Early

Even though early Rock & Roll was revolutionary music mainly issued by small independent labels, it wasn’t very avant-garde. In order to fully appreciate the influence that the avant-garde had on pop music, though, we need to have some familiarity with the mainstream. The music for this lesson comes from the decade in which R&R was invented and flowered in its first classic period (1955 – 1959). The listening begins with a reminder that the music of the 50s wasn’t just R&R. The first recording in the lesson, Jo Stafford’s “You Belong to Me” was #1 for 12 weeks in 1952. We then will listen to a small sample of mainstream R&R from the fifties.

Here are some of the things we want you to think about so that later we can compare these songs to more avant-garde music.

A. The Song’s Structure

Songs of this period often had one of three forms:

• Verse-chorus : This form usually begins with a verse followed by a chorus, which remains the same throughout the song. The verse and chorus are repeated a few times, with the verse changing, but with the chorus being the same. Sometimes the song will begin with the verse rather than the chorus. Sometimes the chorus is solely instrumental with no vocals. Chorus This land is your land, this land is my land From California, to the New York Island From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters This land was made for you and me Verse 1 As I was walking a ribbon of highway I saw above me an endless skyway I saw below me a golden valley This land was made for you and me Chorus repeated Verse 2 I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts And all around me a voice was sounding This land was made for you and me Chorus repeated And so forth

• AABA : A song with an AABA form has an initial section (often 8 measures) that is repeated and then followed with a different section (called the “bridge”). Then the initial section is repeated again. An example of an AABA song is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” The B section is the bridge. A: Somewhere Over the Rainbow way up high… A: Somewhere Over the Rainbow skies are blue… B: Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me…… A: Someday Over the Rainbow bluebirds fly…

29-Dec-09 1 • Blues: A standard blues is based on repeated 12-measure sections, usually with an AAB structure. (If you are familiar with chords, the blues has a very characteristic chord sequence as well.) One of the best known blues songs is “St. Louis Blues,” the first section of which is shown below.

A: I hate to see that evening sun go down A: I hate to see that evening sun go down B: 'Cause, my baby, he's gone left this town

Without some listening background, blues-based tunes may be harder to identify than the other common structures. A 12-bar structure usually indicates a blues

Each of the songs in the lesson today is structured according to one of the forms above (or a combination of them). You should be able to identify the structure of each song.

B. The Song’s Type

Early Rock & Roll recordings usually could be classified as one of the following:

• o Roots in both country & western music and the blues. o Often, but not always, guitar-based. Frequently acoustic. o Usually more country than blues influenced. o Usually sung by a white male (often from the south). • New Orleans o Roots in black jump-style blues and gospel. o Often featuring a pounding piano and saxophone. o Often sung by a black male. • Chicago: o Roots in urban blues. o Strongly featuring the electric guitar o Usually sung by a black male. • Doo-Wop o Roots in gospel and . o Either romantic ballads or humorous songs. o Sung by a group, usually, but not always, all male and black.

With the exception of “You Belong to Me,” which is pre-Rock & Roll, each of the songs to which you will listen falls into one of these categories. You should be able to identify which category each song fits in.

29-Dec-09 2 C. Why So Scary?

Although 50s rock and roll sounds fairly sedate now, it was scary to many middle-class adults at the time. Think about the following questions:

• Although we had won WWII only a decade or so ago, Americans were not politically secure in the 50s. Why not? What was the international scene like in the 50s? • What kind of internal social and political changes were taking place in the U.S. during the fifties? • From what social strata did most of early rock and roll performers, and their songs, come from? • What kind of music were middle-class adults accustomed to?

Why do you think R&R was so threatening to adults?

D. Questions

1. Listen to “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brengston’s. This song frequently is said to be the first rock and roll recording, if one such recording can be chosen. a) “Rocket 88” can be described as a hybrid of verse-chorus and blues forms. Why do I say this? b) Which song type (Rockabilly, New Orleans, Chicago, Doo-Wop) best fits this song?

2. Listen to “That’s All Right, Mama,” by Elvis Presley. a) What is its form: verse-chorus, AABA, or blues? b) This is the first example of one of the four song types: Rockabilly, New Orleans, Chicago, and Doo-Wop. Which is it?

3. Listen to “Good Golly, Miss Molly” by a) “Good Golly, Miss Molly” can be described as a hybrid of verse-chorus and blues forms. Why do I say this? b) Which song type (Rockabilly, New Orleans, Chicago, Doo-Wop) best fits this song?

4. Listen to “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” by Jerry Lee Lewis a) What is its form: verse-chorus, AABA, or blues? b) This song is a combination of two types. Which ones?

5. Listen to “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry. a) “Johnny B. Goode” can be described as a hybrid of verse-chorus and blues forms. Why do I say this? b) Which song type (Rockabilly, New Orleans, Chicago, Doo-Wop) best fits this song? It is a classic – maybe even defining example of this type of song.

6. Listen to “I Only Have Eyes for You,” by The Flamingos. a) What is its form: verse-chorus, AABA, or blues? b) Which song type (Rockabilly, New Orleans, Chicago, Doo-Wop) best fits this song?

29-Dec-09 3 7. In his article on the Fifties, Robert Palmer mentions two key figures in the early history of Rock and Roll: and Alan Freed. Who were they and what was their significance?

8. What audience was early R&R music meant for?

9. What was the origin of the term, “Rock and Roll”? Listen carefully to the lyrics of Little Richrd’s “Good Golly, Miss Molly.” In the ultra-conservative 1950s, why do you think this song might be disturbing to adults whose children were listening to it? (I continue to be amazed it made it on the radio.)

10. As Palmer mentions, early R&R essentially died in 1959-1960. Some of this involved the type of record labels that brought out the first R&R records. What happened to them? Alan Freed went down in the process. How and why?

11. Palmer identifies a select group of young men who were the first Rock and Roll stars, several of whom you have listened to today. What happened to Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry in 1959-1960 that took them out of R&R action?

12. What does Friedlander say about Elvis Presley’s economic background? (This is typical of early rockabilly artists.)

13. How old was Elvis when he made “That’s All Right, Mama”?

14. In what recording studio was “That’s All Right, Mama” made? Was this song done on purpose?

15. How does Friedlander describe Elvis’s live performances? Watch the YouTube video shot early in Elvis’s career (1956) in his home town of Tupelo, MS. Can you see what Friedlander is referring to? Is Elvis performing style very extreme by today’s standards?

16. Friedlander comments that Little Richard always wanted to be acknowledged as the King of Rock and Roll, but never was. Why does Friedlander say this never happened? Watch the YouTube video shot of a 1956 Little Richard performance in a movie. Does this performance support Friedlander’s opinion? Why or why not? (The announcer is Alan Freed, by the way.)

17. How is Little Richard’s performing style derived from his gospel roots?

18. Look at the YouTube videos of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis performing? How are they different? How are they similar?

19. Reading about Lewis’s life in Friedlander, how does Lewis’s performing style reflect his lifestyle?

20. Watch the Chuck Berry video. What is his famous “duckwalk”?

21. Chuck Berry is the father of the R&R guitar, no question. Compare the guitar playing in Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” with that in “That’s All Right, Mama.” How has it changed in around three years?

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