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Part 4Vernacular Musics Since Rock

and RollChapter 13: Rock and Roll

America’s Musical Landscape 6th edition

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll 2

Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll With the coming of rock and roll, American

popular music diversified as never before

Pop and country-western struggled to hold their own against the powerful new music

In time, various styles found audiences and vied for popularity with rock and among themselves

Disco, new wave, gospel, rap, jazz, regional and ethnic musics

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll 3

Vernacular Art The beat generation of the 1950s

A term invented by Jack Kerouac Originally involving his talented friends who provided some

of the twentieth century’s most inspired poetry and prose Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac,

friends and colleagues stood for nonconformity… Which was a concept in vogue in Europe

At the same time, performers gave vent to the same spirit motivating the literary beats

James Dean, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll 4

Vernacular Art: Visual Arts Visual arts found new means of expression and established new

artistic ideals

Pop artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Puzzled and intrigued his contemporaries Achieved new color harmonies with silk-screen prints His “serial” paintings, multiple repetitions of an image,

feature common objects of popular American culture Movie stars, advertising logos, political figures, more

Identified with some vernacular musicians of his day 1965: Punk rock group Velvet Underground

accompanied the showing of one of Warhol’s artworks

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Vernacular Music During the twentieth century, popular or vernacular music

became a significant cultural concept and an important business

Recent decades have produced an unprecedented variety of popular music

Grunge, hip-hop, alternative rock, women in rock, new country, teenybop, Latin pop, rave

All of these styles have not replaced but rather joined rhythm and blues, classic rock, light pop, and the other music of our popular culture

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Vernacular Music: The 1990s and Early Twenty-first Century 1990s: One of pop’s most experimental periods

Technological advances brought down recording costs Computerized inventories allowed stores to carry more

stock

Early Twenty-first century Downloading of music has changed the nature of the pop

marketplace Challenging major labels to find new ways to make money in

what may soon be the post-CD era

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll 7

Vernacular Music Today We are in the midst of a prodigiously

productive period

Richer than any earlier time

Richer than any other contemporary culture in the variety, quantity, and quality of our vernacular music

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Chapter 13: Rock and RollThe Generation Gap Independence and rebellion among American youth

Gap in communication

between adolescents

and their parents

Shift in popular music; interest moving from instrumental music to song

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Rhythm and Blues Shared elements of Black Gospel Music including hand-

clapping, call and response, melodic improvisation

1949 – “Billboard” magazine referred to black popular music as “rhythm and blues”

Key Figures: Joe Turner “Boss of the Blues” (1911-1985) Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (1926-1984)

Doo-Wop

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Country Music Meets R & B Shared Characteristics:

Rooted in the South Danceable Used guitar Frank lyrics Sung in dialects different from mainstream white

urban population

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Birth of Rock and Roll Convinced that white listeners would reject

the raucous sound, rhythm-and-blues was not generally programmed on mainsteam radio

Alan Freed: Disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio who realized that white teens preferred R&B to mainstream popular music credited with coining the term “rock and roll”

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Bill Haley (1925-1981) Bill Haley and His Comets (1925-1981)

Combined white western swing with black rhythm and blues

Rock Around the Clock was the first international rock and roll hit

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) Rockabilly – Hybrid of rock

and hillbilly Achieved an unprecedented

degree of popularity

“Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Early Characteristics of Rock and Roll

Accompanying instruments included amplified guitars, saxophone, trumpet

Quadruple meter

Danceable tempo

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Chuck Berry (b. 1926)

One of the most talented of the early black stars of rock and roll

Fused rhythm-and-blues with country-western elements

Songwriter, guitarist, singer and dynamic performer Known for his “duckwalk” across the stage Strongly influenced the Beatles and the

Rolling Stones

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

End of the First Era Elvis was drafted into the army

Little Richard left R & R for some time

Buddy Holly died in a plane crash

Chuck Berry was arrested

Jerry Lee Lewis was the focus of a scandal

Payola investigations (1959-60) revealed evidence of bribing disc jockeys

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Listening Example 52School Daysby Chuck BerryListening guide page 231

Meter: Quadruple. Notice how uneven subdivisions of the strongly accented beats result in a “shuffle” effect

Timbre: Male vocal solo (Chuck Berry), accompanying himself on guitar, with piano and drums

Texture: Homophonic. Listen for the call-and-response between Berry and his guitar.

The lyrics to this catchysong describe a day inthe life of a 1950s highschool student.

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Surfing Music Surfing songs described

relaxed life in CA

Brian Wilson (b. 1942) formed the Beach Boys in the 1960s

Pet Sounds: Influential theme album

Good Vibrations: Best-selling single featuring non-traditional rock music sounds.

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Motown Formed by black songwriter, Berry Gordy

Jr., to aggressively market black rock and roll

Established in “motor town” – Detroit Motown groups included:

Diana Ross and The Supremes The Temptations The Miracles

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Listening Example 53Stop! In the Name of Loveby Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie HollandPerformed by The SupremesListening guide page 234

Meter: Quadruple. Notice the constant steady pulse, no sophisticated cross-rhythms or polyrhythms

Form: Modified verse-chorus. The chorus, or refrain, serves as the “hook,” a catchy four-measure phrase that begins the song and recurs after each verse

This recording featuresthe Supremes (femalevocal trio) accompaniedby the Funk Brothers backup band. The songis said to have had itsorigin in a real-life dispute between one of the songwriters and hisgirlfriend.

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

The British Invasion The Beatles were formed in Liverpool, England by

John Lennon. Included Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

1964 performance on Ed Sullivan Show in the USA

Song I Want to Hold Your Hand led to Beatlemania

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Back to Black Rock: Gospel

Also called “religious blues” Descends from spirituals created in slave cultures

Thomas A. Dorsey (1899-1993)“Father of Gospel Music”

Ray CharlesFusion of Gospel and Blues

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Listening Example 54Down by the RiversideAnonymousPerformed by Sister Rosetta TharpeListening guide page 237

Meter: Quadruple. Timbre: Solo voice and guitar (both Tharpe), male chorus, piano, bass

Texture: Homophonic.

A traditional spiritual or gospel song performedby Sister Rosetta Tharpe,who was known for herfiery R&B guitar playing as well as her gospel singing.

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Back to Black Rock: Soul Black artists, resented basically white flavor

of Motown Created a kind of updated rhythm and

blues “Soul” was a post-1950s term for black

pride, and came to replace the term “rhythm and blues”

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Soul Secular lyrics and gospel energy were blended together Aretha Franklin known as “Lady Soul” and “Queen of Soul”

transferred emotional gospel style to popular and rhythm-and-blues songs

Ray Charles (1930-2004), the “father of soul”, sang secular songs with the abandon of gospel music

Used call-and-response to involve the audience

James Brown (1933-2007), the “godfather of soul” pointed soul in a fiery new direction

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Listening Example 55Papa’s Got a Brand New BagComposed and performed by James BrownListening guide page 239

Meter: Quadruple. Overlapping independent rhythm patterns (polyrhythms) add timbral and rhythmic interest

Timbre: Vocalist James Brown accompanied by bass, horns, drums, and guitar.

Form: 12-bar blues, with adaptation. The second line of text in each verse is original, departing from the traditional form.

The emphasis on African-influenced polyrhythmsmore than melody movethis soul song in the direction of funk.

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

Back to Black Rock: Funk New expression of black consciousness

Rooted in soul

Interracial issues often the subject of lyrics

Highly complex rhythms

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

From Rock and Roll to Rock Racial tensions, race riots, and the murder

of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed the mood and the music of the country

Popular music reflected the mood of protest Against discrimination, authoritarianism, the war

in Vietnam

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

From Rock and Roll to Rock: Psychedelic RockAlso called “acid rock” after the psychedelic drug LSDBegan in San Francisco in 1965Attempted to reproduce sensations of someone under the influence of LSDMusic was loud and distorted, causing emotional effects in the listenerShows featured special effects such as dramatic lighting and smoke and fog machines

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

From Rock and Roll to Rock: Psychedelic Blues Janis Joplin (1943-1970)

White singer inspired by Bessie Smith and Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton

Jim Hendrix (1942-1970) Sang of despair and frustration, anger and

violence Developed guitar techniques to astounding levels

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

From Rock and Roll to Rock: Heavy Metal Sound of the late 1960s was inspired by

Led Zeppelin

Frenzied performances and distorted guitar sounds

Theatrics dominated rock performances as in music by Alice Cooper

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Part 4: Vernacular Musics Since Rock and Roll Chapter 13: Rock and Roll

A Future Unassured Major rock festivals were held across the

country In August 1969, the Woodstock festival was

attended by more than 400,000 people Some festivals spawned violence and tragedy

Rock music had grown strong and varied, but its future seemed insecure as the 1970s began

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