History of Rock: Study Guide

In what year did the American involvement in the Vietnam war cease?

1973

When did NBC launch the first national radio broadcasting network?

1928

An accident while seeking a cure for migraines, in what year did Swiss scientist Albert Hoffman invent LSD?

1943

What do scholars agree was the date range of 'The First Wave'?

1955-1960

What year was the 'Summer of Love'?

1967

The song Laugh at Me by Sonny and Cher was written in response to what?

"Laugh at Me' was written after Sonny Bono was refused entrance to Montoni's Restaurant in Hollywood because of his "hippie attire"

How many weeks did Elvis Presley spend with a #1 hit song on the Billboard Top 100 charts?

80 weeks

Explain what a 'crossover' is.

A crossover is a song that charts in multiple markets

Explain what the 'Brill Building" was.

A factory-type setting for music production

What does AOR stand for?

Album Oriented Rock

The hippie aesthetic in the 1970s gravitated from singles to ________, and from dancing music to __________ music.

Albums and listening

Where was The 14-Hour Technicolor Experience held? (actual building, not city)

Alexandra Palace

Name at least two national radio shows that later moved to television.

Amos and Andy and Superman

What was one advantage and one disadvantage The Beatles had due to being from Liverpool?

An advantage was that Liverpool was a port city that also had lots of American travelers and a disadvantage was it's not London

What is the practice of payola?

An attempt by Big Labels to shut down competitive smaller labels

What recording technique is used to make an instrument sound like it is coming from a particular direction?

Analog tape recorder

What artist, who worked with H-D-H sang the hits "How Sweet it is To be Loved By You", and "I heard it Through the Grapevine"?

Aretha Franklin

In 1963, who were the members of The Rolling Stones?

Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Jones, Richards, Ian Stewart, and Jagger

Between December 1963 and January 1965, what did Billboard do due to the prevelance of crossovers?

Billboard stopped tracking R&B separately

Who is the most important pop singer of the 30s and 40s, who is also well known for their 'easygoing crooning'?

Bing Crosby

Who is arguably the world's most famous reggae musician?

Bob Marley

Who were two of the first American heavy metal groups to reach megastar (mainstream) status?

Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses

Who was the singer for the pop-oriented group "Culture Club", who took advantage of the visual side of their act and received heavy airplay during the early MTV years?

Boy George

What does the songwriting team H-D-H stand for?

Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland

Name four members of 'The Animals'.

Burdon, Alan Price, Chas Chandler, Hilton Valentine and John Steel

In the early 60s, the UK only had 4 major labels and two radio stations - what were they?

CNN/FOX/NBC/BBC VS KING 5, KOMO 4, KREM 2

What US label were both the Beach Boys and Beatles represented by?

Capitol

What Mexican-born guitarist emerged from the San Francisco psychedelic scene in the late 60s and early 70s?

Carlos Santana

Who sued the Beach Boys for their blatant copyright infringement displayed on their song "Surfin' USA?"

Chuck Berry

Explain what a 'clear channel' radio station is.

Clear Channel - exclusive rights to a frequency (within America)

What does the acronym CBGB stand for?

Country, BlueGrass, and Blues

What band, predicted to topple the Beatles in 1965, popularized the song Glad All Over?

Dave Clark Five

Motown is most closely associated with what American city?

Detroit

An album is considered 'a big album' if it sells 1 million or more copies - who was the first person to do this? They actually sold 13 million copies!

Dire Straits' Brother in Arms

What musical style gained national popularity with the release of the film Saturday Night Fever?

Disco

Other than the label, what were two other roles that helped shape the music scene in the 1950s?

Disk jockey and store owners

What are 3 instruments that make up most Rock and Roll bands?

Drums, electric bass, and rhythm guitar/keys

What are the first names of the Allman Brothers?

Duane and Greg

What band produced the song Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)?

Eurythmics

What piano playing artist, with 37 top forty singles, wrote Blueberry Hill?

Fats Domino

Cream is credited in part for the trend of bands focusing less on production, and more on what kind of playing

Focus primarily on blues

What is the primary difference between 'Folk' and 'Folk Rock'?

Folk is folk with electric instruments and folk rock is folk music w/ electric instruments

Who paved the way for the singer-first model of music production?

Frank Sinatra

Who are two examples of 'good boy teen idols'?

Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell

In addition to his performance career, what is Les Paul well known for 'inventing'?

Invented solid body electric guitar ans sound-on-sound recording (overdubbing)

What are the two psychedelic approaches to music?

It can enhance a drug trip, or the music itself can be understood as the trip.

What was Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street" a response to?

It's about all the naysayers and plastic people Dylan encountered during his time in Greenwich Village (when he lived on West 4th street) and his stint on fraternity row at the University of Minnesota

Who became an important voice speaking for Black pride and other social issues in the 1970s, known as Soul Brother Number 1?

James Brown

What artist started out as an actress, but later worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to break into the music industry with her albums Control and Rhythm Nation 1814?

Janet Jackson

Who lead War, who's best known song is Low Rider (p7 r1 uk12, 1975)?

Jerry Goldstein

During the early 1950's who were the most important songwriting team in rock and roll?

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

What guitar player - among the most influential in history - was born in Seattle, and later released the album Are you Experienced

Jimi Hendrix

Name one of the three British heavy metal bands that developed their music in the 80s outside the pop-industry radar?

Judas Priest

Name two of the earliest hip-hop DJs, who develped technical innovations important to modern rap.

Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash

Albums and listening What extremely successful band released 'Whole Lotta Love' in 1969?

Led Zeppelin

What two bands combined elements of Grunge with Christian themes?

Lifehouse and Creed

What was 'the day the music died' specifically? What happened on that date?

Little Richard left music to joing Seventh Day Adventists Presley drafted to the army Jerry Lee Lewis scandal Buddy Holly's plane went down Feb 3, 1959 Chuck Berry - Mann Act

What is the instrumentation of Somewhere Over the Rainbow?

Orchestra and Vocalist

Why do we want to avoid 'fan-mentality' when studying Rock and Roll?

Our mission is to understand and draw connections

Who was the drummer who took over as lead vocalist of Genesis after the departure of Peter Gabriel?

Phil Collins

What influential artist released the feature film Purple Rain in 1984?

Prince

What Little Richard song did Pat Boone cover nearly note for note? (We listened to it in class)

Long Tall Sally

From what US city did the bands Quiet Riot, Ratt, and Mötly Crüe emerge from?

Los Angeles

What lyrically indecipherable song was the first big hit by The Kingsmen?

Louie Louie

What were the two radio programs that helped popularize country and western music?

Magnetic tape and clear channel

Name two civil rights events that shaped mainstream attitudes surrounding race in America in the mid 1960s.

March on Washington on 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

In what US city did early Rap originate from?

New York's African American and Latino communities

What band from Aberdeen, Washington helped to launch the alternative rock boom?

Nirvana

What influential artist released the feature film Purple Rain in 1984?

Punk and disco

What two status-quo challenging styles fell out of favor in the 1980s?

Punk and disco

What are two early band names The Beatles temporarily went by?

Quarrymen and the Silver Beetles

What were the three primary music markets upon which an album could chart?

R&B, C/W, and pop

What was Leiber and Stoller's label called?

Red Bird

The 1980s began with a marked swing towards conservatism. What US president is recognized as the figurehead for this renewed ideology?

Ronald Reagan

This president advocated for supply-side economics and a Cold War strategy that built up America's military; in what year did the Cold War end?

Ronald Reagan and 1989

What artist - from Wink, Texas - became well known for his falsetto voice, and wrote and performed "Oh, Pretty Woman"?

Roy Orbison

Neil Peart was the drummer for what successful Canadian trio?

Rush

What album by The Beatles is considered to be one of the first 'concept albums' - despite John Lennon's uneasiness with it?

Sgt. Pepper

What was the first 'blaxploitation' film?

Shaft

What was Tin-Pan Alley short-hand for?

Shorthand for body of work, as well as business model

What was the form of Johnny B. Goode?

Simple Verse Chorus

Explain the difference between simple and compound subdivisions.

Simple are beat splits into 2 and compound are beat splits into 3

Lonnie Donegan released a 1956 recording called 'Rock Island Line' - in what style was this piece?

Skiffle

What racially and sexually integrated group helped to inspire a generation of funk and pop performers?

Sly and the Family Stone

What extremely popular television program featured dancing and music by black artists, and was hosted by Don Cornelius?

Soul Train

What movie franchise premiered on May 25th, 1977, demonstrating the countries continued fascination with outer space?

Star Wars

What artist was marketed as a child prodigy, who's career stumbled briefly as their voice changed in the mid 1960s?

Stevie Wonder

Who were early two band members (bassist and drummer) who left the band prior to 1964?

Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best

What early label released Rapper's Delight, which is often cited as the first recorded hip-hop single?

Sugar Hill

What were the two labels that Elvis Presley was represented by?

Sun Records and RCA Victor

Who was the original leader of Pink Floyd?

Syd Barret

What event caused the public to trust nuclear power in the 1970s, further exacerbating the energy crisis?

The Arab oil embargo of 1973

What band's signature sound became the utilization of 12-string guitar? (most noticeably in the introductions)

The BYRDS

Brick House, recently recorded by Rob Zombie, was originally popularized by what band?

The Commodores

What band - that started out 'The Warlocks' - is best known for their virtuosic improvising and extended live performances?

The Grateful Dead

What band performed the novelty song Funky Worm that we listened to in class?

The Ohio Players,

What band featured their bassist and lead singer Sting, to combine hard driving punk sounds, reggae's rhythmic complexity, and serious-minded lyrics?

The Police

What band - from Southern California - found commercial success beginning in 1991, and released the song "Give it Away"?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers

The most popular of which was "Leader of the Pack", what is another name for a death disk?

The Shangri-Las

What Motown Girl Group performed "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love"?

The Supremes

What punk band was associated with visual artist Andy Warhol in the 60s?

The Velvet Underground

Name at least two movies in the 1950's that subtly aimed to 'teach a lesson' about the dangers of being rebellious?

The Wild One and Rebel without a Cause

We listened to Do The Freddie in class - what about that performance (and that band) was so memorable?

The band put on goofy live performances

Explain what rhetorical priority means.

The relative importance of words

What are the 'three planes of listening'?

The three plans of listening are sensual, expressive, and sheerly musical

What are some responsibilities of a label? How do they help artists?

They produce music, distribute and sells music, and take on financial risk

Who was The Wrecking Crew?

They were a loose group of studio musicians

Why do many people dismiss contributions of The Monkees?

They were so corporate

Who helped to establish 'The Philadelphia Sound', in part by establishing their own label, Philadelphia International?

Thom Bell

What ambitious music video by Michael Jackson showcased his skills as a dancer, and ran for over 13 minutes?

Thriller

How did a Tin Pan Alley songwriter gain recognition and acclaim?

To become popular was to get popular artists to perform your work

What was Phil Spector's signature production sound called?

Wall of sound

How did artists like Pat Boone and Bill Haley take advantage of black artists like Little Richard?

White artists 'covering' songs to bring them into pop market

What event was considered 'the peak' of outdoor festivals in the 60s? (1969)

Woodstock

Explain what the following abbreviation means: (p4 r6 c1, 1951).

pop #4, rock #6, country #1, 1951

What song (by Bill Haley) was prominently featured in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle?

(We're Gonna) Rock around the Clock

How many records does an artist need to sell in order to 'go platinum'?

1 million records sold

Distinguishing themselves through the use of costumes, makeup and heavily teased hair, what kind of a band was 'Poison' representative of?

Hair bands

What is it called when multiple vocalists sing different notes at the same time?

Harmony

What was the trademark singing technique of The Andrew Sisters?

Harmony singing

Who was Alan Freed?

He was a DJ

Why did Jerry Lee Lewis fall out of favor as a public figure?

He was a pervert. he married his 13-year-old cousin.

What was Elvis' first recording for his second label?

Heartbreak Hotel

What band, lead by Peter Noone, had 18 Top 40 hits through 1968?

Herman's Hermits

What was the address 2648 West Grand Boulevard - Detroit, nicknamed in the 1960s?

Hitsville, USA

Shake Rattle and Roll is a representative example of what kind of blues?

Hokum Blues

Fill in the appropriate measure numbers for a 12 bar blues

I Chord: 4 measures IV Chord: 2 measures I Chord: 2 measures V Chord: 1 measures IV Chord: 1 measures I Chord: 2 measures

Who was the performer known for outrageous live performances - at one time covering his body with peanut butter on stage?

Iggy Pop