Blues music from Mississippi migrated because

Transcription

Blues music from Mississippi migrated because of jobs, segregation etc.
Blues songs have a distinct form- 12 bars and set of 4 beats
- write A
- repeat A
- rhyme B
Chord- set of notes for blues it is I IV V
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IV
V
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Antoine “Fats” Domino
- Born February 26, 1928
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Began playing piano at age 9
- Factory worker by day, performer by night
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Imperial records
- established by Lew Chudd in LA 1945
- signed “Fat Man” debut sold one million copies
- 1949-1962 43 records make the Billboard
o One of the earliest to crossover racial lines
o Covered by Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, and Charles Pat Boone
- “I’m Walking” optimistic, sounds “white”
o Syncopates percussion
o Rolling piano
o Guitar accompaniment
o Sax solo
o Up-beat, clean
Pop/Rock as Social History
- Rock’s first audience was the baby boom generation
- The 60s was known for protest music
- The 70s was a period of glam rock as the baby boomers became wealthy
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Rock and the Economy: American affluence and poverty
When there is no money, people are angry and listen to angry music
Rock and Race:
- importance of African Americans in the origins and development of rock
- Rock and civil rights: the 60s movement had an important role because music broke
down barriers between races
- Women in rock reflects the role of women in society
- Technology: instruments, recording, dissemination
- The music industry: gatekeepers decide which music should be recorded and shared
HTTP://NOTES.BOOKHOLDERS.COM
Pop/Rock music as music:
The 50s (rock and roll)- everything else is just rock
- serious album oriented music is rock
- ephemeral, singles-oriented music is pop
- rock or pop music is: American, fusion of black (blues/gospel) and white (folk/country)
musical styles. Its also an attitude (rebellion)
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Rock came from the Blues
The Blues:
- a feeling
- a style of performance
- a poetic (AAB) and musical (12-bar) form
Bessie Smith 1894-1937
- influential blues artist
- signed with Columbia records in 1923 and launched their race relations record
Robert Johnson
- influential blues man
- Sweet Home Chicago 1936
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Radio: Rock and Roll
Radio:
- national vs. regional culture
- first radio broadcasts 1920
- first national broadcast: NBC in 1928
- clear channel vs. network
- networks played music directed at a white, middle class audience: Andrew Sisters, Bing
Crosby etc.
- radio used live music, not records
- early 50s radio audience moves to television
Rock n’ roll
- rock n’ roll: originally an African American euphemism for sexual intercourse
- Rock n’roll perhaps began when white artists started playing R&B
- The term defined the music of a new generation
Little Richard: Richard Perriman
“Tutti Frutti” 1955
- screaming vocals, nonsense lyrics, wild piano banging
- established Little Richard’s style: a pure strain of rock; sheer physical energy
- a flamboyant artist: mascara, pompadour etc.
- He embodied the new music’s sexuality and spirit of rebellion
- Little Richard and The Upsetters: the rock and roll lifestyle
o Other Little Richard Hits
 Long Tall Sally
 Lucille
Chuck Berry
- country and R&B his main influences
- ex) Maybelline 1955: his first hit a country song made R&B
guitar sound and technique widely imitated
rock’s first great lyricist
o wrote about high school, cars, love, things that every teen experienced ex) School
Day 1957
- Berry wrote many rock standards
o Roll over Beethoven 1956
o Rock and Roll music 1957
o Johnny B. Goode 1958
Popularity of rock and roll due to:
- baby boom provided an audience
- television made more space on the radio
- some DJs loved the music and promoted it: Alan Freed
- transistor and car radios delivered the goods
- civil rights movement: helped make possible the acceptance of black music by white
teens
- whites and blacks integrated on the dance floor
Backlash
- racists fought against rock
- rock’s open sexuality and gender play upset others
- The music industry also attacked rock
o Crooners, DJs, songwriters, arrangers were materially affected by rock’s
popularity
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The Blanching (Whitening) of rock
- major record companies entered the field but used white artists like Pat Boone to record
black artist songs
Boogie-Woogie:
- percussive style of piano blues
o blues progressions
- volume and momentum
- originally applied to a dance with piano accompaniment
- widespread use from instruction for performing Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie
- Examples:
o Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie- Clarence “Pine Top” Smith
 Piano
 12 bar blues
 Dance music
o Rocket 88- Jackie Brenston
 Piano and guitar
 Sax solo
The Riff
- short melodic “idea”
- may be repeated intact or varied
- thought to derive from west African call-and-response music
- prominent in early black American music
- word apparently originated as an element of New Orleans marching band music
According to Cohn: rock was exciting
- artists Chuck Berry and Little Richard were new and exciting
- controversial
- different
- high energy
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Country Music
- like traditional blues, a rural music
- like blues, initially transmitted orally (radio and recordings changed that)
- marketing: country was called “hillbilly” music (blues called “Race” music)
- country and blues mixed in the south
- two important figures
o Jimmie Rodgers
o “The Singing Brakeman”
o First to make hillbilly music widely popular
o Mixed country with the blues
 Ex) Blue Yodel no. 8
o Hank Williams
o Important songwriter and performer: many hits
o Songs explore virtually every human emotion; a passionate performer
o Marvelous marriage of words and music: simple and direct
 Ex) Move it on Over
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Elvis Presley and Rockabilly:
- Elvis 1935-1977 is the first rock superstar
- Rockabilly: a fusion of white country music and black blues and R&B
- Sun Records in Memphis: owned by Sam Phillips
- Elvis’s first record with “That’s all right Mama” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky”
o Ex) That’s all right Mama
 A conventional blues remade
o Ex) Blue Moon of Kentucky
o Bill Monroe’s classic bluegrass tune transformed
 Original is slow, triple meter (a waltz)
 Elvis’s version is fast, in four
 An earlier, unreleased Elvis version shows the transformation into hillbilly
with a rocking beat rockabilly
- live performances created hysteria
1955: Elvis sold to RCA
- becomes a national phenomenon
- Heartbreak Hotel
o Followed by Hound Dog, Love Me Tender
- Colonel Tom Parker
o Elvis’s manager
o Saturated the market with Elvisiana
o Successfully promoted Elvis, but at a price 25% of all profit and 50% of royalties
- Scotty Moore and Bill Black:
o Original members of Elvis’s band
Reactions against Presley
- mostly against sexuality
- RCA, Parker, and Elvis react by toning it down (Elvis goes to Hollywood)
1958-1960 Elvis in the army:
- returns and concentrates on a long series of awful movies
- 1968 comeback special
- Then to Las Vegas
Fame and the Tabloids
- became a recluse: last years were a sad story
Elvis’s Legacy
- 1st rock and roll superstar: brought rock to white people
- 1954-1955: Sun Records period was most acclaimed
- One of the nest known American products The Icon
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Rockabilly, Dick Clark
Sun Records and Sam Phillips
- Phillips looked for a way to present African American music through white performers
- He found it with a series of poor white boys
Jerry Lee Lewis ( The Killer)
- immense and original talent, outrageous persona
- joins Sun 1956: hits 1957 thanks to TV
- ex) Whole Lotta Shakin Goin on
o boogie woogie piano style
- ex) Great Balls of Fire
o passionate performance
- career slams when he marries his 13 year old cousin Myra
- he later becomes a country star
The Rockabilly Sound
- instrumentation: slap bass, electric guitar, and piano straddles R&B and country
- Sam Phillips also important for his sound: echo, distortion etc.
- Ex) Jackie Brenston, Rocket 88 1951
Bill Haley and his Comets
- Rock Around the Clock 1955
o Used in film Blackboard Jungle 1955
o Big-band like arrangement
o Craze for rock and roll films
- Bill Haley was the first white rocker to top the charts before Elvis
- Rock around the clock was one of the first rock and roll hits
The Market
- Late 50s was a time of prosperity
- Record sales tripled from 1954-1959
- Rock had a large share of that growth:
o 1955: 8/51 top ten records
Rock’s first golden age
- the 50s: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Elvis
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- Producers: Chess Borthers, Sam Phillips
- DJ Alan Freed
Lost Idols: Rock’s crisis in the late 50s
- The Next Phase
o Businessmen Dick Clark and Kirshner
Dick Clark
- American Bandstand: first broadcast in August 1957: a national hit, a clean cut image for
rock and roll
- Promoted new stars: white Italian- American teen idols
- He became a star himself
The Philadelphia Sound:
- teen crooners
- image counts for all, music is secondary
o ex) Fabian “Tiger”
Schlock-Rock
- a white, middle class face on rock
- energy, rebellion sex disappear
Chubby Checker
- The Twist 1960
- White suburbanites latched onto the twist
- Early 60s was an era of dance crazes: twist, jerk, limbo, fish, mashed potato etc.
Payola
- payola: pay for play
o pay to et records played
- payola investigations 1959-1960 use as a means to attack rock
- Dick Clark unscathed; Alan Freed’s career was damaged
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Charles Buddy Holly
- born September 7, 1936 in Lubbock, TX
- listened to R&B
o Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Lightnin’ Hopkins
- listened to country
o Hank Show, Hank Williams
- started playing “Western Swing”
- Then met and backed Elvis
- Formed The Crickets
o Joe B. Maudlin (bass) and Jerry Allison (drums)
- discovered by Decca in 1956
- Rock and studio pionerring
o Clean controlled double tracking
o Played a Apollo in Harlem, NY
“That’ll Be the Day”
- first hit in 1957
- clean sound for its time
- Elvis influenced voice
o More hits: Peggy Sue, Maybe Baby, Rave On, Oh Boy, Not Fade Away
The Day the Music Died
- February 3, 1959: plane crash in Mason City. Iowa
- Holly, Big Bopper (JP Richardson) and Richie Valens killed
- Commemorated by Don McClean’s “American Pie”
- Holly recorded for only 2 years but influence lasts far beyond
o The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, the Hollie, Bob Dylan
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Doo-Wop, Girl Groups
Doo Wop
- gospel based, urban, black, male 1950s-early 60s
- sound: tenor lead, deep bass, soaring falsetto
- nonsense syllables
- intricate harmonic arrangements
o ex) The Chords “Sh-Boom” 1954
o jazz flavor: scat singing, sax solo, backup vocals rhythms
- Doo Wop characterized by one hit wonders
o Ex) The Penguins “Earth Angel” 1954
 Garage recording
 One of the most popular oldies today
o Ex) Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers “Why do fools fall in love” 1956
- Doo Wop groups were often named after cars, birds
A Capella
- Doo Wop is a form of a capella singing popular on college campuses
- Bobby McFerrin
Don Kirshner
- 1960-1963: professional songwriters become important in rock
- Publisher and producer behind this movement
- A Tin Pan Alley approach- people performed the new hits on pianos as people walked by
Basic shift in music industry at mid century
- from upper class urban music to working class rural music
o from sheet music to records
o from the majors to independent record companies
o from written to oral traditions
The Brill Building
- songwriting teams
o Sedaka
o King & Goffin
o Barry Manilow & Cynthia Well
Girl Groups
- Kirshner and Brill Building writers build Doo Wop
- 100s of songs were sold
- Innocent songs of adolescent romance for teen girls
- Most popular were African American
o Ex) The Chiffons “He’s so Fine”
o Ex) The Shirelles “Will you love me tomorrow” 1961
 1st number oe hit by a girl group
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Uncharacteristically deep message (pre-marital sex)
The music of the girl groups is some of the most carefully crafted in all of
rock
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The Monkees
- the pre-fab four: America’s TV answer to the early Beatles
- TV series becuted fall 1966, ran two years
- Records became even bigger than the show
- Tin Pan Alley approach: songs by Neil Diamond, Goffin/King etc.
- Studio musicians
- Ex) Daydream Believer
Producers’ rock
- like the Monkees, girl groups rarely wrote or performed their own songs
Phil Spector
- wrote or co-wrote the music, picked the singers, instrumentalists, and engineers
- Ex) The Ronettes “Be My Baby” 1963
o Tough, sexy, the first “bad girls”
The Wall of Sound
- the power of Richard Wagner
- ex) The Prelude from Act III Lohengrin
- achieved in studio by doubling instruments (5-7 guitars, 3 pianos etc.) and sing a lot of
echo
- “Little Symphonies for the kids”
- ex) The Crystals “Da Doo Ron Ron”
- Spector often recorded at Gold Star Studio in LA with musicians knows as the wrecking
crew (Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye)
- Produced a small number of meticulously crafted songs each year
- Ex) The Righteous Bros “You’ve lost that loving feeling”
- girl groups closely tied to Brill Building songwriters had much success in early 60s
- carefully crafted
- struggle between raw energy and musical sophistication
- with the girl groups, women enter rock
California in the late 50s and 60s had a strong economy and the image was one of fun and sundrew a lot of people over from the east
Surfing: a California craze after the film: Gidget
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Dick Dale and his Del-Tones
Dick Dale: King of surf musicians
- ex) Miserlou 1962
o fast, twangy metallic sound
o middle eastern sounding melodies over Spanish inflected chords
Instrumental surf music came first
- The Surfaris: Wipe Out
o Another instrumental surf classic
o Famous drum solo
Usual form
Form of Good Vibrations
A-verse: muted bass, organ, flutes, hushed, intimate
B-Chorus: bowed bass, Theremin
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B
C- harpsichord, Jews harp, tambourine, thick vocals
D-meditation over organ, sleigh bells
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E-na na na
B- Instrumental tag out
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A- verse
B- Chorus
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C- Bridge
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The Beach Boys formed 1961: 3 brothers, a cousin, and a friend
- a family affair
- commercial and critical success
- added Chuck Berry riffs and glossy harmonies to surf: internationally known
Surfin’ USA
- reworking of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little 16”
- lyrics describe teen utopia
Surfer Girl 1963
- Brian Wilson becomes the band’s producer
- Beach Boys were one the first groups with studio control
- Ex) In my room
o Surf’s reverb guitar, Brian’s falsetto
o Complex and often unorthodox harmonies
- numerous hits: Fun Fun Fun, California Girls etc
- 1965: Brian Wilson experimenting in the studio and with drugs (LSD)
Pet Sounds
- result of Wilson’s studio and drug use
- diverse and unusual instrumentation, virtuosic vocal arrangements, advanced harmony
- one of the classic rock albums
- Ex) Wouldn’t It Be Nice
o A fantasy of marital bliss
o Notable introduction: harp suggests fairy tale
o Remarkable singing
- Ex) God Only Knows
o Complex counterpoint: 2 or more melodies together simultaneously
Good Vibrations
- result of 6 months work in studio
- used Theremin
Later Beach Boys
- Smile: ambitious studio project completed only in 2004
- Surf’s Up 1971
- 1970s: Beach Boys become an oldies band
Surf Summarized:
- 1962-1964
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White and middle class
Optimistic, upbeat music (The Kennedy presidency)
Surf as subculture: no parents allowed
Surf as a metaphor for a lifestyle that celebrates consumption
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Folk, Dylan, Folk-Rock
Folk Music
- folk denotes music in an oral, tradition, rural, relatively simple, performed by nonprofessionals
- In 20th century America, folk became urban as well
Songs of Social Protest
- protest always part of American music: inequality, poverty, war
- Woody Guthrie: Pete Seger continues tradition
- Woody Guthrie “This land is your land”
Pete Seger: 1940 formed The Weavers
Late 40s early 50s protest music was strong but the singers fell into disrepute with the McCarthy
hysteria
Folk Revival
- folk revival: The Kingston Trio
- commercial folk boom led to rediscovery of traditional folk music: fans explored its roots
- folk music craze across the country (coffeehouses etc.)
Civil Rights
- the growing demand of African Americans for civil rights
o Woolworth’s counter sit-in
o Freedom rides
o March on Washington DC Aug 1963
o MLK “I have a dream”
o John F. Kennedy
o Newport Folk Festical 1963
Bob Dylan
- arrived in time to take advantage of this convergence of musical and political
developments
- influenced particularly by Woody Guthrie
The Freewheelin’ 1963 by Dylan (2nd album)
- politicized the 60s folk music with his 2nd album
- ex) Blowin’ in the wind- a civil rights anthem
o evocative
o lyrics:: 3 questions (all the answers are “blowin’ in the wind”)
o “Oxford Town” “Hard Rain’s a gonna fall” deal with similarly important issues
o This music is for adults- differs from early rock
o Freewheelin’ established Dylan as the voice of his generation
The Times They are a changing
- 3rd album continues with protest
- Ex) title song: a battle cry for reform
Disenchantment
- Nov 22, 1963: JFK assassinated- folk music scene unravels
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- Dylan moves away from political activism: writes personal, complex, cryptic songs
Bringing it all Back Home 1965
- abandons folk protest for electric rock
- bring the two traditions (folk and rock) together
- ex) Subterranean Homesick Blues- his first top 40 hit
Highway 61 revisited 1965
- his next album: impressionistic, beat inspired poetry
o ex) Like a Rolling Stone
o 6 minutes long (a landmark recording) and a top 10 hit
Newport folk festival
- July 1965 unveils his new electric sound at Newport folk festival : booed
- But overall he attracted a wider audience
- That new sound inaugurated folk-rock
1965: the crucial year
- album: Bringing It All Back Home
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Newport
- The Byrds cover Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”
Dylan Summarized
- the most influential white American pop musician of the 60s
- many styles, the repercussions of each are still being explored
- prolific songwriter
- great poet
- inaugurated 60s folk rock with electric sound
- suggested 70s country rock with albums
Folk Rock: The Byrds
- The Byrds added vocal harmonies (inspired by the Beatles) to Dylan’s
- 1st hit Mr Tambourine Man
- Ex) 8 miles high 1966
o Unearthly sound (vocal harmonies)
o John Coltrane influence
o Banned for alleged drug references
- also important for sound
- 1965: a big year for folk rock
Simon and Garfunkel
- began in 1957 with an Everly Brothers sound
- Album: Wednesday Morning 3 AM 1964 Dylan like folk music but no success
- The Sounds of Silence taken from that record now dressed up as folk rock reaches #1 in
1965
- 1966: Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme: commercial and
critical successes
- Their music appealed to both teens and adults
- Ex) Mrs. Robinson from soundtrack of film The Graduate 1968
- Bookends 1968
- Bridge Over Troubled Water 1970: Simon and Garfunkel split at their peak
- The Concert in central park 1981
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The British Invasion
- begins February 7, 1964 when the Beatles land in NY
- Feb 9 on Ed Sullivan show
- In 9 days 2 million records sold
- Radically transformed the sound and meaning of rock: new sounds, structures,
seriousness
Early Beatles
- Beatles began as a skiffle band in 1957
- Skiffle: English variety of blues, often using homemade instruments
- Played in Hamburg from 1960 and at Liverpool’s Cavern Club
- Influences: R&B, rock n’ roll, rockabilly
- Ex) Long Tall Sally
- 1961 Brian Epstein (manager) tells them to clean up tough image and puts them in suits
and gets them iconic haircuts
- Producer: George Martin and Ringo Starr joins the band
1963: England
- She Loves You no. 1 in Britain
- Beatlemania hits Britain first
1964: America
- ex) I want t hold your hand hits #1 in U.S. in January 1964
- Capitol had remarkable ad campaign- stickers with “The Beatles are Coming!”
- Beatles dominated the charts in 1964
- Beatles “Good Clean Fun”
1965: Help
- soundtrack to their second movie
- ex) Yesterday (with string quartet)
- George Martin “the fifth Beatle” through of bringing in the string quartet and did most of
the arrangement
- Other great songs “ticket to ride” “I’ve just seen a face”
They had mastered rock’s roots and paid their dues
Star personas
Songwriting skills: soon come to write all their own songs
The Beatles Middle Period
- Rubber Soul 1965
- Music complexity, lyrical sophistication
- Idea of album as a unified entity, each song is a part of bigger picture
- John and Paul move in different directions in their songwriting
o John: more about the message, lyrics, bringing in current events
o Paul: more pop, harmonies, perfecting music
o Ex) In my life
 Reflective lyrics
 Keyboard solo played by George Martin illustrates studio effects so
characteristic of the Beatles
- with Rubber Soul the lyrics still concern love
- Beatles last live concert August 29, 1966
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They work instead in the studio experimenting
o With exotic instruments
o With sound (tape effects)
Revolver 1966
- expanded rock again: new instruments, sonic effects
o ex) Love You To
o Harrison’s first Indian composition (sitar) Ravi Shankar
o Ex) Tomorrow Never Knows
 Psychedelic
 Text derived from Tibetan Book of Dead
 Ostinato- short figure repeated
 Tape and sound effects: tape loops, artificial double tracking
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967
- recording technology: four track tape machine
- 1st concept album
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The Mersey (British) beat, British blues invasion, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Who
The Mersey or British Beat
- Beatles paved the way in America for other groups 1964 & 1965
- Gerry and Pacemakers, Herman’s Hermits, The Dave Clark Five etc.
o Ex) Herman’s Hermits “I’m into Something Good” 1964
- British Blues invasion
o English groups The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones: Music
- rooted in Chicago blues
- Jagger and Richards authored numerous classics
- Unforgettable guitar riffs
- Lyrics of sex, stanism, violence
The Rolling Stones: Image
- crude, tough image created in part by Andrew Oldham
- Bad boy opposites to the Beatles
- Calculated image making
The Stones: The beginnings
- 1960: covered Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry etc.
- Ex) I can’t get no satisfaction 1965
o Illustrates Keith’s riffs
o Lyrics are pure teenage aggression and very clever
Aftermath
- all original songs on this album
- 1967: trouble with the law for drugs
Their Satanic Majesty’s Request psychedelic attempt
- didn’t gain popularity
- cool album art
1968
- ex) Jumpin Jack Flash
- return to straight rock
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- Beggar’s banquet
- Ex) Sympathy for the Devil
Rolling Stones were rock and roll rebels
Stones defined hard rock, the big tour, big business in rock
The Kinks
- a truly original sound
- Kinks practically created power chord rock with “You really got me” 1964
- Ex) All Day and All Night
- Satirical songs and also rock opera
The Who
- great live shows
- energy
- violence
- volume: really loud
- innovation: creative
- gigantic power chords of guitarist Pete Townshend
- great rhythm section (John Entwistle bass, Keith Moon drums)
- Ex) I Can’t Explain 1965
o Classic song of teen defiance
o The sound of anger and rebellion
- The Who sell out
- Tommy 1969: 1st rock opera
o Elements: narrative, thematic reminiscences with sound and attitude of rock
o Rock as high art
o Ex) Pinball wizard
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The 1960s were a triumphant period for black music with Motown (Detroit) and soul (Memphis)
Motown’s early years
- Berry Gordon Jr. songwriter and producer founded Motown records 1959
- Ex) Barrett Strong “Money” written by Gordon
- Smokey Robinson: singer, songwriter, producer
Motown’s Girl Groups
- ex) The Marvelettes “Please Mr. Postman” 1961
o Motown’s first #1 pop hit
Mary Wells “My Guy” 1964 written by Smokey Robinson
- emphasis on the hook “my guy” repeated almost every line
1964-1965 saw major civil rights legislation enacted:
- civil rights act
- Voting rights act
- Equal employment opportunity commission created
- LBJ’s Great Society
Civil rights and Motown
- integration: Motown integrated the pop market (the sound of young America)
- the promise of civil rights: very big, successful black-owned business
Motown’s Assembly Line
- songwriters: Smokey Robinson, Norman Whitfield, Ashford & Simpson
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o Holland, Dozier and Holland (HDH) lots of hits
o Ex) Martha and the Vandellas “Heat Wave” 1963
 Numerous repetitions of the hook
The Four Tops
- ex) Reach out I’ll be there (Aug 1966)
- ex) standing in the shadows of love (nov 1966)
- basically the same song so…HDH just kept making similar songs
- if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
- extends to the songwriters friendly competition
The Artist Development ITMI (international talent management inc.)
- finishing school (Maxine Powell)
- choreography (Cholly Atkins)
The Funk Borthers
- in-house band among the best R&B musicians of the 60s
- Particularly noteworthy is James Jamerson, bass
- Music created as collaboration
The Supremes
- the biggest Motown act in mid 60s
- slow starters but in 1964 temaed with HDH
- ex) Where did our love go?
The Temptations
- three lead singers, remarkable choreography
- 38 top 40 hits
- Ex) My Girl 1965 written by Smokey Robinson
Motown sells out?
- lyrics avoid social issues
- artist development for whom?
Aleatory
- a term applied to music whose composition and/or performance is to a greater or lesser
extent, undetermined by the composer
- use random procedures to generate a fixed composition
- allow choice to performers among options given by the composer
- methods of notation
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John Cage 1912-1992
- American composer/sonic innovator
- Extended reach of music to include “unmusical” sounds
o Prepared piano: putting objects in the piano
o Installations: hitting random things
- possibly most influential American composer of 20th century
- ex) music of changes
o for piano
o tossed coins and consulted the I-Ching to determine pitches, durations, intensities
- ex) 4’33”
o most infamous piece
o no sound/music only natural sounds
o influence on the Beatles
 Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite
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Psychedelic (Acid) Rock
Ex) Jefferson Airplane “The Ballad of you and me and Pooniel”
Mid 60s San Francisco
- a new kind of rock
- a new mission for rock
Beat and Beatniks
- roots of hippie movement
- ex) Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg
- Beat: a counterculture philosophy (beat of jazz)
- San Francisco: Haight Ashbury
- Early events
o Trips festival 1965, 1966 Ken Kesey hosted it
o Acid tests
o Human Be-in 1967
- migration of young people to San Francisco
- hippies were young, middle class, educated, poor
The Hippie Culture (Counterculture)
- rejected middle class values such as materialism, sexual taboos (birth control)
- embraced eastern and native American philosophies
- back to nature, communal living
- drugs: LSD defined the movement and gave the music its name
- Ken Kesey and Dr. Timothy Leary responsible for getting LSD out into society (CIA
experiments)
- Drugs used to expand consciousness
- Drugs would eventually lead to a new world order
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Drugs and Rock
- musicians explored LSD and music
- ex) Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” Alice in Wonderland ideas, Bolero rhythm
The Grateful Dead
- music and philosophy shaped by LSD
- anti-commercial
- committed to community (communal living)
- developed their psychedelic sound in live performance (Beatles sound was from in
studios)
- experimental, improvisational, long jams
- John Coltrane showed how
o No holds barred group improvisations
o Variation over a single chord or drone
o Adapted the principles of Indian and Arabic music (Beatles just used color of
Indian music)
- ex) The Grateful Dead “Dark Star”
- country music also an important part of their style
- Deadheads- group of followers/fans
Other Aspects of Acid rock
- light shows
o evoke the psychedelic experience
- venues: The Fillmore, Avalon Ballroom
- poster art, underground comics
- R. Crumb work :cartoons
- Bill Graham: manager/businessman for concerts/events
- Tom Donahue and a new format: albums played on FM format
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Soul
What is Soul
- of relating to or characteristic of black Americans and their culture
- an attitude: African American pride
- a term of authenticity and sincerity
- a style of music
Gospel
- African American protestant sacred music
- Vocal style: singers shout, growl, moan etc.
- A simple hymn tunes elaborately embellished
- Use of formulaic phrases “Can I get a witness”
- Dancing or clapping accompany the music
- The sound of black church
- Important artists: Mahalia Jackson, Dixie Hummingbirds
- Ex) Clara Ward “How I got over”
Soul Music
- most soul singers began in the church
- soul music is gospel based R&B (secular gospel)
- Ray Charles brought the vocal techniques and passion of gospel to R&B
- Ex) Ray Charles “I got a woman” 1954
Ray Charles (The Genius)
- wide ranging talents: songwriter, arranger, pianist, singer
- master of al American popular music styles
- genius for synthesis
- ex) Georgia on my mind
- takes Tin Pan Alley to another level
- ex) I can’t stop loving you
- merge of country, gospel blues, Tin Pan Alley, even jazz (in the piano)
Soul developed in the south
- Atlantic and Stax (in Memphis) were the major soul labels
- Booker T and MGs
o House ban helped create the Stax sound
o Racially integrated
o Ex) Green Onions1962
- soul was created by whites and blacks working together in the south
ex) Wilson Pickett “In the midnight hour”
soul is raw, unpolished, powerful
ex) Sam and Dave “Hold on I’m coming” 1966
ex) Percy Sledge “When a man loves a woman” 1966
o recorded at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Otis Redding
- sitting on the dock of my bay 1968
- ex) “I’ve been loving you too long” 1965
Soul: another way of saying “race music”
Soul music accompanied urban unrest 1967-1968
- 1967: The long hot summer
- April 4, 1968: assassination of Martin Luther King
Aretha Franklin (The queen of soul)
- signed with Atlantic in 1966, flew south to record album
- I never loved a man the way I love you 1967
- Included “Do right woman” and “Respect”
- Ex) Do right woman-do right man
o Gospel sound, call and response
o Arethra continued the process begun by Ray Charles and Sam Cooke: the
secularization of gospel
- Ex) Respect
o Respect was a crossover hit (#1 pop)
o Aretha viewed as spokeswoman for African Americans
o Ex) “Think” 1968 with Aretha’s soulful cries of freedom
Soul in the early 1970s
- soul music ignored by radio at beginning of 1970s
- civil rights movement in decline
- soul music soon rebounds
Marvin Gaye
- Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder bring social and political themes to Motown in the 70s
- Career exemplifies maturation
- Gifted singer
- Troubled soul
- 60s hits include duets with Tammi Terrell
- 1968-2972 hiatus
- Gains artistic control in 1971
Marvin Gaye What’s Going On 1971
- concept album: musically and thematically unified
- powerful social commentary
- ex) Inner city blues (Make me wanna holler) (civil rights)
- ex) Mercy mercy me (the ecology)
- ex) What’s goin on (Vietnam War)
Let’s Get it on 1973
- shift from social to sexual issues
- ex) Let’s get it on
Philadelphia Soft Soul
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- Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff (writer/producer team)
- Dozens of millions selling singles
- Glassy production anticipates disco
- Ex) Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, “If you don’t know me by now”
- Ex) The O’Jays “I Love Music” 1975
Blaxploitation films
- Shaft, score by Isaac Hayes 1971
- Superfly, score by Curtis Mayfield 1972
- Ex) theme from shaft
Other notable groups
- staple songers “I’ll take you there” 1972
- Isley Brothers “That Lady” 1973
Al Green
- popular 0s soul singer, sol d more than 20 million records
- music embodies the scored and profane
- vocals the sweetness of Sam Cooke, the rawness of Otis Redding
- sound of southern soul: gospel style organ, horns etc.
- take me to the river
- Let’s Stay Together
The Big Picture
- two main streams of black pop in the 60s: Motown and Soul
- inner city riots, MLK’s assassination changed civil rights politics
- integration replaced by “independence”
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The Doors
Meteoric Rise and Fall
- formed in LA 1965
- signed with Elektra 1967
- The Doors released 1967
o “Break on through (to the other side)”
o “The End”
o “Light my fire”
- #2 on charts
- The most successful psychedelic band
- ex) Light my fire
o organ- psychedelic and classical
o dark lyrics
o extended jams: 2 verses and a chorus, 7 minutes long
Jim Morrison
- rockstar
- long hair, black leather, sex, charisma
- embraced excess and madness
o drugs
o arrested “lewd and lascivious behavior”
- poet: wanted to be a beat
- teen idol? Was a teeny bopper, young and audience fall in love with him
Jim Morrison “The End”
- sabbatical to Paris in 1971
- died July 3rd of a heart attack age 27
- becomes even more popular
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Janis Joplin
- born in Jan 19, 1943 in Port Arthur Texas
- listened to blues
o Leadbelly and Bessie Smith
- leaves and returns
- settles in San Francisco in 1966
Big Brother and the Holding Company
- blues based
- breakthrough performance at 1967 Monterey Pop Festival
- ex) Ball and Chain
o raspy, bluesy, screaming
o powerful, gripping
- Kozmic blues band, full-hit boogie band=later groups
Janis Joplin
- rockstar
- drugs and alcohol
- died Oct 4, 1970
o heroin and alcohol OD 27 years old
st
- 1 woman to reach rock star
o Music and personality over looks
John Coltrane 1926-1967
- jazz musician
- tenor sax player, composer
- worked with and influenced by Miles Davis
- 1940s: few chords-kind of blue
- 1950s: lots of chords, complex progressions
- 1960s: one chord
o Eatern music and heroin habit
- ex) Love supreme
o influence on acid rockers
o Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane
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Campus Unrest
- late 60s: university students protesting the Vietnam war
- May 1968 Columbia University
- Anti-war demonstrations
- Peace Rally 1967
Democratic National Convention Chicago Aug 1968
- Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Youth International Party (Yippies)
- Led to a police riot
Psychedelic blues?
-
music for a darker time
blues always was an important element in acid rock
o ex) Janis Joplin
Late 60s saw a blues revival: Canned Heat, Jeff Beck, 10 years After
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Cream
- the first “supergroup”
- 3 virtuosos: Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton
- Ex) Sunshine of Your lOve 1967
o Riff based tune
Wheels of Fire 1968
- double album, one studio, one live
- ex) White Room (wah wah pedal)
- long improvisatory jams
- ex) Crossroads
Cream’s Influence
- 1st of the power trios
- Extended onstage improvisations
- A standard of impeccable musicianship
- Extremely loud, riff based songs provided a prototype for heavy metal
The Electric Guitar: from acoustic to solid body
Late 40s: Leo Fender and Les Paul develop solid body guitar
Ex) Gibson Les Paul guitar
Les Paul
- musician, engineer, inventor
- pioneered multi-track recording, echo, delay etc. in the 1940s and 1950s
- ex) How High the moon with Mary Ford 1951
Fuzz/distortion
- an essential element of rock from the start
- sax, and later, guitar emulated the growl of blues singers
- radio and vinyl records added noise
- weak amplifiers overdriven
- accidental (later deliberate) damage to amps also contributed (Link Wray, Rumble 1958)
- fuzz box invented 1962
- Rolling Stones “Satisfaction” brought fuzz wide attention
- Many guitar effects followed (MXR effects units)
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Jimi Hendrix: The Experience: debut album 1967
American breakthrough- Monterey Pop festival
- June 1967: Monterey Pop festival
- Launched a number of important careers: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
- songs inspired by psychedelic experience
- titles reflect this
- blues master
-
ex) Purple Haze
o tritone opening (diabolus in music)
o explicit drug references
o frenzied solos, distortion, fuzz pedal
o a shift in the balance of power: guitar more important than the voice
Electric Ladyland 1968
- Classic: extended improvisations, original use of the studio etc.
- ex) And the Gods made love
o experiments here with tape effects
- Hendrix was an original explorer of sound
- Ex) All Along the Watchtower
o Fusion of Dylan’s lyrics and Hendrix’s guitar
o Great psychedelic solo: note the ending “howl”- tone painting
Heavy Metal
What does the term denote?
- audience
- social practices
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Led Zeppelin
- extended the heavy blues of Cream and Hendrix
- the first heavy metal band
Debut Album 1969: Led Zeppelin
- songs built on riffs
- new interpretations of traditional Chicago blues tunes
- ex) How many more times- Howlin Wolf’s How Many More Years
o used as basis for live improvisations
Led Zeppelin II 1969
- Ex) Whole Lotta Love
- Definitive hard rock style
- Illustrates Plant’s vocal range
Led Zeppelin IV (ZOSO) 1970
- broad approach
- ex) Stairway to Heaven
o marketing strategy
o never sold singles, only albums
o joins the two main aspects of their style: bone crushing rock, the softer folk side
o lyrics explore myth, mysticism
o never had a #1 because of marketing strategy
o sectional structure; a grand crescendo (density, volume, speed)
- mid 70s Led Zeppelin the top rock act in the world
- broke up in 1980, popularity has not diminished since
Led Zeppelin Legacy
- Page’s guitar style, Bonham’s thunderous drumming, Plant’s leather lung vocals
- Jimmy Page the architect: unsurpassed
- Led Zeppelin Remasters: nice and tidy
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- performance style
Musical elements of HM
- volume, distortion
- heavy drums, bass; high tenor vocals
- power chord: usually 4ths or 5ths, amplified, distorted
- ex) Black Sabbath “War Pigs”
o power chord: musical embodiment of power
o names of the bands, visual language of the album covers and stage shows this idea
too
Antecedents of HM
- heavy approach to the blues seen in music of Cream, Hendrix, Zeppelin
- Iron Butterfly: Ina-gadda-da-vida
- Deep Purple
Black Sabbath
- Black Sabbath 1970 &Paranoid 1971 virtually defined heavy metal
- Lyrics: the occult, Satanism, death and description
- Music: extreme volume, catatonic tempos, gloom and doom
- Ex) Black Sabbath
o Depicts a black mass
o Thunder, rain, chirch bells, clow tempo, suggests a procession
o Tritone riff
o Many metal conventions
 Instrumental
 Based on a riff
 Dramatic vocals
 Discrete section
- Sabbath is like metal 101
- Also typical of metal is the airplay, earned their reputation by touring
September 19, 1970 London- Hendrix is dead
- takes 9 sleeping pills
- choked on wine and vomit
- OD on pills and alcohol
- 27 years old
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Distortion/guitar
- beginning: accidental distortion through breaking the amplifier wanted to imitate sound
of saxophone and trumpet
- rock music always had fuzz: LP records and bad radio noise
- deliberate distortion: Link Wray and pencil stuck in amp
- cutting chords with razors: The Kinks
Fuzz box is invented
- pedal
- Richard Meyer and Hendrix worked a lot with fuzz boxes
- Anything that glorifies the sound of technology: futurism
Ambience (depth)
- acoustics of a room or space
o reverb and echo
- reverb
o size of room, material of room
- Echo
o Sound bouncing back to ears (Elvis, The Supremes)
- Wet: a lot of reverb
- Dry: not so much reverb
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EQ (height)
- range of frequencies
o highness or lowness of pitch
- treble and bass
- strive for balanced EQ
o stereo (width)
- location of sound
o left, right, or center
- Pan Sound- sound to side
- Sonic landscape
o Clearer individual parts, more complex sonically
- Mono
o Assumed only one speaker
o Not three dimensional
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Funk
- 1968 (Aretha Franklin’s Think) was also the year of James Brown’s Say It Loud, I’m
Black and I’m Proud
- Brown illustrates two points
James Brown
- made his name as a great live performer
- ex) Please Please Please 1956
- leave behind traditional notions of grammar and meaning in favor of heightened emotion
through rhythm and timbre
Ex) Papa’s got a brand new bag 1965
- few chord changes, not much melody: rhythm is everything
- Choked-sounding rhythm guitar (scratch guitar) choppy bass figures, staccato horns etc.
- The African sound
- Song defines the future of black pop
- JB raps
- Anticipates early hip hop both in musical style and emphasis on the black experience as
subject matter
- JB is a spokesman for African Americans
Black Power
- Martin Luther King: integration
- Despite the promise of civil rights legislations, black saw little change
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- Malcolm X spoke to these dispossessed people: separation vs. integration
- Watts 1965 Detroit 1967 South Central LA 1992: all reflect same frustration
- Black power a political manifesto: time for blacks to take control of their own destiny
Black Panther Party
- founded 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale
- advocated armed insurrection
Sly and the family Stone
- Sly Stone an innovator: joined various musical syles (jazz, soul, funk, acid rock, socially
conscious folk) to create an original sound
- Ex) Everyday People 1969
o Classic song about race
o Lyrics of tolerance and inclusion: “different strokes for different folks”
- Ex) Hot Fun In the Summertime 1969
o Illustrates Sly’s original approach to form
Goerge Clinton (Parliament, Funkadelic)
- funk mixed with rock
- or funk on acid
- spectacular live shows
- innovative concept albums
- Clinton’s big sound: many layers of riffs
- Ex) Give Up the Funk
The 70s: Jazz Rock Classical (Art or Prog) Rock
Woodstock
- Aug 15-17 1969
o The counterculture’s finest hour
- Altamont Dec 1969 and Kent State May 1970 crushed that sense of unity and hope
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The 70s: new musical directions
- After Kent State rock became a political cerebral form
Jazz Rock
- rock is fusion
- Miles Davis, the jazz rock innovator
- Bitches Brew 1969 and In A Silent Way 1969 pioneered jazz rock
- Mixed acoustic jazz improvisation with rock accompaniment
Blood Sweat Tears and Chicago
- both groups fused blues and rock with big band jazz horns and arrangements
- Ex) Chicago “Does Anybody Really Know what Time it is?” 1970
o Apolitical music
o Big band sound accomplished musicians
Santana
- added Latin percussion and rhythms to the jazz rock sound
- Ex) Evil Ways 1970
Steely Dan
- helped popularize jazz rock in the 70s
- Pop hooks, jazz harmonies, complex arrangements
-
-
Originally a quintet but soon became a trio
Early hits: Do It Again, Reeling in the Years, Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Jazz phrasings and chords expand rock’s vocabulary
o Ex) Hey 19 1980
o Typical of Steely Dan are cynical lyrics and great guitar playing (Mark Knopfler
on this song)
set an example of professionalism and studio perfection that many aspired to
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The 70s: Technological developments
- 8, 16, 64, track machines
The 70s: Social developments
- environment
- sexual politics: women’s rights, right to choose, gay rights
Rock’s infrastructure
- venues: clubs and ballrooms (the Fillmore) give way to arenas and stadiums (sound
systems)
- FM radio allowed progressive radio to be heard but became commercial as AM radio
- Rock press and the birth of rock criticism Rolling Stone founded by Jann Wenner
Rock as Art
- journalistic respect, seriousness of the musicians gave rock status of art
- Sgt. Peppers the signal eent in this evolution
- From that point on every cut had to be polished to perfection
The Synthesizer
- revolutionary instrument
- uses electrical currents to simulate sound
- 1954: RCA music synthesizer (punched paper rolls)
- 1964: Dr. Robert Moog announces new type, using voltage control
- 1968: Walter Carlos “Switch on Bach” generates much interest
- Minimoog 1971 portable synthesizer, Prophet 5 1977
- 1972: Wendy Carlos, Clockwork Orange soundtrack
- 1977: Prophet 5 (polyphonic)
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Emerson, Lake and Palmer
- Tarkus 1971
- Concept album, sophisticated use of synthesizers
- Ex) “Eruption” exotic time signatures (5/4)
- Also illustrates progressive rock’s interest in fantasy lyrics and classical forms such as
the suite
Pink Floyd
- drums: Nick Mason
- keyboards: Richard Wright
- bass/vocals: Roger Waters
- guitar/vocals/songwriters: Syd Barrett
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The Pink Floyd Sound
- 1966
o Acid rock
o Fantasy filled lyrics
o Long improvisational freakouts
o 1st quadraphonic PA system (in Britain) surround sound
o 1st liquid light show (Britain)
- Ex) See Emily Play
o From Piper at the Gates of Dawn 1967
o #6 in the UK
Syd Barrett is the driving force
- LSD
- Mental illness? Started going kind of crazy which creates problems
o David Gilmour is added to help pick up areas where Syd was losing it
o David Gilmour-guitar/vocals
Pink Floyd
- Syd Barrett is dropped because he causes too many problems
- Known for freat artistic album covers
- Meddle 1971
o “Echoes” 23 ½ minutes long
Live Shows
- elaborate state of the art
- film projection and light shows and 3D sound
The Dark Side of the Moon 1973
- continuous play- always transitions
- heart beat- ticking clock-typewriter-cash-register-gunfire-voices speaking
- theme of fear and anxiety in contemporary life
- #1 in US for a week
- On billboard charts for 14 consecutive years
o Album reached #1 in 2001
o 2006-1500 weeks on billboard charts
- Ex) Money
o Cash register and money sounds: early use of sampling
o Time signature 7/8 (7 beats)
o Guitar solo- switches to 4 beats
Wish You Were Here 1975
- 3 songs and a 2 part 26 minute “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”
- Syd Barrett’s shadow still looms
Animals 1977
- anti-industry, anti-capitalism
The Wall 1979
- Roger Waters’ creation
- “Comfortable Numb”
- “Another Brick in the Wall” part II
- #1 for 15 weeks
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Country, Country Rock
Country music settles in Nashville
2 types of mainstream country
- traditional country, honky tonk (Hank Williams)
- Pop-oriented or “crossover” country
- crossover: move of a record/performer from success in one genre or area to another with
usually more mainstream audience
Patsy Cline
- crossover appeal
- rejected the hillbilly/cowgirl image
- embodied the smooth, sophisticated Nashville sound
- ex) Crazy
o Walkin after midnight
o I fall to pieces
o Crazy
o She’s got you
Johnny Cash
- began as rockabilly artist at Sun records 1955
- early hits: Folsom Prison Blues 1956 I Walk the Line
- 1958-1967: period of alcohol and drug abuse
- 1967: with help of June Carter quits drugs and converts to Christianity
- Live concert recordings at Folsom Prison and San Quentin
- 1969: ABC starts broadcasting The Johnny Cash Show- showcase for all kinds of
American folk and country music
- Career resurrected in 1990s and 2000s
o American recording series
o Ex) Hurt country music and the counterculture
- country represented the silent majority who opposed civil rights and Vietnam war protest,
hippie lifestyle, and so forth
- embraced “traditional” values: God, country, family
- conservative views were expressed by “traditional” country artists such as Merle Haggard
Traditional Country
Country rock
- late 60s early 70s some rockers explored country roots
Bob Dylan
- two LPs pointed the way: John Wesley Harding 1968 and Nashville Skyline 1969
- ex) I’ll be your baby tonight from John Wesley Harding
o clean, spare production
The Band
- backed Dylan from 1965, collaborated in his transition from acoustic to electric
- three great LPs
o The Band 1969
 Songs of American frontier and the farming life
 Music connected to American traditions, yet utterly original
 Ex) The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Eagles
-
popularized the sound of country rock and had enormous commercial success
ex) Take It Easy 1972
o women, trouble with women, trucks, dogs, whiskey etc.
Progressive country: The Outlaw movement
- Willie Nelson made Austin, TX a country music capital
- The first annual Willie Nelson 4th of July picnic 1973: country music’s Woodstock
o Brought sex, drugs
- The Outlaws 1976
o Compilation album with songs by Nelson and Waylon Jennings
o First country album to achieve platinum status
The Big Picture
- like other genres of pop, country branched out in the 60s and 70s
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Theater, Glam (Glamor) Rock
The “me” decade
- Nixon re-elected in 1972; Vietnam war ends 1975
- 60s radicals become 70s yuppies (young urban professionals) no longer politically
engaged
- America prospers
- Cocaine the 70s drug of choice
- An era of sexual experimentation
- The pursuit of pleasure
Elton John
- outrageous outfits reflect 70s extravagance
- traditional, carefully crafted songs written with Bernie Taupin
- immense commercial success the #1 pop artist of the 70s
- ex) Rocket Man (from Honky Chateau 1972)
Heavy Metal Theater: alice Cooper
- the pioneer of rock theater, elaborate (and degenerate) shows
- ex) School’s Out 1972
- bellowed vocal a model for punk
Kiss
- took Alice Cooper’s excess to another level
- makeup, extravagant stage shows
- ruthlessly commercial (Kiss dolls etc.) comic books
- Cooper and Kiss pushed the limits of decorum, and aldo challenged ideas of gender
Glam Rock: David Bowie
- Bowie: the avatar of glam (or glitter) rock
- Ex) Space Oddity 1969
- Early 70s: an androgynous image
- 1972 creates persona of Ziggy Stardust
- Releases the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
- Also in 1972 Bowie publicly declares that he is gay
Young Americans 1975
- avante-garde disco (disco-punk plastic soul)
- Bowie is now the “thin white uke”
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- Ex) Fame
Let’s Dance 1983
- his biggest commercial success
- ex) Modern Love
Thoughts on David Bowie
- significant impact on punk: provided an outrageous model for punk rockers; revived
careers of Iggy Pop and Lou Reed
- great success with dance music from 1975 on
- Bowie’s genius for constructing, re-inventing himself as an ever changing media icon
Queen
- glam/hard/heavy metal
- one of the most popular bands of all time
- lavish and theatrical live shows
- hard rock anthems (we will rock you)
- intricate compositions produced by multi-tracking
- Ex) Bohemian Rhapsody 1975
o Pathbreaking 6 minute single in 3 movements
o 1st single whose success was connected with video
o One of the 1st conceptual videos (no performance)
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Punk Rock
- the first “alternative” music: less commercial, more authentic
- mid 70s: rock is corporate and safe
- punk and disco changed that
angry minimalist- back to basics
born in NYC CBGB club
Prehistory: The Velvet Underground and Nico 1967
Iggy Pop
- ambitious writing ex) Heroin
Andy Warhol promoted The Velvet Underground
Iggy Pop
- comes from Detroit
- 1st album produced by John Cale of Velvet Underground 1969
- Ex) Search and Destroy: angry, pessimistic music, guitar noise
Punk: New York
- Richard Meyers: television, not trained musicians, learned music on the job
- 1st maxim of punk: DIY do it yourself
Patti Smith
- new role for women in rock
- Horses 1976: one of the 1st great punk albums ex) Gloria
The Ramones
Back to basics, stripped down rock, fast/short songs
- debut album: The Ramones 1976
- influential in England, everyone took their template
Punk: London
Mid 70s: hard economic times- conservatism (new right)
- punk=desperate anger
Sex Pistols
- lasted little more than a year
- ,manager: Malcolm McLaren, mythology of political and musical revolt
- Only guitar, bass, drums
- God Save the Queen- banned despite being #1 in England 1977
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Disco
- a funk based style of dance music popular in the 2nd ½ of the 70s
- DJs played non-stop dance music with thumping beat
- Disco and punk compared
- Diametrically opposed styles (Attitude, sophistication, styles, fashion)
- Similarities: (both shunned by radio, both a reaction to 70s rock)
The Disco Scene
- discotheques (dance clubs using recorded music) around since early 60s
- 70s=light shows
- Cocaine and poppers (amyl and butyl nitrate)
- Disco was about communal ecstasy
- DJs became as important as musicians
- Disco reflected opulence (shiny, gold clothes/accessories)
Origins
- arose from gay New York dance culture
- DJs created smooth transitions
The Funk Connection
- Ohio Players, Tower of Power etc.
Earth Wind and Fire
- elements of disco: funk guitar/bass, soul horns, Latin rhythms, strings, vocal harmonies
- message of racial unity
Early disco
Gloria Gaynor “Never can say goodbye” 1974 (the first hit)
- one of the first records specially mixed for club play
- Van McCoy and The Soul City Orchestra “The Hustle” 1975
KC and the Sunshine Band
- 3 number one singles in 1975 and 1976
- Ex) Get down tonight
- That’s the way I like it
- Shake Your Booty
Donna Summer
- disco’s 1st diva
- ex) Love to love you baby 1975 produced by Giorgio Moroder
- Moroder created extended symphonic mixes (did DJ’s work for them)
- One line hook
- Disco initially promoted by independent labels
Village People
- popular in 1978-1979
- 6 gay men in costume
- Songs were gay jokes for those who got them; disco novelties for those who didn’t
The Bee Gees: Saturday Night Fever 1977
- trademark falsetto sound
- crossover media aspect (Robert Stigwood)
- film wed “nice” bee gees music to John Travolta’s straight macho image: made disco safe
and widely popular
- huge commercial success: biggest selling record ever at the time
Disco’s success
- 1979: disco was an enormous commercial success
Reaction: Disco sucks
- anti-disco campaigns from the hard rock/metal axis (young white males)
- homophobic, racist, musical/aesthetic reaction
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Reggae, New Wave
- a mix of Carribean folk music and American R&B
- the first rock style to originate in the so-called 3rd world
- born in Kingston, Jamaica
Origins of reggae
- popular dance music between 1960 and 1965
- used R&B vocal styles and instrumentation (piano, bass, guitar, drums, horns)
- fast tempos, piano and guitar emphasize the backbeat
- The Skatalites
- Ex) Don Drummond “Man in the street” 1965
Rock Steady
- appears ca. 1965, a slower version of ska
- folk steady supported by the Rude Boys, urban, lower class youth who opposed the
system
- ex) Derrick Morgan “Tougher than tough” 1967
Reggae
- in the late 60s comes reggae, created under the influences of Rastafarians and Rude Boy
Street politics
- word “reggae” derived from “raggay” a Kingston slang term meaning “raggedy, everyday
stuff”
- musical characteristics include emphasis on offbeat (rhythm guitar) heavy bass,
interlocking rhythms
- Rastafarianism
- A political music: attacks racism, capitalism
- Ex) Jimmy Cliff “The harder the come” 1972
- Early figures: Toots, Maytals, the Wailers, Burning Spear
Bob Marley
- made reggae international in 70s
- 6 gold LPs between 1975 and 1980
- Marley is an icon for oppressed people everywhere
- Ex) Stir it Up
Reggae International
- film and soundtrack for The Harder They Come 1973 introduced reggae to the US
early adaptions include Paul Simon’s “Mother and child reunion” 1972 and Eric
Clapton’s cover of “I shot the sheriff” 1974
- White acts, particularly in Britain (Clash, Police) adopt/adapt reggae
Dub, dancehall, reaggaeton
- subgenres of reggae developed later
- both demonstrate the importance of the record producer and the Jamaican sound system
- Dancehall talks about sex, not social issue
New Wave
- succeeds punk
- retains punk’s energy but with a new attitude: irony vs. rage, aesthetic music vs. nihilism
- more polished musicianship
- more commercial success
The Clash
- the most political of the British punk bands
- Mick Jones wrote most of the music; Joe Strummer wrote and sag most of the lyrics
- Broadened the horizons of punk; mixing in reggae, R&B
- Showed that punk didn’t have to be limited ot one style
- Ex) Train in Vain
Talking Heads
- CBGB debut 1975
- Represented the self-consciously artistic side of the 70s alternative rock
- Aesthetic of minimalism
- Omage of nerdy college student
- Mixed R&B, funk, African rhythms
- David Byrne a major figure later in the World Beat movement
- Ex) Psycho Killer 1979
Blondie
- led new wave toward pop mainstream
- like Clash, Talking Heads, they experimented, incorporated other styles
- Deborah Harry
- Breakthrough album: Parallel Lines 1978
- Ex) The Tide is High 1980
Commercial Success
- new wave reached big markets because the message was pop, not politics
- and because it was song driven and had great hooks: “we got the beat” “My Sharona” etc.
B-52s
- B-52s had an unforgettable image: 50s slacks and shirts, beehive hairdos
- ex) Red Lobster
Retro sound: surf guitar, cheesy 60s organ sound
The Police
- rose from British punk scene
- strong reggae influence ex) Roxanne 1978
- pop superstars in the 80s
- an original guitar sound
- ex) Candy in a coalmine
o reggae at punk tempo
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Other important New Wave acts include
- Devo
- Elvis Costello
- The Pretenders
- The cars
- Billy Idol
The Big Picture
- punk evolves into accessible, commercially successful music called New Wave
- At the same time, punk goes underground in 80s (hardcore) resurfaces as “alternative” in
the 90s
- New Wave brings a new attitude: fun vs. political statement
- New Wave expands the musical horizons of punk
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MTV
1980: two signal events
- murder of John Lennon
- election of Ronald Reagan
Early 80s
- 1979-1980: music industry in recession, but soon received by the CD and MTV
- The video age: American youth watched a lot of TV and video
- Video games a major industry
- Video cassette recorder becomes common
MTV
- launched August 1, 1981: changed rock
- precursors
o MGM musicals
o Scapitone/color Sonics machines
o Beatles “Paperback writer”
o “Bohemian rhapsody”
- with MTV, music video is used for marketing
The New Romantics
- MTV concentrated on visually appealing British bands (a 2nd British invasion) who used
the edium to promote their records
- The New Romantics, music with synthesizers and a disco beat called synth-pop or
electro-pop
The Synthesizer
- revolutionary instrument
- uses electrical currents to simulate sound
- 1964: Dr. Robert Moog announces a new type, using voltage control
- 1968: Walter Carlos, switched on Bach, generates interest
- 1971: minimoog (monophonic)
- 1977: Prophet 5 (polyphonic)
- 1977: influential synthesizer players afte Walter Carlos, Keith Emerson, Kratwerk,
Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno, Stevie Wonder
- Synthesizer important in 70s and 80s
- Gary Newman’s “Cars” popular synth-pop song 1980
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- Synthesizer reflects the digital age
Duran Duran
- one of the most successful early MTV acts
- pop sensibility, visual, fashion conscious, attractive
- synth-pop sound
- ex) Rio 1982
Other acts that hit with electro-pop through MTV
- Human League
- Flock Seagulls
- Spandau Ballet
- Soft Cell
- Eurythmics
- Depeche Mode
- David Bowie
MTV’s color barrier
Michael Jackson
- Jackson 5: huge crossover success
- Solo albums
o Off the Wall 1979 (8 million copies sold)
o Thriller 1982 (40 million sold)
o Both produced by Quincy Jones
- Jackson and MTV a perfect fit: visually stunning videos, remarkable choreography
- Unheard of sales (Jackson on commercial par with Elvis and The Beatles)
- Michael Jackson’s legacy
o Broke down racial barriers on MTV (Beat It and Billy Jean)
o Great dancer, choreographer
o Record sales
o Helped lead charity rock movement in the U.S.
Women and MTV
- women’s voices
- Cyndi Lauper “Girls just wanna have fun”
- Pat Benatar “Love is a Battlefield”
Madonna
- begain as disco diva, then used music video to make herself a star
- Bowie-like chameleon
- Consistency pushes buttons: sexuality, religion, abortion, so forth
- Sells sex (Like a Virgin) but is in control of her own career
- Ex) Material Girl, Papa don’t preach
MTV was critical in the 80s
Served as a kind of national radio station, reaching millions if a video was in heavy rotationmany would see it (marketing) MTV placed emphasis on things other than good writing, singing,
playing (Milli Vanilli, Ashlee Simpson etc)
The mid and later 80s, Punk Underground
The mid-and-late 80s
- economy down, the rich got richer, the poor much poorer
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- disillusionment
- a new idealism surfaced in the mid 80s
Bruce Springsteen
- music and image evoked rebellious rockers of the 50s and socially conscious folkies
- born in the U.S.A (1984-85) 7 top ten singles
- sang about Americans experiencing hard times
- committed himself to action: benefits, donations etc.
- remarkable live performances
The Industry
- becomes more concentrated on just a few artists who provide a significant portion of total
revenue
- albums filled with carefull crafted quality material
- synergy: closer association between the music industry and Hollywood
Technology
- satellite transmission
- portable sound transmission (walkmen)
Benefits (charity rock)
- Bob Geldof
o Do They Know It’s Christmas 1984
o We are the World 1985
o Benefits to aid the starving in Africa
- Live Aid 1985: with satellite broadcast, one of the largest events in human history
- Other followed Farm Aid, Amnesty International
- Sun City concert and video: the fight against apartheid
- These mega-events crossed a broad range of audience demographics
Paul Simon, Graceland 1986
- the seminal worldbeat album
- recorded with South African musicians including Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- political controversy
- true artistic collaboration
- a global album recorded in 5 locations on 3 continents
- ex) Homeless
U2
- leaders in the 60s-style protest revival
- Ethereal guitar sound
- “Sunday Bloody Sunday” 1982
The Late 80s folk rock
- Suzanne Vega
- Lyrics matter once again
Compact disc
- introduced late 1982
- replaced vinyl LP in remarkably short time
- huge boost for the industry (back catalogs)
Other developments
- market becomes dominated by a few multinational corporations
- radio stations devoted to classic rock and addressed to boomers explode
Tech and rock
- historical pattern of improved sound quality and increased consumer of the music
- digital downloading: Napster issues parallel earlier ones
Punk Underground
- hardcore: a faster, angrier version of punk
- begain in Los Angeles and other centers 1978 with bands such as Black Flag, X
- DIY: bands promoted themselves, financed their own records
- Ex) Black Flag “Revenge”
Dead Kennedys
- created own label
- overly political
- ex) California Uber Alles 1979
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The Continuing History of Heavy Metal
1970s
- live performances becomes more visually spectacular
Judas Priest
- twin lead guitars
- extravagant stage shows
- short, catchy tunes point the way to 80s pop metal
- British steel 1980: first album to chart in U.S.
- Ex) You’ve got another thing coming
Aerosmith
- a part of the first wave of American metal, formed in 1970
- Rolling Stones parallels
- “The Toxic Twins” decline in the late 70s
- Permanent vacation 1984: comeback kids
- Ex) Sweet Emotion. Janie’s got a gun
80s metal becomes mainstream with bands like Def Leppard, Van Halen, Bon Jovi
- shorter catchier songs, more sophisticated production
- emphasis on virtuosity, classical music is a source
- ex) Van Halen “Eruption”
80s metal continued
- hair bands
- metal categories
o traditional
o pop/lite, glam
o thrash/speed
o death
- the main genres were pop and thrash
- MTV promoted pop metal (Van Halen, Bon Jovi etc.) and made it big
- Ex) Van Halen “Jump” 1984: video was important for the mainstreaming of metal
Thrash/Speed Metal
- underground: sought to maintain the “true” metal tradition
- form hardcore punk comes faster tempos, hostile posture, fanzines, indie labels etc.
- the “father” Lemmy Killmister of Motorhead
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- ex) Ace of Spades 1980
Metallica
- formed in 1981
- like Motorhead and later Megadeath, sped metal up to create the new style
- underground, music circulated on cassette
- eventually top 10 without MTV or radio airplay
- ex) The Four Horsemen
Megadeath
- formed in 1983 when Dave Mustaine was kicked out o Metallica
- Megadeath continued Meatallica’s thrash metal style with even more speed and intensity
- Created a progressive strain of heavy metal based on chaos and aggression
- Ex) Mechanix
In late 80s metal was one of the biggest selling genres
- metal has becomes part of the sound of our culture
Guns n’ roses
- appetite for destruction 1987: #1 in 1988; eventually sold more than 13 million copies
- the new bad boys of metal
Metal and Censorship
- Parents music resource center (PMRC) founded 1985
- Congressional hearings
- Famous court cases: Ozzy 1985 9suicide solution) Judas Priest in 1990 “backward
masking” ex) The Beatles Abbey Road
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Old School Hip Hop/Rap
Hip hop a dominant force in American culture today
In the beginning
- Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s delight” 1979 rhythm/bass line from Chic’s disco hit “Good
Times”
- “Rapper’s Delight” brought rap to national attention
- Rap arrives as disco ends
Context
- economic hardship for African Americans in 80s and 90s
- drugs, gangs, and guns
- rap music arose from this desperation-plight of black youth and creating sense of
community
- originated in South Bronx
The DJ
- rap begins in New York
DJ Kool Herc
- first turntablist
- brought Jamaican sound system and concept of toasting to rap
- use two turntables to create a new mix or dub, extend the break (percussion solo in a funk
song)
Scratching
- invented by Grand Wizard Theodore
- Grandmaster Flash “Adventures on the wheel of steel” 1981
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- Herbie Hancock “ROckit” 1983
Rap
- DJ s added verbal patter (intros, segues) to the tracks
- Rap becomes more elaborate when others (MCs) do it while Djs spin
- Antecedents: children’s rhymes, “the dozens”, oratory of MLK and Muhammad Ali
- In essence its about the competition, the battle
Grandmaster Flash and the furious five
Ex) “The Message” 1982: a frank view of ghetto life
- showed rap could be more than novelty: lyrics could now deal with serious issues
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force
- ex) Planet Rock 1982
- synthesizal futuristic funk sound illustrates coming of drum machines and sampling
- Roland TR-808 drum machine
- Hip hop culture growns underground
- New fashion, new language
The elements of hip hop
- turntablism (DJ)
- rap (MC)
- break dancing
- graffiti
- fashion
Break Dancing
- B-Boy (break beat or Bronx boy)
- Women danced from the beginning
- The battle=essence
Graffitti
- began in the late 60s
- focused on subway trains
- media outcry in early 70s
Run-DMC
- a new sound: rapid-fire vocal tradeoffs, spare boomy beats
- brought rap to the masses
- ex) Walk this Way 1986
o combine rap and rock
o 1st top ten rap hit
o Classic video (1st rap video ever shown on MTV)
The Beastie Boys
- 1st minority students in old school
- Expanded rap’s vocabulary
- Ex) Fight for your right to party 9187
- Punk nihilism, white rap styling
Hip Hop and technology
- turntables, drum machines
- sampling: sound taken from one recorded medium and used on another
- sampling important since 1988 (Public Enemy< Beatie Boys, NWA)
o art or plagiarism?
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The 90s: A New Generation
- high unemployment, low income
- divorce: single parent/families
- child abuse on the rise
- violence a part of life
o culture of violence in TV
o gangs, guns
- their music- metal/punk/grunge and gansta rap
Alternative music
- term used for music seen as less commercial an mainstream, more authentic and
uncompromising
- rock- art rather than product or profit
- associated with local music scneces
o Athens, Georgia (B-52s REM)
o Minneapolis
o Boston/Amherst
Altenative: A marketing category
- commercial success
Seattle
- a distinct alternative scene in late 80s
- Green River, Sub Pop records
- DIY again: taking control of their own culture
- Significant bands: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden
- TV and film bring more attention to Seattle
Grunge
- blend of hardcore punk, heavy metal, and pop
- refried Black Sabbath
- a look/style
- a reaction against hair bands
Nirvana
- Nevermind (1991(: huge success
- Kurt Cobain influences include Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Pixies
- All can be heard in the Nirvana sound
- Ex) Smells like Teen Spirit
- Seattle bands dominate charts in 1992, 1993
- Grunge reflects anger, frustration, disillusionment of new generation
Gangsta rap
- chronicled the violence if the inner city
- reality rap “Black America’s CNN”
NWA
- straight Outta Compton 1988- gangsta style
- Ex) Fuck the Police
- Dr. Dre and Ice T: members who moved on to have greater success
Ice T
- Body Count 1992: includes controversial song “Cop Killer” (censorship)
- Merge of rap and thrash metal
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Public Enemy
- with Arrested Development, Queen Latifah, KRS-one and other delivered message of
black pride
- 1987-1992: redefined role of rappers in contemporary culture
- Mix of parties, noise
- 1988: It Takes a Nation to Hold us Back
- Ex) Bring the Noise (with Anthrax)
Crossover
- Yo! MTV Raps pushes wall between rock and hip hop
- Fusion of rap and rock/thrash metal=sales
Rap and Rock-Common
- rebellious, noisy
- alienated youth
Hip Hop in the 90s
- commercially dominant form of pop music
- hip hop in now national
- hip hop is corporate
Puff Daddy (P. Diddy)
- from the street to the executive suite
- Bad Boy Entertainment: a business empire
- Producer
Notorious BIG
- literary skill, rhythm
- ex) Big Poppa
Dr. Dre
- The Chronic 1992 introduces G-funk: slower, laid back, bottom heavy, rich with funk
samples
- Also introduces Snoop Doggy Dogg
- Ex) “Nuthin but a G-Thang”
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Blues music from Mississippi migrated because

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