs like Solid Gold and Dance Party USA. MTV in 1980 s and later TRL. Learning Activity Look up and memorize the following terms in the Glossary in your textbook. Listen to Rocket 88 until you have been able to hear what is meant by each term. You will need to listen to the whole song and read and follow along with the listening guide several times. Simple Verse Form - The verse and chorus sections employ the same underlying musical material, though the lyrics and sung melodies of each section are different. The form consists of these verses and choruses presented in alternation though more than one verse may occur before the chorus

8 Instrumental Verse - A verse section that repeats the music of the verse, without the singing and with an instrument soloing, is an instrumental verse. Guitar, saxophone, and keyboard solos are common, though any instrument can solo in a instrumental verse Bar/Measure - The bar of music is the number of beats per bar. These bars usually have the same number of beats in them throughout a song. Word bar is synonymous with measure. Rhythm - In the broadest sense, the owrd rhythm refers to the organised patterning of the temporal dimensions in the music. More specifically we can refer to a rhythmic figure in the music, which is usually a short segment with a clearly defined profile of some kind. Meter and meter classification are aspects of the broader aspect of rhythmic organization. And are discussed at greater length in the Introduction. Meter Classification - A meter classification classifies how we feel the organization of the rhythm for a particular song or passage. In this book, meters are classified as either simple or compound, and then as either duple, triple, or quadruple. A meter classification can be notated using specific meter, and though there are several meters than can be used with each classification, there are six meters that are most common. Meter - The establishment of how we will notate music within a certain meter classification. Each of the meter classifications discussed in the Introduction can be represented with several meters, but some meters are far more common than others, especially in rock music. Of the simple meters, 2/4, ¾, and 4/4 are most common, and among the compound meters, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 are most common. Duple Meter (Simple) - When there are two beats in a bar of music, the meter is classified as a duple. Duple meter is commonly notated as 2/4 if it is a simple feel or 6/8 if it is a compound feel. Shuffle Rhythm - Often a way of playing 4/4 that transforms it into something closer to 12/8. The four beats in a measure of 4/4 are each divided into two equal parts, making for a scheme that goes 1 & 2 &3 & 4 &. In 12/8, the same measure would divide the beats into three equal parts, resulting in goes 1 & ah 2 & ah 3 & ah 4 & ah. A shuffle uses the second of thse schemes, but the & is ofeten

9 silent, so we get it like this. This sound somewhat like the first scheme 4/4, since it has two elements per beat, but unlike the first scheme, the elements do not evenly divide the beat. 2. The instrumentation of this song includes bass, drums, piano, and saxophones. Work to distinguish each sound in the mix. 3. This song is in a quadruple meter; each bar is divided into four beats. You can count the beats ONE-two-Three-four in time with the bass on the recording. Beat one is the strongest, beat three is the second strongest and beats two and four are weak. 4. The meter is simple because each beat is divided into two parts; you can hear this most clearly by counting along with the saxophones from 00: The song is played with a shuffle rhythm; the beats are divided into two, but the two parts are unequal: ONE-(and)-uh-two-(and)-uh-Three-(and)-uh-four-(and)-uh. The word and in brackets is silent. This type of rhythm is also called swing rhythm. Again, you can count this along with the saxophones from 00:50. If the rhythm were straight, the sub-division of the beat would be into two equal parts and would be countedone-and-two-and-three-and-fourand. Learning Activity 1.2 Now let s listen to a couple of more complex meters. 1. Look up and memorize the following terms in the Glossary at the back of your textbook. a. Triple Meter (Simple) - When there are three beats in a bar (or measure) of music, the meter is classified as triple. Triple meter is commonly notated as ¾ if it is a simple feel, or 9/8 if it is a compound feel. b. Compound Meter - When we subdivide the basic beat into three equal parts, this creates a compound feel, which is notated using compound meters such as 6/8, 9/8, or most commonly, 12/8. 2. For triple meter, listen to Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page. a. Count along like this: ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. Beat one is strong, beats two and three are weak. You can hear the pattern most clearly in the opening bars, before the vocals begin. The bass is heard on beat one and a strummed guitar is heard on beats two and three. The result is a BOOM-chuk-chuk sound common to all waltzes. The effect is lilting and dance-like. 3. For a compound meter, listen to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. a. In compound meters, the bar or measure is divided up into two, three or four beats, just like simple meters, however, each beat is then sub-divided into three equal parts (in simple meters, the sub-division is always into two parts). You can hear the division of the beat most clearly in the plucked guitar in the opening bars. Count the subdivision of the beat in a fast ONE-and-uh-two-and-uh along with the guitar. This time, the and is NOT silent. b. The primary beat can be heard most clearly between the bass and a rim-shot on the drum (the drummer hits the rim rather than the skin of the drum, it sounds a bit like

10 clack ). The primary beat in this case is duple. Count along with the bass and drum in a slow ONE-two. c. The effect of compound meters, because of the triple sub-division of the main beat, is also rather lilting and dance-like. Learning Activity 1.3 Timbre (pronounced TAM-burr) is a musical term that refers to the quality or colour of a sound. For instance: consider the difference in the sound of a flute versus a trumpet. You can distinguish one from the other easily because their tone qualities or timbres are different. We generally use rather poetic and subjective adjectives to describe timbre: the timbre of a flute is bright, brittle, or thin, while a trumpet s timbre is bold, brassy, or round. In popular music, timbre is most often considered in terms of the vocals or the guitar sounds. The timbres generally change according to genre and can help you identify one from the other. The timbres used in different genres also carry meaning within the genre, which we will discuss in more depth in later units. For now, just practice listening for timbre. Try coming up with other adjectives that describe each timbre to you. 1. For a thin, nasal vocal timbre, listen to Cross Road Blues by Robert Johnson. 2. For a smooth, crooning vocal timbre, listen to White Christmas by Bing Crosby. 3. For a harsh, heavy, clashing guitar timbre, listen to God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols 4. For a light, thin, guitar timbre, listen to Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley Learning Activity Look up and memorize the following terms in the Glossary in your textbook: o The 12-Bar Blues - The twelve-bar blues is structure that forms the musical basis for many verses, choruses and even bridges in rock music. It can be divided into three 4-bar phrases. The lyrics to the first phrase are frequently repeated in the second phrase, with new lyrics appearing in the third phrase, creating a kind of question/ question repeated/ answer model as the words unfold. The twlvebars blues also emplys a specific arrangement of chords, and this is explained in greater detail in Interlude One. In the history of rock, the twlve-bar blues is strongly associated with 1950 s rock and rhythm & blues. Even when this structure arises in later rock, the reference to the 1950 s is often clear. o Phrase - A phrase is a short passage of music; often in rock music, phrases are four measures in length (sometimes in eight measures). A phrase is akin to a sentence in spoken language and divides the music into units that make it easier to comprehend. Vocal phrases often correspond to obvious points of division and articulation in the lyrics being sung

11 UNIT 2 pg 34-50, The Nineteen Twenties, Thirties, and Forties: - The decades of the 1920s, 30 s, and 40 s in America were to a great extent shaped by three crucial events: the end of World War I, the stock market crash of 1929, and World War II. - When the war ended, Americans felt simultaneous relief and fear, therefore upheaval in world politics was reflected in the arts, with the emergence of riotous new forms of literatures, dance, and music. - In this period, songs remained the dominant form of pop music in the 1920s, but the radical sound of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others helped define the decade musically. F Scott Fitzgerald dubbed the 1920s the jazz age, and jazz s strong rhythms, jagged melodies, and big sound made people get up on dance, with female flappers dancing right alongside their male counterparts. - Then followed by Black Tuesday, million lost their jobs. - Franklin Roosevelt was elected, which give jobs to people. - At the same time holocaust occurred in Germany. - Upon the surrender of the Japanese and Germany, American soldiers returned home as conquering heroes. - A bill signed by GI. Bill, allowed more Americans to attend college, creating a baby boom that has a consequences in American Cultures. Since the children will have money and spend it on Music. The World before Rock and Roll - In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared in a show which was the source of considerable controversy. On one of the show, Milton Berle Show, Elvis had launched into an improvised ending to the tune, grinding his hips suggestively as he sang. In spite of the protests form the parents. Elvis became the central figure in the new kind of popular music intended for teens: rock and roll. - Rock and roll developed out of three principal sources that preceded it: Mainstream pop music, rhythm and blues, and country and western. - It also tells that new technologies such as radio and television play an important role in critical shift Building a national audience for music and entertainment - Sheet music publishers and professional songwriters - Newly development of technology such as television and radio made huge impact on distributing performances. - In the first half of twentieth country, the primary method of distribution was by selling sheet music. - Tin Pan Alley, is the place where songwriters and producers clustered to form the geographic heart of this industry.

12 - Many songs followed the sectional verse-chorus format, in which the chorus is the part of the song listeners are likely to recognize awhile the verse is an introduction that sets the scene of the song. - Usually in a style of AABA form that is 32 measures. - The sectional verse-chorus is rare in rock and roll, but it plays a central role in rock. - In Tin Pan Alley era, the basic unit of trade was the song itself, not a specific recording of the song. A successful song was recorded by a series of artists, each trying to tailor the tune of his or her personal style. - Professional songwriters composed songs, and publishers worked to get each tune heard by the public. At the same time, the songwriters themselves were rarely performers, so publishers had to pitch songs to artists who might consider performing them. - With the rise of musical theatre in 1930s, broadways musicals became a prime vehicle for bring songs to the public. - When sound films became popular in 1930s, musicals were often released in film versions and new musicals were composed expressly for the movies. - Radio was the best way to promote a song during the 1930s and 40s, and was dominated by big bands form and by star singers from National vs. Regional - By the end of nineteenth century, majority of Americans lived in a world very much conditioned by their local and regional surroundings. - Musical time is usually identified by the particular regions of the country. - Usually play or hear performed in person, at a vaudeville show. - Later, technological and marketing developments in radio and motion picture made the same kinds of popular entertainment available throughout the country, in many ways breaking down regional differences. - The first technology innovation was radio, this allows some pope styles to become national while others kept their regional identities. - Mainstream pop targeted white, middle-class listening audience that is played on network radio. However, low income listeners were most excluded since country and western and rhythm and blues is what they listen, as a consequence they retained their regional distinctions. The rise of the radio networks in the 1920s - The radio broadcasters tried to get radio into every home in America by building high power transmitters. - The government also licensed a few stations for exclusive use of a particular frequency, which could regularly reach entire multistate regions. - The second way to reach a large audience was to link a number of local and regional stations together to form a network. - The network has a few advantages: programming could be run from a central location, and it was possible to run live broadcast from member stations.

13 - Live radio was also an important vehicle for music publishers, who had to convince bandleaders and singers not only to perform a song, but also using the song in their live show would serve their career interests. - Through the medium of radio a song could become popular almost overnight, with radio a song could be heard far and wide in a single performance. - Radio in the 1930s and 40s performed their music live on the radio since before 1945 it was considered unethical to play records on the air. - It was a benefit to live musicians who took advantage to work opportunities afforded by radio to fill the gaps between network programs and other contexts. - Some stations employed a studio band for local programming. Regional Styles of Country and Western Music - Country Music in the Southeast in the 1930s. Country and western music remained mostly regional until after There are many styles of music that come together as country and western kept distinctive regional accents until the late 1940s, when Nashville became a hub for this type of music. - The regional styles can be divided into country music from the southeast and Appalachia, and western music from the West and southwest. - Ralph Peer, a producer who roamed in South in search of what record companies called hillbilly music which he recorded many of the earliest country performers. - He travelled towns, setting up gears as he went, and local musicians lined up to record on his equipment. Western Music in the Southwest and California in the 1930s - Western music reflected the wide open prairie of the cowboys. - Gene Autry was the first singing cowboy to be appear in the Wild West films. - Patsy Montana made her mark as the singing cowgirl with I want to be a cowboy s sweet heart and featured a yodeling style influenced by Jimmie Rodgers. - Historians may dispute how authentically western some of this music was, but for the national movie-going public, these artists defined cowboy music - Western swing also helped to define western music as a style that put a cowboy twist on the big band idea. - In addition to rhythm section and horns, as one might expect of a radio dance band, western swing featured fiddles, a steel guitar and mariachi style trumpet from Mexico, an example is Will s New San Antonio Rose. Jimmie Rodgers: The first star of country music - The historical and cultural context in which country and western music reached a mainstream pop audience are essential element to understanding the overall development of these styles. - Rodgers s music and performance made him a national star, he was primarily a solo performer, who sang and played the acoustic guitar such as Blue Yodel. - He was later imitated by western singers such as Gene Autry, Ernest Tubb and Eddy Arnold.

14 Rural and Urban Blues Migration Patterns from the Rural south to the Urban North - In the beginning, pop music played by black musicians and intended for black listening audiences was called race music until Jerry Wexler coined the term rhythm and blues. - During first half of the twentieth century black pop music was outside of the mainstream pop. - This is a reflection of racial segregation in American culture; most white, middle class Americans were simply unaware of most aspects of black culture. - However, migration of the African Americans helped to integrate regional African-American pop styles into the American cultural mainstream. - After WWI, blues enjoyed several years of popularity with mainstream white pop listeners, in particular the sheet music of W.C. Handy whose Memphis Blues and St. Louis Blues sold well internationally. - The history of selling blues record can be traced to the 1923 million-selling song Down Hearted Blues sung by Bessie Smith. However, her career began to fade as blues fell of the commercial radar. - Many blues recording exist because record companies scoured the South trying to find new rural blues artists who might repeat Bessie Smith s success. One example is Robert Johnson, whose recordings become enormously influential on rock guitarists in the 60s. - Johnson is also a performer who sang to the accompaniment of his own acoustic guitar playing. - This allows the artist to add extra beats or measures as the spirit moved them. (ex. Cross Roads Blues 1936) - As African Americans migrated to urban areas, blue musicians moved into city bars and clubs forming combos using electric guitars, bass, piano, drums and harmonica. - While much of the development of the development of rhythm and blues during 1940s remained regional and outside of the pop stream, Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five became popular with mainstream listeners through a series of singles such as G.I Jive, Caldonia Boogie, and Choo Choo Ch boogie. - He adopted fast tempos but pared down the instrumentation to only a rhythm section and saxophone, a move that worked both musically and financially. - He used humorous lyrics often touched on pressing social issues such as racism and poverty. Regional Radio and the Black Experience in 1950s America - In the 1950s, a new approach to radio disseminated rhythm and blues outside of regional black communities. - Advertisement is important as it support the radio station work financially. - As black populations began to grow in urban areas, different programs and stations provided black stations- or programs directed to a black audience on otherwise white stations- began to pop up around the country. Independent Labels Target Regional Audiences

15 - As radio stations devoted to rhythm and blues arose across the country, so did record labels specializing in black popular music. - Most of the new record companies were independents- that is, they were not part of a larger corporate conglomerate like the major labels that dominated the music industry at the time. - Major labels had enormous financial sources, manufacturing plants and sophisticated distribution that allowed them to get their newest records out quickly. - The smallest independent labels were staffed by only a few people, which required driving from store to store and distributing records out of the trunk of a car, this meant that they can only focus locally. - Since blue market is not as profitable as mainstream pop, as the major devote its resource to pop, which leaves resources for small independent labels to survive. The singer steps forward The singers and the big bands - As country and western and rhythm and blues are growing, large scale changes occurred to mainstream pop, especially after WWII. - During period , often considered the big band era, pop music was created by dance bands that employed a rhythm section of bass, drums, piano, and guitar combined with a horn section of trumpets trombones and saxophones. - They created arrangement of Tin Pan Alley songs music that is appropriate for dancing. - The celebrity in the band was its leader as the musicians and singers often changed frequently. - Arrangement during the big band era emphasized the band, often allotting only one time through the chorus of a song for the singer. And some does not have vocals at all. - In big band music, the vocalist provide the variety. Because of the emphasis on instrumental playing in the big bands, there was a close relationship between big band music and jazz. - In this era, a number of performing artists developed careers independent from any particular band. Such as Bing Crosby, whose relaxed, crooning made him a favorite in both U.S and abroad. - He also acted in films and hosted his how variety show. - He projected a wholesome friendly and paternal image. The Singer Steps Forward - The singers and the Big Bands o : considered the Big Band Era o Employed a rhythm section of bass, drums, piano, an guitar combined with a horn section of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones o Emphasized the band o Many important jazz musicians played in big bands o Despite the general focus on bands during the big band era, a number of performing artists developed careers independent from any particular o Most important pop singer in the 1930s and 1940s was Bing Crosby

16 - Frank Sinatra o Was a singer with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey bands (Sang an occasional solo but mostly sang on the sidelines) o Became a teen idol almost instantly o Very dedicated to his craft and frequently acknowledged that much of his vocal phrasing and technique was based on his study of the musicians he worked with during the big band era o Sinatra encouraged more singers to take centre stage o Financial pressure forced many big bands to break up - The Sound of Pop in the Early 1950s o Pop music in the first half of the 1950s is sometimes dismissed as being hopelessly corny and stiff, especially in comparison to the rhythm and blues of that era o Before rock and roll, mainstream pop music was produced for a family audience and teenagers were expected to enjoy the same music as their parents and grandparents Pop music mostly avoided topics that might be considered unsuitable for general audiences Example: I m sittin on top of the world o Early Rock and Roll was directed primarily at young people o Aspects of this music that might seem corny and naïve in retrospect resulted from trying to create music for a well-rounded audience o It is possible to detect elements of the rowdier, youth-oriented rock and roll that would emerge mid-decade Recordings and Radio Further a National Sound for Country and Western Music - Superstition Radio Broadcasts in Prime Time o In 1922, Atlanta s WSB went on the air featuring local country music o WBAP in Forth Worth began a barn-dance program o Within a few years, local and regional radio stations across the nation were programing country music, especially WSM in Nashville and WLS in Chicago. o WSM broadcast the popular country-oriented program the Grand Ole Opry, while WLS produced the National Barndance - Country Music during WWII o Many listeners go their first sustained exposure to country and western music from their fellow soldiers o When the troops returned home, many retained their newfound affection for country and sought it out in their hometowns o Some soldiers voted Roy Acuff as being a more popular singer than Frank Sinatra - Nashville Becomes Country and Western Headquarters o Nashville became the centre of most country western music, recording, and publishing after WWII o Had been home to the Grand Ole Opry since 1925, and by the late 1940s the Opry have become the most highly regarded radio show in country music The Broad Range of Rhythm and Blues - The Influence of Gospel Music (Rural Southern Church Tradition)

17 o One trait shared by most rhythm and blues styles during this era was a debt to gospel music. o The vocal emphases and embellishments that rhythm and blues singers frequently employed, as well as the call and response between the soloist and the chorus, were drawn from typical gospel practices - Chess Records and Chicago Electric Blues o Ike Turner (scout for Sun Records) claimed he searched churches and bars for talent o While gospel was clearly grounded in the sacred, blues was strongly secular - Atlantic and Black Pop o Atlantic Records in New York was an independent company that reached a broad audience with recordings made by African-American performers in the 1950s o Taken together, the music of Chess and Atlantic exhibits the wide stylistic range of 1950s rhythm and blues o Although these were among the most prominent independent companies of the period, there were many other regional labels that produced R&B records during this era - Doo-Wop o Immediately following WWII, doo-wop groups began to emerge from urban neighborhoods o The singers in these groups often could not afford instruments so they used their voice as their instrument (sang a cappella ) o The songs were sometimes derived in the AABA form derived from Tin Pan Alley and cast in a rolling compound rhythm pounded out as chords on the piano o Example: Sh-Boom The Big Business of Country and Western - Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys o During the 1940s, as country music began to thrive and Nashville became the hub of the country industry, new styles emerged. o Most prominent of these was bluegrass o Sounds old-fashioned but actually developed in the late 1930s as a form of commercial music - Hank Williams: A Short Career the Cast a Long Shadow o In the early 1950s, Hank Williams became an iconic figure in country and western music o No one matched the popular appeal of this singer-songer from rural Alabama o Williams s singing style shows the influence of both Roy Acuff and Ernest Tubb and his many vocal inflections create an impression of sincere emotional expression o Williams s lyrics are direct and simple and his performances seem to come right from the heart Rhythm and Blues as a Dangerous Influence On American (White) Youth - Stagger Lee and the Black Male Swagger o Perception of racial differences influenced the way in which mainstream America received rhythm and blues o The Stagger Lee myth: the idea that some black men are especially defiant, and often driven sexually

18 o This type of swaggering black man was frightening to law enforcement due to his lack of compassion and was though to be constantly on the lookout for virginal white women o Convinced many white parents that rhythm and blues was a dangerous influence on their teenagers, and many worked to have this music, and the rock and roll that later developed out of it, abolished - Hokum and Fun with Double Meanings o Within black culture at midcentury, there was a well-established musical tradition of songs called hokum blues that poked fun at various aspects of adult relationships, mostly centered on sexual relations and the many situations that can arise in this in this context - First half of the 1950s: rhythm and blues, like country and western was in many ways very different from mainstream pop - Until 1955, the music business remained highly segregated into pop, rhythm and blues, and country and western markets, with most of the media exposure and industry dollars dedicated to Pop. UNIT 3 pg 74-95, With the creation of the suburbs in the 1950 s a rise in the ownership of automobiles sky rocketed as people lived further from the city centers - With the rise of the automobile came the rise of the AM radio that they usually came equipped with. This helped to fuel the rise of rock and roll which was developed in the fifties and gave teenagers a chance to listen to it away from their parents control - During a time where sexuality was kept in severe check, playboy magazine was released which caused a great stir because it is was out of norm for that time - It is believed that in the year of 1955 rock and roll began to develop into the musical category it is in today. Believed to have grown from the rhythm and blues genre, the believed primary rise to rock and roll was the rise of youth culture and emergence of independent radio along with record labels. - The beginning of rock and roll was difficult it was viewed as something just for white teenagers, a genre separate from their parents and grandparents, unfortunately it was viewed by the older generations as bad influences on young minds so it was difficult for labels to be successful - The fifties saw the rise of the disc jockey (DJ) as white teens become fascinated with rhythm and blues which was believed to be a black genre labels wanted to get this music on the air. So a man named Leo Mintz from OHIO sponsored a late night radio show hosted by Alan Freed for teenagers to listen to. - In order to get your music heard it was crucial to have it played on jukeboxes in restaurants and bars as this was the main area people were introduced to records

19 - PAYOLA- is the term used for paying disc jockeys to play your music on the radio - Most important magazines in music history are cashbox and billboard with the charts that these magazines included it would help labels, store owners and business determine what music was popular today - One of the most successful early rockers to crossover from rhythm and blues was Antoine Fats Domino, who had giant success in the pop charts while his close associates would say he was more of a country and western singer - Chuck Berry was another large artist in the late 1950 s who had success crossing over from rhythm and blues to pop and reaching the top 50 on both charts with his first hit Maybellene - Berry was known for making story songs like his song school day which was chronicling the daily events of an average teenager - Most of Berry s songs were in simple verse chorus form, often employing a chorus structure influenced by the 12 bar blues - Little Richard was the next big artist in the 1950 s to crossover between rhythm and blues to pop. He was said to create to the wild man persona around rock and roll for his on stage antics and flamboyant style. This unfortunately made it difficult for him to generate fans in the older age groups as his music was too sexual to some people, Berry and Fats both had strong country western backgrounds so older white people still listened to them but Richards music was too much for them. - WHITENING OF RYTHEM AND BLUES- many early rock and roll songs referred to sexuality in their lyrics this was not a very big selling point in the 1950 s so many remakes would be done changing the sexual parts to dancing. William John Clinton Haley Jr. was a disk jockey and also part of a country swing band in Philadelphia, his version of rhythm and blues didn t include the sexual lyrics but was still quite popular across all demographics - With all of the success that these early artists were having it become habit to watch a song rise of the rhythm and blues chart and cover it with a more pop version. Unfortunately this did not allow the crossover of the original song or the original artist who was quite often black and they felt ripped off. When artists would sign contracts with labels they often signed away any future royalties or rights to music so they could be paid up front for shows. This then gave the record companies all of the power to use the songs and allow for white artists to take the songs and then use that version for cd s, jukeboxes and radio. - The main concern this raised was artist covering songs only a week or two after they were released, and justifying it by saying rhythm and blues

20 versions would not play on white radio so they had to remake it to get out to the white culture on pop radio - Pg not received Unit 4 pg , The Demise Of Rock And Roll And The Promise Of Soul Chapter Study Outline Splitting up the Market: Brill Building and ALDON Publishing s return of pre rock and roll - Brill Building - Both place and stylistic label o The brills building is an actual place (located mid Manhattan) however brill building is also a style of music of early 1960s, But it is also a stylistic label and refers to set of business practices - Brill Building approach: o Song chosen for appropriate group- in this process the actual recording artist is not the center of the process o No unpredictable or rebellious singers, this returned power to publishers, a return to the way business was done pre rock - Aldon Music Practices in Brill Building; by Nevins and krichner- aldon offices contained musical instruments songwriters etc - Best known professional at aldon: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weill, Gerry goffin, Carole king, Neil sedaka, Howard Greenfield Teen idols page The rise of Pat Boone & Elvis during the first wave established 2 distinct types of teen idols: o o The good boy clean cut Elvis- respectable boy from the army Good boys were cast as ideal boyfriends: well groomed, attractive, sensitive and not interested in anything more than hand holding and an occasional kiss The Bad boy- tough, sex -obsessed hoodlum whose parents tried hard to keep their girls away from - Teen idols recorded for both independent and major labels with almost equal success between 1957 and 63 - Philadelphia produced an especially high # of hits including

21 o Frankie Avalon DedeDinah and Venus o Bobby Rydell wild one o Freddy Canon Palisades Park o Paula Anka, Bobby Darwin & Neil Sedaka- wrote many of their own songs - Although mostly white, found popularity amongst black audiences, with Bobby Rydell,Freddy Cannon,Neil Sedaka: all scoring top 20 R&B hits during this period - Let loose by Bob Marcui Philadelphia based chancellor label is a good example of musical problems that the teen idol adaptation of rock and roll could produce for the first wave rock fans- song written by brill building producers - The emergence of teen idols in late 1950s inaugurated the bubble gum music - Paula Anka, Neil Sedaka and Bobby Darin all got their starts as teen Idols, each translator their careers into songwriters and performing for a broader audience teen idols marketed on radio and special television shows devoted to teen pop, the most important of which was American Bandstand The dance CRAZE, AMERICAN BANDSTAND, AND THE TWIST ( ) s teens in habit of running home after school to watch American Bandstand o Reinforced idea of national youth culture o Familiar radio show adapted to television o Best known host- dick Clark o Performances were lip synched o Spurred interest in dancing o Reinforced youth culture o Dick Clark introduced the twist in 1960 o Bandstand responsible for teen dance craze and representing American youth - While American bandstand was responsible for igniting 1960s dance craze, its greater role came to play in Americas youth- having a network dedicated to youth reinforced idea of national youth culture- unifying teens by a common bond - Movies played by well known music sins also played a role in this sense of community and shared concern - Elvis- huge teen idol of this time, was making family-oriented films and Frankie Alvan jumped into movies - Paved way for Beatles to come in - Bandstand also helped make rock more acceptable for adults- the twist lead to adults admitting they liked rock and roll for the first time The Rise & Fall of American Bandstand - Page by john Jackson - During first 3 years of American bandstand, Clarke clobbed together a pop music dynasty of his own - By 1959 he owned scores music chubby checker recording of the twist - dance fads arrived more rapidly than ever o 1964 while bandstand increased so did ABCs stature, leading them to reduce bandstand airtime after President Kennedys assassination- two events effected the future of Bandtsand: Clark relocated his show to Los Angelas while the following Sunday