History of Rock Exam #1

Bessie Smith

"Empress of the Blues" from Chattanooga, TN 1 of greatest female signers of her era, large influence on jazz

Jerry Lee Lewis

"Great Balls of Fire" married his 13 yro cousin

Carter Family

"Hillbilly" music 1st family of country music 1st recorded at "Bristol Sessions"

Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers

"Hillbilly" music old time string band 1920s/1930s

Jimmie Rodgers

"Hillbilly" music sometimes called "father of country music" from Mississippi, recored in Bristol, TN

Louis Jordan

"King of the Juke Box"

Big Joe Turner

"My Gal's a Jockey" American blues shouter from Kansas City Rock n Roll not possible w/out him inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987

Payola Scandal

"Pay to Play artists' producers would pay for their popularity

Janis Martin

"The Female Elvis" at RCA with Elvis

Big Mama Thornton

"You Ain't Nothin But a Hound Dog" huge R&B performer #1 on R&B charts

Stephen Foster

"father of popular music" 1st great composer of American music from North, wrote songs from African Americans perspective wrote "Oh Susanna"

Irving Berlin

1 of main Tin Pan Alley writers wrote "God Bless America" & "White Christmas"

Little Richard

1st big record for J&M electric blues sound 1st male performer to wear makeup

Bessie Jones and the Sea Island Singers

1st group of African American singers to travel and sing gospel

Chords

3 or more notes played a the same time

AABA

A-verse, A-verse, B-bridge, A-verse, repeat ("Great Balls of Fire")

The Surf Sound

Beach Boys - influenced by Chuck Berry, Phil Spector's Wall of Sound Brian Wilson - producer, chief songwriter

Spencer Davis Group

British band that performed beat, psychedelic rock, blue-eyed soul

Chuck Berry

Chicago R&B and Rock n Roll "Maybellene" tailored towards teenagers recorded R&B at Chess Records

Hank Williams Sr.

Country and Western singer songwriter from Alabama "pure country" style died young

Reasons for the "Death of Rock n Roll"

Elvis joins the army Little Richard joins ministry Chuck Berry arrested Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, & Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash Rise of Teen Idols

Herman's Hermits

English pop band formed in 1963

King of the Delta Blues

LP that got Robert Johnson recognized as "a master of the blues"

Sun Records

Memphis, TN small, independent record company 1st hit - Rocket 88 primarily black artists before Elvis & Johnny Cash

Pop Rockabilly

Roy Orbison "Only the Lonely" Everly Brothers "All I Have to Do is Dream"

Folk Pop

The Kingston Trio "Tom Dooley"

Elvis Presley

Tupelo, MS played "hillbilly music" originally started out at Sun Records went from Sun to RCA for $35,000 really became a star at RCA played w/ Scotty & Bill Chet Atkins - went w/ Elvis to RCA white boy w/ black sound

Eric Clapton

Yardbirds - Jeff Beck, Jimmy Paige Cream - band he formed in 1966, influential blues-based band, found home in psychedelic rock scheme album - Blind Faith

Blue Notes and Blue Scales

a note sung/played at a slightly lower pitch than normal for expressive purposes "bending the notes"

Call and Response

a succession of 2 distinct phrases usually played by 2 or 3 different groups 2nd group responds to the 1st

The British Invasion

acts from the UK that became popular in the US, started w/ the Beatles

John Mayer

began as singer/songwriter in Atlanta heavily influenced by Buddy Guy & Stevie Ray Vaughn inspired by blues

Martin, Bogan and Armstrong (The Tennessee Chocolate Drops)

blues group started in Knoxville, TN in 1920s recorded in hotel at the end of Market Square performed at hoedowns & square dances moved to Chicago & realized people wanted to hear blues

Brill Building Pop

building in NY with many offices where teams wrote songs primarily focused on young black women new Tin Pan Alley Pop lots of girl groups

Swing

came from Jazz era gave the beat & boogie boogie feel to Rock influential on Tin Pan Alley pop & Rock

Fat's Domino

cross over artist biggest artist before Elvis warm friendly image

British Blues Revival

developed from American blues The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin

Contrasting Verse-Chorus

different music for verse & chorus

Rattle and Buzz

dirtying up the sound (distortion)

Cover Phenomenon

doing songs originally done by black artists

Tin Pan Alley Pop

dominated until 19th century Alley in NY where pop publishing houses were gots its name b/c locals thought their piano playing sound like tin pans "White Music" - most popular song genre where people began writing down music & selling it

Drums/Percussion

establishes foundational "beat" rhythm

Rolling Stones

fascination w/ Muddy Waters named after Muddy Waters song

Equalization

fine tuning lows, mids, & highs of a track or individual instrument

Louis Armstrong

foundational influence in jazz shifted focus to solo performance bent lyrics & melody for expressive purposes skilled at scat singing

Outkast

from Atlanta, influenced early songs Andre 3000 & Big Boi influenced by George Clinton & Prince credited for being "pioneers of southern based hip-hop" draw heavily from R&B and funk incorporated more styles as they went on

Lucinda Williams

from Louisiana 1st album - Blues album in 1979 "Roots Oriented" won 1st grammy in 1994 (total of 3) never quite fit into any genre & won all 3 Grammys in diff. categories Americana category

Jump Blues / Rhythm & Blues

gritty Chicago blues, swing beat, boogie boogie, electric guitar catch all category for blacks hated by white families

Rhythm Guitar/Keyboard

harmony

Ballads

historically used for storytelling in Africa some violent, some sweet/romantic from European roots usually 16 or 32 bars long & AABA form

Tempo

how fast or slow the music is pulsating

Dynamics

how loud or soft the music is at a particular moment

Meter

how we organize the beats, where emphasis & accents are

J&M Recording Studios

in New Orleans on Rampart Street (in corner of Matassa's family shop) opened by Cosimo Matassa recorded Fat's Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles

Buddy Holly

influenced by Elvis inspired the Beatles "That'll Be the Day"

African Musical Traits

influenced music b/c of the slave trade 3 Influential Ports - New Orleans, Richmond VA, & Charleston SC

Simple Verse

instrumental verse, vocal verse, instrumental verse no contrasting chorus

Syncopation

involves a variety of rhythms which are unpacked & make a piece/song off-beat putting accent anywhere except downbeat

The Who

known as High Numbers mostly played R&B covers manager decided to market them modernly - set stage for heavy metal

Marquee Club

located on Oxford Street in London known for jazz & skiffle The Rolling Stones 1st performance

Shift Dynamics

loud to soft or vice versa

Reverb

makes a voice/instrument sound like its in a large room or concert hall

Improvisation

making it up as you go

Brian Epstein

manager of the Beatles

Johnny Cash

married into the Carter family to create "1st family of country music" success w/ Sun Records & Rockabilly style

Rockabilly

mix of rock & country

Harmony

more than 1 pitch/note playing at the same time

Alexis Korner

musician & radio broadcaster "founding father of the British blues"

Urban Blues

musicians moved to North (Chicago) added drums & electric guitar to music

Robert Johnson

not famous during lifetime made 20ish songs that weren't released from a big record label died at 27 (part of "27 club") played slide guitar

Beatles

originally were The Quarrymen John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr Albums - A Hard Day's Night, Rubber Soul

Mixing

overall balancing of the different elements of a song (volumes, panning, effects)

Stereo Placement

panning different tracks to the left or right speaker

Black String Bands

played bluegrass, country, and blues

Muddy Waters

played southern rural style blues in North, added electric guitars/sound --> developed Chicago Blues became "King of Chicago Blues" influenced the Rolling Stones "I Can't Be Satisfied" & "Hooch Coochie Man"

The Kinks

pre-punk band, grew out of blues revival Ray and Dave Davies "You Really Got Me"

Tone Color

quality of the sound (Timbre)

Carl Perkins

recorded at Sun Records "Blue Suede Shoes"

Echo

repeats the note & bounces around in the mix

Alan Freed

responsible for naming Rock n Roll white DJ

Simple Verse-Chorus

same music for verse & chorus

Bing Crosby

sang "White Christmas" 1st crooner in pop music era had more #1 hits than any other 20th century performer, nominated for 3 Oscars 1st American singer to actively invent a persona

Chord Progression

series of chords that make up a song; works together with melody

Melody

series of notes & pitches (rate of vibration)

Phil Spector

somewhat of a genius in his time mentor of girl groups authoritative producer Wall of Sound - duplicate instruments playing same parts, very thick heavy sounding

Wilco

started by Jeff Tweedy, a former member of Uncle Tupelo influenced by the Beatles & Indie-Rock referred to as American Radiohead by some Yankee Hotel - big album record company didn't like it so eventually gave them the rights

DooWop

started on the streets crucial in crossing black artists over to the pop charts The Crows - 1st black band to cross over Orioles - another crossover group

WC Handy

started writing down blues - big for sheet music industry

Skiffle

style that blends folk music w/ up tempo rhythmic feel & American textual themes Lonnie Donegan

Compression

takes audio signal & brings up lower parts & lowers the loud parts to an even level REMOVES dynamics

George Martin

the drummer changed his name to Ringo Starr

Rhythm

time element of the music

12-Bar Blues

uses the I, IV, & V chords; divided into 3 separate four bar segments

Dick Dale

w/ the Del-Tones King of the Surf Guitar

Bill Haley

white cover artist Bill Haley & the Comets covered "Shake Rattle & Roll" by Joe Turner covered "Rock Around the Clock"

Pat Boone

white cover artist descendant of Daniel Boone had 32 top 40 hits covered "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard

Minstrel Shows

white musicians appropriating black musical styles used banjos/violins incorporated "black face" led to music being bought as sheet music

Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

white songwriters who lived across from the Brill Building

Rebellion

white teenagers listening to R&B turning point when they started listening to what was considered black music new audience for recorded music

Eddie Cochran

wrote his own songs "Summertime Blues"

Jerry Goffin and Carole King

wrote pop hits together in early 1960s in Brill Building