Music Exam 2

Tom Paxton

During the 1960s and beyond he was involved with numerous human rights causes including civil and labor rights as well as voter registration drives, singing his songs at events and rallies to raise support and awareness

The Who

-Became well known for extremely loud, aggressive live shows during which guitars were smashed and drums were kicked off of the riser -They were also one of the first major rock acts to make use of emerging synthesizer technology, both on recordings and in live performance -The band, particularly Moon, acquired a reputation for debauched off-stage behavior as well, such as destroying hotel rooms, blowing up toilets and embracing a high-paced, drug-fueled lifestyle (sadly, Moon would die of a drug overdose in 1978 at the age of thirty-two) -Released in 1967, the band's third album, The Who Sell Out, a concept album on which a collection of unrelated songs are linked together by mock advertisements interspersed throughout the record, met with critical acclaim and commercial success: up to this point they had been considered a "singles" band -Townshend thus declared The Who to be a "pop art" band stating that they therefore viewed advertising as an art form: this was understood by many as an ironic response to the counterculture's anti-consumerist philosophy -In addition to its display of expert musicianship, the album was praised for its exquisite humor, which was based on how "pop" the psychedelic era had become: The Who Sell Out has also been viewed as prophetic in light of the massive commercialism that has come to dictate the music industry -The Who's most significant artistic contribution to rock would come in 1969 with the double-length LP Tommy, the first album to be billed as a rock opera -While the music is clearly rooted in the rock aesthetic, it is not an "opera" in any strict formal sense; rather, it is an opera in name only -The music connects with the story itself in terms of the structure and pacing of the songs: There is no adherence to standard conventions of form or length; there are songs as brief as twelve seconds and songs that exceed ten minutes in length There is a very limited use of any non-rock instruments, and these are all handled by the band members in performance -Tommy has been hailed by many critics and commentators as one of the most effective artistic endeavors of the 1960s and as one of the first successful extended statements in rock

Blowin' in the Wind

A 16-measure strophic macrostructure—traditional folk—with an AAAB inner structure that gives the sense of a chorus during the last four measures of each strophe

Skiffle

-Emerged as an often amateurish, folk music-based offshoot of trad (British counterpart to the American garage band)

Queen

-Formed in 1970 by guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon, and singer/pianist Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), the British rock band Queen began down a path toward progressive/art rock with their first two albums, Queen and Queen II -Penchant for complex multilayered textures -From their third album on they would adopt a more commercially oriented approach Sheer Heart Attack, released in 1974 and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, brought Queen to the international stage -Successfully combines the elements of several diverse styles such as hard rock, vaudeville, ragtime, camp, and Caribbean -Mercury's boundless creative energy and virtually limitless vocal ability made him one of the true giants of the twentieth century -He and Queen have been cited as a primary influence for a diverse body of many of the greatest bands and musicians of the last quarter of the twentieth century and well into the twenty-first -Even Mercury's death in 1991 had a profound impact on the lives of millions -The 1970s would see three more hugely successful and influential albums: A Day at the Races (1976), News of the World (1977), and Jazz (1978) -After parting ways with producer Roy Thomas Baker in 1976 to self-produce, the band would reunite with him to coproduce Jazz -Queen's success endured through the 1980s and their work included collaborations, charity events, many singles with videos, and some of the most legendary concert performances in history -Upon completion of their 1986 tour, Queen continued to record but seldom made public appearances -Following an appearance by Mercury at the 1990 Brit Awards, at which he looked very emaciated, reports began to circulate that the legendary musician was suffering from AIDS, a disease which was very little understood at the time. Mercury maintained that he was simply suffering from exhaustion -On November 23, 1991, Mercury issued an official press release that he had indeed contracted from the disease -He died a little more than twenty-four hours later: in spite of the rumors swirling around at the time, his death stunned the world

Brand X

-The band was formed in 1975 by guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, and would ultimately include eighteen other musicians between 1975 and, 1980 and 1992 and 1999 -Phil Collins of Genesis played drums and sang on three of the four albums the band would release in the late 1970s -He was forced to depart the band sporadically due to obligations arising with Genesis and left the band permanently in 1979 -Their 1976 debut album, Unorthodox Behaviour, also included keyboardist/vocalist Robin Lumley. Jazz-rock fusion evolved in several different directions in 1980s and 1990s -For example, so-called "smooth jazz" became a highly commercialized fusion-based style in the 1980s. Artists like George Benson, David Sanborn, and Chuck Mangione and jazz rock bands like Chicago and Steely Dan fused jazz, rock, and pop elements into a lightweight, radio-friendly style -Many "purists" denounced smooth jazz and jazz rock for their comparative lack of depth and complexity

The Twist

-A 12-bar blues progression over a rock 'n' roll beat with a teen-oriented lyric about a dance known as the twist -Parkway Records arranged to have one of their rostered singers, a young man called Ernest Evans record the song -"The Twist" seemed a perfect fit for Dick Clark's American Bandstand -Clark's wife suggested that Evans change his name to Chubby Checker, no doubt as a play on the popularity of Fats Domino, and an instant runaway dance hit was born -The song and the dance caught like wildfire among teens, both black and white Soon adults of all ages and classes and races were doing the twist, along with the teenagers -Many rock 'n' roll dance hits, replete with their own moves and trendy titles, began to crop up almost overnight

Stevie Wonder

-A child prodigy, Stevie Wonder began his professional career as "Little" Stevie Wonder at the age of eleven in 1962; he is a skilled multi-instrumentalist -Wonder's most classic work dates from his young adulthood in the 1970s The most influential and successful black artist of the decade -His self-produced fifteenth studio album, Talking Book from 1972, is considered by many to represent the beginning of his most important artistic period -Earned Wonder his first Grammy and produced two number one hits, the ballad "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and the infectiously funky "Superstition," which features British rocker Jeff Beck on guitar -Wonder was a pioneer in his extensive use of electronic keyboards, special effects, and emerging synthesizer technology -Participated in numerous large-scale charity efforts as well as major collaborations with other artists -Instrumental in the campaign to establish Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Southern Rock

-Another uniquely American flavor of rock to emerge in the 1970s was southern rock or southern-fried rock, a style that merges rock 'n' roll, blues, boogie-woogie, country, and honky-tonk -Vocal stylings typically lean toward a southern drawl and much of the culture was associated with the working class, rowdy good times, hard partying, and dancing -No group had more impact and influence in the genre than Lynyrd Skynyrd -Lineup from 1972 featured vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Gary Rossington, guitarist Allen Collins, bassist Leon Wilkeson, drummer Bob Burns and pianist Billy Powell -Recorded their debut album, (pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd) in 1973 -During the recording of the album they hired guitarist/bassist Ed King to handle some of the session work: King was kept on as a third guitarist following the album's release -The album fared quite well with both fans and critics -It contains some of the band's best-known music including the classic rock anthem "Free Bird" -1974's Second Helping would prove to be a very successful follow-up and would spawn several more classic Skynyrd songs, such as "Sweet Home Alabama," "The Needle and the Spoon," and the J.J. Cale number "Call Me the Breeze." -It would also be the last album to feature Bob Burns on drums, who was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1975 -That same year Skynyrd released Nuthin' Fancy, which did not meet with the same success as their previous albums (King left following the tour, citing exhaustion) -For their fourth album, Gimme Back My Bullets, Skynyrd hired producer Tom Dowd and also employed a trio of backup singers called The Honkettes which consisted of Cassie Gaines, Leslie Hawkins and JoJo Billingsley -Seeking a replacement guitarist for Ed King, the band were introduced to Cassie Gaines' younger brother, Steve Gaines -He was brought in as a permanent member in 1976 and featured on the band's next release, a live double album called One More from the Road

Kiss

-By their own admission, Kiss consider themselves "entertainers" as opposed to "musicians" -Their music, by extension, was far less significant to the development of rock than their presence as entertainers, their live shows, their "glam" image, and their massive merchandising endeavors -They developed an impressive live show, replete with heavy special effects and theatrics such as elaborate stage lighting, fog, pyrotechnics, fire breathing, blood spitting, and their signature gimmick: the dramatic costumes and makeup that would come to be iconic in pop culture

Politics and Zappa

-During the 1980s, in performances, on recordings, and in interviews and televised debates, he outwardly opposed the policies of the Republican Party and the Reagan Administration: he warned that the US government was at risk of becoming a "fascist theocracy" (an occurrence which many would now argue has come to pass) -Along with musicians John Denver and Dee Snider of the band Twisted Sister, Zappa testified in front of the Senate in 1985 in a battle against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) over the application of a proposed rating system for recorded music containing explicitly "sexual" or "satanic" song lyrics -Zappa encouraged his fans and audiences to vote; he went as far as having voter registration booths set up at his concerts -Although Zappa died of prostate cancer more than two decades ago, his musical legacy is still being sorted out. A diverse array of rock artists (including Zappa's son, Dweezil) classical ensembles, bands, and chamber groups around the world regularly perform his music -Academic music theorists and scholars regularly attempt to define and analyze his works in theses, dissertations, and journal articles and no doubt will continue to do so for some time to come

Bob Dylan

-Has been called one of the most influential musical and cultural figures of the twentieth century -His music and lyrics helped to define an entire era of American and world cultural history -His career in folk music began in Minnesota in 1959 where he played at local coffeehouses and first introduced himself to audiences as "Bob Dylan" -Dropped out of college in 1960 and relocated to New York City in 1961 -Within a short time Dylan was appearing in clubs and coffeehouses in Greenwich Village and making a name for himself in the local folk scene -His talents came to the attention of John Hammond, an important producer, civil rights activist, and talent scout for Columbia Records -Became the face of the Civl Rights Movement and the March on Washington

The Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious

-In 1977, a man by the name of John Simon Ritchie (1957-1979), aka Sid Vicious, would replace Matlock on bass -Sid Vicious did not even play bass when he joined the band but had been a friend of Rotten's and a fan of the Sex Pistols -He had a look and a reputation and he worked hard to learn the instrument in rehearsals -"God Save the Queen" was released as a single in 1977 and caused a massive public outcry in England for its sneering, antiroyal lyrics (it soared into the number two position on the British charts) -The Sex Pistols basically self-destructed in 1978 due to internal conflict, McLaren's exploitation of the band, and Sid Vicious' increasingly problematic behavior, exacerbated by his heroin addiction -Vicious died of a heroin overdose in 1979 -He and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, were staying at the Hotel Chelsea and shooting heroin on October 11, 1978 -Spungen was found dead the next morning with a stab wound to her stomach Vicious was charged with the murder but managed to get released on bail -While out, he was involved in an altercation after which he was arrested and held at Riker's Island for nearly two months -Forced to detox while incarcerated, upon his release on February 1, 1979, Vicious partied with some friends and was found dead the next morning of an apparent overdose -He was twenty-one and the murder remains unsolved

Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys

-It is Brian Wilson's creative vision in the areas of songwriting, arranging and production that we are really talking about when we discuss The Beach Boys -Represents the union of Chuck Berry's driving rock 'n' roll rhythms, Buddy Holly's core rock instrumentation and proto-rock forms, Phil Spector's masterful production techniques, and a measure of doo-wop and pop sensibility -Earliest subgenre of rock: surf rock -Signed with Capitol Records

Phil Ochs

-Made an enormous impression with songs like "Too Many Martyrs," "Take Birmingham Jam," and "Power and the Glory" and remained active as an antiwar and human rights advocate throughout his career -The turbulent political climate of the late 1960s and early 1970s, compounded by Ochs's alcohol use and bipolar disorder, led to a steady decline in his mental health through the 1970s -Ochs took his own life in 1976

Deep Purple

-Originally formed in 1968 as a progressive rock group -As early progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, the band ranks among the most significant of the era -Deep Purple are credited with merging the instrumental virtuosity found in baroque and classical music with the world of hard rock and heavy metal -These efforts would come to full flower in the band's 1971 release, and arguably their defining record, Machine Head -The album features several of the band's best-known songs, including "Smoke on the Water," -"Space Truckin'," and "Highway Star," and became one of the most influential recordings of the decade -The fusion of classical music and hard rock was essential to the development of the heavy metal genre of rock, particularly as it pertains to many of the bands of the British Heavy Metal Invasion of the 1980s -The concept and application of musical virtuosity, as it comes from the classical traditions into rock music, is central to the evolution of the musical language of other several other types of rock, namely progressive rock and art rock

AC/DC

-Other members of AC/DC had considered disbanding but were encouraged by Scott's parents to carry on in his absence -The Young brothers had a recollection of a singer named Brian Johnson about whom Scott had raved some time earlier -Johnson was in an English band called Geordie that performed regularly in Australia and was not difficult to locate: he was auditioned and hired within several days -AC/DC had been working on the material for Back in Black when Scott died: they recorded the album with Johnson in April and May of 1980, again with Lange as producer, and released it in June Its all-black cover was meant as a tribute to Scott -There was some apprehension on the part of the band that their loyal followers would not accept Scott's replacement: they could not have been more wrong -Not only was Back in Black an overnight critical and commercial success, it became one of the most popular albums ever recorded -It has sold more than 50 million copies and stands as the second best-selling album of all time, second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller

Santana

-Represents a fully integrated stylistic fusion of Afro-Cuban elements and rock elements that came to be known as Latin rock -With Santana, we hear the first true fusion of Latin music and rock music into an entirely new genre -The Latin elements exist primarily in the rhythms and percussion (timbales, congas, and various metallic instruments) while the rock elements are clearly in the guitar, bass, drum set, and keyboards -Self-titled debut album in 1969 with Carlos on guitar, Gregg Rolie on keyboards and vocals, David Brown on bass, Michael Shrieve on drums, and Michael Carabello and Jose Areas both handling percussion -The album was released on the heels of the band's appearance at the Woodstock Festival, their first major festival performance where they made a lasting impression on the audience, particularly with their performance of the instrumental "Soul Sacrifice" -Over half the music on the album is instrumental

Trad

-Short for traditional, was influenced by early American jazz, boogie-woogie, jump bands, and blues

Lennon after the Beatles

-Taking up residence in New York City, Lennon became involved in highly publicized war protests throughout the early 1970s -He became such a powerful political voice against Richard Nixon that the Nixon administration embarked on a serious effort to have Lennon deported -Lennon remained active until 1975, collaborating with Ringo Starr, Elton John, and cowriting David Bowie's first US number one hit "Fame" before retiring in 1975 to be a stay-at-home dad to his son Sean -He resurfaced from his self-imposed retirement in October 1980 with the release of the single "Starting Over" followed by the album Double Fantasy in November, just one month before he was slain in New York City

The Beatles Stop Touring

1) In June, Capitol Records released a compilation album of Beatles music called Yesterday and Today which originally featured a cover photo of the band dressed in butcher coats and draped in hunks of raw meat and mutilated baby dolls: the immediate reaction from the media, record distributors, and disc jockeys was quite negative 2) While the band was touring in the Philippines in July of 1966, they narrowly escaped the country when their refusal to breakfast with first lady Imelda Marcos resulted in a massive riot outside the band's hotel 3) In a March 1966 interview for the London Evening Standard John Lennon made this now infamous comment: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

Timothy Leary

A psychologist, author, and Harvard professor advocated the use of LSD and other psychoactive drugs as therapeutic tools for treating alcoholism and criminal behavior

Ken Kesey

An author and activist who had his first exposure to psychoactive drugs as a volunteer test subject in the CIA's MK-ULTRA project, a highly secret series of experiments to test the effects of drugs as a mind-control agent, became the leader of a group called the Merry Pranksters

Rod Stewart

-Early history in the British scene in the 1960s, most notably fronting the Jeff Beck Group from 1967 to 1969 -Solo breakthrough in the United States in 1971 with the hit "Maggie May" from the self-produced album Every Picture Tells a Story -Alternately recording as a solo artist and with the band Faces until 1975, Stewart was by then a household name -For the rest of the 1970s and well beyond, he produced a string of diverse albums with hits ranging from folk-flavored songs to ballads to blues-infused rockers -Rod Stewart has enjoyed several resurgences in his popularity since the 1980s -One of the best-selling artists of all time, he has been honored with a Grammy, a Brit Award, a Legend Award, and induction into several halls of fame

Fusion

-Jazz-rock fusion, or fusion, is a subgenre of art/prog that developed from the influences of jazz, psychedelia, progressive music, and the visceral power of rock, and evolved along its own lines in the 1970s -Fusion artists had little concern for generating mass commercial appeal, but instead favored artistically ambitious and complex music -Fusion shares many characteristics with art/prog but often takes those characteristics to even greater extremes: purely instrumental pieces were the rule, not the exception; improvisatory solo passages, difficult time signatures, and intricate time signature changes; dense textures; highly advanced and unconventional harmonic progressions; and extreme virtuosity all pervade the genre -In other words, fusion is the most intensely "artistic" of the art rock genre -There were a number of significant bands and artists in this specialty genre whose influence can be followed into later generations and whose art was deeply respected, if not commercially successful, in its own time, particularly by other musicians -Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Nucleus, Traffic, The Eleventh House, and The Pat Metheny Group are among the most notable

Bohemian Rhapsody

-"Bohemian Rhapsody" has become a legacy unto itself -Simultaneously, it represents the fairly specialized genre of 1970s progressive rock coming to what would be its peak popularity, but also the 1970s mainstream listener's willingness to embrace music of a more daring nature -The accompanying promotional video for the song also had a remarkable impact on the future of music video: the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the accompanying video made it a common practice and popularized the music video as a medium in and of itself -It set in motion an era in which the music video would be the dominant factor in commercial music

Linda Ronstadt

-One of the most popular and versatile female artists of the 1970s -She has been called "The First Lady of Rock," "The Queen of Rock," and the first "arena-class rock diva" -Helped to pioneer country rock and solidify the role of women in rock -By the end of the 1970s she was the highest-paid female rock musician and had produced numerous multimillion-selling albums; her tours were filling arenas and stadiums around the world -The Eagles (discussed below) were formed by members of her early 1970s backup band and she has collaborated with many artists including Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash, Warren Zevon, and Dolly Parton -She has released more than thirty studio albums and has made guest appearances on more than 120 records. She has earned the highest honors in pop, rock, country, and even a Latin Grammy Award

McCartney after the Beatles

-Paul McCartney would take another direction, forming the band Wings in 1970 following his first post-Beatles solo album, McCartney, earlier that same year -Paul McCartney and Wings would go on to become one of the most successful bands of the decade releasing seven studio albums between 1971 and 1979 -All of the band's albums made the top 10 and produced twenty-three top 40 singles In 1972, McCartney reunited with producer George Martin to record the hit "Live and Let Die" as the title track to the 1973 James Bond film: it features Martin's dramatic orchestrations -McCartney's activism has taken many forms over the decades and includes work with PETA, the Humane Society, the Make Poverty History campaign, the Save the Arctic campaign, Band Aid, Live Aid, and many others

Album Oriented Rock

-The long-play LP rock album emerged and began to flourish in rock after Sgt. Pepper's, and by the 1970s it had become the standard format for rock recordings -Many rock musicians had justifiably come to consider themselves artists and their albums as unified artistic statements, rather than just a collection of singles -This brought significant changes to the way albums were recorded and in many cases, the length and complexity of individual songs It also gave rock fans something more substantial by way of a product -Albums often contained lyrics, photos, and liner notes as well as engaging cover art that nourished a highly enthusiastic fan base. -Radio, particularly FM radio, stepped in to support these changes -The so-called "album-oriented rock" station (AOR) came into existence in the early 1970s -These stations promoted rock albums by playing several "focus tracks" (and taking caller requests) rather than promoting singles

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (ELP)

-They landed a spot on the Isle of Wight Festival in August and were noticed and immediately offered a contract by Ahmet Ertegün, president of Atlantic Records -Their self-titled debut followed in November and climbed to number four in the United Kingdom -The album contains three instrumental tracks, all of which were based on existing classical pieces, a drum solo, and the now classic AOR single "Lucky Man" -The band's follow-up album, Tarkus, was recorded in January 1971The whole of side one is a seven-part concept piece dealing with the futility of religion and war, framed around the fictional creature Tarkus, a being who is half-tank and half- armadillo -The album established ELP as one of the premier prog bands in the world -Following an extended break from 1974 to 1977, ELP returned with Works, Volume 1 and Works, Volume 2 in succession -Neither album was well received nor was 1978's Love Beach -It seemed that Emerson, Lake & Palmer had taken their music a bit too far for all but the most ardent prog fans -Emerson took his own life

Shea Stadium

On August 15, 1965, The Beatles gave what may be their most legendary concert performance at Shea Stadium in New York City in front of a then record-sized crowd of nearly fifty-six thousand (plus approximately two thousand security personnel)

Janis Joplin

-(1943-1970), a troubled outcast from Texas, moved to San Francisco in 1966 and joined a band that had been working in the Bay Area called Big Brother and the Holding Company -Came to the fore after their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 -Joplin's unrelenting performance style and deeply expressive voice were reminiscent of the great female blues singers of old; Big Mama Thornton, Ma Rainey, and Bessie Smith -In 1968, the band's album Cheap Thrills rose to number one on the pop charts and made Joplin an international star -The trappings of fame proved too much for the young singer and she soon turned to heroin -Joplin's sound and persona presented a strange contradiction—that of a sensitive and artistic human being hiding behind a gruff exterior of hard rock and hard drugs -In 1969, Joplin embarked on a solo career which involved two different projects: the Kozmic Blues Band and the Full Tilt Boogie Band -By this time her heroin use had reached epic proportions -She would round out the decade with acclaimed performances at Woodstock and Madison Square Garden despite her drug- and alcohol-addled condition -On October 4, 1970, when Joplin failed to show up at a recording session, her producer Paul Rothchild went to her hotel where he found her dead on the floor beside her bed -The official cause of death was a heroin overdose likely compounded by alcohol, she was twenty-seven

The Brill Building

-A great deal of commercial success writing music that blended elements of pop, R&B, gospel, and Latin specifically tailored to appeal to a late teen/young adult audience -Capitalized on the void left in the youth market just after the first wave of rock 'n' roll but moved the emphasis and control away from the individual performer or performance and back to the songwriters and publishers -Performers were virtually interchangeable -Literally hundreds of songwriters working to create the next hit, either directly from within the Brill Building or with the "Brill Building Approach," many of whom became famous names in the rock-oriented pop music of the early 1960s

The San Francisco Scene

-If there was a geographical hub for the hippie counterculture of the late 1960s, it was San Francisco -Central to the confluence of hippies in the Bay Area was rock music and the bands that thrived amid these hordes of young idealists -Artists like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane lived communally among, and played in, the burgeoning local music scene, which included clubs like the Fillmore (west) and the Avalon Ballroom, parties, festivals, and the so-called "be-ins," loosely organized gatherings meant to emphasize personal empowerment, heightened consciousness, and environmental awareness, among other counterculture modes of thought -The Bay Area in the late 1960s was home to a staggeringly diverse and significant pod of bands and musicians

Rubber Soul

-In October of 1965, The Beatles entered the studio to begin work on what would be their most groundbreaking recording to date, Rubber Soul -This was the first time the band had begun recording sessions with the luxury of an extended time period with no other significant commitments (they were thus free to focus their time and creative energies, uninterrupted, on the task of making a record) -The resulting album is a masterfully crafted and artistically cohesive blend of rock, soul, folk, vocal pop, and psychedelia -They even introduce exotic sounds and flavors, most notably in the use of the Indian sitar, a characteristic-sounding string instrument, in "Norwegian Wood," and in McCartney's singing of French phrases in the song "Michelle"

Led Zeppelin

-Potent blend of psychedelic blues, heavy grooves, folk and Celtic elements, ultra-catchy guitar riffs and vocal lines, and even elements of country, jazz, and reggae -The band's prodigious creativity, their sheer diversity, their staggering impact on the music business, and their enduring presence and influence rival that of The Beatles -Defined the arena hard rock experience in the 1970s and beyond -Their tours consistently set new attendance and earnings records as well as new standards for the rock concert as a sheer spectacle -Led Zeppelin was completed in a relatively short time -The band had not yet signed with a label and did not have the luxury of spending excessive amounts of time in experimental recording sessions. -That Page envisioned the album to emulate a live performance—Enabled Led Zeppelin to negotiate a contract with Atlantic Records which was conducive to Page's desire for artistic freedom and autonomous control of the band's commercial affairs

Metal

-The primary distinction between hard rock and metal is the consistent and stylized use of power chords and modal progressions -Metal bands base all or very nearly all of their harmonic and melodic language on these; whereas hard rock bands certainly make use of power chords, it only provides a portion of their harmonic language -Other distinguishing traits that metal generally exhibits on a stylistically consistent level: -Song structures tend to be more elaborate and frequently include extended guitar and other instrumental solos -Typically, the proportion of instrumental to vocal sections is much greater and, as the style developed, an absolute premium was placed on instrumental virtuosity -These traits are often linked with classical music; heavy metal bands adapted classical models as a basis for musicianship, structure, feel, and texture -Lyric themes tended to focus on darker or more serious subject matter -Drug use, particularly its ill effects, is a common subject; as are themes regarding depression and mental illness, suicide, war, nuclear proliferation, the occult and, of course, sex -Concept albums are common as well -Many heavy metal lyricists have had to publicly defend their lyrics, sometimes even in court -In the 1970s and early 1980s, heavy metal musicians and, by and large, their fan base, were mostly disenfranchised young people; commonly, but by no means exclusively, white males -These were the children of subsistence-level, working-class people who did not grow up in a world of privilege or advantage, as their middle- and upper-class counterparts had -Metal served as an outlet for musicians and a community for the fans -That heavy metal was perhaps the most misunderstood, underappreciated, and vilified style of all rock genres only served to solidify the feeling of unity within the metal community -An "us versus them"—"them" being anyone who did not understand or who criticized the music and its culture—prevailed

The Ramones

-1974 saw four young (unrelated) musicians from Queens, New York, come together to form the Ramones -Played their first gig at the downtown Manhattan club CBGB in August 1974 An underground music scene had been building at the now landmark venue, and to a lesser extent at Max's Kansas City, also in the downtown Manhattan area -The performance was described by one critic as a "wall of noise" -They were loud and fast, their songs were all short and direct (their entire set spanned less than twenty minutes), and they had a distinctive appearance, donning blue jeans, leather jackets, and long hair -Their debut performance secured them a regular spot at the club and by the end of the year the Ramones had performed more than seventy shows at CBGB, drawing a considerable amount of attention -By late 1975, the Ramones were leading of the New York underground punk scene -They were offered a contact with Sire Records and released their debut album, Ramones, in April 1976 -The album contained fourteen songs yet it clocked in at just over twenty-nine minutes It cost around $6,000 to record (a relatively low price tag) and was finished in one week -Commercially, the album was a dismal failure and critical reviews were mixed, although it is now recognized as a genre-defining work of enormous influence which resonated far into the future -Legacy and their standing as cultural icons is incongruent with their lack of commercial success -The band toured almost constantly for more than twenty years, racking up well over two thousand performances -They are widely recognized by many mainstream publications, Halls of Fame, and other media for their broad and enduring influence

Garage Bands

-A typical garage band was made up of middle-class teenagers, often with little or no musical training and playing on inexpensive instruments—usually core rock instruments—in their parents' garage or basement -Many garage bands became local celebrities and many musicians who would rise to prominence in the 1960s and beyond had their start in garage bands -The appeal of the garage band was the raw, unrefined sound which was reminiscent of the early days of rock 'n' roll, when it lacked studio polish and high-end production -The earliest garage band hit came from a Portland, Oregon, band called The Kingsmen in 1963 ("Louie, Louie")

Eric Clapton and Cream

-After leaving The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers -While playing in Mayall's band, Clapton established a reputation as the premier blues guitarist in the British club scene -He left the Bluesbreakers in 1966 to join drummer Ginger Baker (b. 1939) and bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce (1943-2014) in Baker's newly formed band Cream -The instrumental configuration of Cream formed what came to be known as a power trio: guitar, bass, and drums (with one or more of the members assuming vocal duties) which highlight the exceptional skill of the guitarist -Cream would go on to record four albums before their breakup in 1969, Fresh Cream (1966), Disraeli Gears (1967), Wheels of Fire (1968), and Goodbye (1969) -Best known for their live performances, during which the band would embark upon extended jams which at times exceeded twenty minutes in length and featured Clapton's brilliant soloing -Eric Clapton went on to play briefly with Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominoes and has since enjoyed a long and varied solo career. He is arguably the "bluesiest" of all of the British blues- based guitarists and is revered for his purity and technical prowess: Clapton is ranked number two on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" just behind Jimi Hendrix

The Rolling Stones

-Apart from The Beatles, The Stones they are commonly known, are perhaps the most iconic of the early British Invasion bands, as well as one of the most enduring bands in history -Their career has spanned over half a century and their name has become synonymous with "classic" rock -Originally billed as the "anti-Beatles" in the United Kingdom, The Stones cultivated a "bad boy" image that was in direct contrast to The Beatles Their look, sound, and demeanor were edgier and grittier than their witty, media-friendly counterparts -Unlike The Beatles, The Stones found their most defining musical characteristics very early in their career. Their single foray into quasi-psychedelia was the 1967 release Their Satanic Majesties Request, which came to be regarded by many as a feeble attempt to outdo The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's The Stones would return to their blues rock roots with the albums Beggar's Banquet in 1968 and Let It Bleed in 1969 to finish out the decade on a critical and commercial high note. -The Stones would on occasion employ nontraditional or exotic instruments, like dulcimer and marimba in "Under My Thumb" and sitar in "Paint It Black," both from the 1966 album Aftermath, though even these songs embody the core elements of rock

Eleanor Rigby

-Arguably the first "art rock" song -Rendered by an all-acoustic string octet (4 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos) -George Martin played a significant if somewhat behind-the-scenes role in all of The Beatles' recordings; however, in songs like this his contribution rises plainly to the surface -None of The Beatles were musically literate; that is, they had no knowledge of the art of standard musical notation -Martin, a highly trained classical composer, would have been fundamental in transferring McCartney's ideas for the song from notes most likely played to him at the piano to the ensemble that we hear in the finished recording -This is an art form known as arranging, and often falls under the duties of a producer. Album credits indicate that Martin also conducted the ensemble -What makes "Eleanor Rigby" so revolutionary from a stylistic point of view is that the song comes from a rock band: This fundamentally and profoundly expanded the boundaries of the understanding of what a rock song could be; The Beatles were walking the line between "popular" culture and "high art" culture

Aerosmith

-As Aerosmith began to write music and build a following in local Boston clubs, they were noticed by Columbia Records who signed the band in mid-1972 -Their debut album followed in January 1973 and produced their first significant hit song, "Dream On" -While the band did not create a huge sensation with their debut, nor with their follow up, Get Your Wings, they had laid the foundations of a distinctly American sound of blues rock which they would perfect by their third album, Toys in the Attic -Released in 1975, Toys in the Attic launched Aerosmith into the hard rock mainstream and marked an important development in the rhythmic evolution of rock and pop music as a whole -The now classic hard rock staple "Walk This Way" represents a shift toward a more aggressive sixteenth note rhythmic basis for hard rock music -This rhythmic conception had been developing in the funk music of Sly Stone, George Clinton, and some of the music of Stevie Wonder; however, Aerosmith were among the first blues rock bands to build on this fundamental shift

Carole King

-Began her career as a songwriter with her lyricist partner and husband Gerry Goffin in New York's Brill Building -Together, the team wrote a string of now classic hits throughout the 1960s, many of which were recorded by Motown stars and other artists like Aretha Franklin and The Righteous Brothers -After divorcing Goffin in 1968, King moved to Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon where she befriended fellow songwriters James Taylor and Joni Mitchell -Taylor and King would collaborate often and with great success -In 1970, King embarked on her own solo recording career with the album Writer, which proved only modestly successful -Undaunted, she released her now landmark follow-up, Tapestry, in 1971 with producer Lou Adler: the album was enormously successful, garnering four Grammys including Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance -She was also the first female artist to win Song of the Year for "You've Got a Friend" King's songwriting is firmly grounded in gospel, folk, and pop traditions

David Bowie

-Began his career variously involved in art, theater, dance, and music including folk, psychedelic, art/prog, and pop styles -His second studio album brought mild success with the 1969 single "Space Oddity," a song about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom (a character Bowie would revisit in other songs for over a decade) -Following a period of experimentation, including a hard rock album from 1970 called The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie's love of acting and theatrics led to the development of his earliest and perhaps best-known stage persona, Ziggy Stardust -The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) brought Bowie, or rather Ziggy, to the world stage. -The album presents the story of a bisexual alien rock star (Ziggy) who has come to earth to deliver a message of peace and hope, though the earth is doomed: the Ziggy character lives the rock star dream; he is sexually promiscuous and indulges heavily in drugs -Ziggy is ultimately destroyed in the end by his own consumptions -Cocaine addiction -Created multiple personas

Sgt. Pepper's

-Began work on Sgt. Pepper's in November 1966, a project that would take until April 1967 to complete and would involve over seven hundred hours in recording sessions alone -A record representing a performance of the fictional band, with The Beatles themselves developing alter egos who could experiment musically -The band skillfully weaves elements of many genres—including rock 'n' roll, blues, pop, psychedelic, big band, vaudeville, music hall, piano jazz, circus, avant-garde, chamber, and Western and Indian classical music—into an aesthetically cohesive whole -Lyrically, Sgt. Pepper's is laden with what many have interpreted to be drug references, both blatant and veiled

Bruce Springsteen

-Born to Run, released in 1975, was the third studio album released by Bruce Springsteen and his breakthrough effort into the world of mainstream 1970s rock -Son of working-class parents -Upon seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, he began to pursue music in earnest -He failed the military medical exam after being drafted to go to Vietnam at age eighteen -Formed his first bands and began playing clubs in and around the Jersey Shore area where he would pepper sets of covers with his own original music -Born to Run reached number three and the songs "Born to Run," "Thunder Road," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," and "Jungleland" were all enormous hits on AOR -Springsteen's music is "big" and extremely well made—although in a wholly unpretentious way. -He connects to powerful American images with an incomparable authenticity; we can clearly sense that he has been there

Mainstream Rock

-By 1970, rock was not only developing out in all directions and into various subgenres; it had now been around long enough that it was forming a sense of its own history -Rock had become a multigenerational affair, and what sounded good to the older fans of rock now likely sounded out of date to younger audiences -The market for popular rock opened up to focus on two broad age groups: teens to young adults (looking for music that spoke to their youthful energy), and adults aged twenty-five to forty (whose tastes had become more mature and possibly a shade or two more conservative) -This practice allowed for one of the most richly diverse decades in rock music history -There was something for everyone and a viable market for all of it

The Wall

-By the time Pink Floyd recorded The Wall, relationships within the band had all but broken down and Waters had assumed almost total creative control -Producer Bob Ezrin and engineer James Guthrie were hired to assist Waters and Gilmour -The album itself is one of the most ambitious rock recordings ever made -It employs a small army of auxiliary musicians including a full orchestra and both adult and children's choirs -Recording took nearly a year and occurred in several studios from France to New York to Los Angeles. -Much of the work was done with each band member in isolation -The sheer scope of the album, its utterly seamless production, and its standing in the annals of rock are a testament to the force of artistic will over personal challenges

Paul Simon

-Career began in the mid-19'60s as half of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, though his most influential work would occur in the early 1970s as he embarked on a solo career -Credited as a fundamental force in the popularization of the so-called world music and world beat genres: he seamlessly connected musical elements of reggae, Latin, mbaqanga, zydeco, and other world styles with that of American rock, folk, pop, and R&B in his own hip, urban fashion -His 1972 album Paul Simon produced the hit "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" which uses a Brazilian percussion instrument called a cuíca which is often used in samba music (it sounds like a laughing monkey), as well as the reggae-based hit "Mother and Child Reunion," which is said to be one of the first instances of reggae music recorded by a white musician -Simon's released two more albums by 1975 when he won Grammys for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal for Still Crazy After All These Years -He has been raising money for music in primary education since 1970 through benefit concerts and other activities, and since 2003 he has supported Little Kids Rock, an organization that provides free musical instruments and lessons to children in public schools -He is also involved in a number of charities that promote health and medical care to children in underserved areas

Joan Baez

-During the early 1960s she was an important and influential figure who sang songs about social injustice, poverty, war protest, and human rights -She has written and performed music opposing the death penalty and has been active in the fight for everything from gay and lesbian rights to environmental causes to the Occupy movement of recent times

Van Halen

-Dutch-born, American-raised brothers Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen formed the band that bears their name in 1974 in Pasadena, California -Completed by vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony, Van Halen brought rock music to new heights of virtuosity and showmanship -The musical centerpiece of Van Halen is unquestionably Eddie's revolutionary guitar playing, though as an instrumental power trio (not a trio in a technical sense) Van Halen also relies on the solidifying presence of its rhythm section -Eddie's guitar skills catapulted the band, almost immediately, to legendary status -The band caught the attention of producer Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. Records in the summer of 1977 and negotiated a recording contract -Their debut album was recorded without excessive overdubs in order to recreate the band's live sound; there were even slight imperfections purposely left on the recording -While many saw Van Halen as a "heavy metal" band, and they did in fact help to build a bridge between the heavy music of the early 1970s and the ascendance of metal that will occur in the 1980s, it was clear that their music encompassed elements that were more stylistically diverse -Demonstrated a facility for the popular rock genre with the song "Jamie's Cryin'" from their debut and with their first major hit single "Dance the Night Away" from their 1979 follow-up, Van Halen II -There is also a short acoustic guitar piece on Van Halen II called "Spanish Fly" which features hints of flamenco style, peppered with Eddie's signature techniques -By the early 1980s, Van Halen had grown to a stadium-sized hard rock attraction -Roth's grand gestures (martial arts-style spinning back kicks, standing back flips and high-flying leaps) and motormouth patter gave the band an enormous stage presence, as did the overwhelming musicianship of Eddie, Alex, and Michael Anthony

Activist Folk Music

-Folk music is intrinsically rooted in technical simplicity A vehicle for telling a tale or delivering a message -The activist folk music of twentieth-century America is deeply associated with the struggles of the working class and politically and socially oppressed people, both black and white, as well as antiwar/antigovernment sentiment -"Second wave" of the folk revival, chiefly through the music of Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan -Can be traced back to Woody Guthrie and his leftist political folk music of the 1930s and 1940s -Pete Seeger, a disciple of Guthrie's, formed the folk group The Weavers in the late 1940s -The group faced serious professional and political backlash during the "Red Scare" of the 1950s

James Taylor

-Following an early solo career that was stalled by drug addiction and a motorcycle accident, James Taylor would find success in 1970 with his second studio album, Sweet Baby James -Hailed by critics as a folk rock masterpiece, the album established Taylor as a mainstream artist and launched a career that has spanned nearly fifty years -The breakthrough hit from the album was "Fire and Rain," a confessional tale inspired by Taylor's battle with drugs and the loss of a childhood friend to suicide. -Showcases his "conversational" approach to music and storytelling that will come to define him as an artist -It also highlights his deceptively simple guitar style as well as his exceptional attention to detail in songwriting

The Eagles

-Formed by members of one of Linda Ronstadt's early backup groups (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon) -Veteran producer Glyn Johns (The Who, The Beatles' Abbey Road sessions) worked with the band on their self-titled 1972 release and is credited for helping to cultivate the country rock sound that characterized the band's first several recordings -First hit with the song "Take It Easy" which features Frey on lead vocals and the rest of the band singing the sumptuous harmonies that would help generate their mass appeal -Second album, 1973's Desperado, was a "theme" album that compared the lives of old west outlaws to that of rock stars, but did not sell well -The Eagles were interested in moving their sound closer to hard rock -Bill Szymczyk was hired to produce: he recruited Don Felder as an additional guitarist in an effort to bring more of a rock edge to their sound -The band broke through the international market in June 1975 with their fourth studio album, One of These Nights, which continued to lean more toward rock than country -The album earned the band their first Grammy and was the first of four consecutive number one albums -Leadon left the band late in 1975, displeased with the direction they were taking and was replaced by singer/guitarist Joe Walsh -With Walsh, the band's sound would grow even edgier and they would produce some of their best known music -Hotel California was released in late 1976 and would become one of the best-selling albums of all time: earned the band two Grammy Awards -Would release one more album, The Long Run, before the end of the decade without Meisner (he left the band in 1977 and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit) -The Eagles broke up in 1980 amid serious personal tension and rancor -During the 1980s all five band members had substantial solo careers

Jim Morrison and The Doors

-Formed in 1965 in Los Angeles -Represent a unique conception of a counterculture-era rock band -Comprised of a classically trained pianist; a flamenco-style guitarist; a jazz drummer; and a self-styled poet with an explosive personality, a proclivity for obscure literature, an existentialist philosophy, and a voracious appetite for drugs and alcohol -Concoction of psychedelic art rock, pop, blues, and sophisticated—often very dark—lyrics -The band's name was inspired by the Aldous Huxley novel, The Doors of Perception, and the quote by William Blake therein: "When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything will appear to man as it is, infinite" -The Doors were hired as the house band at the famous Sunset Strip venue, the Whisky a Go Go in the summer of 1966 -Noticed by Elektra Records' president, Jac Holzman, and producer Paul Rothchild and offered a recording contract -Several days after signing, in a now infamous incident, The Doors were fired from the Whisky after Morrison broke into an alcohol-fueled, profanity-laced account of the Greek tale of Oedipus during a performance of the band's song "The End" in which he was reported to have writhed around on the stage repeating the phrase "Mother, I want to f*** you!" -This would be the first in a series of on-and-off stage episodes that would cause serious grief for the band, yet would eventually propel Morrison into the realm of rock mythology -"Five to One" and "The Unknown Soldier" are both graphic musical portrayals of antiestablishment, antiwar sentiments that verge on militancy in their intrinsic antagonism and musical aggressiveness

Genesis

-Formed in 1967 by keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford, and singer/flutist Peter Gabriel, the British band Genesis would begin to find their stride when they were joined by drummer/singer Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett in 1970 -This lineup completed the album Nursery Cryme in 1971, which was not terribly successful in England but was very much so on the European continent -Foxtrot was recorded in the summer of 1972 with producer Dave Hitchcock and boasts a twenty-three-minute epic suite called "Supper's Ready," as well as the melodramatic "Watcher of the Skies" -Critics praised the album variously as a "milestone," a "creative peak," and a "pinnacle of art rock" -Gabriel began developing elaborate stage costumes which included fluorescent face paint, bat wings, and capes -Audiences were quite receptive to Gabriel's theatrics as well as the band's complex music -After Gabriel left, Collins assumed the lead and turned to a more commercialized sound

AC/DC

-Formed in Australia in 1973 by guitar-playing brothers Angus Young and Malcolm Young, the hard-rocking "thunder from down under," AC/DC, rose to international fame in 1976 -Lineup had solidified to include vocalist Bon Scott, drummer Phil Rudd, and bassist Mark Evans, although Evans would be replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977 -Released their first two studio albums in 1975: High Voltage and T.N.T -In 1976 the band was signed by Atlantic Records who repackaged and reissued High Voltage -The international release included selected tracks from the band's T.N.T. album -One in particular became a well-known hit and the unofficial anthem of singer Bon Scott: "It's a Long Way to the Top" -The song is unique in rock in that it features a bagpipe (which was played by Scott) -AC/DC's third studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in 1976, would ultimately become the third best-selling record for the band, establishing them internationally -Their next album, Let There Be Rock (1977), would include Evans in the studio, although he would depart before the supporting tour (Cliff Williams remains a member) -1978 saw the release of Powerage: the album did not meet with an overwhelming critical response although it enjoyed robust sales -The real breakthrough to international superstardom came in 1979 with the album Highway to Hell -Working with producer Robert "Mutt" Lange, the band moved much closer to what would become their mature sound -Lyrics shifted away from their earlier facetious style to reflect themes more fundamental to rock -The title track reflects the band's change in lyric direction, while the instrumental writing and production show a band that has truly discovered itself and is fully in touch with its blues roots

Supertramp and Progressive Pop

-Formed in London in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson and following only modest success with their first two albums, Supertramp began their ascent to the popular mainstream in 1974 with their album Crime of the Century -The lineup of the band by this time came to include bassist Dougie Thomson, drummer Bob Siebenberg, and woodwind player John Anthony Helliwell -The album was a successful blend of art and prog musical elements with pop sensibility and radio-friendly formats -It spawned two major hits and reached the top 10 in the UK album charts -Two more mildly successful albums would follow in 1975 and 1977—Crisis? What Crisis? and -Even in the Quietest Moments..., respectively -It was 1979's release, Breakfast in America, which would launch Supertramp to international superstardom and help give progressive pop an enduring presence on rock radio It is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the era and has been lauded as "faultless" and "extraordinarily melodic" -Conversely, one critic called it a "perfect demonstration of why punk had to happen"

Heart

-Fronted by sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, vocals and guitar, respectively, Heart found success in 1976 with their debut album Dreamboat Annie -Developed a highly effective mix of hard rock and folk which would propel them to mainstream stardom, place the Wilson sisters in the top echelon of female rock musicians, earn Heart widespread praise as one of the most diverse bands of the 1970s, and produce many hit albums and singles -The song "Barracuda," featured on Little Queen, became a signature song for Heart as well as a pioneering effort in the development of percussive heavy metal guitar -Heart's final album of the decade was 1978's multimillion-selling Dog & Butterfly, an album conception resembling Bob Dylan's half-acoustic half-electric Bringing It All Back Home: the "Dog" side of the album features hard rockers while the "Butterfly" side features ballads (with a single exception: the album's closing track "Mistral Wind") -Heart continues to record and perform -Heart has been honored with numerous awards and they stand as one of the most respected bands of the 1970s

Revolver

-George Harrison's creative contributions to Revolver were more substantial than they had been up to that point; he had become a nearly equal partner in the songwriting process -Since around 1964, Harrison had become fascinated with Indian classical music and culture and other Eastern philosophical concepts; he found musical inspiration in these -His composition "Love You To" features the sitar and the tabla, a traditional Eastern hand drum used in Hindustani classical music as well as the traditional folk music of Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka -The album is not without its rockers: Harrison's song "Taxman," a scathing and cleverly worded denunciation of the high levels of taxation to which the band was subject under the British Labour Party -Revolver also features a horn section ("Got to Get You into My Life"), tape loops of a marching band ("Yellow Submarine"), a variety of percussion and percussive effects, various organs, and the Indian instruments discussed above, as well as piano, guitars, bass, and drums throughout

Black Sabbath

-Guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward, and singer Ozzy Osbourne formed a band in 1968 in their hometown, the industrial city of Birmingham, England -Sabbath used their newfound sound and name as a basis for building the themes and images for which they would become legendary -Images of the occult, crosses, references to heaven and hell in their music, and their dark personae helped to cultivate a mystique that would become synonymous with heavy metal -In some ways it was a "shock" tactic, and in others it seemed quite in keeping with the musical sounds they were creating -That the whole notion of "Black Sabbath" was inspired by a horror movie and written by young men living in a bleak, dirty, industrial environment says quite a bit in itself -They recorded their self-titled debut album in a single twelve-hour session in October 1969 and released it on Friday the 13th of February 1970 -The album reached number eight on the UK album chart but was torn apart by many mainstream critics -It has since been almost universally recognized as the birth of heavy metal. The title track amply demonstrates the distinctly dark and heavy sound and a band that has transcended blues rock - Their drug and alcohol use, especially Osbourne's, reached almost mythical proportions until it finally brought the band to a low point by 1978 -Their opening act support for the Never Say Die! tour was an up-and-coming, youthful, and highly energetic Van Halen whose performance, by contrast, made Black Sabbath look like strung-out old men

Phil Spector

-He earned accolades for his pioneering technique in the recording process, the end result of which came to be known as the wall of sound -Extremely dense sound with almost no "space" between any of the elements or musical events -Spector's recordings were calculated to sound their best on the most common medium of the time—monaural AM radio—and the techniques he pioneered made him quite famous -His recordings were the very first to bear the producer's signature sound in a way that was instantly recognizable to many -Convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson

Billy Joel

-If Elton John had an American counterpart in the 1970s, it was Billy Joel -Although Joel's career wouldn't skyrocket until his 1977 album, The Stranger, he had some modest success early in the decade with the songs "Piano Man" (which would become his signature song), "The Entertainer," and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" -With The Stranger Joel soared to international fame and emerged as one of the great American songwriters; a role he has substantiated for over four decades -Billy Joel was one of the first of a small number of American musicians to play in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s during what would be the final years of the Cold War -Since 1994, he has been half of the famous series of "Face to Face" tours with Elton John during which he and John performed their own music, each other's music, and duets

The Sex Pistols

-In 1975, after spending a brief time New York where he had had various small-time dealings in the burgeoning punk scene there, a visual artist-turned-businessman named Malcolm McLaren returned to his native London to resume his affairs -He ran a clothing and apparel shop there with his business partner Vivienne Westwood that catered to the various trendy rock tastes of hip, young Londoners -The shop had recently been rethemed toward marketing sadomasochist-inspired apparel and was renamed simply SEX. McLaren's business sense, his interest in the punk scene motivated him to become involved with several young musicians who frequented his shop -Among these were guitarist Steve Jones, bassist Glen Matlock, and drummer Paul Cook, who played in a band called The Strand McLaren introduced the musicians to a young customer who had caught his eye named John Lydon (b. 1956), proposing that he be their new singer -He gave a very impromptu audition and was brought in -With Lydon, who would soon change his name to Johnny Rotten, the band settled on the name the Sex Pistols -The band soon became known for hard-partying, anarchist-themed songs and the occasional bar fight -Steve Cook stated in an early interview, "we're not into music, we're into chaos" -Increasingly outrageous performances and tabloid-style press contributed to the band's renown -In October 1976 they signed with EMI and entered the recording studio to make their first album -Though the Ramones by this time were understood to be the main influence on punk, Rotten claims that he had little interest in them or what they had to say -Instead, his lyrics were more political and caustic

Jimi Hendrix

-In a professional solo career that spanned only four years, Jimi Hendrix (1942- 1970) managed to become one of the most influential musicians and showmen of the twentieth century and, along with Eric Clapton, succeeded in establishing the guitar as rock's virtuosic solo instrument -Acquiring his first guitar at the age of fifteen and ingesting a steady diet of blues, R&B, soul, jazz, and rock 'n' roll, Hendrix formed his first garage band within a year and was playing parties and small clubs in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, by 1960 -Hendrix enlisted in the army in 1961 in which he spent just over a year: he was ultimately discharged on the basis of unsuitability -He moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he formed a band called the King Kasuals and began to develop several of his trademark performance moves, most notably playing the guitar with his teeth and playing with the instrument behind his head -He came to the attention of Ronnie Isley of the Top 40 doo-wop group the Isley Brothers and was hired in their backup band -Several months later he was hired into Little Richard's touring group and spent the next year recording and touring as an R&B sideman -Hendrix relocated to New York's Greenwich Village in 1966 and formed the band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, which he fronted as Jimmy James -Hendrix befriended Rolling Stone Keith Richards' girlfriend, Linda Keith, whose connections led Hendrix to producer/manager Chas Chandler -Chandler convinced Hendrix to sign with him and go to London. There, Hendrix formed the band that would rise to global fame, The Jimi Hendrix Experience -The band's breakthrough in the United States came after a performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in mid-June 1967 at which The Experience played a wildly unpredictable set that reached its climax with Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire

America

-Indicative of the enduring popularity of folk rock in the mainstream -The group's creative core consisted of American-born multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley, and Dan Peek (1950-2011) who met in Britain as sons of US military personnel stationed there -Playing clubs in London in 1970 drew the attention of Warner Bros. Records who signed the band in 1971 -The young musicians had envisioned their music moving toward a more psychedelic sound but their producer, Ian Samwell, convinced them to develop the folk rock style with which they began Their self-titled debut that same year rose to number one in the United States and spawned two hit singles, "A Horse with No Name" and "I Need You" 1-975 the group began a series of recordings with ex-Beatles production team, George Martin and Geoff Emerick -America has endured into the new millennium, although they never enjoyed the same success of the early 1970s: their music from that era was highly influential and remains popular on classic rock radio

Kansas

-Kansas was formed from a collective of musicians working in Topeka in the early 1970s -Made up of keyboardist/vocalist/percussionist Steve Walsh, guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Kerry Livgren , violinist/vocalist Robby Steinhardt, guitarist Rich Williams, bassist Dave Hope, and drummer Phil Ehart -Their self-titled debut album came in 1974 and got the band off to a fairly slow start -It received mixed reviews and charted rather poorly, but Kansas had begun to build a small cult following through persistent performance and promotion -Their second album, Song for America, came the following year and was praised for its intensity The title track, a ten-minute symphonically structured piece, was also edited down to a three- minute single -The longer version has come to be known as one of Kansas' masterpieces from their obscure early period and appears on several greatest hits collections and anthologies released in later years Kansas's breakthrough would come in 1976 with their fourth album, Leftoverture -It would reach number five on the album chart and produce one of the band's best-known songs, "Carry On Wayward Son" -This marked the beginning of Kansas' peak commercial period that included their next album, Point of Know Return (1977). Both the title track and the deeply philosophical ballad "Dust in the Wind" would become hit singles as well as enduring classics of rock radio -Their music has become engrained in pop culture through movies, television, and video games -They have continued to record and tour and have earned the rare station as one of America's classic art/prog bands

The Beatle's Formation

-Lennon met Paul McCartney (b. 1942) who was fifteen at the time, and enlisted him to play guitar In February of 1958, McCartney introduced Lennon to his guitarist friend, George Harrison (1943-2001) who, at just fourteen years of age -After about a year of playing locally at small parties and dances, Lennon's original Quarry Bank friends eventually went their separate ways leaving Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, all playing guitar, as the remaining members -By this time, rock 'n' roll had become the musical focus of the band: they built an extensive repertoire by learning a wide variety of music by American artists L-ennon, upon graduating high school, enrolled as a student at the nearby Liverpool College of Art where he recruited fellow artist and bassist Stu Sutcliffe (1940-1962) -Now a quartet, in 1960 they changed their name to The Silver Beetles for several months before finally settling on The Beatles -Upon booking an extended engagement in a Hamburg nightclub in the summer of 1960, the band auditioned and hired Pete Best as their permanent drummer -In November, 1961, they met Brian Epstein (1934-1967) while performing at the Cavern Club Over the next couple of months he persuaded the band to hire him as their manager -In May of 1962, following several unsuccessful auditions for other labels, the band auditioned for producer George Martin (1926-2016), who signed The Beatles to London's EMI Records: thus began the most important recording career in rock music

Let It Be and Abbey Road

-Let It Be, which was initially titled Get Back, was begun in January 1969 and largely finished before Abbey Road. The album was originally intended to be performed live with no overdubs and filmed as a television special -The sessions became so unbearable for Harrison that he walked out for five days -The band finally did agree to perform live in order to create a suitable ending for the film: The resulting performance, shot on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building, was the last performance that The Beatles would ever give -The resulting documentary film, more than showcasing the making of a record, effectively shows the band tearing itself apart: the release of the recording went through a period of postponement so that it could coincide with the release of the film, but by then Abbey Road had been completed and was released instead Get Back would eventually be remixed by Phil Spector, renamed Let It Be, and released as The Beatles' final studio album in May 1970 -Less than a month earlier, The Beatles had "officially" broken up when Paul McCartney publicly announced his departure from the band

Girl Groups

-Lyrics common to this specific category most often dealt with teen-esque relationships and the ups and downs of adolescent love -Music was a vocal-driven amalgamation of doo-wop, rock 'n' roll, and pop elements -Girl group performers were necessarily skilled in singing rich harmonies and often performed choreographed moves while sporting elegant evening wear, stylish hairdos, and professionally applied makeup -Completely and consciously packaged for mass market appeal -Affected a softening of the image of rock 'n' roll through pop hybridization Expanded the feminine presence in rock 'n' roll-based pop music

Houses of Holy

-Marked a deeper immersion into advanced studio techniques and overdubbing -A shift away from heavy blues derivation: stylistic explorations of reggae, funk, and progressive rock; and a healthy dose of atmospheric keyboard and synthesizer effects -Released in March 1973, the album was an immediate commercial success but still met with some mixed criticism, mainly due to its stylistic diversity -"The Crunge," a funk-based song with that features the shifting time signatures common to progressive rock left critics particularly baffled In 1975, Led Zeppelin released their sixth studio album, Physical Graffiti, a double-length collection of eight new originals and seven previously recorded but unused tracks -Zeppelin's first release on their own newly formed record label, Swan Song -It was the first album ever to reach sales of one million in advance orders alone. -Critics at the time described it as "Led Zeppelin's Sgt. Pepper's," "towering," and a "tour de force of musical styles"

Teen Idols

-Massive success of Elvis was the impetus for the so-called teen idol Teen idols of the early 1960s -Were essentially consciously crafted hybrids of pre and post military Elvis -They were attractive without being overly sensual -All were pale imitations of Elvis -Most teen idols sang songs written by professional songwriters and were backed by experienced studio musicians -Good looking, accessible, and highly marketable

Parliament/Funkadelic/P-Funk

-Masterminded by visionary musician George Clinton -A collective of more than fifteen musicians who pioneered the genres of funk, funk rock, and psychedelic funk in the early 1970s -Through several phases and various incarnations of each group, the musicians combined elements of psychedelic rock, soul, progressive, glam, and R&B with concepts of science fiction/fantasy and political activism -All incarnations of Clinton's bands were praised for their high-level musicianship and dazzling stage shows, and are credited for speeding up the development of disco, hip-hop, electronica, and new wave -With a discography that includes dozens of albums, Clinton and his collective touched the future of music in innumerable ways -Clinton remains active as a performer, recording artist, and producer -Most recently, he made a guest appearance on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly

Bob Dylan Goes Electric

-Moved by his admiration for The Beatles, his apparent disillusionment with the folk scene and the commercial success that more pop/rock oriented musicians had in covering his songs (recall Peter, Paul and Mary), Bob Dylan made a move that would have significant consequences in the world of rock and popular music -He had already begun to shift away from the topical lyrics of his first recordings and into songs of a more personal nature with his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan -Bringing It All Back Home, released in March, 1965, marks the moment of transition between Bob Dylan the folk singer and Bob Dylan the rock star -The album is half acoustic, half electric -Bob Dylan would not return to folk music; from 1965 on he was a rock musician -His next recording effort, Highway 61 Revisited, released in the summer of 1965, marked Dylan's full transformation to the world of rock, a seamless transformation which attested to his remarkable skills as a songwriter and lyricist -Dylan's new musical approach included a full rock band with keyboards and harmonica and opened up to include a hearty mix of blues, rock, honky-tonk, garage, and pop, in the matchless and arresting Dylan fashion; -The opening track, "Like a Rolling Stone," became a global hit -In style and structure, it unapologetically cut through the all of the preexisting boundaries of the conventional rock song. -In 2010, "Like a Rolling Stone" was named number one on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list

Allen Ginsberg

-Named Beat poet and author was involved in countless movements regarding human rights and personal freedoms -His 1955 epic poem "Howl" was the subject of an obscenity trial in 1957 -Scored a major victory for free speech when the courts ruled in his favor -Throughout the 1960s, he worked with and drew inspiration from Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, and other notable rock and folk musicians

Frank Zappa

-No musician we will discuss throughout this book was as diverse or prolific -He was, in fact, one of the most productive artists of any type in the entire twentieth century -More than sixty albums during his lifetime (plus forty posthumous releases by the Zappa Family Trust) ranging from rock to orchestral to jazz fusion to electronic music to avant-garde and beyond -He was one of the twentieth century's great iconoclasts he was an active social and political commentator who was fearless in his criticism of mainstream education, organized religion (he described his own religion as "musician"), and in his lifelong fight against censorship -Passionately antiauthoritarian and a staunch advocate of political participation -1966 debut album Freak Out! with his band, The Mothers of Invention, was a satirical exposition of American pop music and culture. -Far more experimental than any other rock album of its time -The album was neither commercially nor critically successful in the United States but was well received in Europe -Instantly established Zappa as rock's eccentric genius -It is considered to be rock's first concept album Exerted an enormous influence on The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper's

Marvin Gaye

-On May 21, 1971, one of the most important albums of the decade, What's Going On, was released by Marvin Gaye -His music clearly represents the soulful side of rock yet it draws on late 1960s psychedelia, rock, and blues -His lyrics connect deeply to countercultural ideals and the social issues that spilled over into the 1970s, particularly those of income inequality, police brutality, the environment, and the Vietnam War -Critics have called What's Going On an inner city response to Sgt. Peppers What's Going On is a concept album that links all nine tracks musically and topically -The final track "Inner City Blues" sums up many of the album's themes and is a good representation of Gaye's approach to his inventive sonic universe

Elton John

-On recordings his musical skill is formidable and in performance his flamboyant style and fantastical stage costumes placed him in the top echelon of arena rockers of the 1970s -His music throughout the decade ranged from soft ballads like "Daniel" to harder-edged rockers like "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" -He recorded covers of The Who's "Pinball Wizard" and The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," on which John Lennon made a guest appearance -Elton John had seven consecutive number one albums in the 1970s as well as dozens of hit singles -Unlike most of the singer-songwriters of the rock era, Elton John never wrote his own song lyrics. For most of his career, he collaborated with lyricist Bernie Taupin -His extraordinary songwriting skill has propelled a five-decade career and earned him nearly every major industry award clearly establishing his standing among rock's greatest

Fleetwood Mac

-Originally formed as a blues band in 1967 by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood, and bassist/singer John McVie, by 1975 Fleetwood Mac would evolve into its most familiar lineup and adopt a more pop-oriented style -The 1975 lineup saw the departure of Green and included John McVie's wife, keyboardist/singer Christine McVie, singer Stevie Nicks, and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham -Nicks and Buckingham were in a romantic relationship at the time -Released their self-titled album that year (it was actually the second to be called Fleetwood Mac; the first was released in 1968) and it rapidly climbed to the number one position on the Billboard chart -Fleetwood Mac's interpersonal dynamic provided ample inspiration for their next album, the wildly successful Rumours, released in 1977 -Success, wealth, and rock stardom had brought with it heavy cocaine and alcohol use within the band, and coupled with the relationship tensions, it is nothing short of miraculous that they were able to keep working -The album exposes the emotional upheaval through which the band were going in a most artful and sincere fashion -Rumours would produce numerous hits, win a Grammy for Album of the Year, and come to represent Fleetwood Mac's best-known work -With more than 40 million copies sold it is one of the best-selling albums of all time -Fleetwood Mac continued to produce hit albums until the early 1980s when they decided to take a hiatus -Nicks, Buckingham, and Christine McVie all embarked on successful solo careers during that time -The Rumours lineup of the band would make one more album in 1987 before officially disbanding -They have reunited with various personnel for tours and recordings since 1990

Yes

-Originally formed by bassist Chris Squire and singer Jon Anderson in London in 1968, the band at the beginning of what is widely considered their most significant period (1971-1977) included Anderson, Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Tony Kaye, and drummer Bill Bruford -Howe, who joined Yes for their third album, brought with him eclectic tastes and inclinations that his predecessor, Peter Banks, did not possess -The 1971 recording The Yes Album and brought the band the commercial success they and their label were seeking -Tony Kaye would depart following Yes's 1971 European tour due to artistic differences and was replaced by classically trained keyboardist and studio musician Rick Wakeman -Several highly successful albums and tours followed, as did lineup changes -Tales from Topographic Oceans, a concept album based on Hindu scripture came in late 1973 -Keyboardist Rick Wakeman would depart following the album's tour to pursue a solo career -1974's Relayer featured a twenty-two-minute composition called "The Gates of Delirium" based on Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace -Solo albums from each of the band members were released between 1975 and 1976 and in 1977 Rick Wakeman returned to Yes to record Going for the One -Tormato from 1978 would be the last Yes album of the decade -Critics were fairly harsh, claiming the album represented the bloated excesses of early 1970s prog -Yes disbanded in 1981 only to return in 1983 with a new lineup and a major comeback album, 90125. -A much more media-friendly commercial approach to form marked the band's eighties sound, although they always maintained the highest standards of musicianship and continued to work with the advanced musical materials of their most progressive music

Punk Rock

-Punk rock sprung from a position of rejecting the excess that was apparently eroding the soul of rock and the music industry -As a style, and eventually a globally relevant culture, punk was meaningful; as a reawakening of the original rebelliousness of rock, it was perhaps inevitable and necessary -The extremes of punk informed subsequent generations, not by invention but by reinvention and intensification -Punk bands were the garage bands of a new era, plain and simple; they played louder and faster and with more abandon, but they were not original nor did they advance the state-of-the-art of rock music

What does a producer do?

-Quality record production helps to capture the full meaning and potential of the music -A skilled producer can bring out the best in a performer through coaching, consulting, collaborating, or controlling the individual and collective elements of the record -The extent to which a producer is involved in the recording process varies dramatically -Many types of producers with contrasting styles, backgrounds, and levels of musical/technical expertise; and ranging in involvement from wielding almost total artistic control to performing purely administrative functions

The White Album

-Recording sessions for The White Album took place from the end of May to mid- October 1968 and were marked by increasing creative and personal tensions among the band and their production crew: -Ringo Starr quit the band for about two weeks in August; Martin took a sudden leave of absence; and engineer Geoff Emerick quit the project entirely -This period really was the beginning of the end for The Beatles -Paul McCartney had taken over as the primary creative force and John Lennon seemed to be seriously losing interest in his life as a Beatle: His open disregard for what had been a long-standing band policy of "no girlfriends" in the recording studio was evident as his then-girlfriend Yoko Ono regularly attended the sessions -This created further tensions. Although the album was a commercial success and is widely regarded as a Beatles masterpiece, from this period onward, the band members became increasingly estranged, both creatively and personally

Bob Marley and Reggae

-Reggae originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s as a type of dance music -It is essentially a fusion of native calypso music, and American R&B and jazz styles -It is characterized by heavily syncopated rhythms emphasizing backbeats (2 and 4), upbeats (the "ands" between the beat), simple chord progressions, and heavy bass lines -Reggae bands are often a core rock ensemble with various Latin and Afro-Cuban percussion, horns, and vocals -Lyrically, reggae is rife with political and social criticisms which reflect the social climate in Jamaica, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, but there are numerous songs of a personal, nonpolitical nature as well -Reggae music exerted a significant influence on American and British popular styles beginning in the late 1970s and grew even stronger through the 1980s

Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds and "Good Vibrations"

-Released in May 1966, The Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds is perhaps best understood as a Brian Wilson solo project -Wilson was exploring uncharted territory in rock and pop music. -Has been called the first psychedelic rock masterpiece and is known to have deeply affected the music and recording techniques of The Beatles from Revolver on -Pet Sounds, along with Rubber Soul, Revolver, and the folk movement have been credited with generating the greater part of the development of post-1965 rock music -Noted by many critics as the recording that helped rock to snowball into a self-conscious art form -Clearly one of the earliest, if not the earliest example of progressive rock -Innovations in harmony, form, and instrumentation as well as advanced recording techniques are evident throughout -The band's shift toward psychedelic sonic landscapes would garner mass praise in October 1966 with the release of the landmark single "Good Vibrations" -Initially begun as part of the Pet Sounds project, "Good Vibrations" was ultimately not included as part of the album -Completed in multiple stages throughout the summer of 1966, involving more than a dozen sessions done in four separate studios -Considered to be the single most influential recording in establishing the recording studio as an instrument unto itself -The cost of recording the single relative to today would be nearly half a million dollars, an unheard-of amount -The song's lyrics, partially written by Beach Boy Mike Love, spoke directly to the "Flower Power" movement within the larger counterculture -The progressive treatment of form is evident in the six distinct sections of the composition

Carly Simon

-Solo career began in 1970 with the release of her self-titled album and the top 10 hit "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" -Her first number one song, "You're So Vain," would come in 1972 from her third album, No Secrets -Simon married James Taylor in 1972 and the two frequently appeared on each other's recordings -"Nobody Does It Better" served as the title theme for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me: It was her second best-selling single -Simon's music has been covered by a diverse group of musicians ranging from Marilyn Manson and the Foo Fighters to Jennifer Lopez and Liza Minelli -Many contemporary pop stars, including Carly Rae Jepsen, Taylor Swift, and Tori Amos cite Simon as a primary influence

Roy Orbison

-Spent the late 1950s either touring in support of bigger artists, trying his hand at country music, or simply in a state of musical inactivity -By 1960, Orbison had managed to capture the attention of a producer at Monument Records named Fred Foster -During his early days at Monument, working with Foster and an engineer named Bill Porter, Orbison began to develop his own distinct vocal sound -"Only the Lonely," a doo-wop-flavored song with a combination of rock and orchestral instruments was released in May of 1960 -Orbison scored a string of hits through 1962 and in 1963 was invited to tour the United Kingdom with The Beatles, who had been making quite a name for themselves in the European club circuit -In 1964, Orbison would write his two most successful songs, "It's Over" and "Oh, Pretty Woman" with friend and collaborator Bill Dees -Sadly, he was beset by a series of personal tragedies beginning in 1966 when his wife was killed in a motorcycle accident and in 1968, while on tour in England, he received news that his two eldest sons had died in a house fire in Tennessee -Died of a heart-attack

Grace Slick

-The 1967 album, Surrealistic Pillow, was the second studio album by the band Jefferson Airplane and their first to feature newly hired vocalist Grace Slick -The album reached number three on the Billboard charts and launched Jefferson Airplane on a multi-decade career as Jefferson Starship and later just Starship -The band was actually the first to draw national attention to the San Francisco scene and the 1967 release, Surrealistic Pillow, is now considered a quintessential counterculture psychedelic rock album -The two hit singles from the album "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" were both composed by Slick

The "Rock Star"

-The 1970s was when the romantic concept of the "rock star" really took shape -These gifted individuals, isolated by fame, awash in hedonistic behavior, and flush with the monetary rewards they had earned in return for the musical gems they bestowed upon society, became the heroes of a generation and created the soundtrack to the lives of millions -There was a growing feeling that wealth and fame could contribute to the quality of one's art, rather than detract from it -Rich rock stars could do what they wanted. Even if what they wanted was no longer political revolution but just "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" -Rock stars, almost by definition, were working-class or middle-class kids with an almost religious commitment to the ideals of rock 'n' roll, who had struggled, paid dues and finally seen their dreams come true -This was the representation of cultural revolution in the 1970s

Psychedelia and the Studio Year (1966-1970)

-The Beatles' Revolver album marked a new era not only for the band but for the very idea of what a rock album could be. -It featured highly experimental song structures and recording techniques -Techniques were either invented during the sessions or adapted from contemporaneous experimental techniques being employed in the newly emerging world of electronic music -His inspiration for this came from a book coauthored by 1960s LSD guru Timothy Leary called The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead

Beatlemania and the Touring Years (1962-1966)

-The Beatles' recording career and collaboration with Martin began in London's Abbey Road Studios on June 6, 1962 -During the first sessions, Martin expressed his dissatisfaction with Best's drumming and strongly suggested to Epstein that he be replaced -The other band members had already been considering the dismissal of Best in favor of Ringo Starr (b. Richard Starkey, 1940), a drummer whom they had known from the Merseybeat scene band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

Folk Rock

-The combined force of Bob Dylan's folk music and The Beatles' rock music in the mid-1960s helped to inspire a hybrid genre known as folk rock -Folk rock would become central in the late 1960s as an expressive vehicle for many countercultural beliefs -In April 1965, a Los Angeles-based rock group called The Byrds recorded and released an electrified cover version of Bob Dylan's folk song "Mr. Tambourine Man" -Their version reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom and led the music press to coin the term folk rock -A profusion of folk rock acts followed in the wake of The Byrds' success -Their lyrics were often humanistic and appealed to the emerging counterculture's ideals of peace, universal love, and global awareness -Many folk rock songs became vehicles for voicing growing concerns over the Vietnam War while others posited "radical" views regarding anti-consumerism and communal living

Pink Floyd

-The earliest incarnation of British band Pink Floyd dates from 1965 when guitarist Syd Barrett, bassist Roger Waters, drummer Nick Mason, and keyboardist Rick Wright formed in London under the creative leadership of Barrett -This lineup produced the successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, in 1967 -Syd Barrett had begun experimenting with LSD as early as 1965 and by 1967 his use of the drug had reportedly become heavy and frequent, often resulting in severe dysfunction -His increasingly erratic and unpredictable behavior, both on and off the stage, prompted the other band members to hire Barrett's longtime friend, guitarist David Gilmour -By early 1968, Gilmour and the rest of the band were excluding Barrett from shows and recording sessions and by April he was officially removed from Pink Floyd -Pink Floyd continued to develop along the shared creative visions of Waters, Wright, Gilmour, and Mason with Waters serving as the band's primary lyricist -Six studio albums came between 1969 and 1972 during which time the band became well known in the London underground scene for their expansive sound palette -Relied little on catchy hooks or predictable chord progressions -Innovative live performances -In 1973, the release of The Dark Side of the Moon made Pink Floyd a global force in art/prog rock -The album is a conceptually based whole that explores themes of greed, violence, mental illness, the passage of time, the pressures of travel, and mortality -Standard rock instrumentation, saxophone, ample use of synthesizers -Notable extramusical effects like "found" sounds and spoken dialogue (collectively known as musique concréte) appear in the form of a cash register, clinking coins, ticking clocks, etc. -An instant critical and commercial success: it is one of the best-selling rock albums ever with around 45 million copies sold

Journey

-The first incarnation of Journey was formed in 1974 in San Francisco by veterans of Santana, guitarist Neil Schon and keyboardist/singer Gregg Rolie -They were joined by bassist Ross Vallory, guitarist George Tickner, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar The band recorded three albums between 1975 and 1977 in the jazz-rock fusion genre, but were not finding much success -Tickner had parted with the band following their first album -At the behest of their label, Columbia, they added a devoted frontman, Robert Fleischman, and shifted their musical approach to a more radio-friendly rock style -Fleischman left the band after less than a year and was replaced by Steve Perry, the singer with whom they would soon rise to international fame -Working with producer Roy Thomas Baker, Journey released their breakthrough album, Infinity in 1978 -The album spawned several AOR hits including the single "Wheel in the Sky" and "Feeling That Way/Anytime," which are listed as two separate tracks but were, and are, often paired -With Infinity, Journey combined high-level musicianship, straightforward pop rock song structures with a bluesy delivery, richly layered vocal harmonies, distorted guitars, big drum sounds, and infectiously catchy hooks -Their 1979 release, Evolution, continued their partnership with Baker; however, Dunbar was replaced by drummer Steve Smith -The album increased the band's renown and spawned two successful singles: the blues-based, slow-shuffling "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" and another dual-lead vocal piece called "Just the Same Way"

Sly and the Family Stone

-The first major American rock act to feature a lineup that was fully integrated in both race and gender, the group was also central in the development of funk and funk rock -The band had some difficulty breaking into the mainstream, but did so with their fourth studio album, Stand!, released in 1969 just ahead of their appearance at Woodstock -The album produced several hit singles including "Sing a Simple Song," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Stand," and "Everyday People" -Comprised of horns, keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, and harmonica and explores richly complex layers of riffs and rhythm based on the sixteenth note layer -The result is an unprecedented danceable energy -Nearly every instrument is treated percussively -Their lyrics connected deeply with counterculture ideals of tolerance, equality, peace, love, and drug use

Rush

-The original lineup of the Canadian band Rush from 1971 consisted of bassist/singer/keyboardist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer John Rutsey -Their 1974 self-titled debut album would be the only recording to feature Rutsey He departed Rush following its release due to health issues -His replacement, drummer/percussionist Neil Peart would join shortly after and subsequently assume duties as the band's primary lyricist -Peart will play a dominant role in shaping the band's identity -Not only did he bring his literary-minded and highly intelligent lyric style to Rush, his skill as a drummer places him squarely among the greatest musicians of all time—in any style -Often recognized as one of the hardest-working bands in rock, Rush has released twenty studio albums, eleven live albums and various box sets, compilations, and anthologies to date -Their lineup has remained the same for more than four decades -2112 would also prove to be the band's commercial breakthrough -Released in 1976, it is half concept album (side 1) and half unrelated songs (side 2) -While Peart acknowledges the "genius of Ayn Rand" in the liner notes as inspiration for the story and lyrics of "2112" (it bears similarities to the Objectivist Rand's novella Anthem) he has stated that he did this so as not to encounter any legal repercussions from Rand or her publisher. -Nevertheless, the band faced negative backlash for the association with Rand and her right-wing extremism -Peart, while contending the individual is paramount in matters of justice and liberty, specifically dissociated himself from a strictly Objectivist (Randist) line "2112" is part science-fiction, part cautionary tale -The story is told in part through the lyrics and in part through the accompanying album liner notes

ZZ Top

-The power trio of singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard came together as ZZ Top in 1969 in Texas, connected by their love of blues, rock, boogie, and American roots music -The group has endured in its original lineup for well over four decades -They broke into the mainstream of hard rock in 1973 with their third album Tres Hombres The album established ZZ Top as a hard-edged, blues rock power trio with musical abilities comparable to Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience -Propelled by Gibbons' distinctive guitar style and Beard's "finesse with power" drumming, Tres Hombres melded polished perfection with the expressive power of the blues -ZZ Top would finish out the 1970s with platinum, major-label success -Their signature look (chest-length beards, dark glasses, and fur-covered guitars) served them well as the MTV era dawned -Although they would go through a period of experimentation with the heavy use of synthesizers and sixteenth note layer rhythms, their blues roots always remained clear

Led Zeppelin II/III

-The second album, simply titled Led Zeppelin II, was a commercial success and was better received by critics than their debut -It reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom Zeppelin II is arguably the band's heaviest album -Regardless, it set a new standard for songs centered on the guitar riff, as opposed to songs whose hook is provided by a vocal part in the verse or chorus -In that way particularly, the album has also been called a "blueprint" for heavy metal -Led Zeppelin III was written primarily by Page and Plant while they took a break from the hectic tour schedule to which they had been subject through the previous year -The two retreated to a rural cottage in Wales with no electricity and no running water to work out new material. -The bucolic surroundings and lack of electric power inspired them to reconnect with their acoustic folk roots, which became a partial focus for the album, though the album put forth the band's most diverse collection of songs to date

Creedence Clearwater Revival

-Their music has been called roots rock, swamp rock, bayou rock, and southern rock -The band and its leader and main creative force, John Fogerty (b. 1945), were extremely skilled at writing tight, well-made singles -They enjoyed a great deal of commercial success from 1967 to 1972 and have enjoyed an enduring presence on classic rock radio -Their 1969 hit "Fortunate Son" is a counterculture anthem that attacks the privilege of the elite ruling class: The "millionaire's son" is not called to fight in the war -The song is a straightforward verse/chorus, riff-heavy rock tune with all of the core elements in plain view

The Grateful Dead

-There may be no greater embodiment of hippie culture in music than the Grateful Dead -Single-handedly pioneered the jam band genre -Formed in 1965 by guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), guitarist Bob Weir (b. 1947), keyboardist Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (1945-1973), bassist Phil Lesh (b. 1940), and drummer Bill Kreutzmann (b. 1946), their music was a unique blend of folk, bluegrass, country, jazz-like improvisation, rock, and psychedelia -Their rise to fame can best be described as "organic" -They were at ground zero of the San Francisco scene in the late 1960s and not only performed there regularly but participated in "acid tests" (gatherings with music, poetry, and copious amounts of LSD), lived among their fans, played free and charity concerts, and espoused the hippie lifestyle in every way -Their lasting appeal had much to do with their genuine devotion to touring, performing, and pleasing their fans -The Dead have performed more than twenty-three hundred concerts -The Grateful Dead's lifestyle and appetites were costly; aside from various drug arrests: -"Pigpen" McKernan would die in 1972 from complications related to alcohol at the age of twenty-seven -During the 1970s and 1980s the band turned to using heroin and freebase cocaine -In 1985 Garcia went into a diabetic coma for five days and nearly died -Latecomer keyboardist Brent Mydland died of a narcotics overdose in 1990 -In 1995 Jerry Garcia died of heart failure due to his diabetic condition that had been exacerbated by decades of heroin and cocaine abuse, as well as a cigarette habit -The band has continued in several incarnations without Garcia

The Yardbirds

-While The Yardbirds would only achieve modest significance, the group would serve as a training ground for three of Britain's most important and influential guitarists (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page) and would eventually morph into Led Zeppelin, one of the greatest rock acts of all-time By the time Eric Clapton (b. 1945) would join The Yardbirds in 1963, the group had already become the house band at London's Crawdaddy Club -The band released two modestly successful blues-influenced singles before scoring a breakthrough hit with their third, the more pop- and British Beat- oriented "For Your Love" -Clapton, a blues purist at heart, could not reconcile himself with the new direction the band had taken and left on March 25, 1965, the very same day that the single was released -Clapton would recommend his friend Jimmy Page (b. 1944) to serve as his replacement, Page was enjoying a well-paying gig as a studio musician and was disinclined to accept -He in turn recommended Jeff Beck (b. 1944), who joined the band and was performing with them within a matter of days -With Beck, The Yardbirds produced a number of hit singles, many of which featured his innovative use of distorted guitar tones and guitar feedback as a musical device -In the 1966 Yardbirds hit "Shapes of Things," we hear feedback and distortion effects, lending to its somewhat psychedelic atmosphere, along with several other remarkable characteristics: -The song features a lyric that is both pro-environment and antiwar, as well as an early exploration of progressive rock rhythmic structures -The music moves through triplet, eighth note and sixteenth note subdivisions