California As Music to American Ears
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CALIFORNIA AS MUSIC TO AMERICAN EARS: Migration, Technology, and Rock and Roll in the Golden State, 1946-2000 A Thesis presented to the Faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History by Toby Thomas Willett Winter 2010 “http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/264/” © 2010 Toby Thomas Willett ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP TITLE: California as Music to American Ears: Migration, Technology, and Rock and Roll in the Golden State, 1946-2000 AUTHOR: Toby Thomas Willett DATE SUBMITTED: March 2010 COMMITTEE CHAIR: George Cotkin, Professor COMMITTEE MEMBER: Tom Trice, Professor COMMITTEE MEMBER: John Snetsinger, Professor iii ABSTRACT California as Music to American Ears: Migration, Technology, and Rock and Roll in the Golden State, 1946-2000 Toby Thomas Willett Migrations and technological advances in California following World War II, spurred radical changes in the production and development of popular music, most notably rock and roll. California largely lacked the entrenched traditions of the American Northeast, and in many ways its exploding population translated into the growth of a culture built around embracing newer methodologies, whether technological innovations or radical artistic departures. In large part owing to its increasing ethnic diversity during the economic expansion, California was uniquely poised to become a center of incredible postwar dynamism, especially when seen in the production , consumption , and stylistic development of music. Nevertheless, many of the radical departures in American music were contingent upon the contributions of a small group of inter-connected musical equipment manufacturers and musicians in California from the 1940s through the 1960s. As the United States experienced dramatic changes during the awesome postwar boom, Californian artists, merchants, and equipment makers exploited opportunities, making the Golden State the national trendsetter in musical developments both technological and stylistic. In particular, the invention, development, and further refinement of solid bodied electric guitars and basses in Southern California permanently changed how music would be made. The transformation of West Coast music would produce differing reactions nationally, while foreign developments would impact California, challenging its hegemony. Keywords: California, Music, 20 th Century, History, United States, Popular Culture, Leo Fender, Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Rock and Roll, Music Equipment, Migration, and Technology and Society. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Tony Arambarri, archivist at NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) in Carlsbad, California, for the timely assistance, wealth of primary resources, generosity, and dutiful challenges to my assumptions. Appreciation also goes out to the other folks at NAMM for their help once I showed up to examine materials in their collection—thank you for your hospitality. I want to also thank my parents, Bob and Linda Willett, for asking me that basic question of context, “So what are you writing about?” Likewise, I thank my thesis advisor, George Cotkin, who tried his hardest to keep me on-task; I appreciate his many fine suggestions. Also, I thank Liz Kennedy at RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America) in Washington D.C., for her assistance in providing some important sales figures. This work is dedicated to my two brothers: to Travis for opening both my eyes and my ears to music recording, and introducing me to the equipment side of the equation, and to Timothy who loved to hear me play rock, blues, soul, jazz, and folk on my Fender basses. Timothy Robert Willett 1977—2009 v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ........................................................................................................... viii Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. A Second Gold Rush: The Musical Ramifications of Multiple Migrations .............................. 6 2. The Big War as Big Catalyst in Californian Development ................... 16 3. California, Rock, and the Electric Guitar .............................................. 25 4. Commodities and Tools of a New Music .............................................. 39 5. Making Noise and Controlling It: Amplifiers and Recording Equipment ................................................... 50 6. Rapid Californian Ascendancy: Postwar Optimism, Consumerism, and the Utopian West .................... 60 7. Easy Innovation and Californian Identity: The Eclectic Manufacture of Musical Rebels ........................................ 71 8. Infinite Variety in the Land of Infinite Possibilities: Regional Implications of Stylistic Distinctions In Form and Experimentation ................................................................ 78 9. Relocation, Regionalism, and Reaction ................................................. 89 10. A Golden Coda: California and the Hope for New Days ................................................. 101 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 108 Appendixes A. California and United States Populations, 1850-2008 ........................... 123 B. California Black Population and Migration, 1850-1990 ....................... 124 vi Appendixes (Continued) C-1. Racial Breakdown, California and United States, 1930-1990 .............. 125 C-2. Nonwhite and Foreign Born, California, 1850-1990............................. 126 D-1. Median Age, United States, 1850-2000 ................................................ 127 D-2. Young Adult Age, California and United States, 1930-1990................ 128 D-3. Young Adult Age by Gender, California, 1930-1990 .......................... 129 E. Urban and Rural, California and United States, 1859-1990 .................. 130 F. Instrument Sales by Category, 1940-1983.............................................. 131 G. Records Shipped, 1962-2007 ................................................................. 133 H-1. Californian Record Labels.................................................................... 134 H-2. Other Record Labels ............................................................................ 135 I-1. Chronology of Electric Guitars and Amplifiers ..................................... 136 I-2. Chronology of Tape Recording and Digital Keyboards ........................ 137 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Martin D 28 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar ............................................... 37 Figure 2. Gibson ES-359 Semi-Hollow Electric ...................................................... 37 Figure 3. Fender Telecaster ....................................................................................... 37 Figure 4. Fender Stratocaster .................................................................................... 38 Figure 5. Gibson Les Paul ......................................................................................... 38 Figure 6. Rickenbacker 360 ...................................................................................... 38 Figure 7-A. Double Bass ........................................................................................... 48 Figure 7-B. Fender Jazz Bass .................................................................................... 48 Figure 8. Fender Precision Bass ................................................................................ 49 Figure 9. Fender Jazz Bass ........................................................................................ 49 Figure 10. Höfner Bass ............................................................................................. 49 Figure 11. Fender Bassman Amplifier (Front and Back) ......................................... 59 Figure 12. Marshall Half Stack ................................................................................. 59 viii Introduction In Santa Maria, on California’s Central Coast, two brothers began to play musical instruments in the late 1950s and early 1960s. 1 Jimmy Spittler was born in the 1940s and learned to play the accordion, while Tommy was born in the 1950s and learned to play the electric guitar. Jimmy picked up an Italian-made Morbidoni Paragon, while Tommy got an American-made Fender Stratocaster. Jimmy practiced music on an instrument that enjoyed popularity in America during the 1940s and 1950s and was developed, manufactured, and exported from Europe. Whereas, Tommy took his cues from musicians steeped in the sounds of the burgeoning surf scene, which had adopted the solid bodied electric guitar, an instrument developed and manufactured in California. Rock music soon made the electric guitar the symbol of American music, while the popularity of the accordion with American youth would rapidly fade. 2 The musical choices and ultimate divergence of the brothers Spittler capture the essence of the critical changes that were occurring in the music industry in the decades following the Second World War. Californians began to develop the tools and advance the processes of making music, while growing to dominate the field. Simultaneously, American music became increasingly focused on young audiences, young performers, new equipment, and rock and roll music. On the one hand, many of the radical departures in American music