History of Rock Exam 1
• Strophic Form
(=simple verse chorus) same music behind verse and chorus
• End Weighted Verse Chorus
(or end weighted refrain): chorus is same every time but weighted at end of chorus (ex: "My Girl"- chorus all buids up to My Girl
• Measures
12mm = 12 measures in that section; one measure equals 4 counts; or 8, or whatever is designated (usually 4 or 8 in rock); also called bar
ASCAP
1914 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers formed to recover royalties from performances of copyrighted music. Sold licenses covering its catalogue of songs to venues of live performance • Very few African Americans were permitted to join
• 12 bar blues:
3 four bar phrases (chord progression: AAB form)
Honky-Tonk
EXAMPLE: Hank Williams Sr. "Your Cheatin' Heart" (1952) ◦ Lyrics in plain language delivered with intense emotion (almost blues-like) ◦ conveys the ethos of the roadside bar or juke joint ◦ instrumental accompaniment features fiddle and steel guitar (from country) plus ◦ Non-country infusions from a rhythm section (string bass, guitar and drums) to give rhythmic and harmonic support.
• AABA
Material, same material, B is bridge
Rural and Urban Blues:
Migration Patterns from the Rural South to the Urban North: • After WWI, music played by black musicians was called "race" music • 1940, Jerry Wexler (journalist) coined the term "rhythm and blues" • for first half of century, black popular music completely outside of mainstream pop (country and western had marginal presence) • Reflects segregation; Migration of blacks from South to North to work in industrial centers helped integrate regional Af Amer styles into mainstream • Blacks brought music to Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, • Before rock and roll, rhythm and blues was collection of tons of regional styles, not a defined single style • "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues" by W. C. Handy sheet music sold well nationally, blues popular • Handy was composer, became popular also through recordings of female black singers: ex: "Down Hearted Blues" by Bessie Smith; she got popular from this
• Contrasting Verse Chorus:
Music totally different from verse and chorus
NAB
National Alliance of Broadcasters monitored radio broadcasts. • Radio Act of 1927 codified NAB's recommendations • Communications Act of 1934 sett up FCC (Federal Communications Commission) • NBC and CBS controlled 98% of wattage and 50 of 52 clear channels by 1938
Country Blues (aka Delta or Down Home Blues)
Robert Johnson's "Come on in my kitchen" ◦ non-verbal sounds intensify intended feeling ◦ guitar sometimes matches vocal melody, creating heterophony • Blind Lemon Jefferson: Matchbox Blues
• Full reprise:
Sometimes, entire AABA form is repeated (in "Over the Rainbow")
• Meter
Way of organizing rhythm and beats in music
• Simple
When a beat divided into two parts ("one and, two and, three and, four and")
o Schizophonia
a by-product of mediaization, it is the splitting of a sound from its cultural matrix o "Hindewhu" "Watermelon Man" "Sanctuary" (song examples)
Major Pentatonic"
a major scale (type that is normal, 5 notes) (beginning of "My Girl"= major pentatonic scale!)
• Polyphonic
a texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody
• Heterophonic
a type characterized by simultaneous variation of a single melodic line; complex monophony with one basic melody, but with multiple voices each playing melody differently (in different rhythm or tempo with various embellishments and elaborations)
o Equilizers
affect quality of sound by manipulating frequency; adjust timbre of music so it highlights certain instruments and keeps them from covering each other up
• Compound
beat divided evenly into three parts ("one and a, two and a, three and a, four and a")
• Colonel Tom Parker:
began working with Elvis as promoter and later personal manager • Parker bought out Elvis from Sun Records (from Phillips) • Elvis's first single with RCA was "Heartbreak Hotel" (number one on pop and western charts, five on R&B charts) • → TV appearances (Ed Sullivan) • SUPER IMPORTANT DEAL; before this, most major companies weren't interested in rock and roll; but since industry leader paid enormous sum for rock and roll, other labels started to too (= rock and roll closer to pop mainstream)
• Call and Response
between soloist and chorus, part of R&B and drawn from gospel practices • "I Got a Woman" (54) Ray Charles: reli lyrics to gospel songs were changed to make them pop songs • Borrowing from reli music was controversial within black community
sterio
can hear more dimensions to music, can place certain sounds/instruments in different locations (as you do with sound in real life)
• Monophonic
consisting of a single musical line, without accompaniment
• Shuffle Beat
dividing beat into three parts
• Rock beat:
dividing beat into two parts
reverb
effect of artificially creating a room sound via electronic means; "Where did Our Love Go" -Supremes uses reverb to make it seem like a clap is in a large room; same with "That's All Right (Mama)"; gives voice a quality you couldn't get live o Sound engineers can limit natural ambience for a "dry" recording; or use reverb to change quality of sound/voice
o upper partials/harmonics
instrument plays a "fundamental" note along with a slightly higher note (upper partials/harmonics)
o Commodification
making music into a sellable product
o mono
monophonic sound (only one speaker for playback); in first decade of rock, practically all the music was like this; Phil Spector good at this
• Bessie Smith:
o "Down Hearted Blues" by W.C. Handy made her famous (1923?) o Performed with Louis Armstrong o Career faded by end of the decade because blues wasn't popular anymore
• Robert Johnson:
o 1936-37 recordings influenced rock guitarists in the 1960s o rural blues singer, sang with acoustic guitar o Endorsed by Eric Clapton eventually o "Cross Roads Blues" (36) (Clapton's Cross Roads same deal) o ^demonstrates tremendous flexibility of this style, artists could add extra beats or measures as they pleased o As blacks moved to urban areas, more defined blues musicians, less flexibility
• Alan Freed:
o Alan Freed sponsored late-night radio show devoted to R&B music with Freed as host (The Moondog Show) in 1951 in Cleveland o Radio programs originally devoted to black teens now targeted at whites o Freed: most influential DJ in rock and roll's break into the mainstream o Enormously successful→ debuted in NYC with new show The Rock and Roll Party" syndicated nationally and in Europe → R&B accessible to teens everywhere o He promoted concerts, produced films, worked in TV, capitalized on success of his TV show o Took 1958 concert show The Big Beat (included Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis) across the US o Later produced Rock Around the Clock (56) and Don't Knock the Rock (57) o He seemed like the father of Rock and Roll to teenagers, so it was no surprise when backlash to rock and roll was directed at him
• Folk Influence:
o Anglo-American folk music o Ballads o Instrumental dance music (jigs, reels, ect.) o Story told in the vernacular (plain, everyday language) o Unrtrained vocal quality, rough voice o Heterophony o Verse-refrain form o Up-tempo dance rhythms
• Art (Classical) Music:
o Associated with complex, highly civilized societies o Receives a disproportionate amount of state patronage o Associated with an elite class of people in the society o Embodies the ideals and values of the dominant sector of society o Associated with modern urban society o Tightly entwined with consumerism, mass media and latest advances in technology o Caters to mainstream tastes but may also assume a provocative role in society o Originality is highly valued, as "newness" is a selling point o Pieces reflect constraints of the media by which they are broadcast to the general population
• Popular Music:
o Associated with modern urban society o Righty entwined with consumerism, mass media and latest advances in technology o Caters to mainstream tastes but may also assume a provocative role in society o Originality is highly valued as "newness" is a selling point o Pieces reflect constraints of the media by which they are broadcast to the general population o Musicians often achieve identity though group organization, named bands, combos, etc. o The repertory in a popular music has a fast rate of turnover compared to other types of music, reflecting the quickly changing tastes of modern mainstream culture (and/or the inherent need of a capitalist society to sell material goods)
• Folk Music
o Associated with the anonymous masses o Rural settings o Material culture of the musical cultural (instruments, costumes and so on) reflects the level of technology and availability of raw materials o Music is often associated with particular occasions and events (births, weddings, religious rituals) o Such traditions usually have been transmitted orally, often in a passive manner o Repertories may be controlled by untrained non-professionals or by specialists who might also rely on music as a primary means of making a living o Folk repertories once thought of as unchanging or slowly changing are now seen to be undergoing tremendous changes as rural cultures are introduced to modern lifestyles either directly or through the mass media
• Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five:
o Became popular with mainstream listeners: (unlike the rhythm and blues artists that were only popular regionally outside of mainstream pop) o "G.I. Jive" (44) o "Caldonia Boogie" (45) o "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie (46) o "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (49) o Fast tempos of swing dance music, only rhythm and sax instrumentation o Upbeat and comical voice, but often lyrics of poverty and racism
• The Basics of the Blues:
o Blues Texts (lyrics) o Write/Read o Repeat o Rhyme o Example of a chorus: (AAB) • "I'm gonna sit right here and write a blues today. • Yeah, I'm gonna sit right here and write a blues today. • If I can rhyme "today", mu blues will be okay."
• Sectional Verse-Chorus Format:
o Chorus is the part of the song listeners are likely to recognize, while verse is introduction (sets the scene for the song) o Ex: most people only know the chorus to "White Christmas"
Simple Verse Chorus:
o Chorus: part of section that repeats o Single musical pattern used for verses and choruses in the song o Melody may change from verse to verse, but underlying chords stay the same o Main difference between this and simple chorus is that simple chorus doesn't include a verse o "Can the Circle be Unbroken" -Carter Family; 2/4 (with dropped beats); style of music and confessional style of it; Hillbilly music; Southeast country music (1935); regional
• Bing Crosby:
o Crooning (has microphone, can do that b/c of that technology); first to use microphone as an innovator, sang to you, not at you o Favorite in US and abroad o No performer persona, just acted like a regular guy on stage o Pop singer o "I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams" (38) o "Only Forever" (40) o "Swinging on a Star" (44) o "White Christmas" o Also acted and hosted his own radio variety show o Projected wholesome, friendly, paternal image (different from most pop singers from that time)
o Blues Style:
o Descending melodic contour o Gritty vocal timbre o Blues notes and other inflections o Narrow range o "You gotta give me some" and "Wild about that Thing"
• Mass Music/People's Music:
o Does Popular Music rise from below (i.e. from "the people") or is it superimposed from above by the powers that be? o Two Camps: Defenders and Detractors of Popular Music o Defenders: (Popular music...) • Offers richness and diversity to consumers • Strengthens democratic institutions by encouraging a harmonious pluralism • Provides a space to talk back against the status quo and those who hold power o Detractors: • Conservative elitists: decry downfall of high art; view popular music as a debased art form • Neo-Marxists: View mass music as a conspiracy of those holding power (particularly in the corporate world of capitalism); differentiate mass music from popular music
• Duple (2 Parts):
o Duple simple, two parts (2/4) o Duple compound, three parts (6/8)
• 1955-60: First "wave" of Rock and roll • Artists include:
o Fats Domino o Little Richard o Chuck Berry o Bill Haley o Elvis Presley o Jerry Lee Lewis o Buddy Holly
• Fats Domino:
o First of the early rockers: Antoine "Fats" Domino o Based in New Orleans o "The Fat Man" (50) o "Goin' Home" (52) o "Something's Wrong" (53) o "Ain't It a Shame" (55) crossed over to POP charts o "I'm In Love Again" (56) o "Blueberry Hill" (56) o "I'm Walkin" (57) o played piano; repeated triplet chords and singing lyrical melodies; relaxed manner o Warm, friendly image unlikely to trigger racial anxiety of any kind o Producer: Dave Bartholomew • "Blueberry Hill" o AABA form only bridge and last verse repeated o 12/8 time with New Orleans feels (1 and a, 2 and a, 3 and a, 4 and a)
o Early Fox Trot:
o Fletcher Henderson's recording of "Copenhagen" (1924) o Two-beat rhythm maintained by tuba and banjo o Such dance orchestra's introduced a black beat to popular song with the eventual emergence of the fox trot song
• Chuck Berry:
o From St. Louis o Introduced to Chess Records by Muddy Waters o Wrote songs people would copy in crossovers and wouldn't have to change the lyrics o First hit for Chess: "Maybellene" o ^hit version of a song by Roy Acuff and Bob Wills ("Ida Red") o "School Day" (57) o "Rock and Roll Music" (57) o "Sweet Little Sixteen (58) o "Johnny B. Goode" (58) o Style: rolling triplets on the piano and a smooth vocal delivery o People thought he was white (loved country music) o "Duck walk" was his trademark o songs more of a friendly ribbing of adult culture than full frontal assault o "Memphis, Tennessee (63) o Most of his songs in simple verse chorus form, 12 bar blues o Guitar style became one of the most imitated in rock • "Johnny B. Goode" o Chuck Berry; Chess Records (58) o Simple verse chorus o 4/4 with tendency to blend in a shuffle
• Hank Williams: Short Career, big impact
o Iconic figure in Western and country music starting in 1950s o Before that, Roy Acuff, Gene Autry, and Jimmy Rodgers were successful o None as good as Hank though o First Hit: Tin Pan Alley song "Lovesick Blues" (1949) o Became regular on Grand Ole Opry o Died at age 33 in 53 o Oly five years of success, but his music was recorded by later generations of country singers o Also: singer who died too young became romantic image for future rock singers o Impression of sincere emotional expression o "Your Cheatin' Heart (53) o "Cold, Cold, Heart (51) o "I'm So Lonesome I could cry" (49)
o Syncopated Dance Music: James Reese Europe
o Innovative band leader o Led the Syncopated Society Orchestra, the first African American ensemble to land a recording contract o Organized the Clef Club, a NY black musicians' union o Association with Vernon and Irene Castle led to dance records with Victor Records
o Early Jazz:
o King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band: "Dippermouth Blues" (1923) o Imitates blues vocal style o Repeated riffs; use of blue notes o Rhythmic freedom over the beat
• Influence of Classical (Art) Music:
o Mid-19th century popular songs for social dancing were in a simplified art-song style o Henry Russell was the most influential songwriter in the 1830s-40s o Homophonic Texture: Chordal background for melody follows the rules of harmony of art music o Clear rhythmic hierarchy: beat division, beat, measure, two and four measure phrases of melody are aspects of art tradition o Clearly outlined form
• Little Richard:
o Most flamboyant performer in the early rock years o "Tutti Frutti" (55): 4/4; simple verse chorus, begins with chorus o "Long Tall Sally" (56) o "Keep a Knockin'" (57) o "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (58) o sometimes manacle singing, screaming, aggressive piano pounding (Played with leg propped up over piano!) o Contrast to Fats Domino; first rock and roll artist with "wild man" persona o Super sexual and inappropriate
• Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys:
o New styles emerged in 1940s with Nashville o Birth of bluegrass! o To most, it sounds old fashioned, but actually developed during 30s o Can be traced back to Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys (first performed on Grand Ole Opry in 1939 and got popular in the late 40s o Mandolin, fiddle, high harmonies, guitar, banjo o Molded later bluegrass bands o Often based on older songs, drawinig from the white gospel, Tin Pan Alley, and Western Swing o Three soloists: Nill Monroe, Earl Scruggs and Robert "Chubby" Wise o Solos were more of the focus of the group's music than the singing o Schruggs technique: "Three finger roll" More complex banjo playing Artists like the Stanley Brothers, Jimmy Martin and Mac Wiseman all attracted to bluegrass later in time
• Pat Boone:
o One of the most successful figures in early rock and roll o Dot Records o Cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't It a Shame"(55) and "Tutti Frutti" (56) "Long Tall Sally (56) o Original songs too: "Love Letters in the Sand" "April Love" "Don't Forbid Me" (56-7) o ^those not derived from R&B o polite, clean-cut personal image o Similar toSinatra, but included R&B and country and western too
• Acuff Rose:
o Publishing company for country and western in Nashville; founded by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose o Unlike Tin Pan Alley, it didn't rely on sheet music sales o Worked to have the songs recorded and performed by country artists o First major success was Patti Page's Tennessee Waltz
• Quadruple (4 beats):
o Quadruple simple (4/4) o Quadruple compound (12/8)
• Dewey Phillips:
o Red, Hot and Blue show in 1949 in Memphis (also a DJ) o Others putting on R&B shows in Atlanta, LA, and Nashville
o Fox Trot Song
o Riff-based melodies o Popular song had to be danceable o Social dancing to syncopated popular song was socially acceptable by 1930s o Amplification allowed for softer singing in a "crooning" style (cause they have microphones and amplification o Ex: Bing Crosby singing "If I had you" with the Sam Lanin Orchestra (1930) o White Pop Song industry was centered in Tin Pan Alley of NYC with secondary contributions from Hollywood
• Ragtime:
o Scott Joplin wrote "Maple Leaf Rag" in 1898. Sheet music published in 1899 o European march transferred to piano and "ragged" o African American term "to rag"= to enliven music by shifting accents off the beat (aka syncopation) o Introduces syncopated African-American rhythm into popular music (recall the cakewalk dance) o It began as an obscure folk-dance music played up and down the Mississippi valley ca. 1875-1900 o Ragtime energized popular music in America by adding rhythmic vitality (syncopation) to the music o Also influenced by Latin American rhythms such as the Cuban habanera o Marching band music contributed the regular "oom-pah" bass common in ragtime pieced o Syncopation in a "bouncy" rhythm o Ragtime pieces provided music for social dances such as the turkey trot, chicken scratch and bunny hug
• Blues:
o State of mind: act of healing; troubling circumstances (economincs perhaps) o Blues scale (series of notes) o Also genre: • Classic blues (sounds like jazz) • Country blues (Mississippi, Texas) • Chicago blues (like rock and roll) o Blues Form: 12 bars/measures in 4/4 o AAB form: different A from B based on lyrics, not tune; first lines repeated (AA), B different in 3rd verse; (ex: Crossroads by Cream)
• Birmingham School:
o Stuart Hall and Richard Middleton o Popular culture should not be read as either superimposition or resistance, but as an arena for negotiation o These scholars have directed attention to sub-cultures and their relationship to cultural forms
• Ethnomusicology:
o Study of music as culture o Non-Western music o Primarily folk and "tribute" music (paralleling anthropology) o Art music of so-called Asian cultures o Most recently, populat music, including rock o "Green" musicology, salvage and preserve traditions, but popular music is displacing traditional music in many cultures o Studies of pop music at university often linked to ethnomusicology
• Frankfurt School:
o Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) o Criticizes the reliance on standardized formulae in popular music o Criticizes passive audience o Asserts music loses its power to serve as a means of social criticism as a result of lyrics dwelling on romantic love
o Meanwhile, back in the alley
o Tin Pan Alley Song Form o Song forms inherited from the nineteenth century
• Triple (3 beats):
o Triple simple, two parts (3/4) o Triple Compound, three parts (9/8)
o Tin Pan Alley Song Form:
o Verse o The verse usually sets up the dramatic context or emotional tone of a song o Verses were .... o Refrain (aka Chorus) o Four sections of equal length: A(melody and chords); A again (with slight variations); bridge (new material, new melody); A again
• Marvin Gaye:
o duets with Mary Wells, and others o "Pride and Joy" (63) with Stevenson o "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You" (65) with HDH o "Ain't that Peculiar" (65) with Smokey Robinson
• Partial Reprise
only part of AABA form is repeated
o Mix Down
process of sound engineer adjusting the ambience, EQ, sterio placement, and relative volume of the tracks produced
• Simple Verse Form
repeats a single section of music eight times and each section is either a verse or instrumental verse; common in rock music
o Ambience
room sound
o Timbre
tone of the instrument; each instrument plays a "fundamental" note along with a slightly higher note (upper partials/harmonics) that helps form timbre of the instrument (ex: changing treble and bass settings on radio- adjusts frequencies of the instruments
• Homophonic
two or more parts moving together in harmony, with the relationship between them creating chords; voice with chordal accompaniment
-Dan Emmett
• "Boatman's Dance" • A reel-like dance tune is fused with a story-telling lyric • European harmony combined with instruments of African origin • Verse- chorus form • Pentatonic scale
The Motown Studio:
• "Hitsville, USA" in Detroit • Band was same for all Motown records: the Funk Brothers → Motown's signature sound • Trained Motown artists to dance classily so they would appeal to fancy white people (de-black it)
Sound of Pop in Early 50s:
• "The Doggie in the Window" (53) Patty Page • "Oh! My Pa-Pa" (53) Eddie Fisher • Music could seem stupidly wholesome, happy; but now, youth-oriented mold from Sinatra • "Rags to Riches" (53) Tony Bennett • "Cry" (51) ballad by Johnnie Ray- emotional directness evident in rock and roll • "The Tennessee Waltz" (1950) Patti Page again (Acuff Rose) • "You Belong to Me" (1952 -Jo Stafford • "Wheel of Fortune" 1952 -Kay Starr • ^Band: singer with band as accompaniment • Before rock and roll, mainstream pop directed at families and teens (teens and their grandparents enjoy same music) • Nothing scandalous or vulgar • "I'm Sittin' on top of the World" (53) Les Paul and Mary Ford;= happy wholesome early 50s sound (layering vocals and guitar); 2/4 time (bt changed to 4/4); AABA form; Les Paul= experimented with over-dubbing • Overdubbing: synchronizing several tape machines (sound-on-sound recording, so two parts would sound together when played back) • Popularity of jump blues and boogie woogie eventually led to Rock and roll
The Singers and the Big Bands:
• 1935-45: Big Band Era (for white mainstream music) popular music created by dance bands; bass, drums, piano, guitar, and horn section • Groups created arrangements of Tin Pan Alley songs • Provided music appropriate for dancing • "Celebrity" of band was the leader (instrumentalist), not the singer (singers rotated) • Emphasized band, not vocals, only sang through chorus once • Or no vocals; ex: "A String of Pearls" (42) -Glenn Miller's Band • Also, lots of independent artists (not part of bands)
Brian Hollad, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland (H-D-H);
• 1964-67: Motown dominated by Brian Hollad, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland (H-D-H); wrote songs for the Supremes, the Four Tops, and Martha and the Vandellas
Transculture
• =Syncretism: two or more things coming together to form an entirely new thing
Norman Whitfield
• After HDH left (conflict with Gordy), Norman Whitfield was label's most successful producer- wrote hits for the Temptations (early 70s)
Musical Stream:
• Artistic system • Economic entity • Social component • A song is simultansously a "piece", a "product" and an instrument of "propaganda"
The Four Tops:
• Blend of Rhythm and blues and classical music (with orchestral intro and harmonic progressions) with strong beat and soulful voices • Formed in 1954 • Older and more experienced than most Motown Groups • Originally signed elsewhere, joined Motown in 1964 • Teamed up with HTH (who were working with the Supremes too) • Male couterparts of the Supremes • "Baby I Need Your Loving (1964) • "I Can't Help Myself (sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" (1965)
"Shake Rattle and Roll"
• By Joe Turner • Atlantic Records • Turner considered premiere blues shouter of postwar year • Simple verse-chorus form • 12/8 (shuffle in four) • Hokum Blues (as it appears in R&B) • Also recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets (white band) but adapted the song to make the lyrics acceptable to white audiences (wholesome); also made it more upbeat (almost frantic), less laid-back; prototype for pop adaptation of R&B that came in later years
"Sh-Boom"
• By The Chords • Ex. Of Doo-wop progression • Form: Simple Verse with interludes and a bridge • 4/4 time
Schizophonia
• By product of mediazation • Splitting of sound from it's cultural matrix • Context removed from context of original recording • Ex: recorded music separate from live performance (record)
Twelve Bar Blues:
• Common form of blues, jazz and rock & roll • 12 groups of 4 bar measures (three groups of four) • Phrase: First four measures= chorus • Roman Numerals: illustrate chords typically played in those measures; first roman numeral starts on first note of chord (ex: C chord, I=C II=D III=E, and so on) (lower case Roman Numerals= minor) • 12 Bar Blues: I IV I I ; I I IV IV ; I I V V ; V IV I V ; • EX: • Rocket 88 • "Shake Rattle and Roll" -Joe Turner • "Evil is Goin' On" -Howlin' Wolf • "Johnny B. Goode" -Chuck Berry • "Tutti Frutti" -Little Richard
Doo-wop Progression:
• Common too • I vi IV V • Chord on every beat: harmonic pattern (or progression) that repeats throughout song except for the bridge • "In the Still of the Night" -Five Satins • "Come Go with Me" -Del Vikings • "Sh-Boom"
-Tin Pan Alley:
• Constructed mainstream popular song • Early songwriters drew upon waltzes and marches • Irving Berlin stands out among all Tin Pan Alley songwriters • Incorporated multicultural influences, but particularly ragtime and jazz • Some Tin Pan Alley songs connect historicaly and stylistically to coon songs and minstrel songs • Eventually turned to the blues as a source of material
-MINSTRELSY The 1st Synthesis:
• Designated as America's first type of popular music • Showed disdain for the "airs" of genteel society (The uck You! Attitude) • Music fuses aspects of African and European traditions -Blackface: • George Washington Dixie • Portrayed "city slicker" and "country bumpkin" • Thomas Dartmouth Rice (1808-1860) imitated a n African-American dance-step called the "cakewalk" and called it "Jumpin' Jim Crow" (BEFORE JIM CROW LAW) • The rhythms of the music used to accompany the cakewalk exemplified syncopation • 1829, Bob Farrell introduces the song "Zip Coon" • White Minstrel performers used burnt cork to "blacked" their faces • Zip Coon and Jim Crow became standard characters • Lovin' Dan, another character in minstrelsy, reappears in Billy Ward's "Sixty Minute Man" in 1951 -Minstrel Songs: • Instruments • Banjo (African origin) • Bones and Tambourine (African) • Fiddle (from Anglo-American dance music)
Doo-Wop:
• Doo-Wop groups emerged from urban neighborhoods after WW2 • Couldn't afford instruments → vocal arrangements completely self-contained and a cappella • Groups from different neighborhood blocks would challenge each other to sing offs • Professional studio musicians learned the groups' arrangements to accompany them • Called doo-wop because of the nonsense syllables singers sang • Usually one singer with three accompanists • Sometimes in AABA because of Tin Pan Alley with compound rhythm as chords on piano (one and ah, two and ah, three and a, four and a) • Ex: "Sh'Boom" (1954) -The Chords • ^super ubeat, but do-wops were frequenty ballads (more for slow dancing) • Ex: "In The Still of the Night" (56) -The Five Satins' • Doo-wop easily distinguishable from Chicago blues and Atlantic pop, but both studios also recorded doo-wop
Elvis at Sun
• Elvis completed the job of breaking down boundaries b/w pop, country western, and R&B • Hit all three charts! • 1955- moved from Sun Records to RCA, RCA supported him and made him famous → pop mainstream • Raised in Memphis → educated in R&B and country and western • First Big song: "That's All Right (Mama) • Originally marketed as a country Western artist
Frank Sinatra:
• Est. new model for the pop-music singer; built on Crosby's accomplishments • Made the singer the star of the show • Paved way for later singers like Elvis and Pat Boone • Started as background singer, went solo in 1942, changed emphasis of music to the vocalist • Teen idol (hotty) • Teenage girls mobbed him, predecessor of what would be the norm for rock starts (Beatles) • "I've Got a Crush on You" (48) • ^text reinforces his teen idol image, and illustrates his distinctive singing style • So successful, he drew imitators → singers replaced big bands as focus (also, big bands were too expensive)
Jimmie Rodgers:
• First star of Country Music • Western Music big stars: Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, but most important was Jimmie Rodgers • National star because of his music and performances • Career cut short because he got TB in 1933 at 36; "Blue Yodel" (27) • Trademark yodel; his style imitated by later country stars (like Autry and Rogers) • Known as "The Blue Yodeler" and "The Singing Brakeman" • People viewed him as a hobo, rustic, singing in back of a freight car • He was actually pretty stylish, demonstrates early marketing
Minstrelsy
• For our sake: very racist/offensive • People: Dan Emmett; "Daddy" Rice; Stephen Foster • Complications of Minstrel themes in songs ("My Old Kentucky Home") • Characterized black people as dim-witted, buffoonish, inferior (CLOWNS) • Then turned into black people characterizing white people characterizing black people • Blues derived from Minstrelsy (gave Af Americans new identity- not slaves) • Stephen Foster: called father of American music, often associated with Minstrelsy ("My Old Kentucky Home") • Dan Emmett: first character • Sambo Caricature: another one • Coon caricature: buffoon • Stepin Fetchit: portrayed coon caricature in film (first one); Af Amer actor • Zip Coon: caricature that mocked/marginalized successful, well-read free Af Amers • Mammy: fat maid, "Lord have mercy" • Amos and Andy: radio show, lasted a while (1960s) • Mandingo stereotype: stereotype of blacks in porn • Jezebel steriotype • Saphire stereotype: emasculates men • All these ideas still persistent in 1920s (first talkie had dude in blackface)
Martha and the Vandellas:
• Formed in Detroit in 1962 • "Dancing in the Street" (64) produced by Stevenson • "Nowhere to Run (67) • "Jimmy Mack (67) • ^also by HTH • Team struggled because of success of Supremes and Diana Ross • Roots of gospel and blues more apparent with these guys than the Supremes • Martha had full-throated, soulful voice (paralleled southern soul and set stage for Aretha Franklin later)
Stuff from early 50s that eventually led to rock and roll:
• Foxus on the singer • Sensual appeal of Sinatra • Emotional directness of Johnnie Ray ("Cry") • Acceptance of (some) Af Amer musicians into mainstream • Popularity of jump blues and boogie woogie • HOWEVER, Tin Pan Alley caught completely off guard by emergence of Rock and Roll • ^ partly because it had to do with country and western and rhythm and blues, which big record companies had previously ignored
Adorno
• Frankfurt School of Music • Critisized passive audience and reliance of standardized formula in popular music
• Stevie Wonder:
• Gaye and Wonder as producers helped Motown transition into 70s o Signed in Motown at age 11 in 1961 ("Little" Stevie Wonder) o Blind from birth o First hit: "Fingertips, pt. 2" (1963) o Record= moment in Motown when Wonder improvises without warning; spontaneous and exuberant
Grand Ole Opry
• Had been home to Grand Ole Opry since 25 and it was regarded as best country radio show in nation since 1940 (no drums allowed in songs in Grand ole opry) • → business of country western got more sophisticated (to meet this need, more popular) → musicians came to Nashville to perform
Chess Records and Chicago Electric Blues:
• In 1950s became most important scene for electric blues in the US (due to success of an independent company called Chess) in by Phil and Leonard Chess (both white) • Gospel is religious but blues is secular • GREAT blues artists: o Howlin' Wolf o Muddy Waters o John Lee Hooker o Little Walter o Bo Diddley • Emphasized rough-edged emotional directness with expressive vocals (not super impressive or beautiful) • Recordings at Chess records made with simple equipment, producing raw, technically unsophisticated sounds (contrasted polished sound of major record labels) • Aura of honesty that later rock and rollers had too • "Evil is Goin' On" (1954) Howlin' Wolf; 12/8 time (shuffle in four); simple verse; harmonica; lyrics for each verse begin differently but always close with same lyrics (refrain; = same lyrics that occur within a verse as they do here) • "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (1954) Muddy Waters • "I'm a Man" (55) Bo Diddley • ^all examples of Chicago electric blues, adult-oriented lyrics delivered with gusto • Chess records also recorded artists like the Moonglows who released crooning doo-wop-oriented singles like "Sincerely" (1955)
Atlantic and Black Pop:
• Independent company, reached broad audience made by Af Amer performers • Founded by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson • Polished pop sound influenced by mainstream production practices; showcased singers like Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Clyde McPhatter • Recorded blues records • Typical song: "Mama, he treats your daughter Mean" (1952) -Ruth Brown • Clear ties to blues, gospel, AND big band pop • Music from Chess and Atlantic demonstrates wide stylistic range of the 1950s rhythm and blues
Afro-Cuban music:
• Instruments (percussion such as maracas, clave, conga drums, and cowbell) and rhythms influenced rock music • The white Cuban bandleader Don Azpiazu's hit "El Manisero" sparked a new dance craze, the Rumba • "El Manisero" o Clave pattern: 2 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 4 o Afro-Cuban instruments o To U.S. popular music • The Mambo: o Last Afro-Cuban dance craze o Complicación, Tito Puente (1958)
Jump Band R & B:
• Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" (1951) • Heavy beat taken from Jump bands and made more emphatic • Brenston fronted for Ike Turner's band • Sam Phillips and Sun Records • Distprtion in Willie Kizart's guitar • Theme of cars ("Cadillac Boogie"
R&B Styles 1945-59:
• Jump Band (swing jazz) • Latin tinged R & B (Afro-Cuban) • Electric Blues (country blues) • Doo Wop (Gospel) • Gospel-influenced solo singing
The Temptations:
• Known for choreographed dance moves • Strong from 1964-72 in Detroit • Produced by Smokey Robinson • "The Way you do the things you do" (1964) • ^early Temptations style, happy upbeat and cute lyrics; broadly appealing
Louis Jordan:
• Led the most famous jump band, The Tympany Five • Arkansas-born saxophone player and singer • Began making recordings for Decca Records in 1939 • The first jump band musician to appeal to a mass audience • Flamboyant style and humorous lyrics • His ensemble setup- two trumpets, two saxophones, bass, piano, drums- became the standard for R&B
Barry Gordy/
• Owned a record store, worked on Ford assembly line • In Detroit • Started writing songs for singer Jackie Wilson • Wrote several songs that became hits for Wilson • "Reet Petite" "Lonely Teardrops" "That's Why (I Love you So)" • Also wrote and produced for other musicians and leased the recordings to labels in Chicago and New York • 1959: formed Motown Records with trust fund, first hit was "Money (That's What I Want" by Barrett Strong • Wanted commercial success → making his songs appealing to white people but didn't want white covers of his songs; wanted them to like his music, but didn't want to sell out; started by making them appeal to white teens and later to older, middle-class white people • Gave songwriting and production duties of specialized individuals/team
Massification
• Process of bringing something to a mass audience: Minstrel Show, Vaudeville, Radio, Movies, Television, Internet
"That's All Right (Mama)"
• Produced by Sam Phillips • Elvis sung it • Sun Records 1954 • Simple Verse • 2/4 (country two-step feel)
The Supremes:
• Quintessential Motown girl group from the 1960s • Very White oriented (pop orientation) • "Where did our Love Go?" (64) • "Baby Love" (64) • "Come See About Me" (64)
Amos 'n' Andy:
• Radio comedy • Premiered 1929 • Racial stereotypes, drawn from minstrel tradition
Western Music in the SW and CA in the 1930s:
• Reflected the open prairies of the cowboys (or Hollywood's portrayal of it) • "Back in the Saddle Again" -Gene Autry; rep of the songs he and Roy Rogers sang in their careers and on the screen • "I Want to Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart" (35) Patsy Montana; yodeling • Not historically "Western", but consistent with the western movies, so to public it was "Cowboy music" • Western Swing: featured fiddles, a steel guitar, and mariachi-style trumpet parts "New San Antonio Rose" (1940) by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
County Music In SE in 1930s:
• Remained regional mainly until 45 • Nashville= center for this music • Folk traditions of the region (from British isles) • "hillbilly music" • "Fiddlin'" -John Carson and Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers • "Can the Circle be Unbroken" (1935) style of music and confessional style of it • "Great Speckled Bird" (1936) -Roy Acuff and His Crazy Tennesseans; added slide guitar, which became associated with country and blues music
"Heatbreak Hotel"
• Simple Verse Form • 12/8 • Produced by Steve Sholes, written/performed by Elvis
Tin Pan Alley:
• Small district of New York City where songwriters and producers clustered to form heart of music industry • Got it's name from songwriters there who were testing their ideas on pianos, which sounded like banding on tin pans • Tin Pan Alley is shorthand for the music produced at that time, and the way of doing business and the style of American popular music • Some song writers: Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, and Jerome Kern • Standard, but flexible pattern: sectional verse-chorus format • Usually 32bar chorus, AABA form • Music marketed: unit of trade was the sheet music, not a recording of the song as it is now • Songwriter/publisher earned money by selling many copies of the sheet music, many singers creating their own versions of the songs • Songwriters themselves were rarely performers (publishers had to get eh song heard by public) • Rise of Broadway in 1930s= way to bring songs to publics attention • Sound films in 1930s also increased distribution of music • Then there were records (still no performances really) • 1930s/40s: Best way to get a song heard was radio • Now, sometimes records would outsell sheet music, but sheet music was still key to success for Tin Pan Alley business model • Ex: "Over the Rainbow"
"Rocket '88' ":
• Song by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (1951) • Produced by: Sam Phillips • First rock and roll song (widely considered) • Form: Simple Verse Form • Instrumentation: Boogie-woogie guitar style
-Early Blues:
• The Blues began in rural Af Amer culture • Diddly Bow (example) • Appears in popular music after 1910 as dance music and songs then in jazz as instrumental blues pieces, then in race music in the 1930s
-Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
• The most famous ragtime composer of the era • Best known for his piano rags • Born in Texas • Begun to play piano around the town of Texarkana during his teens and received instruction in classical music theory from a German teacher • His first regular job as a pianist was in a café in St. Louis • Joplin's rags were also widely heard on player pianos • Player pianos were elaborate mechanical devices activated by piano rolls- spools of paper with punched holes that controlled the movement of the piano's keys -Listening: "Maple Leaf Rag" • The form and style are typical of "classic" ragtime • "Maple Leaf" consists of a succession of four distinct themes: o AABBACCDD o This type of form is common in marches • Right hand (melody) plays syncopated ("offbeat" or "staggered") rhythms and riff-based melodies, usually built on three-note patterns • Left hand (accompaniment) plays regular bass part; march-like, two-beat patterns • The rhythmic interest comes from the interplay of the two hands
Commodificaiton
• Transformation of goods and services (or ideas) into commodity (ex: concert tickets, music)
Simple Verse Form:
• Verse: section with repeating music and nonrepeating lyrics • form that only includes verses • repeats a single section of music eight times and each section is either a verse or instrumental verse; common in rock music (each verse is same chord progression) • "Rocket 88" • "Heartbreak Hotel" -Elvis
Hokum Blues
• Well-established musical tradition in black culture; poked fun at adult relationships (sex); • Hokum originated rom minstrelsy tradition (centered on stereotypes of Af Amers using song, dance, and comic dialogue) • Not in R&B, but shows up later in later forms of Black pop • Ex: "You Put It In, I'll take it out" (1942) -Papa Charlie Jackson • "Let Me Play with your Poodle" -Tampa Red (42) • DOUBLE MEANINGS • Later elements of Hokum much subtler: ex "Hound Dog" -Big Mama Thorton • "Shake, Rattle and Roll" -Joe Turner
The six streams:
• White Pop ("If I Had You") • Black Pop ("Backwater Blues") • Country ("Wildwood flower") • Jazz ("Jumpin at the Woodside") • Folk ("This land is your land") • Gospel ("Golden Gate")
Black Gospel Music:
• White protestant hymody (MISSED STUFF) • Black gospel was confined to African-American churches and conventions along a route known as the Gospel Highway • Featured either a male quartet or female solo singers • Ex: "Golden Gate Gospel Train" (1937) Golden Gate Gospel Singers • Lead singer sings the melody, the other three imitate a locomotive (use of voice as a rhythm instrument) • Such rhythmic back-up became part of the style of doo wop
• William "Smokey" Robinson
• William "Smokey" Robinson handled most songwriting and production duties
AABA Form:
• form most associated with mainstream pop before rock and roll • Common in Tin Pan Alley Songs • Usually in 32 bar scheme (combines four 8-bar phases that are similar) • 2 similar 8 bar phrases, third is different, fouth is similar to first two • "Over the Rainbow" • "I'm sittin' on top of the World" • "Hey Good Lookin'" • "Blueberry Hill" • Full reprise: Sometimes, entire AABA form is repeated (in "Over the Rainbow") • Partial Reprise: only part of AABA form is repeated • Form can be modified to include sections of over 8 measures • ^ex: "Great Ball's of Fire" -A sections 8 mm, Bridge is 12 measures (with full reprise); Produced by Sam Phillips; by Jerry Lee Lewis 4/4
Contrasting Verse Chorus:
• verses and chorus employ different music • May include bridge, or section of nonrepeated music then returns to verse or chorus • "That'll be the Day" -(the Crickets) Buddy Holly; Produced by Norman Petty • "Smoke on the Water" -Deep Purple