RECORDING HISTORY SECTION 3 - 1

FUNK

"...heavy reliance on repeated, rhythmically interlocking patterns."

JIMI HENDRIX

"Hey Joe" • The first hit single for the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967). • Previously recorded by many other artists. Not written by Hendrix. • Folk singer Billy Roberts is usually credited as the song's writer, but evidence suggests that "Hey Joe" was based on girlfriend Niela Miller's "Baby, Don't Go Downtown" recorded in 1955. Early Versions of "Hey Joe" • Love: Released 14th April, 1966 on the group's debut album. • The Leaves: Single released 30th July, 1966, peaking at #31. The first hit version. • The Byrds: Released 27th August, 1966 on their third album, Fifth Dimension, which peaked at #24. • Tim Rose: Released as a single in 1966. Issued on an LP in 1967. No chart impact, but heard by Hendrix.

FLEETWOOD MAC (formed in 1967)

(formed in 1967) • The Rumours LP was released in 1977. • 31 weeks at #1 in the U.S. • 19 million copies sold in America. One of the biggest selling albums of the decade. • A deluxe edition of the album was released in 2013.

1969 : ALTAMONT

A concert featuring the Rolling Stones at this speedway resulted in a violent death. Other acts included Santana, Jefferson Airplane and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

PINK FLOYD

Dark Side of the Moon (1973) • The album has spent the most charted weeks on Billboard's Top 200 album chart (More than 889). • One of the most successful albums in history. • Engineered by Alan Parsons. • "Based on the theme of madness and the things that drive us to it." • The difficult follow-up album was Wish You Were Here (1975), a concept album based on founding member Syd Barrett whose LSD addiction led to him being fired from the group in 1968. • The album covers of both Dark Side of the Moon & Wish You Were Here echoed the main musical themes and concepts of the records. • The stereo aspect of the album's sound is often compared to another British progressive rock album released in that year: Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield (1973). Tubular Bells was the first hit album for the newly-formed Virgin Records label.

1967 : MONTERAY POP FEST

Featured mainly West Coast artists. "The first huge rock festival." Acts included The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, The Who, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Mamas & the Papas.

PETER FRAMPTON

His 1976 live double album Frampton Comes Alive followed four studio albums, none of which had been million-selling releases. • Frampton Comes Alive remains the bestselling live album of all-time and was the top-selling LP of 1976.

THE MOOG SYNTHESIZER

Invented by Robert (Bob) Moog (1934-2005). • Monophonic electronic device first manufactured in 1964. • The first synthesizer widely used by recording artists, especially in progressive rock. • Examples: Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) & Rick Wakeman (Yes). • Switched-On Bach (1968) by Wendy Carlos A major hit album which introduced the musical mainstream to the Moog.

Jimi Hendrix Expeirience

Jimi Hendrix Experience: • The group recorded the song live in France on 18th October, 1966, before creating a studio version. • The single was released in England on 16th December, 1966. Hendrix's performance at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) launched the Experience in America. • The Band of Gypsys album (1970) was recorded to meet legal obligations resulting from a contract signed by Hendrix in 1965 for one dollar from PPX Enterprises.

STAX RECORDS

Singer/songwriter Isaac Hayes scored a gold #1 single with "Theme from Shaft" in 1971. • Corporate Consolidation Six corporations sold 80% of records sold by the end of the 1970s. 1975: Prerecorded tapes = almost one-third of all U.S. music sales. The energy crisis especially affected smaller record companies. Radio formatting was introduced.

JAMES TAYLOR

Sweet Baby James (1970). His second album. • His self-titled 1968 debut, James Taylor, was released on the Beatles' Apple Records. • His breakthrough arrived with his second LP Sweet Baby James in 1970. • Taylor's 2015 album Before This World was his first to reach number 1 in America.

1969 : WOODSTOCK

The major 60s pop music festival. Acts included Richie Havens, Santana, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Sly & the Family Stone, The Who, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jimi Hendrix.

AVERAGE WHITE ABND

Utilizing elements of James Brown's style, this all-white funk band from Scotland found success in America with its second album, the self-titled AWB. • The LP topped the pop album chart in 1974 and yielded the #1 single "Pick Up the Pieces."

Joni Mitchell: Blue (Reprise Records, 1971)

• "...a cycle of songs about the complexities of love"

MARVIN GAYE

• "Motown owner Berry Gordy initially didn't want to release What's Going On, because he thought it had no commercial potential." • That album established Gaye as a singer, songwriter and producer and included three big hits: "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues." • Gaye's 1977 chart-topping single "Got to Give It Up Pt. 1" was the song allegedly infringed by Robin Thicke on the 2013 hit "Blurred Lines." • The copyright infringement case resulted in a verdict in favor of the estate of Marvin Gaye which was awarded $5.3 million.

JIMI HENDRIX

• "The most original, inventive, and influential guitarist of the rock era." • "The most prominent African American rock musician of the late 1960s." • Performed as sideman with acts such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard and others before going solo. • Scored his first Jimi Hendrix Experience hit with "Hey Joe" in 1967 after moving to England. The song's authorship is credited to Billy Roberts, but its origins are contested.

JIMI HENDRIX

• 1966: Formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience. • 1967: Released Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold as Love. • 1968: Released the double album Electric Ladyland. • 1969: Disbanded the Experience and formed the all-black Band of Gypsys with whom he recorded a live album released in 1970. • 1970: Died in London in September.

CREAM

• A British trio featuring Eric Clapton, and the first supergroup. • Albums: Fresh Cream (1967) Disraeli Gears (1967) Wheels of Fire (1968) Goodbye (1969) • After initially disbanding in 1969, Cream reformed in 2005 for a series of sold-out concerts. The American concerts at Madison Square Garden earned a gross income of $10.6 million.

STEELY DAN

• A studio-based outfit by the mid-1970s, led by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. • Known for sophisticated jazz/pop stylings and studio production. • Their sixth album, Aja (1977), is a prime example.

STEVIE WONER

• Became a major multi-instrumentalist, artist and songwriter in the 1970s • Innovative use of synthesizers when very few pop artists used them. Songs in the Key of Life (1976) • A major double album that represents the creative peak of his career. It has sold more than 10 million copies (Diamond certification) and earned several Grammy Awards including album of the year and producer of the year. • It was followed less successfully by another double-LP Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (1979). • Songs in the Key of Life was the climax of an ambitious series of albums that began with Music of My Mind and Talking Book in 1972, followed by 1973's Innervisions and the 1974 LP Fulfillingness' First Finale. • As recently as the summer of 2016, Wonder continued his tour playing the entire Songs in the Key of Life album. The tour began in 2014.

ISLEY BROTHERS

• Began the 70s with a rock & soul fusion featuring lead guitar influenced by former backing band member Jimi Hendrix. • The group also covered songs by rock artists.

EAGLES

• Brought country rock to the mainstream. • Hotel California from 1976 is one of the decade's most popular albums. • The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 was the first album certified platinum by the RIAA and became the best-selling album of the 20th century in America. The album has sold more than 26 million copies. • Co-founder Glenn Frey died in January 2016.

JIMI HENDRIX

• Experience bassist Noel Redding died in 2003, while the group's drummer. Mitch Mitchell died in 2008. Buddy Miles, the Band of Gypsys drummer also died in 2008. • The most recent Hendrix release is the live Machine Gun album issued in September 2016, featuring his entire first show with the Band of Gypsys on 31st December, 1969.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE

• First album (self-titled) released in 1971. • Signed to Columbia by Clive Davis in 1972. • One of the first African American acts to tour with theatre sets and special effects. • Best-selling albums (All triple platinum) 1975: That's the Way of the World 1975: Gratitude 1977: All 'N All • The group's most recent album debuted at #11 on the Billboard album chart in September 2013. • The group's founder Maurice White died on 4th February 2016 at the age of 74.

JAMES BROWN

• First hit: "Please, Please, Please" (1956). • Recognized as the creator of funk. • The most sampled artist in popular music. • "Cold Sweat" (1967) is widely considered to be the first funk record. • Brown controversially endorsed the presidency of Republican Richard Nixon whose hostile comments on White House tapes display racism

LED ZEPPLIN

• Formed in England in 1968. • Their first album was released in late 1968, and the second in 1969. • The group featured the blues influenced guitar of Jimmy Page. • Successfully sued by Willie Dixon for plagiarizing his song "You Need Love" on "Whole Lotta Love" (from their second album). • Settled out of court in 1985. • In 2014, Led Zeppelin was sued for alleged copyright infringement on "Stairway to Heaven" (from 1971's Led Zeppelin IV) of "Taurus" by the American group Spirit. • The group won the trial in June 2016.

PARLIMENT / FUNKADELIC

• Funkadelic: Maggot Brain (1971) - A fusion of black rock & funk. • Funkadelic guitarist, Eddie Hazel - b.1950-d. 1992

ELTON JOHN

• He scored seven consecutive number 1 albums in America in the early 1970s. • The 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was his biggest selling studio release: 7 million copies. It's considered by many to be his best LP.

Carole King: Tapestry (A&M Records, 1971)

• It spent nearly six years on the charts, and has now sold over 10 million copies. • The only 20th century album by a female solo artist to spend 15 consecutive weeks at number 1. • It won four Grammys.

BOSTON

• Led by electronics wizard, songwriter, and guitarist Tom Scholz, Boston's selftitled debut album became an enormous hit in 1976, eventually selling more than 17 million copies.

DAVID BOWIE

• One of pop's most inventive artists. • Often associated with the early 1970s Glam-Rock trend. • His first chart-topping single in America was "Fame" in 1975. • Days after releasing his final album Blackstar, Bowie died in January 2016.

SANTANA

• Performed at the Woodstock Festival (1969). • First album released in 1969. • Second album, Abraxas, topped the album charts in 1970. • The hit single "Black Magic Woman" was written by British guitarist Peter Green, the founder of Fleetwood Mac.

COUNTRY ROCK & SINGER / SONGWRITERS

• The Byrds: The first rock band to play the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. • America: Scored their first hit in 1972 with "Horse With No Name." • Paul Simon: Began his solo career in 1972 with the reggae hit single, "Mother & Child Reunion." • Bill Withers: First album released in 1971. The single, "Ain't No Sunshine" went gold. • Flying Burrito Bros: A side project featuring Byrds members.

1967

• The Summer of Love: A hippie-inspired countercultural revolution centered in San Francisco.

Miles Davis/Jazz Rock Fusion

• The jazz rock fusion era began in 1970 with Miles Davis' Bitches Brew album released by Columbia Records. • It became the best selling jazz album in history at that time: 400,000 copies in less than a year. Some jazz musicians who performed with Miles Davis, and later formed their own fusion bands: John McLaughlin: Guitar - Mahavishnu Orchestra Chick Corea: Keyboards - Return to Forever Herbie Hancock: Keyboards Joe Zawinul: Keyboards - Weather Report Tony Williams: Began playing with Miles Davis at age 17. Went solo in 1969, forming Lifetime. Birds of Fire (1973) by the Mahavishnu Orchestra sold over 500,000 copies and reached #15 on the Billboard album chart.

SLY & the FAMILY STONE

• The music was described as "interracial psychedelic soul" played by a band including women. • Featured the bass thumping and plucking innovations of Larry Graham. • Developed both black and white audiences. • Hits include "Dance To The Music" (1968) & "Everyday People" (1969). • In January 2015, Sly Stone was awarded $5 million in a breach of contract lawsuit against his former manager. • The band's hit 1969 album Stand was added to the National Recording Registry in 2015.