File

Unit 3
Surf Rock and Sixties Pop
Surf and Instrumental Rock
 Pop music from the West Coast
 NOT influenced by the music industry
 Grew out of surf culture
 Southern California
 Carefree, laid-back lifestyle
 Hot rods, wood-paneled station wagons
 Hawaiian shirts and sandals
 Unique vernacular (phrases, speaking)
Surf and Instrumental Rock
 Driving, high energy, primarily instrumental
 Dominated by electric guitar
 Raw, garage-band edge
 Not overly produced
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
 Dale, “King of Surf
Guitar”
 Used downward
glissandos on guitar to
imitate the sound of the
waves
 Tremolos – heard in
traditional oud (Lebanese
music)
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
 1961 - First surf hit –
Let’s Go Trippin’
 1962 – Miserlou
 based on a Middle Eastern folk
song
 Group didn’t like to
travel – remained
popular only in CA
Other Surf Music Groups
 The Marketts, Surfer's Stomp, (#31, 1962)
 The Chantays, Pipeline, (#4, 1963)
 The Surfaris, Wipeout, (#2, 1963)
Related to Surf
Rock....
 Louie, Louie
(#2, 1963)
 The Kingsmen – Seattle-
based group
 Recording of a calypso tune
 Lyrics were thought to be
obscene
 Prompts an FBI
investigation (which
concluded that the lyrics
were unintelligible)
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
 Known for beautiful vocal harmonies
 3 brothers, 1 cousin, 1 friend
 Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, Mike Love, and Al Jardine
 Murray Wilson (father), emotionally and physically abusive
 Brian – most talented of the brothers
 Combined driving rock and guitar sounds of Chuck Berry
with lush vocal harmonies.
The Beach Boys
 Over four years, 7 albums,
17 Top 40 singles
 Girls, cars, hanging-out, surfing
 Brian, primary song writer &
producer
 Surfin’ Safari (#14, 1962)
 I Get Around (#1, 1964)
 Help Me Rhonda (#1, 1965)
Pet Sounds
 Released 1966
 Inspired by the Beatles’
Rubber Soul
 Idea was to record an
album that contained only
good songs, no fillers
 Wanted to make “the
greatest rock and roll
album ever”
 Writing, arranging, and
producing skills
Pet Sounds
 Spent over $70,000 at 3 different studios
 Used to famed band, “The Wrecking Crew”
 Unconventional instruments
 Tympani, Japanese percussion, harpsichord, glockenspiel,
bass harmonica, barking dogs
 Short songs with intricate and difficult vocal arrangements
and melodies
 Lyrics about a young man’s difficult coming of age
Pet Sounds
 Sloop John B (#3)
 Wouldn’t It Be Nice (#8)
 Sold roughly ½ a million copies – disappointing
 Beatles respond with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club
Band
A Teenage Symphony to God
 Good Vibrations (1966)
 Mini-symphony
 Took 6 months to finish
 Cost $50,000 to make
 Smile
 “a teenage symphony to god”
 Never completed
Beach Boys Break Up
 Couldn’t escape the clean-cut, whole-some image
 Popularity waned in the psychedelic era
 Succumbed to a rough, partying lifestyle
Other Sixties Pop
Burt Bacharach and Hall David
 Bacharach – the most prolific pop composer of the last half of the 20th
century
 Worked with Dionne Warwick
 Recorded over 60 of their songs
 23 hit the Top 40
 66 Top 40 Hits
 What the World Needs Now Is Love, What’s New Pussycat?, The Look of
Love, This Guy’s in Love with you, I Say a Little Prayer, Raindrops Keep
Fallin’ on My Head, (They Long to Be) Close to You
 28 Top 10
 6 #1 hits
Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
 Pomus – began career as a white blues singer
 Team up, set up shop in the Brill Building
 Teenager in Love (#5, 1959), This Magic Moment (#16,
1960), Save the Last Dance for Me (#1, 1960), Can’t Get
Used to Losing You (#2, 1963), Viva Las Vagas (#29, 1964)
The Monkees
 Industry-manufactured pop
 Michael Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork
 TV show (1966-1968)
 11 Top 40
 Two #3
 One #2
 Three #1
 Bubblegum pop