The Big Picture. Roots Music Mainstream Pop Music. Rock and Roll. Chart Cross-over period

Transcription

1 The Big Picture Roots Music The Blues Country Music Mainstream Pop Music 1920 s: Mississippi Delta Blues 1930 s: Urban Blues 1940 s: Jump Blues 1950 s Rhythm and Blues 1920 s: Cowboy Songs 1930 s: Hillbilly Music 1940 s: Country Swing Country and Western 1940 s Big Band Singers American Songbook Jazz Tradition Rock and Roll Chart Cross-over period

2 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.

3 The Tin Pan Alley Pop Era (1885-mid 1950 s) The Great American Songbook 1940 s Big Bands 1950 s Popular Music New York: Tin Pan Alley 14th St. and 2nd Ave.

4 Tin Pan Alley - New York (1885-though 1940 s) The music was distributed through sheet music Professional songwriters dominated the period; George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin Composers wrote for pop music, Broadway, and film Eventually Tin Pan Alley tradition was replaced by the Rock and Roll tradition

5 Sheet Music

6 Tin Pan Alley - New York (1885-though 1940 s) The music was distributed through sheet music Professional songwriters dominated the period; George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin Composers wrote for pop music, Broadway, and film Eventually Tin Pan Alley tradition was replaced by the Rock and Roll tradition

7 Puttin On The Ritz (Irving Berlin, 1929) Ella Fitzgerald Swing style (1958) If you're blue And you don't know where to go to Why don't you go where fashion sits Puttin' on the Ritz Different types who wear a daycoat Pants with stripes and cutaway coat Perfect fits Puttin' on the Ritz Irving Berlin ( ) Died age 101

8 Dressed up like a million dollar trooper Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper Super-duper Come, let's mix where Rockefellers Walk with sticks or umberellas In their mitts Puttin' on the Ritz He also wrote White Christmas and God Bless America. Trivia: Irving Berlin did not read or write music and only played piano in one key (F sharp)

9 Written by a professional (often non-performing) song-writers Sophisticated arrangement Syncopated rhythm (accents on unexpected, weak beats) Clever, well-crafted lyrics Striving for upper-class sensibilities Striving for mainstream respectability Primary audience: Adults

10 Roots Music (Vernacular Music) 1. Regional popular and folk music 2. Played by amateur musicians 3. Not formally taught 4. Spread through an oral tradition 5. Ignored by mainstream audiences 6. No national promotion by music establishment

11 Tin Pan Alley Tradition Music marketed through sheet music and song pluggers Professional songwriters repertoire based Endorsed and promoted by the music establishment Roots Music Ignored by mainstream audiences Untrained performers rendition based Country Music The Blues Early Rock an Roll Tin Pan Alley Rock and Roll

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13 Major Publications: Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (1910) Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp (1919) American Ballads and Folk Songs (1934) Negro Songs as Sung by Lead Belly (1936) Our Singing County (1941) John Lomax ( ) Folk Song U.S.A. (1947)

14 The Lomax car outfitted with primitive audio recording equipment

15 <Inside view Voice Recorder Alan Lomax ( ) son of John Lomax continued in his father s footsteps

16 Huddie Leadbelly Ledbetter ( ) Discovered by John and Alan Lomax He becomes a popular entertainer playing old-fashioned blues Lead Belly's Last Sessions (1948) contained songs that became the springboard to the 1960 s folk revival: The House of the Rising Sun The Midnight Special Rock Island Line Goodnight, Irene Many Leadbelly songs were covered by British acts of the 1960 s

17 The Influence of the Blues The blues were derived from field hollers and work songs. Many of the songs were work songs designed to synchronize manual labor such as swinging an axe or pounding railroad spikes. Other songs helped relieve the monotony and pass the time during repetitive tasks. The songs were kept alive and vital by rote memorization and an oral tradition. Boogie Woogie Piano Playing Boogie Woogie piano playing imitates a chug-a-lug train rhythm and was often played on honky-tonk trains transporting laborers throughout the Midwest. The style of makes use of walking bass Mississippi Delta Blues ( ) Also known country blues the primary practitioners were male African- American itinerant laborers. The lyrics often expressed basic human conditions such as poverty, homelessness, unfaithful love, penitentiary life, and alienation. The vocal style features a fierce singing style similar to that of field hollers. Typical instruments included slide guitar, and harmonica. The rhythm was often fluctuating and uneven. Among the most influential of the Delta Bluesmen were Son House ( ) and Robert Johnson ( )

18 The Mississippi Delta Tupelo Mississippi Delta Blues Style ( ) sometimes called Country Blues or simply Delta Blues

19 The Mississippi Delta The Land Where Blues Began Tupelo The old bluesmen tell their story New Orleans

20 Mississippi Delta Blues or Country Blues ( ) Tupelo Primate blues style Instruments limited to voice and acoustic guitar, and sometimes harmonica Fluid, fluctuating rhythm based on the lyrics Non-dance music that tells a story about hardships, loneliness, or sex New Orleans

21 Robert Johnson ( ) allegedly sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads. He embodies the spirit of the rocker; a man and his guitar telling his story to the world.

22 Sweet Home Chicago Robert Johnson (1936, San Antonio, Texas) Musical Style: Mississippi Delta Blues (Country Blues) 12-bar blues shuffle Oh, baby don't you want to go (Oh=blues moan) Oh, baby don't you want to go Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago Oh, baby don't you want to go Oh, baby don't you want to go Back to the land of California, to my sweet home Chicago

23 Now, one and one is two, Two and two is four I'm heavy loaded baby, I'm booked, I gotta go Cryin' baby, Honey, don't you want to go Back to the land of California, To my sweet home Chicago

24 Now two and two is four, Four and two is six You gon' keep on monkeyin round here, Friend-boy You goin get your business all in a trick I m cryin' baby, Honey, don't you want to go Back to the land of California, To my sweet home Chicago

25 Now two and two is four, Four and two is six You gon' keep on monkeyin round here, Friend-boy You goin get your business all in a trick I m cryin' baby, Honey, don't you want to go Back to the land of California, To my sweet home Chicago

26 The Big Bang of Country Music Bristol Recording Sessions, 1927

27 Bristol, Tennessee The Bristol Recording Sessions were held in 1927 by Victor Talking Machine Company (RCA). The sessions are often described as The big bang of country music

28 Ralph Peer ( ) Talent scout, recording engineer and record producer in the 1920s and 1930s. The influence of the Carter Family can be heard in the film O Brother Where Art Thou Jimmie Rogers The Carter Family

29 Hank Williams, Sr., ( ) blended Country and Western with the Blues

30 Upright Bass Archtop Guitar Fiddle

31 Urban Blues Types ( ) As transplanted Southern musicians adapted the Mississippi blues style, unique urban or city blues styles emerged. Several major urban hubs such as Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans had their versions of urban blues. Chicago Blues ( ) Primarily bar-room drinking music, the vocal styling of Chicago blues is often gruff and raspy sounding. Vocals are usually solo; rarely using back-up vocal harmony. The lyrics struggle with issues such as liquor, sex, and unemployment. After World War II electric guitar and amplified harmonica become common. There is strong rhythmic emphasis on the "back-beat" Much of the music was recorded at independent record companies such as Chess studios in Chicago.

32 Chicago Blues ( ) Bar room drinking music Rough, raspy, and crude vocals Frequent instruments include: Electric guitar Amplified harmonica Piano Drums

33 Muddy Waters ( ) Born McKinley Morganfield One of the most important Chicago Blues masters. The Rolling Stones derived their name from Muddy Waters song Rolling Stone

34 (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (written by Willie Dixon, 1954) Performed by Muddy Waters Style: Chicago Blues (a subset of Urban blues) Muddy Waters - vocals, guitar Little Walter harmonica Otis Spann piano Jimmy Rogers guitar (NOT the country and western star) Willie Dixon bass Fred Below - drums

35 (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man The gypsy woman told my mother Before I was born You got a boy child's comin He gonna be a son of a gun He gonna make pretty womens Jump and shout Then the world wanna know What this all about But you know I m him Everybody knows I m him [blues holler] Well you know I m the hoochie coochie man Everybody knows I m him

36 I got a mojo too Mojo Bag

37 I got John the Conqueroo I gotta mess with you John the Conqueroo John the Conqueror Root An herb Aphrodisiac of questionable effectiveness

38 I m gonna make you girls Lead me by my hand Then the world will know The hoochie coochie man But you know I'm him Everybody knows I'm him Oh you know I m the hoochie coochie man Everybody knows I m him

39 On the seventh hour On the seventh day On the seventh month The seven doctors say He was born for good luck And that you'll see I got seven hundred dollars Don't you mess with me But you know I m him Everybody knows I m him Well you know I m the hoochie coochie man Everybody knows I m him

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41 12 Bar Blues Format Call It Stormy Monday Phrase Statement Instrumental Fill Phrase (Same) Statement Instrumental Fill Phrase [Optional Intro:] Conclusion Instrumental Fill [1 st 12-Bar chorus] [2 nd 12-bar chorus] [Instrumental chorus] [3 rd 12-bar chorus]

42 A Short History of Rock and Roll Pre-Rock Base: New Orleans Jump Blues (Mid-1940 s) Jump bands were small combos playing in the swing band style with much scaled-down instrumentation. Instruments often used were one or more hot horn players and a rhythm section (piano, guitar, bass and drums). This style leads directly to the rhythm and blues dance tradition. The Rise of the Teenager: The baby boomers (b ) with their increased allowances and greater leisure time led to a substantial teenage sub-class bored with the status quo. There was no separate teen music or teen marketing. Juvenile delinquency became popularized by the press and Hollywood movies such as James Dean's portrayal in Rebel Without A Cause.

43 Three Categories Of Popular Music After World War II There were three separate music markets; White Pop Charts (extension of the American Songbook and Big Band Singers), Hillbilly (Country and Western) musc and Rhythm and Blues. The popularity of country-western cross-overs into the pop market in the early 1950 s, rhythm and blues and hillbilly music styles began to cross-pollinate in the predominately conservative middleclass music market of the early to mid 50 s. 1. The White Pop Chart ( s) This was the mainstream of American popular music. The music of this period reflected white adult attitudes and the apparent affluence of the growing middle class. The music was clean-cut, polished production numbers driven by the music industry. Songs were often deliberately naive in romance and sex. In an effort to insulate themselves from the effects of World War II adults preferred pop songs with high

44 Three Categories Of Popular Music After World War II, cont. 2. Country Swing (1930 s Through Early 50 s) Country Swing was a Southern adaptation of the big band swing style using swing riffs and traditional country-western instruments such as lap steel-string guitar, fiddle, and sometimes horns. Some of the younger bands such Bill Haley and the Comets dropped their country image altogether and began concentrating on white adaptations of rhythm and blues material. Country Swing led to rockabilly. 3. Rhythm And Blues (1949-Early '60's) Rhythm and blues was commercialized, "good-time" dance music that filled juke boxes in black ghettos in the late 1940's and 1950's. Suggestive lyrics usually about love or sex are very common. Many songs contain sexual double-entendres and were often banned from broadcast for being too suggestive.

45 Early Rock and Roll Styles Rockabilly ( ) Rockabilly was a cross-blend of commercialized blues and hillbilly tradition. During its height, performers came from several styles i.e.; Rick Nelson (pop); Johnny Cash (country); Elvis Presley (rock). The style make heavy use of twanging guitars, nasal singing and slapbass. Heavy drumming, still associated primarily with black music, was kept to a minimum. Doo-Wop (Early 50 s) Doo-wop was one of the first successful styles of rock and roll. The style stared in the late 1940's with black vocal harmony groups performing on the street corners of New York black ghettos. Doo-Wop was often sung a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). The vocal arrangement follows a standard format: A strident lead singer, back-up singers vocalizing nonsense syllables such as "doo-wop and a prominent bass singer.