History of Rock and Roll Online

Accent

An accent is when emphasis is put on a certain note by an increase in volume

BPM

BPM stands for Beats per minute. It is the pace of music measured by the number of beats occurring in 60 seconds

Beat

Beat is defined as a repeating rhythmic pattern, or the underlying, steady pulse of a piece of music.

Who was Berry Gordy

Berry Gordy was a prize fighter turned record producer. He started a small label that soon turned into Motown Records and one of the largest labels around with famous talent such as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder. His label had huge, unprecedented cross over success in the pop charts in large part because of him. He had a formula that he would require his acts to follow in order to make their singles more marketable

Measure

Both a bar and a measure are a regular grouping of beats that follow the meter

Who is Brian Wilson?

Brian Wilson was the front-man of the Beach Boys, writing most of their music and managing most of their recordings

Pulse

Each individual beat is a pulse (just like a heartbeat). The ongoing, steady repetition of pulses can also be referred to as the pulse of a song.... just like "heartbeat" can refer to a single beating of a heart or a person's pulse. Meter then, is the way that pulses are grouped, typically into groups of 4 (like when a singer "counts in" a song by counting "1,2,3,4" in a steady rhythm).

4/4

4/4 is a rhythmic pattern in which each measure is made up of 4 quarter notes, each counted as one beat, with the first note receiving a strong accent

Bar

A bar is also known as measure. It is a small segment of time that corresponds to a specific number of beats

3/4

3/4 is a time signature where there are 3 beats, and a quarter note is the value of one beat

Who was Fats Domino?

Fats Domino was one of the first R&B artists from the 1950s. It was interesting for me to learn about him because his name was not as famous or legendary as some of the other performers mentioned in the lecture. The lecture notes that Fats Domino's sound was "less aggressive", and his lyrics "less risque" than other R&B artists of the time. However, he was very successful at the time because his music was non-threatening, and he had crossover success

T-Bone Walker

First to use the guitar as a single instrument. Paved the way for other guitarists and allowed for the introduction of the guitar as a single instrument in a song.

Who was George Harrison? What was his role in the development of rock music?

George Harrison is oftentimes referred to as the "Quiet Beatle." He received international frame for as the lead guitarist for the Beatles. Harrison brought his own signiature sound as a solo artist called "slide guitar." Harrison's career with the Beatles and as a solo artist lead him to be inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame twice.

Compare the girl groups of the 1960s with more recent girl groups or top female pop artists. You can chose just one example of each for the comparison. What are some similarities? What are some differences? How might have the earlier example influenced the later?

Girl groups in the '60s had to really be respectful of the fact that they were female. They had to remain "ladylike" and only sing about things like love and strict parents. This is especially seen in the songs of The Chantels. They were also known for a typical "call and response" type singing style where a lead singer would say a remark and the backup vocalists would reply to her. Today, the styles are much different. For example, take Katy Perry. Though she sings about love a lot, similar to the girl bands from the '60s, she also gets much more sexualized in her lyrics. The song "I kissed a girl and I liked it" is about exactly what the title entails. This would never be seen in the days of the '60s. Today girl groups are less common, though they sometimes still exist. It is more common to find a solo female artist with a backup band. The girl groups from the '60s definitely influenced the female acts of today, in that they proved that it possible for females to have a spot in the music industry alongside men.

Groove

Groove is repeated rhythmic patterns that accent certain beats to others. Two accents will work together to create a repeating flow.

Who was Hank Williams?

Hank Williams was one day considered country musics first superstar and was a very talented singer and also a songwriter. He is also a member of Country musics Hall of Fame. Died at the age of 29 because of alcohol and morphine

Consider the two versions of "Hound Dog" in the R&B or Rock 'n' Roll lecture. Are there stylistic aspects of one recording you like over the other? If so, what and why (please be specific)?

I find the stylings of the Elvis version much different than Big Momma Thornton's version. Big Momma Thornton's version has a slower tempo and a much more R&B/soul sound. Elvis' is much of a pop song with a faster tempo and in my opinion it makes the song more catchy. I like the up beat tempo because it makes it more memorable, interesting, and fun to listen to in my opinion. By the difference in the sounds, I would say its hard to tell which was a more effective performance because their audiences were different. Elvis definitely received more acclaim for her song, but that is because he had a larger audience

What is your take on the change in sound and approach that Dylan underwent in 1965? Do you side with the purists (Dylan should have stayed "true" to folk) or the progressives (Dylan had the right to follow his own path)?

I think Dylan's change in sound and approach was understandable, considering it was based off an influence of the Beatles. I think Dylan changing his sound was because he felt there were different ways of delivering his message through his lyrics and performances, and perhaps his sound could be more powerful if it were adjusted. I believe that Dylan had the right to follow his own path, as it clearly did not make him any less famous. I believe that even if he strayed from his initial sound, his initial sound is what made him Bob Dylan, and nothing will change that

What is musical appropriation?

In music, appropriation is the use of borrowed elements (aspects or techniques) in the creation of a new piece, and is an example of cultural appropriation

Tempo

In simplest terms tempo is how fast a piece of music is going. It is basically the rate of speed at which a piece of music is to be played or sung. Something cool about tempo is that it is often viewed in relation to heart beats. Fast tempos are associated with high energy and excitement and slow tempos are associated with calmness or melancholy. Our heartbeat is 60 to 75 beats a minute so any beat faster or slower than our heart beat is perceived as fast or slow. measured in beats per minute (BPM)

Harmony vs Harmonic Progression

In the glossary it says that a harmonic progression is "a series of chords that repeats, creating the foundation of a piece of music" while harmony is "a vertical grouping of pitches that are all played at the same time." Harmony are notes that are played at the same time that can be pleasing to the ear or not, while harmonic progression are chords that are played to form a song

Melody

Melody is sequence of pitches that occur one after another in time, in a linear fashion, that is perceived as a single, musical entity. Basically, it is a tune of a piece of music.

What role did Muddy Waters play in the British Blues Boom?

Muddy Waters was a blues performer who when he first toured London, received mixed reviews from critics. But later his style would have a great influence on the presence of R&B in England during a time when various genres were seen as trendy with not much substance. Muddy Waters' music had a great influence on the music of early British bluesmen, sparking a new interest in the genre in the area. His influence on these British R&B performers is evident because many were trying to emulate his sound.

What was unique about Buddy Holly? What were a few features that set him apart from his predecessors and contemporaries?

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Buddy Holly, being part of the "second" wave of rock n roll, is that he could simultaneously count artists as Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Chuck Berry simultaneously as contemporaries and influences (who unfortunately were in the state of decline due to various reasons, thus leading to Buddy Holly being dubbed Elvis's successor). While Buddy Holly's lyrics were very innocuous and spoke of innocent expressions of romance and teenage love, Buddy Holly provided many other previously unknown or innovative twists to rock n roll, such as a western sound resembling his native state of Texas (the guitar "twang" and his vocal "hick-ups," and unlike Elvis Presley, wrote all of his own compositions. He also utilized many of the innovative recording techniques that had been previously pioneered by Sun Records. Buddy Holly included many other new features across his songs that set him apart from his predecessors and contemporaries, such as opening with a chorus instead of a verse in his most famous song "That'll Be the Day" or utilizing 12-bar blues in "Peggy Sue" but not following the typical AAB, call and response lyrical structure.

Who was Perry Bradford?

Perry Bradford was a New York based song writer and composer that was convinced there was a market aimed at African-American consumers. Catering towards African-Americans along with these tracks being performed by African-Americans was revolutionary because this idea was never pursued by a record label. Bradford was quoted, "There are 14 million negroes in our great country and they will buy records if recorded by one of there own." I really found this interesting because he was able to see past all the racial tension during this time period

Who was Phil Spector?

Phil Spector was a record producer for many notable groups (including female groups during the 1950s) who revolutionized the way music was made by creating a new approach to recoding music, which is referred to as the "Wall of Sound". This involved recording different instruments and vocals separately and blending them together into a final product, creating a less clean but distinctive sound.

What other forms of technologies have further assisted the changes and evolutions in music?

Recording. I cannot even begin to talk about the early levels of recording that we had in music. It was terrible, and quite expensive actually. As we developed better recording and play back technology the music industry changed from a simple performance based industry to one that now has a commodity. Being able to sell your albums all over creates a network of music enthusiasts. It revolutionized what music was, you no longer had to wait for a specific song to come on the radio, or go see your favorite band. You could just walk over to the record player, now the computer speakers, mp3, iphone etc. and just play the music you wanted to hear. Giving the listener more choice also shaped how artists produced music. Making more "CD" songs instead of the powerful live songs that were made to make people almost jump on stage.

Rhythm

Rhythm is musical time. Rhythm deals with the way in which music moves through time, the duration and placement of notes.

Who was Robert Johnson?

Robert Johnson in broad terms seems to be an enigma to the rock and roll, folk, and blues communities. With only two years of recording and little to no background information on him, many people simply viewed him as one of the best, if not the best, to play blues/ folk music in his time. Unfortunately a lot of others saw him just for his music, not taking his historical significance into consideration. For this assignment I chose his song I Believe I'll Dust My Broom because it has a simple melody, yet the words and Johnson's voice make the song quite deep, enabling the listener to feel that classic and emotional vibe. I hear true feeling in his voice but at the same time I can sense that he was a very impressive performer.

Meters

Simple meter is when each beat can be split into two parts, e.g. in 3/4, each quarter note can be split into 2 eighth notes A compound meter is when each beat can be split into 3, e.g. 6/8 is compound duple meter: the 6 eighth notes are split into two groups of three, giving a ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-six feel

Who was Luis Jordan?

The king of saxophonist was Louis Jordan and he came around when many small groups/bands came around featuring a traditional jazz rhythm section with a much smaller frontline. These small groups had a new sound that was called Jump Blues, and it was blues heavy with an up-tempo dancing beat. He was popular with both white and black audiences, and created the first major race record "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town." He took advantage of soundies and promoted his image

What does the term "crossover" mean in popular music?

The term "crossover" means that a song 'crossed over' from one genre to another, such as from R&B to rock or country to pop. In order to use the term crossover, however, this means that there must be distinct boundaries between musical styles. "Sh-Boom" is an example of crossover because it has a "white" version by the Crew Cuts and a "black" version by the Chords; both groups were very familiar with doo wop conventions

Consider the two versions of "Shake Rattle and Roll" in the R&B or Rock 'n' Roll lecture. Are there stylistic aspects of one recording you like over the other? If so, what and why (please be specific)?

The two versions of "Shake Rattle and Roll" are extremely different in stylistic approaches. Big Joe Turner's version is more soulful, and jazzy in nature and is more R&B-like. Bill Haley's version is more comparable to a southern or rock feel. It is louder and more upbeat

Who was Vernon Delhart?

Vernon Dalhart was a Texas born singer and songwriter born in the late 1800s who popularized "hillbilly" music, which is now considered to be country music. He had two massively popular songs, "The Wreck of the Old 97" and "Floyd Collins", which helped to bring the genre into the American mainstream. I find it interesting that "hillbilly" music was once considered unpopular in the United States, I assumed it was always engrained in our culture since our countries beginnings.

Who was/is Wanda Jackson?

Wanda Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and 1960s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist. She is known to many as the "Queen of Rockabilly".

Who was Count Basie

William "Count" Basie was the leader of the group Count Basie Orchestra. The KC sound was reworked and a new sound was made through combinations of all members. Variations of drums, bass, guitar, and piano rhythm helped create this new sound

What is a backbeat?

a backbeat is an accent pattern found in rock and other genres related to rock. in a 4/4 time the accent is on beats 2 and 4.

How might the newly-founded all-black radio formats of the 1940s altered the way people of different races listen to music within a segregated society?

once black music was played nonstop on these all-black radio stations, white America was finally able to listen to the creativity and beauty of their culture's music for themselves. This opened up the gates for mutual understanding and appreciation of each other's differences