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Special Focus: 1950S Rock 'N' Roll Music Technology AS | Special Focus: 1950s Rock 'n' Roll Origins In the post-war years of the 1940s, young people in American were hungry for a culture they could relate to and call their own. Lingering in popularity, the phenomenon of Big Band Swing had become the music of their parents, and it was time for something new. Blues was beginning to evolve into more danceable, ensemble music known as Rhythm & Blues, with increasingly available electric-acoustic guitars playing alongside drums and double bass. Country music was popular in rural areas, merging Folk instruments such as the West African banjo and Irish fiddle with some of the musical elements of Blues. Lively Gospel music could be heard in African American churches, again borrowing from the Blues, but with a very different approach to lyrical content! The young people of the time were influenced by these various styles of music, and the music they wanted to make would take on various elements from each, forging new, lively, hybrid genres. One such hybrid genre that had been gaining popularity before and during the Second World War was known as Western Swing, which fused Country music with Blues, Folk, Dixieland Jazz and Swing. What made this uptempo, dance music so distinctive was the use of amplified string instruments, notably the steel guitar, playing alongside instruments such as drums, piano and saxophone. During the early 1950s Pennsylvania group Bill Haley and the Saddlemen were playing a combination of Country music and Western Swing, often with a strong 'bluesy' feel. In 1951 they had a hit with a Country-style cover version of the Rhythm & Blues song “Rocket 88”, featuring the characteristic sound of 'slap-back bass' – a rhythmic technique where the double bass player plucks the strings hard enough for them to fly back and hit the fingerboard creating a percussive effect. Listening: Bill Haley and the Saddlemen - “Rocket 88” | 1951 The blend of Country elements with Rhythm & Blues heard in “Rocket 88” demonstrates the prototype for what was to become Rock 'n Roll, including a bouncing swing rhythm intensified by an insistent backbeat (beats 2 and 4), and a twelve bar blues chord progression. Two other key elements stand out in the track, namely the used of the guitar as a lead instrument (with a particularly notable overdriven, slide guitar solo) and the lyrical content celebrating a car (Oldsmobile 88) which as well as being a symbol of teen freedom was also a perhaps not-so-subtle metaphor for 'romantic prowess'! The new, energetic sound the band was making made it necessary for them to change their name in 1952. Bill Haley and His Comets The name 'Rockabilly' started to become associated with this fusion of Country music with Rhythm & Blues, and several other artists during the mid-1950s, such as Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, consolidated the style, but it was Bill Haley's group that brought the music to a global audience. In 1953 the group achieve national success with the song “Crazy Man, Crazy”, the title of which being inspired by a teenage phrase. The recording was featured in a 1953 television play starring James Dean, bringing it to the attention of a wide audience. Listening: Bill Haley and His Comets - “Crazy Man, Crazy” | 1953 The song featured more of the regular Rock 'n' Roll elements, as the genre continued to evolve, such as distinctive walking bass, call and response (between the voice and guitar), unison 'party' vocals in the chorus, and some boogie-rhythm piano. When it was originally released in 1954, the electrified Rockabilly song “Rock Around the Clock” achieved little initial success, however their next recording, a cover of Big Joe Turner's “Shake, Rattle and Roll” was a bit hit. The sound of Rock 'n' Roll was building in popularity, and lively tracks like “Shake, Rattle and Roll” contributed greatly to the spread of the music. The song also featured saxophone blasting alongside the electric guitar – saxophones were common in early Rock 'n' Roll, although ultimately were eclipsed by guitars. Listening: Bill Haley and His Comets - “Shake, Rattle and Roll” | 1954 But in March 1955 “Rock Around the Clock” was featured in the film “Blackboard Jungle”, and a re- release to coincide with the film lead to it becoming one of the biggest hits in history. It held the US number 1 spot for eight weeks. Rock 'n' Roll fever swept through America, and the first identifiable teenage culture was born. Young audiences swarmed to Bill Haley concerts, causing riots in some cities. The group's frenetic performances characterised by antics such as double bass-player Marshall Lytle 'riding' his bass like a horse or swinging it above his head caused a sensation, disapproved of by the nations parents but idolised by teenagers. Listening: Bill Haley and His Comets - “Rock Around the Clock” | 1954 More hits followed, promoted by hugely successful tours extending to Britain and Europe and even several movie appearances, but as more exciting acts such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis began to dominate the scene Bill Haley and His Comets began to decline. The group maintained a low profile with various line-up changes throughout the 1960s and 1970s, never again achieving the dominance they enjoyed in the mid 1950s. Bill Haley died of an apparent heart attack in 1981. Little Richard Growing up in an African American, religious family ensured that Richard Penniman began his singing career early. He quickly gained a reputation around his home town of Macon, Georgia for his loud, screaming singing style, and in 1945 was invited on stage to sing with popular gospel star and one of his favourite childhood singers Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The experience of singing to such a large crowd inspired him to pursue music as a career. Another singer who influenced the early development of his vocal style was gospel performer Marion Williams. Her vital energy, epitomised by a high-pitched 'Wooooo!' trademark was adopted by Penniman. Listening: Marion Williams - “Packin' Up” | 1958 He was also influenced by 'Jump Blues' singer Billy Wright, both in music and appearance, and during the early 1950s he started recording his own brand of Jump with several record labels. None of these recordings scored a success however, and Penniman began pursuing a more Rhythm & Blues sound, further developing his boogie woogie piano technique and taking influence from Ray Charles and Fats Domino. He also assembled a regular live band. In 1955 Little Richard signed to LA label Speciality, and at the request of his A&R man, recorded a 'cleaned up' version of an improvised, boogie woogie piano piece called “Tutti Frutti”. Even with the edited lyrical content, the meaning of the song is not subtle, and Penniman's excitable vocal delivery and frenzied piano-playing were perhaps shocking for wider, uninitiated audiences. The song was an instant hit, reaching number 2 in the Billboard R&B chart and number 17 in the Billboard pop chart. Its driving energy and risqué lyrics became something of a blueprint for the flourishing Rock 'n' Roll scene. Listening: Little Richard - “Tutti Frutti” | 1955 A notable characteristic in the track is the punctuating vocal “A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam- boom!” which represents a drum fill and creates an exciting and memorable rhythmic accent. The drums, bass and horn section are simply arranged maintaining the adapted twelve-bar blues structure, leaving Penniman plenty of room to play with his vocal melody and freestyle boogie woogie piano. A saxophone solo demonstrates the importance of that instrument during the early days of Rock 'n' Roll before the electric guitar dominated. “Tutti Frutti” quickly became a fine example of a popular phenomenon in Rock 'n' Roll, the cover version. Groups and singers would regularly release their own interpretations of current songs, boosting their own careers and escalating those songs to anthemic proportions by increasing the audiences. Not long after Little Richard's first huge hit, Elvis Presley, already a big star, released a version of “Tutti Frutti”. It is interesting to compared the performance styles of the two versions, Elvis's, though exciting, is considerably less wild than Richard's! Listening: Elvis Presley - “Tutti Frutti” | 1956 Between 1955 and 1957 Little Richard scored seventeen more hits, mostly up-tempo Rock 'n' Roll songs featuring his characteristic, driving piano playing and wild screams which captured the essence of his increasingly popular live performances. Another example of typical Little Richard-style Rock 'n' Roll is “Lucille” which was released in 1957, again on Speciality. Listening: Little Richard - “Lucille” | 1957 Little Richard's concerts were notorious, with the audience going wild in response to his on-stage antics. His popularity helped contribute to the gradual breakdown of audience segregation in areas where it was still prevalent. As a performer, Little Richard was charismatic and dressed theatrically, usually sporting carefully styled hair and make-up to enhance his 'movie star' image. Indeed his music was featured in several films at the time and he actually performed as himself in “Don't Knock the Rock” “True Fine Mama” is another hit from this period which demonstrates Little Richard's more soulful side. Although still featuring most of the typical Rock 'n' Roll elements such as swing rhythm, 12-bar blues and call and response, the delivery is more controlled and the backing vocals create a somewhat less edgy mood. Listening: Little Richard - “True Fine Mama” | 1957 In the same year, Little Richard experienced several signs which he took to be messages from God and devoted himself to Christianity for several years, leaving his Rock 'n' Roll career and instead forming an Evangelist team.
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