Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution This item contains selected online content. It is for use alongside, not as a replacement for the module website, which is the primary study format and contains activities and resources that cannot be replicated in the printed versions. About this free course This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A113 Revolutions http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/modules/a113. This version of the content may include video, images and interactive content that may not be optimised for your device. You can experience this free course as it was originally designed on OpenLearn, the home of free learning from The Open University – https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/the-american-civil-rights-movement/content-section-0 There you’ll also be able to track your progress via your activity record, which you can use to demonstrate your learning. 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Head of Intellectual Property, The Open University 2 of 30 Wednesday 24 March 2021 Contents Introduction 4 Learning Outcomes 5 1 The academic study of popular music 6 2 The position of women in popular music 7 2.1 Gendered music roles 8 3 Popular music and the counterculture 12 3.1 Authenticity 12 3.2 Women musicians and the counterculture 14 4 Women in rock: Janis Joplin 15 5 Joplin’s singing style 16 6 Joplin’s image and reception 18 7 The ‘other’ and Joplin 19 8 The sexual revolution and Joplin 21 9 ‘One of the guys’ 24 10 Joplin’s lasting reputation 26 Conclusion 28 Glossary 28 References 29 Acknowledgements 30 3 of 30 Wednesday 24 March 2021 Introduction Introduction This free course, Janis Joplin and the Sexual Revolution, will introduce you to issues around the sexual revolution and how this, alongside other contemporary social revolutions of the 1960s, impacted upon American female rock musician Janis Joplin (1943-1970). You will investigate the extent to which the contemporary sexual revolution brought about greater gender equality for female popular musicians such as Janis Joplin, and consider whether it might be more accurate to view this as a superficial revolution which masked the reality of continued sexual conservatism. You do not need to play an instrument, to sing, to read music or have any prior musical knowledge to be able to complete this course. This free course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A113 Revolutions. It is one of four OpenLearn courses exploring the notion of the Sixties as a ‘revolutionary’ period. Learn more about these OpenLearn courses here. 4 of 30 Wednesday 24 March 2021 Learning Outcomes After studying this course, you should be able to: ● understand the notion of the academic study of popular music (sometimes referred to as Popular Music Studies) ● consider the extent to which the sexual revolution brought about greater equality of opportunities for female popular musicians, such as Janis Joplin ● situate the position of female American popular musicians, such as Janis Joplin, during the 1960s within the wider context of other social ‘revolutions’ taking place at the same time in the United States, including the Civil Rights Movement, the sexual revolution, and development of the counterculture ● develop your skills in close listening to music. 1 The academic study of popular music 1 The academic study of popular music The academic study of popular music (Popular Music Studies) is a relatively recent development within music. Up until a few decades ago (roughly the 1980s), the academic study of music (at school, university or conservatoire) focused upon Western classical music. This has broadened out considerably since the 1990s, and popular music is now a staple part of the academic study of music. Popular Music Studies often pays considerable attention to the social, cultural, and political contexts within which popular music is produced and consumed, rather than necessarily focusing upon the musical notes themselves. This course follows this approach. Its central question is not whether the musical grammar of 1960s American popular music was in itself revolutionary, but rather the impact of a period of apparent social revolution on the ways in which popular music was produced and consumed. 6 of 30 Wednesday 24 March 2021 2 The position of women in popular music 2 The position of women in popular music Many different genres of popular music flourished in the US during the 1960s. Rock developed rapidly, girl groups had a huge impact (particularly during the first half of the decade), Motown and soul were massively popular, folk music had a large following, and jazz continued to develop throughout the decade. The British Invasion – which is generally considered to have begun with The Beatles’ first US tour in 1964 – also had a huge impact on American popular music. Many of these popular music genres were intimately associated with the developing counterculture. The marginalised roles which had been ascribed to women within popular music in the 1950s continued throughout the 1960s, however. As musicologist Sheila Whiteley has noted, ‘both the counterculture and progressive rock were largely dominated by men who were reactionary in their attitude towards women’ (Whiteley, 2000, p. 51). This is well exemplified through Janis Joplin’s career. Popular music became one of the most important forms of cultural expression in 1960s America. Beginning in the 1950s, post-war financial affluence created a generation of teenagers with disposable income to spend on records. Improvements in recording technology around the same time also made these easier and cheaper to produce. Developments in electronic instruments and mass production, meanwhile, made electric guitars and amplifiers attainable for teenagers, and electric guitar bands quickly became fashionable. Rock ‘n’ roll (or rock as it is often shortened to) was embraced with enthusiasm by American youth, and musicians such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and the Comets, and Chuck Berry became household names. Figure 1 Elvis Presley, c.1956 Right from the beginning, however, rock ‘n’ roll was very much male-dominated. As a genre, rock spoke directly to youth culture and became strongly associated with teenage rebellion. The profusion of male musicians within the genre has prompted Julie C. Dunbar to assert that: ‘Rock was more than music; it was a form of rebellion that spoke of sexuality from a male perspective’ (Dunbar, 2011, p. 177). She has further commented that the amplified, electric guitar-based, mainly male rock ‘n’ roll bands created: A strong perceived connection between technology, electricity, and the male sphere […] most rock performers who were visible to the public were men who manipulated electronic instruments and equipment. Behind the scenes was a 7 of 30 Wednesday 24 March 2021 2 The position of women in popular music male-dominated industry of producers, songwriters, publishers, and recording engineers. (Dunbar, 2011, p. 177) Male rock musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), sang about love, sex, and relationships from positions of power and control, while the aggressive sound of the music, produced by amplified electric guitars, affirmed a dominating masculine sexuality. Women’s position within rock music has been particularly fraught and they were generally pushed into marginal or hidden spaces.