History of Rock & Roll Midterm 2 Terms

Hard Rock

(1) the foundation of a simple, clear, muscular drumming style with a potent backbeat, commonly in a duple feel (2/4 or 4/4, depending on how you hear it). (2) loud volume, with aggressive electric guitar sounds (ranging from lush to twangy). (3) some degree of bluesy intonation in the voices and/or guitars. (4) straightforward rock harmony, grounded in pentatonic and diatonic folk and blues, with a strong dose of mixolydian mode. (5) a high degree of professionalism in instrumental and vocal performance, expressed in the theatrical excitement of stage performances, the increasingly accomplished and even lustrious ensemble and solo work of the musicians, the increasingly refined, even lush sound of the instruments both live and in recorded production, and the individuality and solidity of the songwriting. (6) perhaps it goes without saying that, with all of this high-level activity, these bands were playing their own music as songwriters and as performers, and thus (when they are good) convey an essential, impressive sense of originality and authenticity. to these elements we might add (7) an ideology of straightforwardness, simplicity, and just plain hardness, which rejects string orchestras and other industry-friendly, anonymous sweetening effects (typical of so much traditional top-40 pop music and 'soft rock') and which also pre-dates the 1980s infatuation with complex signal processing and digital tweaking. perhaps the ideology of hard rock recalls a simpler time when musicians wrote their own songs and played their own instruments in an aggressively honest style, when 'producers' tended to be unknown and invisible and studio wizardry more the exception than the rule. in that sense, 1970s hard rock can be seen as an updating of the original ideology of 1950s rock 'n' roll: a music of personal honesty and vision, standing against the processed sounds of industrial musical 'spam.' finally, it makes sense to add (8) a bad boy image. trashing hotel rooms, feasting on drugs, groupies, and other 'riotously debauched' behavior, incarnating the persona of the dangeous, hyper-virile outlaw, in modern, urban guise. sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll !

Monkees

(consisting of Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith) were essential punk (anti-)heroes: artificial inventions, clones of the Beatles, created for the Monkees situational-comedy TV show, helpless and hopeless pawns of the music industry, gaining teenybop stardom and then getting shafted when they began to take themselves seriously -- but not before recording some classic pop songs, concise, straightforward, fun, a 'clean rock band' sound with an attractive vocal style

Allman Brothers

-Southern rock band -improvisation

Bob Dylan

60's musician. Part of counterculture revolution through music. anti-war and anti-government -folk revival, civil rights movement

Velvet Underground

A New York group promoted by the pop art superstar Andy Warhol. Their music was rough-edged and chaotic, extremely loud, and deliberately anticommercial. The lyrics of their songs focused on topics such as sexual deviancy, drug addiction, violence, and social alienation. -edgy, avant-garde music

Progressive Jazz

A symphonic approach to jazz, introduced by Stan Kenton -late 1940s

AC/DC

AC/DC represents the epitome of hard rock in this rougher incarnation -- the ultimate bad boy, pub-brawl band. formed in 1973 in Sydney, Australia around three brothers, Malcolm, George, and Angus Young (originally from Scotland), with lead singer Bon Scott, this group aimed at an uncompromising intensity, expressed in high volume, sometimes supreme driving power, simple musical foundation, and generally rough vocals and multiple-guitar distortion, matched by their stage antics, which included all kinds of hyperactive craziness. lead guitarist Angus took to wearing an Australian schoolboy outfit (emblazoned flannel jacket and short pants), a ludicrous fashion choice that only confirmed the band's middle-school-rebellion, anti-adult mentality. in this manner, they raised garage-rock mayhem to an extreme, theatrical, but also highly professional level, as if taking the garage up to some kind of beer-soaked Olympus

Woody Guthrie

American songwriter and folksinger who flourished in the 1930s, writing numerous songs about social injustice and the hardships of the Great Depression years; two of his best-remembered songs are "This Land is Your Land" and "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh."

George Martin

Beatles producer

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles 1967 -most influential work, changing their image

The Beats

This cultural group/movement supported bohemianism and harsh critiques of U.S. society; strong influence on 1960s counterculture -Poets and writers inspired by jazz, hipsters -Eastern philosophies (Buddhism)

Jimi Hendrix

United States guitarist whose innovative style with electric guitars influenced the development of rock music (1942-1970)

Alice Cooper

Vincent Furnier, a.k.a. Alice Cooper, was a truly weird singer from Detroit who formed a hard-rocking band in Los Angeles in 1968, then gradually developed a stage persona that cut directly against the grain of early-1970s rock acts by featuring outlandish costumes, incredibly heavy, bleeding black mascara (he eventually started his own makeup line, Whiplash), and morbid or witchy-satanic overtones, evocative of emergent glam in some ways, and metal in others. in this he was pretty confusing at the time, and many found him silly; but he foreshadows amazingly the themes of later metal, goth, and industrial music, even if to many he didn't seem hard-core enough to be considered a precise initiator of anything. Alice Cooper's best songs, with their catchy hooks, tends to sound like hard-rocking teen pop, including School's Out (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (1973), whose minor-key sound is bluesy, gritty, and angry in the best garage-rock heritage, but whose hooks and lyrics are so much fun, and performed with such theatrical flair, that teen fury instantly congeals into top-40

Woodstock vs. Altamont

Woodstock: Peace, freedom, anti-war Altamonte: Violent -counterculture festivals

Led Zeppelin

__________ is considered to be the first heavy metal band.

Grace Slick

______________, lead singer for Jefferson Airplane, had a great female rock voice. She represented the love-hate image of the 60's.

Blood Sweat & Tears

a 'superband' formed in 1967 that was intended as a powerhouse on the pop scene, but whose career was inhibited by changing personnel and other conflicts. the band was founded by Al Kooper, mad genius of rock 'n' roll, a gifted session keyboardist and producer, who earlier had started an innovative American blues-rock band, the Blues Project, in 1965 with guitarist Steve Katz. when that band broke up, Kooper wanted to see if he could put together a true jazz-soul-rock hybrid -- a band that would include first-rate jazz horn players as well as rock 'n' roll musicians, creating a kind of progressive pop music. he recruited some ace players, including Randy Brecker (trumpet), Fred Lipsius (alto sax), and Steve Katz on guitar, and B S & T was born. they put out a first album in 1968 that was critically acclaimed but not particularly successful in sales (The Child Is Father to the Man). Kooper then left the band, David Clayton-Thomas was brought in as lead vocalist, and a second album was released, entitled simply Blood Sweat and Tears (1969), which earned the band worldwide popularity with several hit songs

John McLaughlin

a figure who stands all by himself in the middle of progressive rock is John McLaughlin, the Scotsman whose extraordinary virtuosity and creativity on electric guitar brought him to the attention of Miles Davis in the later 1960s. McLaughlin played with the Miles Davis fusion band for a couple of years (notably on the In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew albums), and in so doing became one of the seminal figures in the fusion category that is so important to 70s music, combining elements of rock, funk, and jazz. at the same time, McLaughlin was making history with his own bands in a style that sounds as much like progressive rock as anything else; and he was a devotee of the Indian spiritual guru Sri Chinmoy, who advocated high levels of musical discipline and expressivity as a pathway to enlightenment and ecstasy (another Sri Chinmoy devotee was Carlos Santana). for an example of McLaughlin's early progressive rock style, listen to an excerpt from his song Devotion (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (1970), which is loud, lushly distorted, and very sophisticated in its dissonant melody and harmony.

Gram Parsons

a major figure in the late 60s country-folk-rock scene, Gram Parsons was born in Winter Haven, Florida. he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in the mid-1960s to go to Harvard University, but dropped out and joined the flourishing folk scene there. he then moved to L.A. and joined the Byrds, spearheading their move into country music; he then left to form the Flying Burrito Brothers, one of the classic 'country fusion' bands, in 1969 with Chris Hillman of the Byrds

Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music

a particular spark for the folk revival was a 6-LP set called Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by collector Harry Smith and published in 1952 by Moe Asch's Folkways Records, the greatest of all American roots record companies. this collection was outstanding in the quality and diversity of its selections, reflecting the depth, beauty, and strangeness of American 'roots' music and therefore American identity itself. thousands of musicians studied and even memorized the entire collection, and loved the prospect of resurrecting these great, forgotten American songs and styles, including old country blues, hillbilly music, and other relics of bygone generations. it provided a 'bible' for the folk-revival movement that gathered steam across the 1950s

Hippie

a re-personification of the Beat concept of hip -- an updating of the phenomenon of the Beat hipster. 'getting it' remained an essential aspect of the hippie crowd, but psychedelic drugs were the new gateway, displacing heroin, speed, alcohol, and other predilections of the 50s generation

Monterrey Pop Festival

a three-day festival of music in 1967 that intended to demonstrate the artistic worth and stylistic diversity of pop and rock music. Many music executives visited this event on the California coast, and several of the performers gained recording contracts, or earned acclaim within the music industry based upon their appearance.

Yes

after Pink Floyd and Rush, Yes must be the most beloved of all the older prog rock bands. formed in 1968 in London, the original band included Jon Anderson on vocals, Chris Squire on bass, Peter Banks on guitar, Tony Kaye on keyboards, and Bill Bruford on drums. all were ambitious young musicians, looking for a fresh, grand sound. but there would be frequent changes of personnel. in 1970, Steve Howe replaced Peter Banks on guitar, in 1971 Rick Wakeman replaced Tony Kaye on keyboards, in 1972, Tony White replaced Bill Bruford on drums, and so forth. this kind of shifting membership reflects the fast-moving music scene of the era, in which a great number of musicians and bands were looking in many directions for new possibilities and new success. it also follows the model of jazz, in which band lineup changes can be frequent as ambitious musicians seek other opportunities and fresh avenues of exciting music making. Yes's style depended, of course, on its personnel, but generally displayed an ambitious, complex kind of rock 'n' roll imbued with distinctly classical elements, including sophisticated construction of musical ideas and episodes; sophisticated counterpoint and harmony; lush and complicated textures, including vocal harmony; busy instrumental parts on all instruments, showing a high level of virtuosity and 'showing off'; frequent changes of rhythm, of key, of motives -- restless music! but organized into long, suite-like compositions in contrasting sections (thus, type-1 influence). with all that, they make sure to emphasize a rockin' foundation of clear, potent beats, pleasingly straightforward harmonies, and sing-along melodies, and the mood of the music is often upbeat (very different from grim Robert Fripp or freaky Floyd). several influential Yes albums appeared in the early 1970s, which can be called their 'classic era.'

The Byrds

an epochally innovative L.A. band formed in 1964, the Byrds combined a Dylan-esque folkiness with a Beatles offbeat attractiveness and the twangy passion and loudness of a rock band to create one of the absolutely definitive sounds of the 1960s, which has been endlessly imitated especially since the onset of indie rock in the 80s.

Stadium or arena rock

and thus, in the early 1970s, the category of stadium or arena rock appeared as a major new theater for rock 'n' roll music. this category might seem to be more about the context of the music than its content, but the 'straight ahead,' loud, hard-driving qualities of hard rock made it ideal for those vast spaces, where much of the audience could only see the band as tiny specks in the distance

Height Ashbury

became the "capital" (San Francisco) of the hippie counterculture during the 1960s

Beatles

began to cause a sensation in 1963, first in England and then in the U.S.

Folk Revival

but with all of this social-musical activity from the 1930s on, a powerful link had been established between folk music, cultural or community roots, and the idea of protest -- links which go right through to 60s rock and beyond. a number of musicians are associated with this kind of folk music, and with the resulting folk revival movement of the later 50s and 60s, which was like a twin sibling to the Beat movement; many beats were also folkies. two important early 'folkies' were Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. in a curious way, these and other folk performers represent another face of the 'modern' 50s, but it is a 'modernism' that simultaneously undermines all that space-age mumbo jumbo with a rootsy sense of tradition and progressive purpose, contributing to the cultural 'explosion' of the later 60s and a questioning of the whole idea, or agenda, of an elitist or otherwise anti-popular modernism.

The Band

country rock band

Progressive Rock

developed from psychedelic rock, and originated as an attempt to give greater artistic weight and credibility to rock music. Bands abandoned the short pop single in favor of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz or classical music in an effort to give rock music the same level of musical sophistication and critical respect. -expanding its boundaries -classical influences (formally structured)

Androgyny

displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics

Psychedelic Musical Qualities

drenching, saturated effect, along with certain trippy touches the lyrics, too, are becoming more cryptic and imagistic

Improvisation

element of jazz. the art or act of making, inventing, or arranging offhand, without advance planning influence of jazz improvisation on rock music, especially from the 1960s on

Concept Album

ever since the emergence of the LP in the early 1950s, musicians toyed with the overarching plan, or 'concept,' of LP albums. how unified would an album plan have to be for it to amount to a 'concept'? the music on Sgt. Pepper's can be said to add up to a complete, unified concept album, built around the idea of a nostalgic, archaic English dance band.

New York Dolls

first punk group, aggressive stage shows, crossed sexual norms

Cream

first rock power trio, mid 1960s

Summer of Love

following the June festival came San Francisco's legendary Summer of Love in 1967, a magnet for kids from around the world, announcing the arrival of the hippie as a worldwide phenomenon

Santana

for some, Santana was the most compelling of all the San Francisco bands, because it fused hard rock with Latin and blues roots in a manner that sounds so authentic, soulful, and convincing; but the band did not catch on with the broader public until their stellar performance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. formed in 1966, Santana showcased the driving, lyrical lead guitar of Carlos Santana, who had moved from Mexico to San Francisco at the age of 13, and a potent Latin percussion section, as shown on Jingo (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., from their first, eponymous album, released in 1969 after the Woodstock festival. in this song (originally written and recorded by the African drummer Olatunji), with its nonsense rhythmic lyrics and minor key, the percussion section creates a roiling tidal wave effect which combines beautifully with the electric rock instruments, evoking an elemental tribal-boogie atmosphere. Santana's lead guitar has the thick, full sound of a Les Paul, and is also enriched by what seems like a delay effect achieved by overdubbing (i.e., the same lines played and recorded twice).

The Doors

formed in 1965, the band centered on a young singer and poet, Jim Morrison, and a smart, versatile producer, Ray Manzarek, who ended up playing organ (which often included the bass line: there was no separate bass player). Morrison was obsessed with theatrics, poetry, mood, and the 19th-c. decadent Romantic 'accursed poet syndrome,' seen in the lives and work of French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine, which related so well to the bleak romanticism of 50s beat culture incarnated by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. visionary English novelist and essayist Aldous Huxley's classic 1953 study of LSD, Doors of Perception, provided the name of the band: this band obviously had a strong Beat literary background as well as psychedelic ambitions.

The Allman Brothers

formed in Macon, Georgia in 1969, the Allman Brothers were an all-star band of first-rate Southern rock and blues musicians, including Duane Allman (one of the Muscle Shoals session players) and Dickey Betts, twin lead guitars; Duane's brother, Gregg Allman, on organ/piano; Berry Oakley, bass; and Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson on drums. this band was, right away, one of the greatest Southern bands, legendary in its own right, and helping to lay down the idea, mythology, and grandeur of 'Southern rock' (as well as rock from Macon, Georgia) as a force in the 60s-70s transition and ever since.

Boston

formed in the mid-1970s around multi-talented Tom Scholz in the town for which they are named, Boston's first, eponymous album (1976) was already a mega-hit. More than a Feeling (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., from this album, has Boston's classic sound: sweet, soaring harmony and vocals, gushy romantic lyrics, a hard rocking band (when it wants to), and catchy hooks. most of the music feels gentle and soft, rather than rough, although it is based on most of the characteristics of hard rock. the musical language begins in solid mixolydian, then evolves to a straight diatonic major. for another side of the band, emphasizing its prog and hard rock connections, listen to Foreplay / Long Time (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (our clip taken from the middle of this medley of two songs), also appearing on their first album, with its classical-tinged keyboard fireworks, harmonic intensity, and 'church' organ in 'Foreplay' leading to the sweet power ballad 'Long Time.'

Memphis

from New Orleans we naturally go up the Mississippi River to Memphis, where some amazing rock, R&B, and soul music was fused into one magical thing in the 60s. we've already heard some great Memphis electric blues, in the hands of B. B. King; the city not only had deep blues traditions, but a thriving electrified scene, ranging from blues to Sam Phillips's rockabilly. it therefore makes sense that we would find a fascinating hybrid of rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues in Memphis music. the leading R&B record company in Memphis was Stax Records (originally founded in 1957, named 'Stax' in 1961), one of the great sources for 60s soul music, whose ultimate star singer would be Otis Redding. Stax's session players, like those of Motown Records in Detroit, were a musical force in their own right, eventually including such admired figures as Booker T. Jones (keyboards), Steve Cropper (lead guitar), Duck Dunn (bass), Al Jackson (drums), and Isaac Hayes (organ) -- black and white musicians, together creating a remarkable stylistic synthesis. some of these players formed spinoff groups who found commercial success in their own right, notably the Mar-Keys, Booker T and the MGs, and the Bar-Kays

Glam

glam, short for glamour, emerged in the early 1970s, more as a kind of performance art, or performance identity, than as any specific musical style. it was defined first of all by its exploration of the provocative appeal of androgyny, in confounding traditional male and female dress codes and their erotic implications; but looking back from the early twenty-first century, we can see how it sparked the long-term trend of queering gender in rock music, and thus opening up intimate realms of meaning that had theretofore been mostly taboo onstage. the label 'glam' conveys the provocative appeal of glamour, meaning a heightened display of stylishness, beauty, and sensuality; when treated artfully, such display can lead to an almost surreal theater of creativity and desire in its own right. as rock 'n' roll in the early 70s was still a largely male-dominated field, the androgyny of glam was mostly focused on male performers at that time, wearing the kind of makeup, fabrics, or clothing that had earlier been associated with female identities. many of these performers were heterosexual, and their use of glam elements could appear as a hyper-masculinist gesture; it is no coincidence that glam was so frequently associated with the 'macho' style of hard rock. but the sexual ambiguities, if not polymorphism, of such gender play quickly gained traction with audiences, such that glam elements -- big hair, elaborately teased, intensive makeup, wild stage costumes, shriekingly high, outlandish vocal styles -- would become perennial features in rock 'n' roll. and certain performers associated with glam did actually queer its pitch, radically opening up rock 'n' roll in its identity, audiences, and message. glam was recognized as a trend by 1972, and its original glory years were in the early to mid-1970s. it was already considered more or less dead by 1976, when the big buzz had suddenly turned to the very different theatricality of punk music; but its styles and messages have remained a part of rock 'n' roll ever since.

John Lennon

grittier lead vocal; rhythm guitar

Jimmy Page

guitarist for Yardbirds, joined in 1966 another superstar guitarist emerging from the electric blues scene in 60s London was Jimmy Page of the Yardbirds, probably the most gifted of all of them in his combination of sheer virtuosity, breadth of concept, and creative ambition. when the Yardbirds broke up in mid-1968 Page formed a new band, with three other musicians, John Bonham on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, and Robert Plant on vocals (Led Zeppelin)

Linda Ronstadt

hailing from Tucson Arizona, Linda Ronstadt has been a pop-culture phenomenon since the late 60s, when she fronted the L.A. folk-pop group, the Stone Poneys. Ronstadt was smart, ambitious, and musical. she cultivated a cute, sexy, faux-innocent southern girl image, worked with the best musicians she could find, and made her way up the charts, having a string of hits in the 70s that made her a pop icon of the age, dubbed at one point the 'queen of rock,' and successfully transitioning into the new wave style of the 80s. her music varied from country to rocky to synthy but always had that appealing pop core; she covered a lot of different songs, but always molded her fine singing and perceptive, ambitious musicality to the needs of the song and, it seems, the audience. in the last thirty years, having reached the pinnacle of success, she has also increasingly turned to explore her Mexican American roots.

The Mothers of Invention

here we will only discuss his first and most famous band, the Mothers of Invention, formed in L.A. in 1964 and breaking up in 1970. the group started out as something of a tribal musical iconoclastic 'agit-prop' commune peopled by diversely gifted musicians in styles including doo wop, rock 'n' roll, blues, soul, classical music, and avant-garde jazz, and they combined it all with an experimental in-your-face theatricality that comes through loud and clear on their first album, Freak Out! (1966) -- one of rock's first double-albums, and no doubt its weirdest. on this record, the band promotes the idea of 'freaks,' which is like the Beats, only taken to a new level of 1960s countercultural provocation. although this music sounds and no doubt is intensely psychedelic, Zappa claimed that he himself never took drugs, and although he had long dirty hair and 'dressed weird,' he also claimed to hate hippies

Elton John

his stage persona being full of color, light, and joy. Elton's public image in the early days was straight, in keeping with public image requirements; he only gradually progressed from 'straight' to 'bisexual' before settling on 'gay' as society gradually became more liberal. rather than expressing a challenging or rebellious difference, however, Elton's personality expressed the opposite: a happy, healing celebration. as he became more famous, he dressed in increasingly flamboyant sunglasses and stage outfits that matched his exuberantly sunny personality and music. paradoxically, his music was really very conservative -- an updating of 1950s rockabilly-tinged rock 'n' roll, it emphasized great pop tunes and catchy lyrics (the latter by Bernie Taupin), with straightforward, accessible musical ideas in a mainstream, heavily diatonic pop idiom, as heard in his early mega-hit, Crocodile Rock (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (1972), which proclaims an unabashedly 50s-style nostalgia that would appeal to older and working-class audiences.

Crosby Stills Nash & Young

in 1968 a new group formed out of the wreckage of Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds: Crosby Stills, and Nash, which would later be renamed, at Neil Young's insistence, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (CSNY), one of the most famous and beloved of all pop bands in that era or, arguably, since. this supergroup was an entirely different animal from the English blues-rock supergroups, featuring fine and wonderfully innovative close-harmony singing in thoughtful, appealingly lush and soft arrangements (both of which had been presaged in the bands discussed above), suggestive of an entirely fresh sense of direction toward acoustic, country-folk styles

Jug Band

jug band music was by its nature an urban, communal kind of music making, characterized by amateurish style and keenly witty social sensibility. it combined blues, ragtime, and traditional songster music, and incorporated classic, low-grade (from an industrial or social point of view) folk instruments such as kazoo, harmonica, washboard, washtub bass, and, of course, jug -- cheap, ephemeral instruments, suggestive of an ironically light-hearted, cut-and-run attitude

Ziggy Stardust

more fatefully, in 1971 Bowie also launched a new theatrical persona, Ziggy Stardust -- a messianic, doomed rock star from outer space, with a backup band called the Spiders from Mars. wearing heavy metallic makeup and space suits, with his hair dyed bright red, Bowie seemed extremely weird and cold but also tremendously compelling and sexual. he arrived in the U.S. as a sensation in 1972; but, unlike (and of course, in the wake of) the Beatles, Bowie had conceived and planned the entire conquest of America in advance. Ziggy Stardust (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., the song (1972), from this tour, is in hard-rocking style, with overdriven guitar but precise and spacious (rather than crowded) sound. it tells a story -- once again the emphasis on theater, in this case sharply erotic and suggestively gay, which helps to place Bowie squarely in the middle of the glam phenomenon in his own way. but it is also about media stars and alienation.

The Eagles

often considered hands-down the greatest 1970s California rock band of all. certainly they have been the most popular in terms of sheer sales and airplay. formed by Bernie Leadon, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Randy Meisner in 1971, the band had increasing success up to 1975, when Joe Walsh (of James Gang fame) took over Leadon's guitar position, after which they became the most popular rock act in the United States, notably with their monster, multi-platinum album Hotel California of 1976. they would break up in 1980, with inevitable reunions beginning in the 90s. the Eagles combined country, acoustic, hard rock, pop, easy listening -- they are disturbingly or delightfully diverse in their song styles, depending on your reaction. but their later music (by comparison, say, with 1972's 'Take It Easy') is smooth and polished to a high gloss, a quality that millions of listeners find eternally appealing.

The 'Outlaw' Movement

one major influence on country style was the Outlaw movement, spearheaded in the 1970s by many different country musicians including Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in Austin, Texas. reviving the hard-edged, stripped-down spirit of honky tonk and rejecting the smooth, lush, poppy Nashville sound, the 'outlaws' sometimes incorporated elements familiar from rock 'n' roll, including electric guitars and prominent drumming

Bubblegum Music

originated in the marketing cross-connection between pop songs and chewing gum; expresses the saccharine, child-like vapidity or 'bad taste' of the genre -commercial-minded music, accessible -updated version of novelty songs

The Who

people would not normally think of the Who as progressive rock . . . but they are not really not progressive rock, either. and they create an illuminating contrast to their 60s contemporaries, the Moody Blues. we mentioned the Who in chapter 16 as part of the British Invasion generation, and in chapter 23 as exemplars of hard rock; that would be their normal category, and perfect for them. but it is just as interesting to think about the Who in the present context. in perfect opposition to the Moody Blues's lush softness and 'type-1' progressiveness (Romantic-classical), the Who were memorably loud and aggressive in a 'pure rock 'n' roll' way, with each member of the band contributing a potent element to their sound: Pete Townshend on guitar and keyboards, Roger Daltrey on vocals, John Entwistle on bass, and the legendary Keith Moon on drums. it is said that the Who were one of the first bands, if not the first, to use stacked Marshall amps as a regular part of their stage setup; what this means is not one or two amplifiers, but a whole wall of them onstage, creating a truly huge sound. and you can hear that hugeness in their recordings, combined with a curious sense of straightforward, stripped-down drive -- curious because they really were so original and distinctively artful in their songwriting. meanwhile, their stage antics, including Daltrey's remarkable singing and dancing, Townshend's windmill-arm guitar playing, the smashing of equipment, and 'bombs' exploding from inside the drum set, evoked a powerful, distinctive element of spectacle. the progressive elements in the Who would thus correspond to types 3 and 4 above -- experimental/psychedelic, and theatrical. the Who were smart, funny, in your face, and had that striking quality of the auteur about them, the artist who conveys a highly original, individual, creatively quirky sense of a rock 'n' roll song.

Los Angeles

surf music was an L.A.-based craze: it had to be. and L. A. was home to a vast entertainment and media business, including Hollywood movies, television, and recording, which meant not only glamorous stars and producers but also many steady jobs for session musicians and the constant allure, and pressure, of big money

Paul McCartney

sweeter lead vocal; bass

Blues Rock

the British blues rock trend relates to 50s skiffle, which itself incorporated American acoustic blues traditions; but there is a difference in the kind of music making involved. while skiffle evoked a jug-band sense of rough-and-ready, acoustic, communal music making that was essentially modest in style, the electric blues could go much further, placing particular emphasis on the 'theater' of individual suffering and achievement and on the 'glory' of instrumental blues soloing. just so, the move of so many British rockers into electric blues precedes the emergence of some of the most famous individual players in rock history. of course, the new British electric blues and blues-rock bands were influenced by 1950s rock 'n' roll, too -- its rebellious attitude, its revolutionary implications for the relationship between (electrified) music and society.

Rush

the Canadian rock band Rush formed in 1968 in Toronto, with Geddy Lee on bass, keyboards, and lead vocals; Alex Lifeson on guitar; and John Rutsey on drums. the latter was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974, after the release of their first album; Peart also became the band's lyricist, with a strong interest in science fiction/fantasy. Rush became increasingly popular in the later 1970s and their style evolved considerably, leading up to their top-40-friendly Moving Pictures album of 1981 and beyond, but never sacrificing their tight and complex ensemble work, bound together in a superbly accomplished, intensely hard-rocking style. their composition 'Cygnus X-1' is typical of the most ambitious prog rock, being made up of two grand 'books' or parts, each of which is a suite of several movements. the first book, 'Cygnus X-1 Book I,' appears on the album A Farewell to Kings (1977). the second, 'Cygnus X-1 Book II,' appears on Hemispheres (1978). we'll listen to the first movement of this second, Hemispheres suite -- the movement, appropriately enough, is called Prelude (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. it shows some of the same thick, guitar-driven counterpoint we heard on Yes's 'Siberian Khatru,' and an equally marked taste for serious instrumental composition featuring restlessly contrasting episodes (including changes of meter along with musical ideas), but Rush has its own unmistakeable style, with a more consistent driving rock feel, fewer instruments, and the high voice of Geddy Lee (from 3:01). curiously, the 'struggle' referred to in the lyrics involves Apollo (reason) vs. Dionysus (love).

Bill Graham

the Fillmore itself was operated by Bill Graham, who became one of rock music's great entrepreneurs; it is famous because of its enduring success, and because so many of the greatest performers of the era played there, including such musical godfathers as Muddy Waters and Miles Davis. having been raised in New York City, Graham did not wait long before opening a Fillmore East there in 1968, after which San Francisco's original Fillmore was moved to another building and renamed Fillmore West. the Fillmore East in turn became its own legendary venue, with a special quality owing to the passion and discernment of its New York audiences. Bill Graham's idea was not only to promote the new rock music, but also to bring all kinds of musical styles together, including blues, jazz, and non-Western music. and so the Fillmore East and West, like other ballrooms, became a symbol of the musical open-mindedness and convergence of a new era, as well as the principal showcase for Graham's marketing genius and the new commercial potential of progressive rock 'n' roll

Grateful Dead

the Grateful Dead was the band that seemed to symbolize, incarnate, indeed, summarize all by itself the trippy tribalism of late-60s psychedelic San Francisco; and there are good reasons for this. all five original band members were born and raised in the Bay Area; the group coalesced in the earlier 1960s out of a diverse aggregation of musicians who, though sometimes regarded as being 'about' drugs, hippie hedonism, and a laid-back, even sloppy style, in fact had extensive background in many kinds of American, classical, modern, and world music the Dead's music, perhaps more than anyone else's, did seem to trap something of the essence of San Francisco LSD culture: eclectic, atmospheric, unpredictable; a communal 'happening' in sound; a vocal style that seemed to tremble with psycho-somatic sensitivity; drawing on classical-music traditions, jazz, avant-garde, pop, blues, folk, and extremely loud rock 'n' roll to create a sonic philosophy of stoned inclusiveness

Jefferson Airplane

the Jefferson Airplane were the first S.F. band to attain 'star' status, and the first to illustrate to a broad public what the term 'psychedelic rock' could imply. the band formed in 1965 out of musicians active on the Bay Area folk scene, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner, then joined by Jorma Kaukonen on lead guitar and Jack Casady on bass the Airplane really did seem to put it all together: the cutting political commentary, rootsy folk sound and hip mystery of the folk and beat countercultures; the intense, angry electrification of midwestern garage rock; and the enveloping, atmospheric sounds and alienating lyrics of West-coast psychedelia

Kinks

the Kinks raised the whole issue of 'Beatles effect' to a different level. formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964, this band combined blues, R&B, rock 'n' roll, folk, and country influence, but ended up with something that truly sounded like no one else. the Kinks was one of the rare British Invasion bands to make it through the 60s (and indeed, well beyond that). the key elements to this band are, first, a commitment to straight-ahead stripped-down music making (beginning with electric mid-60s rock 'n' roll style, but infused with a folk- or country-like simplicity), and second a songwriting talent that is simply amazing in its stylishness and power

Lou Reed

the Velvet Underground. the leader of the band was Lou Reed (vocal, guitar), who formed a trio in 1965 with college classmate Sterling Morrison (second guitar) and John Cale (bass, viola, organ), originally from Wales, a New York scenester trained in composition and interested in avant-garde musical and artistic trends

Eric Clapton

the Yardbirds modeled themselves on Chicago blues bands, and soon picked up Eric Clapton as lead guitarist; but Clapton quit in 1965 Joined the Bluesbreakers in 1965 Helped to form cream in 1966 (guitarist)

Pink Floyd

the comparatively experimental, way-out, timbrally exploratory sound world of Pink Floyd places them on an outer fringe of 'progressive rock,' being less influenced by the style and sound of late-Romantic classical music and its poppy attributes (type 1) than by more extreme mid-20th c. modernist, experimental, and psychedelic trends (type 3). however, the band's constructivist impulse -- their tendency to think in grand, complex patterns and spans of time -- does relate them to the tradition of Romantic classical music, even if they don't often use classical instruments or orchestras. for that reason, we can see them as having an element of that 'type 1' progressivism.

Emerson Lake & Palmer

the heavy-hitting ELP formed in 1970 in England, but the band members had been in well-known similar outfits earlier, including King Crimson and the Nice. in fact, ELP was intended as a kind of prog super-group, as their name implies, with Keith Emerson on piano and other keyboards, Greg Lake on guitars, and Carl Palmer on percussion. perhaps more than any other famous progressive rock band, ELP was seriously grounded in late-Romantic classical concert music, thanks in no small measure to Emerson's prior training and tastes as a classical concert pianist (thus, type-1 influence). ELP was very active, putting out six albums up to 1974;

Canned Heat

the members of Canned Heat came from many places, but got together in L. A. in 1965. the band leaders were Al Wilson (guitar, vocal, harp) and Bob Hite (growling vocal), both deep fans of traditional blues. Canned Heat is relatively little-known today, but had an enormous impact upon rock in this period because of two things: 1. intense enthusiasm for those old blues traditions of all kinds (equaling that of the English rockers, but 'home grown,' and therefore appealing in a different way), and 2. intense devotion to boogie music, making it into a veritable psychedelic 'mantra.' with the Heat, boogieing became a trip unto itself, featuring a deep, pounding beat and a repetitive riffing style that could seemingly go on for hour after implacable hour underneath relentless, bluesy improvisations. this was not the British guitar-god sound; it was more bass-heavy, rootsy, and communal than it was self-glorifying. Canned Heat set out to demonstrate that ancient country blues was a foundation for the modern psychedelic revolution, and in their own way, they succeeded perfectly in this goal

Chicago Transit Authority

the most famous and beloved of the Chicago rock bands of the era, however, was another 'communal' and hybridizing outfit called the Chicago Transit Authority (they eventually shortened their name to Chicago). formed in 1967, it is still going today. this is a band that really seemed to put it all together: rock, jazz, blues, soul, folk, pop, psychedelia -- and community and protest. like the Flock, Blood Sweat and Tears, Tower of Power, and the Sons of Champlin, Chicago blended elements of rock, soul, and jazz with a 'progressive' edge. but whereas BS&T's music ended up sounding slick and mainstream-poppy, Chicago sounded straightforward and 'from the people' -- with its appealing vocals, gutsy rhythms, and fancy-footwork jazz horn arrangements, which always managed to sound simultaneously straightforward, smart, and swinging. none of the bandmembers was well-known before they hit, and they kept a vital connection to local Chicago neighborhoods and the working class, as well as addressing real political issues

Mike Bloomfield

the most famous player in Butterfield's band was Mike Bloomfield, also born and raised in Chicago. a session musician already in the early-mid 60s, Bloomfield was a virtuoso blues guitarist, expressive and intense like English players, but without their heavy, thick, super-amplified sound, and avoiding also the rich, distorted sound of Chicago players like Muddy Waters. Bloomfield stayed closer to the undistorted, 'sweet' sound of electric blues guitarists such as B. B. King. Bloomfield gained renown playing with Dylan in the latter's first electric phase, and then joined Paul Butterfield in 1965

Kiss

the most popular rock group of the 1970s, and one of the truly great phenomena in rock 'n' roll history. formed in 1973 around Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) and Paul Stanley (guitar, voice), they developed a highly controlled and (for its time) spectacular stage act, combining fireworks with 'evil' or at least 'monstrous' antics. the band members never appeared out of makeup and costumes -- cleverly constrained to intense black and white patterns with red accents -- until their later revival in the 1980s. what to make of this band? with their space-alien-clown costumes, their heavy cartoon makeup, and their hard-rock-bubblegum music, they came to be so adulated by pre-teens that all across America you could see kids wearing Kiss outfits or black-and-white make-up, not just to Hallowe'en parties but to school in the morning: hard rock becomes Pop Rocks. while superficially shocking, the alien-monster and hard-driving element of their music, with the extreme sexual undercurrent as emphasized by Simmons' famously huge tongue, soon became harmless; while capitalizing on the rock theater of Led Zeppelin or the glam shock of David Bowie, they ended up as the precise opposite, 'safe for kids,' and they made sure they stayed that way. one of their biggest hits was Rock 'n' Roll All Nite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., which I give you in a live version of 1975 -- slumber party music. notice the excellent overdriven amplified guitar chords and Simmons's 'snarling' voice: 'dark lite,' making hard rock into a parody. with their extreme fame and with the extremely clever, consistent, and original look of their act, they influenced not only hard rock, but metal, punk, goth, and other genres of the 80s and 90s. in this sense, Kiss definitely 'raised the bar' on bubblegum music

(Rock) ballroom

the term ballroom reflects the fact that many of these halls had been used for swing and sweet-music dancing in an earlier generation; ironically, they found a new life in rock music, with pillows instead of seats [still called 'festival' seating today], big balloons, and psychedelic light shows made from movies, slides, overlaid moire patterns, and pulsing oil-and-water 'hallucinations' by ambitious light-show companies with names such as L.S.D., the Holy See, and Headlights

Andy Warhol

the velvet underground got a gig in a New York club and, with their extreme lyrics and style, were soon fired -- but not before Andy Warhol saw them and, impressed, invited them to be the house band at his art studio, the Factory. one of the best-known and most successful artists of the 1960s, Warhol was also one of the most famous (or notorious) public figures in New York, with his shock of white hair, his clear pink plastic eyeglass frames, his blank, fleshy face, his openly gay identity, and his presence at all kinds of social functions, from the most glittering to the seediest -- he was fascinated by culture, by fame, by glory, glitz, and squalor. a master at combining elements of 'high' and 'low' art, of elitist, pop, and industrial culture, it was Warhol who made the hyper-famous Campbell's Soup Can lithograph (representing a simple soup can that can be found in any supermarket in the nation), an icon of the modern art world, that has found its way into the most elite contemporary art collections. according to Wikipedia, one of Warhol's 'pop-art' paintings, depicting Elvis Presley, recently sold for $100,000,000. in his brilliant way, Warhol inflicted new headaches on the art world about what 'fine art' was or could be, and what it had to do with today's modern world of mass production, ubiquitous advertising, and popular culture. geeky but ingenious and highly sociable, Warhol was the magnet and guiding spirit behind a kind of loose collective, who would gather at his Factory, including all kinds of artists, musicians, beautiful people, desperadoes, and other restless figures, including ironic icons such as Edie Sedgwick and Joe Dallessandro. there are numerous films of people from this crowd, made by Warhol himself, that show them being bored, getting dressed, having sex, talking, hanging around. the Velvets provided live music for the Factory's happenings, which soon came to involve film projections, light shows, and various kinds of dancers. in 1966 Warhol put together a traveling show out of this material, calling it the Exploding. Plastic. Inevitable., and took it on tour. interestingly, when they got to the West Coast, where a distinctive culture of 'happenings' had also been developing, there was antagonism, rather than symbiosis, between the Velvets and the West Coast rock bands. the Velvets did not make feel-good hippie music; but their music did suit the culture swirling around them in New York -- the sordid American underbelly, with its obsessive cravings for sex, drugs, money, and 'perversions' of all kinds, wealthy tastes mixed with everyday popular/street culture, trashy glitz, and a refined, ambitious, daring artistic sensibility.

Gumbo Effect

there is a certain pleasing roughness in this southern music -- in that slightly furry acoustic guitar sound, adding to a slightly swampy thickness in the musical texture (filled out by two guitars and that slightly-out-of-tune piano). that loose thick quality is what I refer to as the gumbo effect, meaning a stew of sounds stirred together -- not emphasizing precision as much as a looser, soulful community of sound in which all the ingredients add up to a good feeling. this effect proves to be important in a lot of southern music, as we have already begun to see in earlier chapters.

Rolling Stones

there was another superstar British Invasion group in the 1960s, emerging soon after the Beatles and following them in their trajectory in an uncanny way, but representing something of an opposite to them: the Rolling Stones, a band that many feel is THE rock band to end all rock bands, the ultimate point of reference for rock music as a whole, the one that established the true identity of rock, etc. etc. the Stones achieved this result by combining musical brilliance with an almost unshakable grounding in 1950s and early 60s rock 'n' roll, blues, and R&B styles, and with a truly remarkable intuition about the marketing and updating of their image

Robert Plant

vocalist of Led Zeppelin

Janis Joplin

with Janis Joplin we encounter one of the most amazing and singular figures in late 60s music. born and raised in Port Arthur, Texas, she loved folk music and blues, including rootsy, intense female singers such as Bessie Smith and Odetta. she came to San Francisco in the early 1960s, then returned there in 1966 at the urging of a Texas friend, Chet Helms, who was taking on the role of a leader in the nascent psychedelic music scene there. Helms put Joplin together with a band of fine electric blues-rock musicians he had helped form, with the picturesque name of Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Peter Albin and Sam Andrews on guitars. they caused a sensation at the Monterey Pops Festival in 1967, and when their first album Cheap Thrills finally came out in 1968, it was a huge commercial success, the biggest one of the whole S.F. scene

Beatles effect, vs. Stones effect

Beatles: (1) grounding in a basic rock 'n' roll style that combines the 50s 'rebellious' electric-guitar-band tradition with a taste for roots music in R&B and the blues and a tinge of garage-rock mayhem. to this style it adds, on the one hand, an intense and sometimes critical engagement with (2) the pop sensibility of the moment -- which means introducing elements of cuteness, hookiness, top-40 simplicity, brevity, and other qualities appealing to the public at large, whether or not they are leavened with irony. on the other hand, it also adds engagement with (3) a broad diversity of other musical trends, which in the case of the Beatles, could involve anything from avant garde music, art, and film to world music, historical traditions, and alternative spiritualities. in other words, the Beatles come off essentially as musical liberals but also 'nice boys,' and as a role model they would suggest an essential connection between rock 'n' roll and other music. this in itself could be revolutionary or 'rebellious,' but it is a comparatively quiet or implicit kind of rebellion, perhaps even a subversion of any pure definition of rock music, based to some extent on a philosophy of 'acceptance' of otherness. the Beatles come off as fundamentally idealistic. Stones: (1) a similar basic rock 'n' roll style that combines 50s 'rebellious' electric-guitar-band tradition with a taste for roots music in R&B and the blues, and some degree of garage influence. to this style it adds (2) attention to, but also resistance to mainstream pop sensibility, even as the band pursues fame and fortune from that audience; this balancing act insures an ongoing place for rock 'n' roll as a distinct social and cultural critique. and similarly, it adds (3) a certain sensitivity but also resistance to other influences, whether avant garde trends in music, art, and film or world-music traditions and 'alternative' spiritualities -- any influences that might threaten the vital connection between rock, its traditional roots, and its rebellious message. in other words, the Stones come off essentially as musical conservatives and also as 'bad boys'; as a role model they would suggest an essential distinction between rock 'n' roll and other music. the Stones' brand of 'rebellion' is comparatively loud and raucous, based to some extent on a philosophy of judgment or 'rejection' as well as joy and celebration. the Stones come off as fundamentally skeptical, if not even sarcastic or cynical.

Chicago

Chicago was one of the principal destinations of African Americans leaving the south in the Great Migration of the earlier 20th century, which led to a major cultural hub in its South Side district and, as we have seen, to some momentous trends, including the so-called Chicago jazz style of the 1920s and the hard-driving, electric Chicago blues style of the 1950s. Chicago was also a major center of emergent soul style from the 50s on, with their own 'Chicago sound' and an industry leader, Vee-Jay Records, in nearby Gary, Indiana. the special relationship of Chicago to the electric blues, with its illustrious community of players in a tradition coming straight up from the Mississippi Delta, created a special environment for the pursuit of a unique blend in the 'revolutionary' later 60s

Creedence

Creedence, straight out of Berkeley, California, had one of the most meteoric and distinctive success stories in all rock music. bandleader John Fogerty had an amazing talent for songwriting in a crisp, tight, short, rock 'n' roll form -- an approach that contrasted strikingly with the psychedelic jam tendency of the time, and seemed like the exact opposite, say, of the Grateful Dead in almost every possible way. the band's success with this style marks another amazing path out of the 60s. Creedence likewise steered clear of prog/jazz histrionics and proto-glam androgynous theatricality of Led Zeppelin-style bands; theirs was precisely the opposite approach, a kind of absolute reductivism to the simplest virile rock essentials, using lyric themes and vocal stylings that connected them to the South.

David Bowie

David Bowie himself could be called the greatest single glam persona -- although he has been many other things, too. born in 1947 as David Jones, Bowie worked professionally in music from his mid-teens in London, playing in R&B and other pop groups on saxophone and other instruments. at the same time, he was interested in experimental, theatrical groups: from the beginning, therefore, we see a focal interest both in contemporary pop music and theater. his two-different-colored eyes added a strange, but attractive feature to his thin, refined, inscrutable face: he became a striking performer, visually, and took full advantage of that fact. Bowie's public image was cool, aloof, deadpan, unflappable, unknowable -- and increasingly androgynous, like a male Greta Garbo. but he was extraordinarily productive musically, at a consistently high and conceptually sophisticated level. and his music, like his stage acts, could be beautiful or amazing.

Southern/Country Rock

Differences: Southern: improvising, southern, rootsy, diatonic, rock elements Country: twangy, cleanly produced, more relaxed

MC5

Early punk band from Detroit -garage rock/proto punk

Tommy

First Rock Opera, written by Pete Townshend of The Who in 1969

Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac is one of the longer lived of the English bands, and also one of those that went through the greatest musical and personnel changes. they began in 1967 as a spinoff from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, then turned toward a soulful rock, but our interest in them here has to do specifically with the year 1975, when, on tour in Los Angeles, they hired the Californian duet of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to round out their personnel. a series of platinum albums followed, in a style that combines rock music with lush pop and subtly countrified flavors, thanks to the laid-back, sweet sound, the lack of distortion and other agitating or loud elements, and the sheer accent of Stevie's voice. their album Rumours of 1977 has been one of the most consistent best-sellers in all pop music, and seems to make a seamless blend (I mistakenly typed 'bland' at first) of rock and pop. the song Dreams (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. is an excellent example of Mac's style in this period; beautifully performed and recorded, it has the adult, misery-in-relationship-oriented lyrics of country music, but preserves what was then heard as a rockin' beat. interesting is that the song never actually lands on the home chord of its own scale, but forever remains on the IV and V chords, which nicely expresses the hovering fatalism of the lyrics, delivered in Stevie Nicks's delightful voice

Skiffle

Folk-like British pop music in which homemade instruments (e.g., washboard, cigar-box fiddle, kazoo, musical saw, comb and paper) provided the accompaniment for simple songs

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa (1940-93), a fixture of rock, pop, and art music from the mid-1960s until his death from cancer at the age of 53. a product of exurban L.A., Frank never got over its plastic hypocrisy or cheesy radio music, and his early saturation in in blues, doo wop, 50s rock 'n' roll, Latino music, and lounge music decisively influenced his entire voluminous musical output. at the same time, Zappa was radically curious, experimental, open-minded, and self-educating, and he came to revere such classical and avant-garde composers as Stravinsky and Varese (cf. chapter 6), who had deep impact on his style. simply to go through Zappa's range of musical personalities would be a daunting prospect, because there are so many, and they involve not only him, but also the many exceptional musicians in his various bands. playing with Frank was like playing with Miles Davis -- an introduction to an entire (and not cuddly) world of musicianship and ambitious, if sometimes incredibly wacky, professionalism.

Iggy Pop and the Stooges

Iggy Pop [James Newell Osterberg], force of nature, formed his band, the Stooges, in his home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1967, with guitarist Ron Asheton on guitar, his brother Scott Asheton on drums, and Dave Alexander on drums. impressed with the stripped-down, loud, distorted, nihilistic, and psychedelic elements of British and American garage bands, on the one hand, and with the cutting-edge artiness and theatricality of the Doors and Velvet Underground on the other, Pop ended up creating one of the most influential bands in rock history, even though (and maybe partly because) they weren't very well understood or appreciated. Pop's over-the-top energy clearly relates to that of the MC 5s, but goes even further conceptually, preferring an alienated, a-political, existential approach to the MC 5's populist leftism. he was notorious for wild and revolting stage antics, smearing wet food all over his naked torso and stage diving (in 1967!), and the band's music makes an extraordinary blend of bluesy intensity, garage-like noise and Velvet-like obsessions

Michigan

Iggy pop, mc5, punk sound "Motown"

British Invasion

Influx of bands and musicians from Britain during the 60's. Huge influence on the American music scene.

King Crimson

King Crimson first formed in London in 1968, and would see many changes of membership in its long career. guitarist Robert Fripp was the central and enduring leader, but several other musicians played key roles at various times, including Ian McDonald, Greg Lake, Peter Sinfield, and Michael Giles in the early years. their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), already displays typical Crimson elements of grandiose gloom, often using minor keys and complex musical constructions inspired by jazz and classical music. in this, Crimson was an essential forerunner to the future world of heavy metal. Cirkus (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., from Lizard, their 3rd album (1970), illustrates diverse aspects of the Crimson sound and ethos: building-up of riffs, repetition, rhythmic insistence; layered rhythmic cross-rhythms (2 against 3); acoustic/electric mix; arty, dark lyrics, declaimed to an obscure offbeat pattern. is this music too sophisticated? Robert Fripp has always had the ambition of challenging the limits of rock music.

Jerry Garcia

Lead guitarist of Grateful Dead

Keith Richards

Lead guitarist of the Rolling Stones

Jim Morrison

Lead singer of The Doors

Lynrd Skynrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd is often considered to be the iconic southern-rock band. they originated in Jacksonville, Florida under the nominal leadership of singer Ronnie van Zant, performing already as high-schoolers from 1964, but it was not until 1972 that the band lineup was stabilized and the famous name chosen. they were then discovered by 60s rock pioneer Al Kooper, who signed them and produced their first album in 1973, Pronounced Lehnerd Skinerd. the lineup of the band is iconic for southern rock, including three guitars and organ: it translates that ancient string band sound and incorporates the gospel-church keyboard sensibility.

Mountain

Mountain was another one of those bands at the end of the 60s that seemed to point the way to the future of rock 'n' roll, in its own way. centered on the guitar wizardry of Bostonian Leslie West (who himself was a kind of 'mountain' of a guy at the time, physically), the band formed in 1969 in New York as an answer to British super-rock bands like Cream, using the same basic approach of blues-based guitar virtuosity in a hard-driving, very hard and loud rock context

New York

New York, and particularly the Greenwich Village neighborhood, was a crucial spawning ground for the Beat movement of the 1950s and the folk revival and girl-group trends of the early 1960s, including such luminaries as Bob Dylan. New York is of course always an amazing town for music, and it was home, or else a major destination, for many 60s bands. there was a thriving club scene with many opportunities to play, just as there is today; and some local bands made a good career for themselves. live club music would frequently combine various elements -- including folk, rock, blues, or R&B, as one might expect. two bands that made it big from this scene were the Young Rascals and the Lovin' Spoonful. they epitomize different aspects of the classic, pre-psychedelic New York sound: not 'surfing' music, and not quite 'garage,' either, but drawing on contemporary R&B and soul music. (in chapter 15, we discussed New Yorkers Simon and Garfunkel, who followed their own folk-oriented path in the mid- to late-60s; in the next chapter, we will discuss Bill Graham and the Fillmore East ballroom.)

Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd's concept album Dark Side of the Moon (1973) is, all by itself, one of the phenomena of popular music, and a major watershed in the band's career: it remained on the pop album charts for 15 years, then re-charted on its re-release in 1993, a feat unmatched by any other album in history. it included a single hit (rare for them), 'Money,' but more generally it is a classic concept album, treating the theme of pressures on everyday life -- travel, aging, death, money, violence, insanity. the band was able to use a 16-track studio in recording the album, helping to give it an unusually sophisticated quality of sound. examples of music from this record:

Queen

Queen (formed in England, 1970) can be considered one of the most accomplished bands in rock history, thanks to the sustained quality, popularity, and individuality of their recordings, every one of which is a model of tight musicianship and musical concentration. their lead singer, Freddie Mercury (died in 1991) merits a place in rock history all by himself, due to his fine and highly expressive voice, and to his bisexual (?) persona which helped to nudge gayness closer to the center of pop culture. but the other band members, Brian May on guitar, John Deacon on bass, and Roger Taylor on drums, were no less remarkable. Queen's music can be powerful and hard-driving, in the tradition of hard rock or prog, but even more, it is intensely theatrical. that quality stems from several elements in the music. first, Mercury's voice has the versatility, emotionality, and refinement of a pop-Broadway voice. second, their songs often seem to set a stage or 'costume' for his voice, creating an atmosphere around it that can change radically according to the mood and the lyrics, and thus allowing for a strong sense of the individuality and power of a given song. third, even within individual songs their music can mix or jump around very different styles in a way that is suggestive of musical theater: their style vocabulary includes not only hard rock, but also crooning ballads and vocal harmony, and the style can shift so abruptly that you feel as if you are almost watching a narrative story or 'show' unfold. this places added emphasis on the lyrics, and thus again on Mercury's voice and persona. indeed, the virtuosity of the band's complex songwriting and performance caused it quite appropriately to be labeled as prog rock even as they became famous as 'glam' avatars, an image encouraged by the extreme costumes of Mercury and (to a lesser extent) May.

Freddie Mercury

Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury (died in 1991) merits a place in rock history all by himself, due to his fine and highly expressive voice, and to his bisexual (?) persona which helped to nudge gayness closer to the center of pop culture

San Francisco

San Francisco has been marked by a streak of extraordinary tolerance for diversity and, indeed, wildness since the Gold Rush, when it first became a major American city and symbolized the very idea of an 'urban frontier,' indeed, the 'Golden Gate.' before World War 1, jazz took root in San Francisco's Barbary Coast district, and several of the most famous New Orleans players spent a lot of time there. it was one of the wildest red light districts anywhere, but, like some others, it was shut down around the time of World War 1 (1918). during World War 2, the dixieland revival (updating traditional New Orleans style jazz) got a huge boost from a home-grown San Francisco jazz scene. in the 1950s, San Francisco was the 'second capital' of the Beats, after New York's Greenwich Village; jazz bands, edgy comedians, improv performance artists, and other edgy types flocked there, including Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Walter Ferlinghetti, and Lenny Bruce. and in the 1960s, in the midst of the ongoing Beat and folk revival movements, a new vogue for psychedelic drugs and a new culture of protest and popular music morphed into the hippie movement, for which San Francisco (together with Berkeley and, in its way, Oakland) was the de facto world capital. once again, San Francisco was the 'golden gate' for a frontier phenomenon

Mick Jagger

Singer of the Rolling Stones