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33115 1 Post World War II Musical Modernism .docx
- 1. 3/31/15 1 Post World War II Musical Modernism The Media Revolution • Record companies seek out niche markets • Columbia, Paramount • Many marketed and sold to a black audience • “Race records” – became popular with white audiences also • “Hillbilly music” marketed to rural white southerners • continuation of pre-1920s fiddle tradition • fiddle contests and medicine shows • Unregulated Mexican radio stations • could reach Canada and China The Media Revolution • 1946: Television industry begins • By 1950s, TV common in most households • Soap operas, sit coms, variety shows, mysteries
- 2. • Radio stations begin to play more pre- recorded music • Disc Jockeys (DJs) become important 3/31/15 2 Record Formats • 78 rpm records: 3-4 minutes of music • Major record companies begin issuing Long-Playing (LP) 33 rpm records • Up to 26 min. per side (12”) • Targeted at adults • Often classical music, musical theater, easy-listening • 45 rpm Singles (7”) • Marketed to teens Pop Music • Strong connection to Swing • Continued innovations of popular 1930s vocalists • Armstrong, Holiday, Bing Crosby • Song Interpreters
- 3. • Each singer recognizable by their style • Personality becomes part of the song Pop Music • Nat “King” Cole (1917-1965) • Formed a popular jazz trio • First black artist to host a TV show • Several pop hits: • “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “Unforgettable” • Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) • Got his start singing with Big Bands • Became a teen idol in early 1940s • Formed his own record company • “You Do Something to Me” (1950) 3/31/15 3 Woody Guthrie (1912-’67) • Lived a wandering life • Hobo lifestyle, inspired his poetry • Experiences during the Depression • Dust bowl drought, New Deal politics, unions • Political radical • Lyrics about social justice, inequalities
- 4. • 1940: “This Land is Your Land” written in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” Woody Guthrie • “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know You” 1940 • Story about west Texas during the Dust Bowl • Ironic jabs at religion and society • influences folk-revivalists, singer-songwriters, and rock musicians for years to come Urban Folk Revival • Guthrie, Pete Seeger form Almanac Singers • Starts the urban folk revival • Younger Americans seeking authenticity and directness in music • Qualities that were missing in pop music • Folk songs let performers comment on current events • Join political movements, play for rallies • Songs of protest against social ills 3/31/15 4 Country & Western
- 5. • Folk becomes Country • Radio broadcasts • Nashville becomes epicenter • 1927: The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN • Other barn-dance radio shows pop up • Promotes “down home” image • as opposed to European opera • overalls, straw hats, etc. Post-War Country Music • Hank Williams and Kitty Wells • heard on jukeboxes as well as radio • smaller record labels release 7” singles • “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” • Kitty Wells (1952) • Songs tackle subjects other genres avoid • adultery, divorce, drunkenness Rhythm & Blues • Term used to replace “race records” • Includes several styles • Characteristics: • strong beat (backbeat) • use of blues style and form • shouting vocal style • Hokum, Jump Bands • Upbeat lyrics, riff-style melodies • Electric Blues
- 6. • Country blues played with electric guitars 3/31/15 5 • Hokum – blues novelty style • Upbeat, good-humored, light-hearted • Influential on early rock • Lyrically, and fast tempos • “It’s Tight Like That” • By the Hokum Brothers • Georgia Tom (piano) and Tampa Red (guitar) • 12-bar blues • Verse – chorus structure Muddy Waters (1915-1983) • born McKinley Morganfield • Delta blues musician • Moved to Chicago’s south side • First to use the electric guitar for blues • Added a full band: • el. guitar, bass, drums, piano, harmonica • Little Walter (harmonica) • Other important Electric Blues artists:
- 7. • B. B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy • “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954) • Form: variant of 12-bar blues • Rhythm section • Independent parts, no unison playing • Similar to N.O. style jazz • Each instrument fulfills their role • Distorted guitar tones 3/23/15 1 Origins of Rock ‘n’ Roll • Three musical ancestors of Rock – Country & Western • Grand Ole Opry and image • Controversial subjects in lyrics – Rhythm & Blues • 12-bar Blues, insistent rhythm, shout-style vocals • Hokum, Boogie-woogie, Electric guitar – Pop music • Strong connection to jazz (Big Band Swing) • Simple, catchy melodies • 1950: all three coexisted in separate
- 8. markets – Billboard magazine tracks sales of popular music – Separate charts for each genre • By 1954, markets began to merge • Crossovers: a crossover hit originates in one market, but also succeeds in another – “Earth Angel”—R&B song, made the pop charts – “Tennessee Waltz,” “Heartbreak Hotel”— C&W hits, on pop charts • Covers: an artist’s version of someone else’s song – “Earth Angel”—original by The Penguins (R&B), covered by the Crew Cuts (Pop) 3/23/15 2 Emergence of Youth Culture • Prior to 1950s, entertainment industry aimed at adults • Mid-’50s: identifiable youth culture – Movies present images of rebellious youths
- 9. • Rebel Without a Cause, Blackboard Jungle • New role models, dress code, slang, hairstyles • Black leather jacket, upturned shirt collar, slicked back hair (“ducktail” or “d.a.”) • Record companies realize teens have disposable income Bill Haley and The Comets • Haley’s band started with C&W, began covering R&B songs – “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” orig. by Joe Turner – “Rock Around the Clock” orig. by Sonny Dae • Featured on soundtrack to Blackboard Jungle • Two months at #1 on pop charts (1955) • Haley, born in 1927, too old to be the new face of youth culture • Laid foundation for Rockabilly – R&B material, with C&W sound Elvis Presley (1935-’77) in poor family from Mississippi – Elvis
- 11. right Cme singer with a black sound 3/23/15 3 Sun Records • Memphis, Tennessee • Sam Phillips, founder – Appreciated talents of R&B musicians – Began recording them even before he started his own label • Brings the music to a wider audience • Sun Records credited with discovering Elvis – “Hound Dog” (1957) Importance of Elvis invenCve
- 12. vocal style – Always sounds like himself popular appeal, crossover success – Records on country, pop, and R&B charts commercial success – Sold over 500 Million records by the Cme
- 13. of his death Mainstream Rock ‘n’ Roll • Heavily influenced by R&B – Little Richard, piano • Combined blues, gospel, boogie-woogie piano » Clear, locked-in rhythm » Outrageous persona » Creates a spectacle – Jerry Lee Lewis, piano • White counterpart to Little Richard 3/23/15 4 Chuck Berry (b. 1926) • First Rock ‘n’ Roll guitarist – Transferred boogie-woogie piano lines to the guitar – “Johnny B. Goode” • blues based verse/chorus form
- 14. • Overdubbed guitar part (rhythm and lead both played by Berry) The Music Industry • Music publishing diminishes – R ‘n’ R relied on oral tradition; played by ear – R ‘n’ R hits were short-lived • Rise of independent record companies – The Majors: RCA Victor, Capitol, Columbia, Decca, Mercury – Indie labels take off, create chaos • By 1956: there are 25 different companies with hits The Music Industry • Radio – Best way to promote new music – Payola Scandal • Cash and other incentives to disk jockeys • 1959: FCC took action, charges against record companies and DJs (Alan Freed) • Television – 1957: Dick Clark’s American Bandstand • TV show focused on teens and Rock • Launches many new dance crazes – The twist, the pony, the mashed potato, the hitchhiker
- 15. 3/23/15 5 The Day the Music Died • Feb. 3rd, 1959 • Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, J.P. Richardson • Immortalized in Don McLean’s song • Rock ‘n’ Roll seemed like a fad that had run its course