MUNM 25600 R&B, Rock N' Roll, Girl Groups Study Guide Questions

Shangri-Las

records plumbed depths of teenage angst and a high sense of melodrama that was absent from other girl groups.

Brenda Lee

rock

The Cookies

provided vocals in song "loco-motion", songs by Goffin and King

how did Big Mama Thornton's experience with "Hound Dog" typify that of other artists at the time?

"Hound Dog" gained exposure with white R&B aficionados. When interest was lost, Thorton continued to tour but never gained momentum generated and was not provided with financial compensation. Many other black artists lost fame and money quick.

how did Jim crow categorize Asians?

Asians were categorized in the "international" theme that announced that white-looking women were not North American white women but exotic light-skinned women from nonwhite lands. The Jim Crow system of segregaton divided people into two strictly seperate and unequal categories: white and colored. Colored meant African Americans but it also included people qho were neither black nor white.

Ruth Brown and Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records referred to it as "the House that Ruth Built"

LaVern Baker and Etta James

Baker was signed by Atlantic and known as "little miss share cropper". She became the first Atlantic artists to cross over pop charts. James found success in R&B then pop.

in what ways did the white womens attempts to blend into black bands undermine the Jim Crow worldview?

Because the Jim Crow worldview was that all blacks had to remain segregated and that white people couldn't even walk on the street with a colored person, white women attempting to blend in to black bands went against that idea inforced by Jim Crow. Many white women went against the law of Jim Crow by making themselves pass as black or mixed race as much as they could in order to be able to play with black bands.

how did the existence of black women bands constitute kind of resistance in James Baldwin's view?

Black all-girl bands persistence in traveling the South when it was dangerous to do so, in hiring white women when it was against the law, and in bearing nonracist of black womanhood to Southern black communities is consistent with James Baldwin's vision of the "force" and "cunning" that made the civil rights movement possible.

difference between women and ladies?

Black women were known as "colored women" and white women were known as "white ladies". There was a symbolic pedestal that represented the respect, decency, and protection that were denied to black women by a system based on seperate and unequal treatment. On the pedestal, white women were symbols of white racial purity and superiority. Off the pedestal, they became fallen women or female criminals.

what was the publics perception of differences between the British Invasion and the girl groups and what were the actual differences?

British invasion went back to strong blues influence and girl group had a show influence.

art music is known through its what? pop music is known through its what?

Composers; Performers

differences between white covers and black originals?

Cover versions offered record companies a way to circumvent the potential controversy of rock n roll while exploiting its commercial potential by "cleaning up" questionable lyrics that were in the originals. The covers had a lack of fire in their versions.

what were some of the things about both male and female black jazz bands that countered the Southern White supremacist view of them, and caused blacks trouble?

Criminilization is a reoccuring theme in the narrative of African American jazz musicians, both male and female. Southern white supermacists saw black jazz bands as dangerous, which led to violence. For example, white vigilantes physically and mentally brutalized black musicians who saw them as inevitable rapists of white women. Black women bands irritated patriarchal whte racists whose worldview was undermined by visions of black womens autonomy. Many black women were sexually harrassed by white sheriffs. Life was dangerous in the the Jim Crow South because whiteness was superior.

how does Ruth Brown describe the rise of rock n roll and demise of R&B?

Devastating.

what were some problems for colored bands with white members?

For black bands with white members, travelling together, walking down the street together and eating together was a crime.

Brill Building people

Goffin and King, The Cookies, The Chiffons, Ellie Greenwich, etc.

why was it dangerous for black men in audience of mixed race female band?

It was dangerous for black men in the auidence of a mixed race female band because it roundly defied the Jim Crow hiearchy.

why would it have been especially dangerous for a white woman to be a part of black male band?

It would be especially dangerous for white woman to be a part of a black male band because gender, as well as race, affected how white police responded to racial mixing. wouldn't be considered ladies anymore.

why did the music industry first resist promoting early rock n roll?

Music was linked with societal problems, emerged at the same time as serious consideration of the issues of desegregation in American society and attracted racially mixed audiences. it also Brough on a power struggle between music publishers and recording companies.

Payola Scandal

Payola was bribing DJS with cash or gifts to ensure airplay at a particular record because maximum radio exposure was vital in attaining maximum sales. They realized that TV game shows were rigged, and later record industries. Congressional Subcommittee held hearings in 1960 and it became illegal to bribe. However, some dos were fired for accepting the bribes.

why was it necessary for black bands of 30's and 40's to travel to south and what war-time restriction made traveling difficult?

The black theater circuit in the North was small and major white theaters and ballrooms hired black bands infrequently so African American bands in the 30's and 40's has to tour the South. Wartime restrictions on the use of charter bases, authorized by the Office of Defense Transportation, made road trips virtually impossible for bands not owning their own buses or cars.

The Shirelles/ what was their biggest hit single and who wrote it?

The first all-female group to top singer charts. Their single was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (1960) and was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin

Two main influences that affect the pop music scene?

The intro of microphones and amplifiers and the movement of mainstream popular music from European-inspired written tradition to a vernacular style derived from oral tradition

what truth did the myth of the black rapist cover up?

The myth of the black rapist covered up the contradicitons of bedroom integration and Jim Crow segregation laws. In other words, it covered up the fact that many children were mixed race, and that blacks and whites were not following Jim Crow laws.

what are the roots of the term "Jim Crow" and how was the Jim Crow ideology perpetuated in the sexual exploitation of black women?

The term "Jim Crow" derives from a character of blackface minestrelsy in the 1830's that perpetuated one of the most common racist stereotypes of black men of that period: slow, stupid and ridiculous. The sexual explotation of black women by white men that began under slavery potentially threatened racial distinction and the success of the Jim Crow system.

what things did R&B and country have in common?

They both had prominent use of guitar, insistent instrumental backgrounds that urged listeners to dance and a down-home vocal style proud of rough edges.

what kind of music dominated pop music In the 1st half of the 20th century? the 2nd half?

Tin Pan Alley; Rock

what was the economics/politics of major record companies? how did they affect the choices the companies made regarding which music they would record and promote?

White musicians who sounded black performed R&B material originally performed by black musicians. This was "safe" for consumption by white audiences so record companies decided they would record and promote only that kind of music.

Dixie Cups

a New Orleans trio that gave Red Bird its first number 1 record

Big Mama Thorton (name some songs)

a black rhythm and blues singer who had a powerful influence on Elvis Presley. She originally did "Hound Dog" sung by Elvis Presley and "Ball and Chain" sung by Janis Joplin.

Phil Spector

a record producer who worked with Greenwich for girl groups. he started Philles Records and signed The Crystals

What were the prevailing attitudes toward women guitar players?

at the time, it wasn't believed that women could play the guitar

what does rock and roll mean?

black euphemism for sexual intercourse

The Chiffons

black group signed to Laurie Records, songs written by Goffin and King

what were the differences between women in the position of performer and women in the position of writer? which roles went to whom? differences in subsequent careers?

female performers had shorter careers while writers worked for longer times. performers got no money. black people were performers and white people were writers and producers.

what voice did the Shirelles music give to teenage girls?

gave them a voice with their songs that addressed issues of romance, heartbreak and endless search for true love

what term did "race music" refer to in the 20's? 40's?

in the 20's, race music was the influx of African Americans led to black record labels and music discovered by white audiences that tuned into these stations out of curiosity. in the 40's, it officially became rhythm and blues.

what was the shift of the pop music industry that took place in 1925?

publishing house to radio stations, record companies and manufacturers of sound reproduction equipment

The Brill Building

the center of New York's music district that housed groups of songwriters attempting to bridge the gap between coarse music or rock n roll and sophisticated stage music of Tin Pan Alley. It resulted in many successful singers and set new qualitative standard in rock n roll.

what was tvs role in black girl group careers?

the denial of mainstream exposure of black groups made it hard for them to establish their own image

Exciters

the first group Greenwich worked with, it was originally all female quartet called The Masterettes who sang with a male vocal group called the Masters

Connie Francis and Brenda Lee

the most important female performers of the 50's and 60's

Girl Groups/Which one wrote their own material?

their roots were in vocal harmonizing of doo-wop groups. The Bobbettes wrote much of their own material.

what pressure were R&B and rock n roll artists under In the 50's by conservative political and religious leaders?

they were attacked by religions in attempt to restrict musical integration because of their "suggestive" lyrics, black roots and because it mixed black and whites.

how did tv cater to the new "teenager" audience?

tv plots dealt with teen concerns, like getting a date for prom --> "Teen idol" became important to teen girls

what was the Shangri-Las image and how did it differ from the typical girl group image?

while other girl groups wore dresses and heels, the Shangri-Las wore hipster trousers, ruffled shorts and go-go boots --> they had a "tough" look