Slides for Popular Music In America: The Beat Goes On by Michael Campbell containing links to listening examples and music more for Chapter 9.

1. Dr. Mitchell
Hum 125: Popular Music In
America

2.  Search For The First Rock Record
 Differences Between Rock And R & B
1954-1964
• Jerry Wexler – Coined The Term For Billboard
Magazine
• Used To Be Called “Race Records”
• R&B Is Music Arising From And Marketed To The
Urban African-American Market. It Has Evolved,
But In The 1940s Was Primarily Up Tempo Blues
• R&B Was The Forerunner To Rock
• Rock Has A Different Style Beat: 8-beat
• R&B Was More Boogie Woogie Blues

3.  Teen Subculture
• First Time Teens Had Money And Time
 Marketed To Teen With Subjects Relevant
To Teens, Part Of The Definition Of
Popular Music – Currency.
 Horrified Parents
• Blatant, Sexual Undertones
• Great Balls Of Fire By Jerry Lee Lewis
 Woman Not Allowed To Sing About Sexual
Stuff Until Much Later
• 1980s Madonna

4.  Many Candidates
• Read Paragraph Under The First Rock Record
Page 157
 Rocket 88 – 1951?
 That’s All Right – 1946?
 How High The Moon – 1951?
 Rock The Clock – 1954?
 Blue Moon of Kentucky
 Good Rockin Tonight - 1948
 Sh Boom
• It’s Not Clear And Depends On The Criterions
You’re Looking At

5.  Groups Like The Ravens, Orioles, The
Platters
 Gospel Male Quartets That Crossover To Doo
Wop
• Golden Gate Quartet
• Male And Female Singers Didn’t Mix In Black Gospel
Church At The Time
 Crying In The Chapel (1953) Orioles
• Country Song By R And B Group On The Pop Charts
• Example Of The Crossover Happening

6. Nonsensical Lyrics Is Typical Of Doo Wop
• Injects Rhythmic Energy
• Hard Consonances Like A Percussion Instrument
With Pitch
• Antecedents Is Louis Armstrong Scat Sing
 And Cab Calloway
White Covers Of Black Groups Often Went
To Number 1
• Crew Cuts And Sh Boom
• Pat Boone and Tutti Frutti

7.  1954
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation
 Male vocal group plus full rhythm section (electric guitar, bass,
piano, drums) and saxophone
• Performance Style
 Pleasant but untrained voices; honking saxophone style
• Rhythm
 Shuffle rhythm at moderate tempo
• Harmony
 Use of “Heart and Soul” progression
• Texture
 Either call and response between lead and backup singers or
close harmony (sung chords in a narrow range)

8. Carl Perkins
• Read first paragraph under Rockabilly p. 161
• Blue Suede Shoes
• Discuss role of music and equality/integration
Bill Haley and the Comets
• Rock Around the clock went to number 1 after
Blackboard Jungle (1954)
• Was it the first Rock record?
• Connects to the past – Jump Bands and
Rockabilly
 Stray Cat Strut

9.  1954
 Rock Around The Clock
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Voice, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Bass,
Drums And Sax
• Performance Style – Haley’s Voice Is Light And Friendly But
Not Bluesy Or Country And Not Pop Crooning Either.
• Rhythm – Syncopation In Vocal Line, Guitar Riff And
Instrumental Riff In Sixth Chorus
• Rhythm – Shuffle Rhythm At A Fast Tempo
• Texture – Light, Layered Texture With Most Instruments
And Voice In A High Midrange Contribute To Bright Sound.

10.  Elvis (1935-1977)
 His Story
 Read First Paragraph & Conversation P. 162
 He Was What Sam Phillips Was Looking For:
Whiteman With A Black Sound
• That’s All Right Hit On The Country Charts
• Mystery Train Hit Number 1
• Speed In The Slow Blues Licks
 His Performance Style Propelled Him To
Superstardom
 He Was Symbolic All That Was Right And
Wrong With Rock And Roll

11.  Mystery Train (1955)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Voice, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Bass,
Drums
• Performance Style – Elvis’s High Lonesome Sound,
Plus Occasional Special Effects In Vocal Asides
• Rhythm – Two-beat Rhythm With “Rebound” Backbeat
At Fast Tempo
• Harmony – Different Take On Blues Harmony: Start
On IV Chord
• Texture – Open Sound, With Light Bass And Drums
Guitar Just Under Elvis’s Voice

12.  Jailhouse Rock (1957)
 Style Elements
 Elvis’s Singing – It’s exuberant and uninhibited, influenced by
blues and country, but a completely new vocal style.
 Full rhythm section with prominent electric guitar – The rhythm
section includes drums, bass, piano, and electric guitar; the
guitar stands out in both its accompanying and solo roles.
 Expanded verse/chorus blues form – The verse like section is
extended to eight measures, the chorus remains eight
measures in length.
 Rhythmic variety – Stop time in the verse versus consistent
timekeeping in the chorus.
 Multiple rhythmic conceptions – Rock rhythm in the band
during the chorus, swing during the instrumental interlude

13.  Elvis represented only a small portion of the charts
• Frank Sinatra
• Pat Boone
• Soundtracks from Broadway and Film
• Platters with Tin Pan Alley reworks
 Lesser Rock Stars
• Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Ray Charles
• Elvis by far the most popular
 Elvis’s musical influence only lasted 3 years
• Didn’t write his own songs
• Drafted into the service
• When he got out he went to Hollywood

14.  Two Beat In Maybellene, Sh Boom And Rock
Around The Clock Is A Style Beat That
Already Existed.
• Not A New Rock Rhythm
 Bo Diddley’s (1928-2008) Was New
• Latin Tinge Clave Rhythm With Boogie Woogie Beat
• Remind Them Of The Boogie Woogie Song
• He Used Boogie Plus The Same Rhythm From El
Mansiero (Chap 7)
• R & B With A Latin Tinge

15.  Bo Diddley (1955)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Vocal, electric guitar, drums, maracas,
and perhaps bass
• Performance Style – Hawaiian guitar like effects on the
guitar. The drummer plays on low-tuned drums, no
cymbals.
• Rhythm – Three insistent rhythms dominate song; the
maracas rhythm (2x beat speed), the drums rhythm (4x
beat speed), and the famous Bo Diddley beat (a rhythmic
pattern close to the clave rhythm).
• Harmony – Most of the song just one chord; simple shift
between chords in instrumental interludes.
• Texture – Three layers around voice; low-sounding drums,
midrange guitar, and high-pitched maracas

16. Little Richard (1932)
Defined The Sound Of Rock And Roll
• Read Second Paragraph P. 168 Second Column
Records By Little Richard And Chuck Berry
Stand Out From Other R&B Songs Of The
1950s
• Read 2 Paragraphs Under Little Richard And
Chuck Page 168
Lucille (1957)
Good Golly Miss Molly

17. Chuck Berry Showed How To Do It With
Guitars
8-beat Sound Of Boogie With Guitar
He Was Covered By More 1960s Artists
Than Anyone Else
• Read Paragraph 2 Column 1 To The End P. 169

18.  Johnny B. Goode (1958)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Vocals, plus two guitars (overdubbed),
piano, bass, drums
• Performance Style – Berry’s singing neither pop pretty nor
bluesy – it is too light and friendly; his guitar playing has an
edge – double stops and bent notes
• Rhythm – Steady eight-beat rhythm in vocals, lead and
rhythm guitar; res of band in four
• Harmony – Blues progression used in verse and chorus
• Texture – Strong rhythmic layer, with rhythm guitar, bass,
and drums underpins vocal lines and solos.

19. Rock’s Second Generation Of Artists
First Everyman
The Day The Music Died (1959)
• Plane Crash
• Talk About It – Waylon Jennings
Rock Was On The Ropes
• Elvis In Service
• Jerry In Trouble
• Little Richard Got Religion

20.  Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly (1957)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Lead and backup vocals, lead guitar,
acoustic bass, and percussive sounds
• Performance Style – Holly’s hiccuppy vocal style is a
rock and roll trademark; Jerry Allison played on a
cardboard box instead of a drum set.
• Rhythm – The dominant rhythm – heard at first just by
itself – sounds like a second generation take on the
clave rhythm of Afro-Cuban music, that is, a slightly
altered version of the Bo Diddley beat.
• Texture – Rich texture; voice/lead instrument plus
secondary horn parts

21. The Older Brother Of Rock And Roll
Both Born From The Blues
And The Gospel Influence
• Read The Paragraph Starting With Gospel At The
Top Of Page 173
Slow Doo Wop Part Of Rhythm And Blues
• The Flamingos
• Read Second To Last Paragraph First Column
Page 173

22.  I Only Have Eyes For You - The Flamingos
(1959)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Lead/backup vocals, plus full
rhythm, with electric guitar prominent at beginning and
drummer using brushes
• Rhythm – Extremely slow tempo, with piano triplets
providing momentum
• Harmony – Static in verse; rich in chorus
• Melody – Pop song: melody built from opening riff
• Texture – Rich sound: low guitar, high piano, close
harmony or lead and doo-wop in middle

23. Ray Charles 1930-2004
Thomas Dorsey Brought Blues To Gospel
And Ray Brought Gospel To The Blues
Ray Charted His Own Path
• Sing Different Styles
• His Country Album Was Number 1 On All Three
Charts Country, Pop And R And B
• Play Ray’s Your Cheating Heart And Ring Of Fire
Take These Chains

24. What’d I Say (1959)
Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Solo singer, backup vocals (at
end), electric piano, bass, drums, horn section
• Performance Style – Charles’s vocal style fuses
blues and impassioned gospel.
• Rhythm – Americanized Latin rhythm (no clave
pattern)
• Harmony – Blues progression used throughout
• Texture – Frequent call and response at end: first
horn, then backup vocalists

25.  The Recording was becoming the definitive
version of the song
 Leiber and Stoller
 Producers at studio wore many hats and left
their stamp
• Read paragraph 1 under the producer in the early rock
p. 176
 Leiber and Stoller did Hound Dog and
Jailhouse Rock
 L and S were forerunners to Phil Specter,
Berry Gordy, George Martin and Quincy
Jones

26.  Young Blood – Lieber and Stoller (1957)
 Style Elements
• Instrumentation – Vocal group (solo and together),
plus electric guitar, bass, sax
• Performance Style – Contrast in vocal timbres an
effective device, especially when voices heard in
sequence
• Rhythm – Swing/shuffle rhythm at moderate tempo
with strong back beat
• Rhythm – Riffs and stop time in lieu of steady
timekeeping
• Melody – Both verse and chorus-like sections built
from short, slightly varied riffs

27. Lots of crossover and more mature
subjects
R and B suspended temporarily
More integration
• whites writing for blacks etc.
Electric Bass and Collective Concept of
Rock Rhythm
• Read those paragraphs page 178
• These factors make it 1960s rock

28. Will You Still Love Me (1960)
A Woman’s Perspective And Frank Talk
New Direction With Girl Groups An
Untapped Market
Sophisticated Sound With Naïve Voices
• Read The Last Paragraph Page 179

29. First New Real Sound To Add To Rock
High Tight Vocals And New Style Of Guitar
Playing
• Inspired By Dick Dale
Inspired By Dick Dale
Wilson On The Cutting Edge Of Multitrack
About Wilson His Problems And His Happy
CD – Love And Mercy
I Get Around