History of Rock Exam 2
Elton John's albums
"Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" - autobiographicl concept album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - contains syntheszer-based art rock "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player"
Jimi Hendrix
"Guitar was the snake, he was the snake-charmer" Brought electric blues guitar traditions to England Guitar innovations: wrist vibrato, playing with teeth, weird tunings, volume and tone control, feedback, etc. Stage theatrics
Joni Mitchell
"One of the few to match Dylan" Style: harmonic skill, visual imagination, sense of place and landscape, deep and personal lyrics that explore the self "Court and Spark"- documents transition from folk artist to rock auteur
Elton John
#1 pop artist of '70s Classically trained Influenced by Little Richard and Jerry Lewis Songwriting partner: Bernie Taupin
Heavy metal themes
1. Hedonistic subject matter, often from fantasy; focus on death and mortality (darkness, evil, power); also celebration of life (sex, drugs, rock n' roll) 2. Anger/aggression channeled in controlled manner 3. Inversion of mainstream symbolism (Ex. happy songs about the devil) 4. Fan appeal: music and artists are accessible
"My Girl"
1964 Performed by the Temptations Written by Smokey Robinson and White Guy group A seminal recording and prime example of Motown's perfect mix of rhythm and cadence
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
1965 James Brown #1 R&B, #8 Pop Said he heard everything -- even the guitars -- as drums
"You Can't Hurry Love"
1966 Performed by the Supremes Written by Holland-Dozier-Holland Girl group, led by Diana Ross Ross's vocals are doubled because she had such a soft voice
"Purple Haze"
1967 Obvious blues roots Strophic tune serving as scaffold for instrumental passages Sped-up guitar and violent distortion at the end Psychedelic words/text, tapping into '60s counterculture
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
6 minute song turned into a mini opera Pseudo-classical arrangements + hard rock Preponderance of random Italian words Huge multi-layered sound, vocal overdubbing Most expensive single at the time Themes: murder, abandonment, family duty 3 distinct sections: intro, opera, hard rock (+ coda)
"Time"
About mortality and time's passage Some jazz harmonies Low-key vocals from Gilmour and Wright Clocks going off in the beginning
'60s counterculture
Advocacy of hedonism and peace Political unrest: civil rights movement/racial tensions; Vietnam War; assassinations Sexual liberaton More visible drug use: marijuana and LSD Largely influenced by Beat writers
"Whipping Post"
Allman Brothers One of rock's definitive improvisations 11/8 time signature Double-drummer rhythm
Woodstock
Aug. 15-17, 1969 3-day musical commune Symbol of hippie movement
Motown
Berry Gordy's record company that specialized in R&B and black soul music Founded in 1959 as Tamla Records, became Motown in '61 Crossed color lines Utilized Spector's "Wall of Sound" Well-known artists: the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations Became largest black-owned business The term now refers to the particular style of music the company produced
Southern rock
Blues and country-based styles, typically agressive in sound, centered on electric guitars and vocals In cultural terms: white musicians reclaiming electric blues, and a reconciliation of southern regional pride with progressive racial views Examples: Lynrd Skynrd, ZZ Top
Eric Clapton
Blues is central to his career With Cream, he moved toward a style that came to influence hard and prog rock Blues spokesman, big into covering blues artists Guitar style derived from Freddie King, Muddy Waters, etc. More of a lead player Interested more in tone than effects ("woman tone" - removed bass tone and turned volume up to max) Gibson before Cream, Strat after
Aladdin Sane
Bowie visualized young Americans as vibrant but lonely and superficial people poised unknowingly at the world's cataclysm
Yes
British art-rock band in '70s Known for complicated arrangements, instrumental virtuosity and ambitious scope Complex and extended tracks, many up to 20 minutes in length Keyboardist Rick Wakeman
Black Sabbath
British metal band Helped define heavy metal topics by moving away from love, sex, and masculinity towards evil, war, and pain Music was often ponderously slow, based on straightforward melodic riffs with a heavy and distorted guitar sound
Pink Floyd
British prog rock band Moved from avant-garde psychedelia to album-oriented prog rock Dark dystopian themes of madness, greed, psychological isolation '70s: very polished concept albums engineered by Alan Parsons
"What I'd Say"
By Ray Charles Developed an eclectic style, combining R&B, soul, country, jazz, tin pan alley, blues, etc. raspy singing style with whoops, cries, bent notes, shouts Roots in gospel music: gospel-styled piano and call-and-response patterns Song was his first gold record, a crossover hit into the growing style of rock n' roll Eclectic style: gospel elements + 12-bar blues structure, Latin conga rhythm and boogie-woogie elements
Queen
Centered on Mercury Exaggerations of vaudeville, music hall, prog rock and metal (no synthesizers) Campy stage persona Aligned glam stage theatrics with qualities of metal Many songs have outlived any other pop music of '70s
"I Shall Be Released"
Covered by the Band Gospel-influenced song
"Crossroads"
Cream 1966 Loose cover of Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" Prominent lead riff, hard-driving, upbeat instrumental backing and soloing
Thin White Duke
During this period his albums ranged from blue-eyed soul to krautrock
Progressive rock
Eclectic musicians expanding boundaries through new techniques or through fusion with prestigious, "classical," or exotic styels Experimental, often thematic approaches Shunned 3 minute pop format Integrated free jazz techniques Displayed showy, quasi-mythical qualities in lyrics
"Crocodile Rock"
Elton John Remade teenage dance song '50s rock n' roll influence Reference to Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" Simple chords Fluffy, poppy sound of Elton's farfisa organ
Stevie Wonder
First signed to Motown as a child prodigy Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist His Motown hits combine gospel influences with the R&B style of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke Started experimenting with more ambitious musical forms and with the synthesizer, and widened his lyrics to address racial problems and spiritual questions in the early-'70s
Berry Gordy
Founder of Motown Was a songwriter ("Money, That's What I Want") Used "assembly line" production model to churn out hits -- take a person, process them (teach them), and they would come out a capable musician Finishing school -- run by Maxine Powell
"Black Dog"
From Led Zeppelin IV Electric blues based on a winding riff and complex, shifting time signatures (6/8, 5/8) Very difficult to cover About a woman
"Dazed and Confused"
From debut album Based on a slow folk-blues by Jake Holmes Adapted by the Yardbirds before Zeppelin Doom-sounding riffs, guitar played with violin bow Lyrics are about struggling with a woman who doesn't treat you right
Bowie
Glam rock pioneer Multiple stage identities created new leavel of theatricality Champion of "emotional dispossession" Offered himself up as an icon Demonstrated how pop could be about disengagement rather than sincerity or authenticity Unique singer: sang from everywhere, powerful, vibrato-rich singing style
Electric guitar comes of age
Guitar heroes: Hendrix, Clapton, Townshend, Page, etc. Guitar's rapid evolution: 1. Becomes electric in '40s 2. Distortion and feedback becomes not only accepted but desired 3. New playing techniques and modifications (solid-body, whammy bar)
Glam rock
Highly theatrical and gender-bending mode of presentation Rejection of hard rock's authenticity cult and machismo Starts with New York Dolls and Bowie Emphasized short, well-constructed, hook-based songs in opposition to lengthy meanderings of prog rock
"Stairway to Heaven"
Led Zeppelin IV Their most famous song 8 minutes 3 distinct sections Power ballad Progressively gets faster
"Berlin Trilogy"
Low and Heroes in '77 Lodger in '79 All made in collaboration with Brian Eno Cutting edge devices: new synths and harmonizers
Heavy Metal
Made possible by guitar innovations: 1. Based on the power trio, a format where the rhythm guitarist is replaced by turning up the bass, close-milking the drums, and adding signal-distortion effects to the lead guitar 2. Introduced by the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Born amidst the ashes of the failed youth revolution A coming together of rock and psychedelic music Strong ties to electric blues and jazz (improv)
Motown songwriters
Most popular: Holland-Dozier-Holland Whitfield and Strong Ashford and Simpson
Marvin Gaye
Motown's overall best-selling male vocalist His recordings demonstrate the development of black American music from raw R&B to sophisticated soul to sexual and personal political awareness in early-'70s
Iggy Pop
Nexus of glam and punk Lyrics are bleak and perverse Amateurish and raucous music Songs are outpourings of adolescent angst and self-loathing, expressed with haikus and beat poetry
"Warszawa"
Off "Low" - half elctronic pop and half extended instrumental pieces Song is an Eno piece with Bowie's vocals Based on piano drones and organ-like synth and flute-mellotron tones Vocals enter after several minutes, singing without words
"Ziggy Stardust"
Off "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust..." When he broke into the mainstream Alter ego: fictional alien rocker dressed in Kabuki-style clothes
"(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay"
Otis Redding Soul singer and songwriter; important figure at Stax Records Song shows influence of Beatles and Dylan Thought by many in the soul industry to be too pop-oriented Reached #1 in both R&B and pop charts
"The Golden Road"
Performed by Grateful Dead, who started at the famous "Acid Tests" in the SF area Exemplified the communal idea the best "Live" experience is the most indicative of Grateful Dead's effect Song was their first local hit Ecstatic, communal, electric, quirky, poppy, light-hearted "Good vibe" music
"Somebody to Love"
Performed by Jefferson Airplane, the first nationally successful SF psych band 1967 Spacey, loud, quasi-distorted sound Lyrics: loyalty and monogamy
"Venus in Furs"
Performed by Velvet Underground, NY band presenting a darker side to '60s hedonism Reed was fascinated by street culture and amorality, and Cale was very experimental musically Songs about drugs, S&M, sublimation, transvestitism, etc. This song is about S&M and trans.. Inspired by book of same name Cale and Reed explore pitch droning: ostrich tuning, viola Slow, plodding, emphatic beat
"Break on Through"
Performed by the Doors Darker side of psychedelic rock Existential angst, '60s hedonism and self-indulgence Atmospheric but austere music Despairing and defiant lyrics focusing on death and sex First single, first song off first album Trademark keyboard sounds (Render Rhodes, Vox Continental Organ) Bossa nova drum groove
Led Zeppelin
Progenitors of heavy metal Influenced by blues, folk, traditional Arabic and Indian music Bonham's drumming (single bass drum) Electric guitar often mirrored bass guitar an octave higher Blues-derived songs + altered existing blues tunes (covers)
James Brown
R&B in '50s, Soul in '60s, Funk in '70s Greatly influenced black styles like disco and rap Chugging, push-pull rhythms: repetitive, riff-based and quasi-improvised melodies Complex, interlocking polyrhythms Tight backup band (no wrong notes!) Lyrics began to celebrate black slang and emphasized racial pride Greatly influenced development of funk
"Help Me"
Singer helplessly falling for a man she knows is bad Largely sticks to pop's verse-chorus form Angular and shimmering melodic style
Allman Brothers Band
Southern blues-rock band Two guitar virtuosos: Duane Allman, Dicky Betts Singer and organist Greg Allman "Live at Fillmore East" - breakthrough two-album set showing their intensity and long improv/jams
"I Wanna Be Your Dog"
Stooges Produced by John Cale Deglamorized, messed up love song, declaring animal-like subservience 3 note riff One-finger piano part (repeated "E" Massive guitar distorition
Acid (psychedelic) Rock
Style that grew from the hippie scene in mid-'60s Connected with use of LSD Music featured long blues-based improvisations, surrealist lyrics, loud volumes, and lavish light shows, intended to evoke a drug-induced state Ex. Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Velvet Underground
Division between "smooth" or uptown soul (Motown) and "down-home" southern style
Two studios: 1. Stax Records in Memphis; racially integrated rhythm section; Ex. Otis Redding 2. Fame Studio in Alabama; all white rhythm section; recorded for Atlanta Records; Ex. Aretha Franklin
Soul
black popular music in '60s that used elements of gospel and blues Equated with black pride, rise of the term linked with civil rights movement continuation of R&B styles of '50s Related to church music: secularization of sermon style Big names: Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown
