UNIT 2- THE ROOTS OF ROCK
King of the Chicago Style
*MUDDY WATERS* - Learned by imitating Robert Johnson...etc. - One of the 1st to play Country blues with an electric guitar - His success gave Chess Records financial stability That let them discover Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley...etc. - The Rolling Stones cite him as a major influence - His song "Rolling Stone" was taken for the band's name (and later, the magazine of the same name)
Descended from Classic Blues
*SMOOTH URBAN BLUES* - Jazz & Tin Pan Alley influence - BIG NAMES: - Nat "King" Cole (1919 - 1965) - Charles Brown (1922 - 1999) - Ray Charles (1930 - 2004)
Began as live radio broadcasts of country music from Nashville in the 1920s
*THE GRAND OLE OPRY* - Very important for bringing country and western music to a national audience - The Ryman Auditorium was one of the most famous auditoriums for the live broadcast
______________________ music popular in the 30's to 50's in the south
*WESTERN* - Image-driven, glamorized pop style - "The Rhinestone Cowboys" - Hollywood's version of Country
1902 - _________________ _________________ begins performing the Blues with her touring Minstrel Troupe Spread the Blues Nationwide...especially to Southern Black communities
'Ma' Rainey
The Empress of the Blues
*Bessie Smith (1894 - 1937)* - Learned by touring with "Ma" Rainey - She sang backup in Rainey's Troupe By 1924 - Highest-paid Black entertainer - Performed and recorded with Louis Armstrong - She was a big influence on 30's Jazz singers Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald
Descended from Country Blues
*CHICAGO BLUES* - Chess Records, The big blues label of Chicago - Big influence on British Invasion Bands Rolling Stones, Animals, Kinks, Eric Clapton...etc. - Big names: - Muddy Waters (1913 - 1983) - Howlin' Wolf (1910 - 1976) - John Lee Hooker (1917 - 2001)
THIS genre of music emerged from LA and the movies in country music.
*WESTERN* - Many felt it lacked the depth and authenticity of Country due to it's commercial emphasis
BIG NAMES in classic blues
- "Ma" Rainey (1896 - 1939) 1st person to regularly tour with the Blues - Bessie Smith (1894 - 1937)
HANK WILLIAMS
- (1923 - 1953) - 1947 -Launched by MGM records - Everything from Gospel to Honky Tonk - Popular in every genre he played - BIGGEST HITS: "Hey, Good Looking" (1951), "Your Cheating Heart" (1952) - Died young of heart failure due his drinking problem
THE BLUES FORM
- 12 bars - only 3 chords - AAB STRUCTURE, CALL AND RESPONSE
1930s history of country music
- 25% market share of music sales in the South - The Grand Ole Opry - A Barn Dance - Radio shows featuring local Country artists , 1932 - Aired in the South - 1939 - NBC took the show national (a barn dance) - Copycat shows helped Country spread rapidly
The Popularity Arcs of Music
- A genre begins - Once everyone notices - After the mainstream moves on
IN BIG BAND, when did the singers start to become the focus of the music?
- Attention shifts to the singers in the 1940's - Tin Pan Alley booked the shows & singers performed their songs - Bing Crosby (1903 - 1977) - the 1st break-out star - Other names included The Andrew Sisters, The Mills Bros.
WHAT famous instrumentalists led the Big Band Era?
- Benny Goodman - Tommy Dorsey - Glenn Miller
WHAT are the different forms of rock music?
- Blues: usually 12 repeated bars, "Mustang Sally" - Verse-Chorus-Verse (VCV): "Smells like Teen Spirit" - Song Form (AABA OR ABAC): Letters designate parts of a song, 'I want to hold your hand'.
POP in the early 50's had 3 main types. What are they?
- Corny Novelty Songs: Patti Page, "How Much is that Doggie In the Window?" - Sinatra-inspired crooning ballads ,Johnnie Ray, "Cry" - Post-Big Band instrumentals ,Lawrence Welk, "Cherry Tree"
WHAT are the two main types of The Blues?
- Country Blues - aka Rural - Classic Blues - aka Urban or City
HOKUM BLUES
- Country blues - songs laced with single & double-entendre lyrics (double meaning)
B.B. King (1925 - 2015)
- Country blues guitar style - Smooth singing style with Jazz - Playful personality Blended the Jazz harmony of Smooth Urban with the substance and style of Country blues
GENRES OF R&B
- Doo Wop - Jump Blues - Boogie Woogie - the Blues
1920s history of country
- Early on, Ralph Peer recorded music, naming it Hillbilly - Cheap transistor radios invented, rapidly spread
CLASSIC BLUES
- Formal and structured - Usually sung by a woman backed by jazz musicians - The performers were usually trained, touring professionals - More musicians means more structure needed - 1912 - W.C. Handy's published "Memphis Blues" This became the model Classic Blues imitated
T-Bone Walker (1910 - 1975)
- Influenced 50's Guitarists (Chuck Berry) - Wild showmanship
WHAT were the factors of spreading music to other parts of the U.S.?
- People migrating North (due to the Great Depression) brought their music - WWII Soldiers' tastes were shared with each other
The biggest names in Country Blues
- Robert Johnson (1912 - 1938) - Blind Lemon Jefferson (1897 - 1928) - Lead Belly [aka Huddie Ledbetter] (1889 - 1949)
BIG NAMES in Western music
- Roy Rogers (1911 - 1998) "Happy trails" - Gene Autry (1907 - 1998) " Back in the Saddle Again"
WHAT are the major themes in rock music?
- Social, political & cultural issues - Race - class & gender - The music business - Music technology
CHARACTERISTICS of Country Blues
- The 1st Blues style, but last recorded - A solo style - usually one man and a guitar - Simple, loose form often improvised during performances - Bottleneck (slide) guitar was very common
WHAT were some big names in early country music?
- The Carter Family (Strong religious themes and Southern values) - Roy Acuff (1903 - 1992) & his Crazy Tennesseans (Introduced Hawaiian Slide guitar to Country) - Jimmie Rodgers (1897 - 1933)
WHAT was the business model of Tin Pan Alley?
- The money was in Sheet Music - Pushed the song to many artists - More versions = more money for the copyright holder, Called royalties - The music was in Song Form (AABA or ABAC)
RHYTHM AND BLUES
- The popular music in Black Culture during the 40's & 50's - Played by Black musicians - Intended for Black Audiences - Evolved from Blues and Jazz of the early 1900's
KRAFT MUSIC HALL
- Very popular variety show hosted by Bing Crosby - At its peak had nearly 50 million listeners - The variety of music helped to bring many styles from regional to national ears - SET THE STAGE TO THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW *there was not tv in this era, so it was a radio show*
SO when does rock and roll happen or start being a thing?
- When three musical streams come together: Rhythm & Blues Country Music With dashes of Mainstream Pop, Jazz and Latin
CHESS RECORDS
- a Chicago record label that specialized in blues, R&B, soul, and gospel music from 1947-1970. - An Indie Label - a small, independent record company - Chess was the biggest of these - became even bigger with all of the good artists they had
TIN PAN ALLEY
- is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
WHAT were the genres that played a part of the roots of rock and roll?
- mainstream pop - country and western - rhythm and blues
Popular movies helped make certain songs __________________________, rather than ____________________________.
- national rather than regional - ex. somewhere over the rainbow, singing in the rain
Music was performed live for a variety of everyday functions in what settings?
- parties - civic festivals - dances
Many musicians (amateur and professionals) didn't even.....
- read music and learned it through an aural tradition
Many Americans played music themselves for fun, and would purchase _______________ ______________________ at their local stores.
- sheet music - sheet music sales were the primary source of income for song writers, not recordings
A _______________________ is a song's structure
FORM
Country Music's 1st big star ,"The Singing Brakeman", a yodeler & Brilliantly marketed
Jimmie Rodgers
Descended from folk traditions - Religious Hymns and Work Songs
THE BLUES - Simple form with strong emotional impact - The Blues was a way of "getting rid of the Blues"
The Great Depression led to millions leaving the South Called....
THE GREAT MIGRATION - Mostly went to Chicago, Kansas City, New York & L.A. - Blues would be influenced by their new city's styles
Publishing center of New York in early 1900s and is the 'nickname' for the style.
Tin Pan Alley
1912 - _______ ________________________ publishes "Memphis Blues" , The 1st published blues, sold as sheet music across the country.
W.C. Handy
A sub-genre, __________________ __________________ was popular in the South. Dance-bands (Big Band influence), mixed with hoedown stomps.
WESTERN SWING
Popular in the 20's & 30's in the South and originally called Hillbilly (derogatory)
country music - Simple folk style, big in the Southeast - Religion, family values, stories of hard times - Hillbilly evolves in 40's Folk music
1949 - Billboard formally splits Country into 2 styles. WHAT are they?
Country and Western
King of the Delta Blues (a kind of Country)
Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) - Best known Country Blues musician - Famous for his "ties to the Devil" - "Crossroads" ,"Hellhound on My Trail" - Huge influence on rock - Eric Clapton & Keith Richards both cite him as a major influence - Pioneer of the guitar style and use of bottleneck
THE ROOTS OF ROCK TIME PERIOD
1920s-1955
Mostly instrumental dance music, Tin Pan Alley arrangements.
Big Band
THIS type of music was actually looked down upon from parents in this generation of 1935-1945
Big Band
The "Pop" music of the era 1935-1945
Big Band
Vocalists were highlighted but not the main source of this kind of music
Big Band
1935-1945 is the _____________ ___________ Era
Big Band Era
A hybrid blend of Smooth Urban Blues crossed with the electric Chicago Blues
ELECTRIC URBAN BLUES - BIG NAMES: - T-Bone Walker - B.B. King
The first teen idol
Frank Sinatra - A new kind of celebrity - Teens worshipped & imitated him - Built the model for future Rock Icons
His style of singing was called 'crooning' and he was a singer of smooth pop ballads
Frank Sinatra - Went solo in 1943 & signaled the end of the Big Band Era
Most influential early Country & Western Star, the king of The Grand Ole Opry, Widely imitated
Hank Williams
1930's and 1940's are the "golden age" of the.....
Hollywood movie musical - music was a huge part of movies back then
1920 - ________________ _________________ records "Crazy Blues" The 1st Traditional Blues recorded (in Classic Blues style)
Mamie Smith
Roy Acuff's publishing company was the main hub in this place
Nashville
1940 - ___________________________ becomes the center of Country
Nashville - All major recordings & songs were written there
"The Great American Songbook"
Not a literal book, but the canon of American popular standards written in Tin Pan Alley from 1920-1950.
Aimed at Upper-Class Whites & Catered to adults & Primed the music scene for teen rebellion
Pop in the early 50s
White audiences were basically unaware of ___________ pre-1940
R&B