OVERVIEW: The Foundation of Rock And Roll
During the Great Migration more than 100,000 African-American laborers moved from the agricultural South to the urban North bringing with them their music and memories.
Also, during the 1920’s the phonograph and the rise of commercial radio began to spread Hillbilly music and the Blues. This gave rise to an appreciating of American vernacular music, both white and black. Ultimately, the homogenizing effect of blending several regional musical styles and cultural practices gave birth to 1950’s rock and roll.
The Tin Pan Alley Po ra 1 5 mid 1950’s “The Great American Songbook” 1940’s Big Bands 1950’s Po lar sic
New York: “Tin Pan Alley” 14th St. and 2nd Ave.
1 Tin Pan Alley - New York 1 5 tho gh 1940’s
The m sic was distrib ted thro gh sheet m sic
Pro essional songwriters dominated the eriod George Gershwin and ole Porter
om osers wrote or o m sic Broadway and ilm
vent ally Tin Pan Alley tradition was re laced by the ock and oll tradition
in an Alle – e oints
1. ritten b a pro essional o ten non per or ing song riters
2. ophisticated arrange ent
. ncopated rh th accents on une pected, eak beats
. lever, ell cra ted l rics
5. triving or upper class sensibilities
. ri ar audience Adults
2 “Roots Music” oi ts
R io o u o usic t u usici s ot o t u t t ou o t itio o i st ic ist s o t i co co i s
“Roots Music”
he Blues D Country music
he Blues Country Music
1920’s: Mississippi Delta Blues 1920’s: Cowboy Songs 1930’s: rban Blues 1930’s: Hillbilly Music 1940’s: ump Blues 1940’s: Country Swing 1950’s Rhythm and Blues Country and estern
Roc Ro
3 “Tin Pan Alley” T a ition “Roots Music” Music t t ou s t o i st music and “song u s” u i c s
o ssio so it s t i o s “repertoire based” “rendition based”
o istic t o i o
o ot t usic sis o st is t Roc Ro
Roc Ro i
Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910)
Negro Songs as Sung by Lead Belly (1936)
o n o a
His is son son, o nAlan Lomax o a (1915-2002) followedFollowed inin hishis father’sfather’s footstepsfootsteps
4 he o a ar o tfitted with pri iti e a dio re ordin e ip ent lan o a son of ohn o a continued in his father’s footsteps
uddie “ ead e ” Ledbetter (1888–
e eco es a o u ar entertainer a in “old fashioned” blues
Lead Belly's Last Sessions contained son s that eca e the s rin oard to the 1960’s folk revival
The House of the Rising Sun The Midnight Special Rock Island Line Goodnight, Irene an ead e son s ere “covered” by British acts of the 1960’s
5 he nfluence of the Blues e b ues ere deri ed rom ie d o ers and or songs an o t e songs ere or songs designed to s nc roni e manua abor suc as s inging an a e or pounding rai road spi es t er songs e ped re ie e t e monoton and pass t e time during repetiti e tas s e songs ere ept a i e and ita b rote memori ation and an ora tradition
Boo ie oo ie iano layin oogie oogie piano p a ing imitates a c ug a ug train r t m and as o ten p a ed on on ton trains transporting aborers t roug out t e Midwest. The style of makes use of “walking bass”
ississi i elta Blues (1900 19 0
Also known “country blues” the primary practitioners were male African merican itinerant aborers e rics o ten e pressed basic uman conditions suc as po ert ome essness un ait u o e penitentiar i e and a ienation e oca st e eatures a ierce singing st e simi ar to t at o ie d o ers pica instruments inc uded s ide guitar and armonica e r t m as o ten uctuating and une en mong t e most in uentia o t e e ta uesmen ere on ouse and obert o nson
Mississippi elta lues or ountry lues
• rimate blues style
• nstruments limited to oice and acoustic guitar and sometimes harmonica
• luid fluctuating rhythm based on the lyrics
• on dance music that tells a story about hardships loneliness or se
6 obert ohnson (1911–19 8 alle edly sold his soul to the evil at the crossroads e e bodies the s irit of the rocker a an and his uitar tellin his story to the orld
7
–
their name from Muddy Waters’ song “Rolling Stone”
8 ristol ennessee
“ he ig ang of ountry musi ”
Ral h eer – alent s out re ording engineer and re ord rodu er in the s and s he influen e of the arter amily an e heard in the film rother Where rt hou
immie Rogers he arter amily 9 –
10 blues style, unique urban or “city blues” styles emerged.
11 – Call It Stormy Monday
12
like “Sun Records”
“Indies”
e irst commercial ta e recorders became a ailable s ortly a ter . mall inde endent record labels suc as ess, un, and tlantic records emerged riding t e a e o interest in rhythm and blues. As “Indie” records began filling t e u e bo es in t e inner cities in t e early s, an increasing number o ite teenagers became in atuated it t e ne sound.
is oc eys suc as le eland s lan reed began laying r yt m and blues records using t e term roc and roll , a relati ely un no n blues eu emism or se and artying, to disguise t e music s blac origin.
13 Im ortant Inde endent ecord abels indies
n i e or Ahmet rtegun erb Abramson and erry e ler his im ortant indie label recorded early stars including uth ro n ig oe urner ay harles lyde c hatter and en . ing
ess hicago eonard and hil hess he hess brothers recorded uddy aters o iddley o lin olf illie i on onny oy illiamson Arthur ig oy rudu ac ie renston huc erry. hess ecords through its . . subsidiary ye label as largely res onsible for the flo ering of i is es.
n di s em his am hilli s un as the birth lace of the roc abilly style of roc am hilli s recorded masters of blac bluesmen for other com anies. Among artists he recorded during this eriod ere o lin olf and I e urner
dis n inde s
s dis n –
14
inch, 33 rpm “long playing” record (LP)
The portable record player brought music to teenager’s bedrooms and pro ided an opportunity to e ol e teen oriented music oc and oll
15 Although the term “race music” seems derogatory o at the time it sho ed ride a d su ort or A rica America eo le a d culture
n tlantic record e ecuti e and illboard reporter erry e ler as instrumental in re labeling “Race Music” “Rhythm and Blues”
is biggest disco ery as retha ran lin
16 From Blues to “Rhythm and Blues”
19 0 1930: ss ss pp elta Blues
1930’s: Urban Blues Types h a o Blues emph s Blues ansas ty Blues Te as Blues e rleans Blues
1940’s e rleans ump Blues
Late 1940’s Rhythm and Blues
Benny oodman r hestra B Band n mus as the most popular style o mus dur n orld ar B band tour n as urta led by rat oned as and rubber ump bands ere a s aled do n ers on o s n bands th a a y boun y beat
17 e rleans ump Blues: The 1940’s forefather of rhythm and blues:
tyle hara ter st s: B band s n style dan e mus mall ensemble: ne or t o horns p ano u tar drums and bass Boun y and upbeat rhythm Boo e oo e p ano rhythm eared to ard youn er aud en es ore ma nstream and ommer al than other blues styles
ou s ordan and h s T m any e: New Orleans “Jump Blues” King
18 e Bill pr i e l ans r mes an e u a i n is ga e rise a m re a luen mi le class in the 1950’s.
he ill
nce he es an a i s s l ie s et ne t n ane es s cli in the s cial la e settlin in t estic 1955 el li e an aisin a ilies. l an ils n
19 he a
he rise o the ost a y oomers millio childre or et ee led to a su sta tial youth su class he ty ical allo a ce o many 1950’s teenagers was greater than the main family breadwinner of the re ious ge eratio
The term “teenager” was first used in 1941 in reference to juvenile deli ue cy he term soo ega to e associated ith the tastes styles attitudes a d cultural ide tity o the gro i g ra s o a y oomers he rise o tee age allo a ces a d greater ree time set the stage or some thing new (anything new) to capture the teenager’s youthful energy. 1950’s films depicted problems of this new teenage idle time in such films as e el ithout A ause
e record ormats ere ei g i troduced or the e a di g co sumer music mar et olum ia records i troduced the i ch r m lo g layi g i yl record i A i troduced the i ch r m record he co e ie ce o the i ch ga e rise to orta le record layers he music migrated from the living room into a teenager’s bedrooms, a di erge t tee age ased music mar et emerged
The living room was the e clusive center of family life. Television replaced the radio as the primary mode of family entertainment
20 hat as sic i e e e c an ll
Top of the Charts in early 1950’s The . . it ara e is ominate by hite mainstream performers. The music as ell pro uce ith na ve or sentimental lyrics. The songs ere inoffensive an geare to ar hite mi le class au iences. Novelty songs such as “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?” became popular. erry Como 191 001
21 hat in of isturbe society oul call this music
esire to shelter their families from horrors of
usic as geare to the hite a ult mi le class
usic became less important to gro ing families
The television advocated “family values”
usic as esigne to be inoffensive an polite
Novelty songs an instrumentals are popular
it a ade inne s
y oolish ea t ee s
ll y ove ee s
ona isa ee s
oodni ht ene ee s ou it a ade ushel and ec ee s as s onso ed y uc y t i e Tennessee alt ee s i a ettes
oc and oll ou ht un edicta ility and tu moil to the music indust y
22 The Restless “Teenager”
ore s en a le income
ore leis re time
Looking for excitement or “kicks” ars an r ising otorc cles
o marketing s ecific to o th s c lt re
Teen sical Tastes
rior to oc and oll there was no separate teen record mar et teenagers listened to the same music as their parents. rofessional songwriters and standard renditions were more important than the performer. ored with the musical status uo, teenagers began listening to blac dance music rhythm and blues. The binding force was teenage self identification rather than socio economic, regional, or racial distinctions.
23 arlon ran o in The il ne
ames ean in Re el itho t a a se
o i frican merican erformers fit into the o sic ainstream
24 Lo is or an
at ing ole
ats omino noffensi e an non threatening he transitione from m l es to Rh thm an l es
hat are the ifferences et een earl Rock an Roll an Rh thm an l es
25 ifferences et een earl Rock an Roll an Rh thm an l es
The rock an roll ses elements of Rh thm an l es in a more mainstream a
The lyrics are often “cleaned up” for mainstream a iences
The tem o is generall faster
ther elements s ch as co ntr estern an mainstream o are often thro n in the mix
“Swing 8ths” replaced by “straight 8ths”
lan reed le eland populari ed the term Rock and Roll … but what was his “inspiration”?
26 h o raph o arl Rock
hica o h ss R cords tlantic R cords phis un tudios
w rl ans tudios
ill aley – a hybrid of lues and ountry – he foreshadowed roc abilly
ay harles – seculari ed gospel music
27
h ss R cords hica o
h ss rtist o iddl – 28
Chess Record’s first
t dios e his hi i s is res e d rio eis er es ite o r e ief it s rio ho disco ered is
29 t dios i e r e s s o ed d o er ted Cosi o t ss e e i eered recordi s ts o i o itt e Rich rd r ie oe d rt e i e
In 1992, I decided to meet him… here’s where I found him
t ss s r et 1 1 u hine t, ew r e ns,
30 itt e ich rd
ts omino
192 19 ississi i e t ues
1930’s: Urban Blues Types hic o ues e ectric uit r sed ues em his ues ns s it ues e s ues ew r e ns ues
1940’s: New Orleans Jump Blues oo ie woo ie rh thm with hon in horns
Late 1940’s: Rhythm and Blues oo ie woo ie rh thm with hon in horns
31 1950’s Rock and Roll o on s n l s l
al R onal l s Rocka ll oo o os l s o l s and R and l s co s
32 1950’s Rock and Roll Regional Styles: Rocka illy oo o os el s o t l es and R yt and l es co e s
ess l es oo o
Rocka illy oo o e e Rocka illy
os el S o t
oday: eale St eet e is a o s eale St eet sicians:
andy y e is o is st ong ing ddy ate s l e t ing e is innie R s o as Rosco o don
33 un tudios
in e le treet lues o
Robert Johnson “sold his soul to the Devil” here
he e his Re ordin ervi e
ned nd o er ted b hilli s e sold blues nd re ordin s to other l bels i e hess ventu ll he st rted his o n l bel un Re ords un Re ords be e the birth l e o the Ro bill st le
34 e urner nd the Kings of Rhythm re orded Rocket 88 t un tudios in
Rocket 88 s rele sed under the hess l bel n in Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats s the rtists. Jackie Brenston was Ike Turner’s cousin. 35 Rocket 88 was “covered” by a ountr an estern an Bill Haley and the Saddlemen.
T e eci e to ro t eir countr i a e an eca e Bill Haley and the Comets
v aro re ey a ary –
36 (now Elvis Presley Drive). The two room “shotgun”
Elvis w s very lose to his mother.
is mily w s e tremely oor his ther wor ing o o s n his mother s sewing m hinist.
is ther w s sent to il or writing n . orge he .
The Presley’s lost their house in the ro ess.
l ys Elvis n ernon Elvis Presley
37 Elvis was a “ l a ” w i a w a a a i i la l ss a a a i s
w l s a i l al la a s li v si a s s
s i a a Elvis a Studios to record a song for this mother’s birthday, Elvis a all a i s s was is v
38 MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE “SUN STUDIOS”
blues acts in the early 1950’s such as Little Junior
and energy of a black R & B performer he could “make ”.
M R D D P S P broke “That’s Alright, Mama” on Red Hot & Blue
H Freed’s Rock and Roll House Party
39 Elvis Presley had the first “cross over” hits:
That’s Alright, Mama (Blues) Blue Moo of e tuc y ( ou try a d ester )
, he as i ducted i to Army a d as statio ed i ried erg, erma y
fortu ately, it as i the Army that he ecame addicted to drugs
rd rmored i ision
40 n 19 0 l is isited Richard i on at the hite ouse. resley rote i on a letter suggesting that he be made a “Federal Agent at Large” in the Bureau of arcotics and angerous rugs.
the first eight mo ths of , his doctor, eorge icho oulos had rescri ed more tha 10,000 doses of sedatives, am hetami es, a d arcotics all i Elvis ame
is death has ee determi ed to have ee rought o y a heart attac
41 The o tri utio s of Elvis Presley br d ed h thm and l e th ntr and e tern
Was considered a “le er e l” among white parents
e ame an n that r elled r nt an nternat nal hen men n
ne the m t del m tated and n l ent al r er
l ed all three hart and
oc a i
oc a i is a h rid o es and hi i m sic ring its height per ormers came rom se era st es i e ic e son pop ohnn ash co ntr is res e roc he st e ma es hea se o twanging g itars nasa singing and s ap ass ea dr mming sti associated primari with ac m sic was ept to a minim m he is a st e o roc a i stars was strong in enced actors ames ean and ar on rando an Wi iams r and i a e and the omets ridge the gap etween co ntr swing and roc a i st es
42 ar er ins –
43 oc a illy else here: Te Me oc a illy
Buddy olly ( )
e mar s the tra sitio from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Rock
e de arted from the B traditio a d ecame o e of the first im orta t i ger o g riters
44 Buddy Holly’s Innovations and Contributions He was one of the earliest performers to use the guitar band format ead guitar rhythm guitar drums and bass He was one of the first white roc ers to write his own material He wore glasses on stage portraying him as “the boy next door” He produced and “mixed” some of his own recordings
He rarely employed hythm and blues in his music He often used vocal effects such as his trademar hiccups and baby tal He was one of the first performers to use a solid body electric guitar
45 he ay he usic ied
on and hil verly he verly Brothers Influenced a wide range of performers with their “close harmony” duet singing style
46 ddie ochran and ene incent in
ddie ochran –
Summertime Blues
47
Late 1940’s through early 1960s:
“The forgotten 1/3 of Rock and Roll”
48 oo Wop (Early ‘50’s
vocal harmony, and was often sung “a cappella” (without instrumental nonsense syllables such as “ ” or “doo wop” and an
po s
lls ro rs
49 ara r s s o oo Wop Late 1940’s through early 1960s
ar o y so r ro jazz vocal harmony groups of the 1940’s
a o p s r or r “a cappella” style
o s ar s al lyr s
s o y lar ross s o o r a
o 000 oo op ro ps sa ra ar
tyle character st cs of oo op
gh tr ent lea s nger
rom nent ass s nger
or more ac up s ngers us ng non sense syllables such as “Rat a tat”, “Doo wop”, or “ h boom”
tereotyp cal chor progress on v am
50 he ive eys he enguins
he lamingos he latters he arcels
huc erry
huc erry s o e of rock and roll’s reatest o ators
erry wrote ma y o the sta ar s o the per o s u tar r s were cop e by cou tless roc ers
51 os l o rs
an arl rock s n rs r nfl nc d f r nc of os l s c
ospel houters (
any early roc ers were influenced by the vocal intensity and fervency of blac congregational singing
houting, “call response” techniques and emotional delivery of gospel sermons found its way into the vocal style of roc and roll singers. Much for Little Richard’s music is a combination of the gospel shout tradition and boogie woogie piano playing
52 l c ard as of os l s o r rad on ro an rock s andards fla o an ra l la r and so a of a lon r s ard o ca or s of n a d
ock and oll o s nd r r
rc s and local n c al s r d o an rock conc r s
s c s a l s n r d o d scr d rock and roll
ock and oll s ca nd r f r for ak n r s a ola
53 a ola ar n s
he mid s itnessed not onl an astronomical rise in tele ision ut also one of its first fads game sho s. fter it ecame pu lic that some of the sho s including the i t our housand ollar uestion ere fi ed a full lo n in estigation of tele ision promotional practices ensued. num er of esta lishment figures thought that the roc and roll as eing promoted unscrupulous dis oc e s ho ere getting mone under the ta le pa ola and also corrupting the morals of merica s outh. he sa this as an opportunit to enlarge the entertainment industr in estigation to include the practices of roc and roll dis oc e s as ell.
merican ociet of omposers uthors and u lishers as the principal music performing rights societ in merica as anted nothing to do ith roc and roll. raditional song riters clients of did not ant to ump on the roc and roll and agon. lso had their o n more traditional artists and primar focus as on mar eting these artists.
also pre ented radio stations from pla ing records ithout pa ing a huge fee. Radio stations retaliated starting roadcast Music ncorporated M hich encouraged u e o t pe pla ing on the radio and ecame a direct competitor of . ince roc and roll as from the eginning a recorded product most indies supported M .
understanda l concerned a out its ne competitor M umped on the and agon in a dri e to discredit roc and roll. lan reed most isi le among roc s as indicted and later con icted. ic lar selling teen products as ell as roc and roll as as ed to di est himself of an financial gain in promoting groups that appeared on merican andstand.
he after effects of the pa ola hearings ere the mar eting of respecta le hite teen idols promotion of top pla lists, homogenizing of rock’s regional variations and smoothing its abrasive edge.
54 lan r d
r s n
r can oc of o os rs ors and l s rs s a non rof rfor anc r s or an a on a ro c s s rs s cal co r s on or n l c rfor anc s of r s c r a a roadcas or l rfor anc and co nsa n accord n l
55 do ns d of as a n ord r o a r o ad o a ad f a or s
as n o oss l o a a a or o d s r on a c
l os all fr can r can co os rs r cl d d as r an o n r and s rn r s s
r d o k rad o s a ons fro la n r cords
ad o a ons and d o r o for roadcas s c ncor ora d
ASCAP’s fortunes declined as rock and roll r cords ros n sal s
• ock and oll d d no s ll c s s c • ock and oll as r ar l a r cord d d • ock an oll as of n s lf rod c d
so o d scr d rock and roll a ack n rac c s or ock and oll s
56 ent ne and otto e ui S o Scandal – e CC starts an in esti ation of a e S o corru tion
57 – really big fish…
he ffe f he ay la eari gs
ee ays relie a i al sales s a is i s e er i e s gs hey l lay ra her ha regi al ale
he ise f r a r e regi al ar is s ff he har s ry a es er a la ar is s ere har es hi
r a ga e rise re lea hi e ee ls
y hi g a e ery hi g as er ha i e as a ll
he r gh e ges ere re e a i i e ar e a eal
58
• y lly i hie ale s ig er
• h erry
• i le i har
• ie hra e e i e
• l is resley
• arl er i s
• erry ee e is
• a hilli s
• abilly s ars e
• la ree
59 ee ls eri a a s a i lar i r i g abia bby y ell a ra ie al
f he l e ra a ll s l e ge a e a e ab
Haley’s career declined rapidly after Elvis Presley entered the scene. As Eddie Cochran
charts. “Teen idols" replaced the original stars.
60