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'N' Roll I: Early Covers

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'N' Roll I: Early Covers Rock ’n’ Roll I: Early Covers MUSC-21600: The Art of Rock Music Prof. Freeze 5 September 2018 The Rise of Rock ’n’ Roll • Alan Freed • Cleveland’s Moondog Show • Originally black adult audience, increasingly white teenagers listening, too. • First to use “rock ’n’ roll” to market music • Cunning marketing strategy, but fraught from standpoint of racial politics • Cf. Freed’s fate in payola scandals to Dick Clark’s • Rock ’n’ Roll: more a generational than musical category • Coherent audience • New demographic (and cultural concept): teenagers • Generation overtook race, region as primary categories for popular music • Diversity of musical styles • Includes Chuck Berry, Pat Boone, Fats Domino, Ricky Nelson, and Elvis Presley Covers • Cornerstone of early rock ’n’ roll • Borrowing/re-using/re-purposing has always been part of music • Ethically problematic in context of economic and racial inequities of 1950s society • Original version: black artists, black audiences, indie labels, R&B; little profit • Cover version: white artists, white audiences, major labels, R&R; big profit • Law protected song writer (sheet music model), not performer • “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (Big Joe Turner, 1954) • Lyrics? • Timbre/texture? What does the sax solo play? • Rhythmic feel? Pay attention especially to bass, piano. • Style? Shake, Rattle and Roll Big Joe Turner, 1954 Bill Haley and His Comets, 1954 • Hokum blues lyrics with sexual • Bowdlerized lyrics remove some innuendo innuendo, introduce spurned lover • Bass, piano, saxes, drums, guitar • Similar but with more emphasis on (sax solo guitar (sax solo plays melody) • Laid-back metric feel • Vigorous rhythmic feel • Boogie-woogie shuffle groove in • Very quick tempo piano • Driving shuffle groove carried by slap • Walking bass bass (common in country music) • Heavy backbeat in snare drum, hand • Heavy backbeat claps • Rock ’n’ Roll • Jump blues style Sh-Boom • The Chords’ original exhibits novel mix of musical styles • The Crew-Cuts’ cover • dials down the R&B qualities • dials up the jazz and pop qualities • treats structure more formulaically • interjects comical, novelty elements • See listening guides Mystery Train Junior Parker, 1953 Elvis Presley, 1955 • 12-bar blues (some first phrases • 12 bar blues (very irregular begin on IV) phrasing) • R&B band conveys moving train • Rhythmic intensity and excitement • Relaxed vocals seem secondary • Vocal intensity in center of to band’s train attention, blends country and • Rural blues lyrics: image of train; blues inflections spare and nonlinear, but clearly • Lyrics convey sense of confident pessimistic control, optimism Hound Dog Big Mama Thornton, 1953 Elvis Presley, 1956 • Rough, raspy vocal quality • Polished urban blues vocal • Blues-style guitar rhythms, quality emphasizing blue notes • Country-style guitar playing • Laid-back rhythmic feel • Driving rhythm • Loose hand-clap backbeat • Choral backup for instrumental • Lyrics dealing with empowered solos woman, good-for-nothing man • Bowdlerized lyrics play up Presley’s tough-guy image.
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