History of Rock and Roll Exam #1 Terms

Popular song form

A-Main melody line A-repeat of melody, perhaps with new words B-Constrasting melody A-return to original melody

12-bar blues

A:|I|I|I|I| A: |IV|IV|I|I| B: |V|(IV)|I|I|

Bristol Barn Sessions

Okeh records Ralph Peer hunted down unique talent -Marked the commercial debuts of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family

Blackboard Jungle

- a movie that captured the spirit of teenage rebellion embodied by rock 'n' roll during the mid 1950's -Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" was in the soundtrack

Surf Music

- born amid the California boom, reflected and promoted the myth of the California wonderland -glorified the most attractive elements of the California myth: The sun drenched southern california beaches dotted with tanned, blonde, bikini-clad, barbie-like beauties -Surfing became an established craze in california as a result of the movie Gidget, the replacement of heavy wooden boards with lightweight boards, the image of being a surfer

Country & Western

-Big rise in popularity after WWII -Cowboy replaces hillbilly: industry renames hillbilly music "Country & Western"

Classic Blues vs. Country Blues

-Classic Blues: >Started to sell records in 1920s >recorded primarily by African American Women >Often written by men >Backing Ensemble -Country Blues: >Pre-dates classical blues >mostly sung by men >one voice with guitar-very stripped down

British Invasion

-Cluster of events starting in 1963 -Preceded by "American Invasion" of Britain -When the beatles arrived in the USA -The craziness of Beatlemania

Nuggets

-Compilation album released in 1972 -featured many garage rock bands -Huge influence on budding punk scene

Hillbilly Music

-Fiddlin John Carson -Hill Billies record for Okeh Records in 1925 -Popularity boosted by radio play -"barn dance" format

Beatles

-Formed in 1959 -Members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr -Started out as the Quarrymen, then Johnny and the Moondogs, then the Silver Beatles, and finally just the Beatles -started their musical careers as a skiffle band in Liverpool -Beatles had a rocker image -American rockabilly had a major musical influence on the beatles -Early Beatles modeled after Elvis -Was looking for a name like the Crickets they came up with the beatles -Brian Epstein became the manager of the beatles and cleaned up their rocker image -First Album: Please Please Me -Beatles were the perfect anecdote to the pessimism that had engulfed America after JFK's death a few months earlier -In 1964 Beatles premiered a motion picture "A Hard Day's Night"

Bandstand/American Bandstand

-Hosted by Dick Clark; he replaced Bob Horn -Started in Philadelphia and was called "Bandstand", then went national in 1956 as "American Bandstand" -Featured Girl Groups, teen crooners -designed to make rock 'n' Roll a mass phenomenon, but also a safe one -Dances: > The "South Street" >"Fast Dance" >Chubby Checker "The Twist" -Showcased local high school students dancing to popular hit records -Brought respectability to rock and roll that had not existed with the suggestive greasy rockabillies -Marketed people and dances on the show

Indie vs. Major Labels

-Independent labels had a monopoly on rock acts in 1955 -To reverse this trend, larger companies signed white artists to "cover" the songs of african american artists -Disc jockeys and business people at the head of major companies suppressed or at least curtailed the success of the independents and their African American Performers

Bottleneck slide technique

-Particular method or technique for playing the guitar where instead of altering the pitch of the strings in the normal manner, a slide is place upon the strings to vary the length

Bluegrass

-Pioneered by Bill Monroe -described as "Folk Music on overdrive" -Rooted in southern String band traditions and influenced by the Blues -Acoustic quintet: fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, string bass

Garage Band

-Produced string of one hit wonders in the 1960 from small local scenes -Teen Oriented -Simple Music -"The kinsmen", "Louie Louie", "? and the Mysterians"

"Blanching of Rock"

-Rock and Roll commercially embraced by Blacks and Whites -Racist Backlash was unleashed against the New Art Form

R&B

-Vocal Harmony Groups - Rhythm and Blues -This new sound expanded with the number of African Americans who flooded into northern and western cities during and after WWII -At first only African Americans bought R&B disc, Then eventually southern white kids in high school and college started buying them. -R&B and early rock n roll helped racially integrate America as white teens began to accept aspects of African American culture. - Chicago was the R&B capital of the world

Skiffle

-a mixture of dixieland jazz and country blues, first attracted to british youths -Started when Chris Barber called his band of homemade instruments a skiffle group -started an accessible participatory music style -Started a skiffle craze in Britain among poor youths who could start bands with homemade instruments and little musical schooling -The Beatles began as a skiffle group

Theremin

-an early electronic instrument controlled without physical contact by the person playing it -Used by the Beach Boys

Rockabilly

-early style of Rock 'n' Roll -Blends western Music styles like country with Rock 'n' Roll -pulsating mixture of African American inspired rhythm and blues and country and western -coined termed by cash box editor Ira Howard -Many stars came from impoverished backgrounds

Race records

-later became known as R&B -Closest place to south where race records were made was Chicago

Honky Tonk

-name refers to a roadside bar and dance club - mostly in south and southwest -frequented by working-class Anglo-American men -Style: >high emotionality from the performer, vocal style ('cracks') >themes of heartbreak, booze, hardships & life in the fast lane >instrumentation: fiddle, steel guitar, lead guitar, string bass, piano -Declines after Rock 'n' Roll hits, Rockabilly

Doo-Wop

-originated on the streets on NYC, where groups of young african american males, too poor to afford instruments, started to sing in harmony - Groups fashioned themselves after the Ravens and Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters - Typical Chord Progression: I-iv-IV-V -Some songs use an adaptive version of Blues progression

Slap-back echo

-produced by Sam Phillips and Sun Records -longer delay time with little or no feedback -added the effect to add realism and resultant depth to the played sound

Payola

-the illegal practice of payment or other inducement by record companies for the broadcast of recordings on music radio in which the song is presented as being part of the normal day's broadcast -Highlights conflict in music industry -Destroyed Alan Freed's career -"Pay for Play" -Started out when NBC's Twenty one quiz show was found to have given the answers to the contestants before the show then spread to other game shows then the music industry -Dick Clark escaped Payola investigation unscathed