Reactions to Rock

1. Reactions to Rock • By: Chelsea and Tevin Date

2. Rocking the Establishment • As the 1960’s began, pop, Broadway, jazz, country and Latin music were not threatened by rock and roll. • Broadway was still popular • The soundtrack of West Side Story was at the top of the charts for over a year • The soundtrack of The Sound of Music spent over three years at the top of the charts • The musical Fiddler on the Roof ran for over 3,000 performances. • Jazz musicians (John Coltrane and his circle) were too busy stretching jazz boundaries to be concerned with rock. • Herbie Hancock was one of the first to explore jazz/rock fusions. • Country music romanced pop, not rock. • For those working in established genres, their response to the rock revolution was to incorporate elements of rock style into their music. • From cosmetic overlays (like Sinatra’s late 1960’s hits) to true fusions which created a new form of an established genre or a hybrid style.

3. Frank Sinatra

4. Frank Sinatra • “[Rock and roll is] the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear.” • Biggest pop star of the 1960’s • Formed his own record company in 1961 that charted seven albums • Record sales declined with the rise of rock • Several of his hit songs (“Strangers in the Night” “Something Stupid” “My Way”) traded the trademark swing of the 1950’s and early 1960’s for a subdued rock rhythm • Briefly retired from show business in 1971 and returned two years later • Recorded two successful duet albums in the 1990’s with collaborators as diverse as Bono, Aretha Franklin, Julio Iglesias, and Chrissy Hynde • Belonged to a group of pop singers that spanned three generations: his roots (swing), post-World War II singers, and the younger generation led by Johnny Mathis.

5. The Bossa Nova and Brazilian Music • Samba: The most popular Afro-Brazilian dance music of the 20th century in Brazil and elsewhere. • Been popular in the US since the early 1930’s. • The 16-beat rhythms of samba influenced the new jazz and African-American popular styles of the 1970’s and 1980’s. • Particularly evident at Carnaval (Rio’s last big splurge before Lent-a huge street party that culminates in a massive parade • Samba schools prepare for the parade for almost the entire year-features hundreds of musicians, many of them percussionists. • Introduced to the US by the 1959 film, Black Orpheus • For Americans, Brazilian music meant almost exclusively music from just southern Brazil. • Bossa nova: a samba-based, jazz-influenced Brazilian popular-song style that became popular in the US in the early 1960’s • It emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1950’s as a sophisticated, more melodic, and rhythmically less complex kind of samba • Only lasted a few years but bossa nova rhythms became a pop alternative to rock rhythm-it reintroduced American listeners to the 16-beat rhythms of the samba

6. “The Girl from Impanema” • Collaboration of Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, and Astrud Gilberto • Landmark bossa nova recording in 1963 • Contains the two keys to the bossa nova style: complex, off-beat rhythms of the guitar chords, and Joao Gilberto’s cool, flat, low-pitched voice • Jobim’s song has the AABA form • First phrase of the melody is a simple riff that gently slides down over smoothly shifting chords • Complex bridge-bold harmonies that support a sinuous melody • Favored subtly shifting melodies and exotic, jazz-derived harmonies that complemented the subtle rhythm of the guitar and Gilberto’s low-key singing • Getz playing is straightforward and lyrical; restrained quality and smooth edge • Underscores the affinity between jazz and bossa nova

7. Pop Rock • Pop rock: a rock-era substyle that grafted elements of rock style onto pre-rock popular song • Integrated rock elements-typically, rock rhythms and forms-into songs with a pop sensibility • Burt Bacharach • Soft rock: a family of rock styles characterized mainly by sweeter singing styles; more melodious, even Tin Pan Alley-esque vocal lines; richer instrumentation; and a gentle dynamic level. • Blended the emphasis on melody and clear forms of Tin Pan Alley songs with an understated rock rhythm. • Flourished throughout much of the 1970’s • The Carpenters and Barbra Streisand were the most successful

8. Burt Bacharach

9. Burt Bacharach • Tin Pan Alley shrunk to just the Brill Building by 1960. • Brill Building was home to several music publishers-most notably AlDon Music-who set out to bridge the gap between traditional pop and rock and roll. • Lyricist Hal David and songwriter Burt Bacharach were the most inventive team • Bacharach came to popular song with a rich background in jazz, classical music, and traditional pop • They recruited Dionne Warwick to sing most of their songs. • Shaped by the rock-era music (especially Motown) • Profoundly influenced the next generation of pop-rock songwriters (Barry Manilow, Paul Williams, and Marvin Hamlisch) • Soft rock was a product of their efforts

10. “The Look of Love” • Written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, for Casino Royale, not Dionne Warwick • Sung by British pop singer, Dusty Springfield • David’s lyrics are understated-which gives them power. • Reveals many of the qualities that set Bacharach’s music apart from everyone else at that time: • A carefully constructed arrangement • Unusual harmonies • Rhythmic surprises • Innovative forms

11. The Rock Musical • Rock Musical: a musical that uses rock rhythms and generally incorporates some of its ideas and attitudes. hair was a prototypical rock musical. • Musical theater entered the rock era on April 29, 1968 when Hair opened on Broadway • Promises, Promises: Bacharach and David, opened in late 1968, adapted by Neil Simon from Billy Wilder’s 1960 film, The Apartment • Bacharach’s clever music complements the modern theme of the plot with up-to-date, but adult-sounding music • Company: Stephen Sondheim, 1970, “first modern musical” adapts the “realness” of rock to the “over 30” generation, pop-rock style • Jesus Christ, Superstar: Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, recorded in 1970, staged in 1971, retold the passion of Christ in contemporary terms, used rock-influenced music and everyday speech to make the story more up-to-date • Grease: 1972, indirect influence of rock, late 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll styles,

12. Hair • Opened off Broadway in 1967 then ran for 1,750 performances on Broadway. • Broke the tradition of Broadway rejecting rock music • Hair was the brainchild of James Rado and Gerome Ragni • Hair simply took a slice of countercultural life-race, sex, war, and drugs, instead of building the music around a story about another time or place • The plot is ambiguous and relatively insignificant • Sensational scenes such as burning the American flag, a nude scene (with the actors’ backs to the audience), songs with lyrics that list a series of sexual practices scorned by mainstream society, and novel features such as actors going out into the audience. • Racially integrated cast with no real stars • Short songs (less than one minute) with a prominent rhythm section-especially the electric bass

13. Country Music • Roy Orbison: Arguably the first country rocker, and the the last of the rockabillies • Blurred the line between country and rock with his single “Blue Bayou” and his remake of “Mean Woman Blues” • Nashville reinforced its position as the spiritual and commercial center of country music and served as the publishing and recording center • 1957: The Country Music Association formed in Nashville-served as the primary trade organization • The “Nashville Sound” was a marriage of country and pop • Late 1960’s and early 1970’s: country had influences on rock, and rock had influences on country • Dylan’s Nashville sessions, Gram Parsons, the Byrds, the Glying Burrito Brothers, Lynryd Skynyrd, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the early Eagles • Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson • 1960’s country gently eased into rock style

14. Country’s New Take on Reality • Songs express every conceivable view: the faithful wife, the wandering wife, the faithful husband, the philandering husband, etc. • Tammy Wynette lived the stories in her songs so fully it was hard to draw the line between reality and art • Grew up without a father, married at 17, divorced by the birth of her 3rd child, worked as a beautician, and was on her way to becoming a singer within one year, remarried to George Jones in 1969 • Jones was an alcoholic and if affected his personal and professional lives: ruined his marriage and nearly destroyed his career • “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” heartbreak at the end of a relationship, the story is in present tense, describes a painful situation in plain language, the music is neutral and doesn’t tell about the pain, • Steel guitar, electric guitar, discreet rhythm section playing a discreet rock rhythm at a slow tempo, and a choir in the background during the chorus • Exemplifies Nashville at its most efficient: simple songs that are good vehicles for good singers, and professional musical settings appropriate to the mood of the song, lets the lyrics and Wynette take center stage • Rock influence: slight-the discreet rock rhythm, but evidences the trickling down of rock style into music far removed culturally and expressively from rock music

15. Country Music in the 1970’s • Country music audience expanded because: • Rock-era listeners were more open to listening to a greater range of musical styles and the continuing interchange between rock, country and pop • Despite the conservative backlash and the rise of the “silent majority” during Nixon’s time in the White House • The election of Jimmy Carter-the first president from the Deep South since Andrew Johnson-gave way to the White House becoming a major venue for country performers during his presidency • Pop-oriented country-Dolly Parton • Themes of plainspokenness, distinctive vocal styles, and characteristic instruments-fiddle, steel guitar, and dobro • All helped market country music to explode in the 1990’s

16. Latin Rock • Latin rock: A fusion of Afro-Cuban music and rock • In the 1950‘s and 1960‘s, it was only an occasional and subtle strand in the fabric of rock, rhythm and blues • Carlos Santana made it popular around 1970 • Guitar and organ solos merge Latin and rock rhythms seamlessly • However, finding a compromise between the beat and the clave pattern was difficult • Santana created an effective compromise

17. Carlos Santana • Born and raised in Mexico-moved to San Francisco in 1962 • First gained attention as a blues-inspired rock guitarist • Connected Mexican music with Afro-Cuban, and mixed it with rock to create Latin rock • Latin rock’s lone star-others attempted Latin rock, but none were as good as Santana • Covered Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” in 1971 • Does not have the clave rhythm, but it is a similar asymmetrical rhythm over eight beats • Percussion instruments and clave-like rhythm place Latin elements on the forefront, distinguishing Latin rock from other substyles

18. Jazz and Rock • The new jazz tradition created by Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, and others include: • Instrumentation: Big rhythm section made of electronic instruments (keyboards, electric guitars and basses, and sometimes horns) • Rhythm: Eight or (most often) sixteen beat rhythmic foundation, dense texture, conflict, and no single instrument responsible for marking the beat • Texture: “No one solos, we all solo...” Dense, layered, composed primarily of riffs, bass liberated from timekeeping, preeminent soloist • Form: Long, sequential, multi-sectional, limited opportunity for improvisation

19. Miles Davis • Lived 1926-1991 • In 1968, he went electric • Collaborated with Gil Evans and stretched the boundaries of jazz • Sketches of Spain was the inspiration for Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit” • Arguably the most admired jazz musician of his generation • Created the “best damn rock band in the world,” with musicians playing electric guitar and keyboards • Created the most innovative and challenging synthesis of jazz and rock in 1969 with the two albums, In a Silent Way, and Bitches Brew

20. Miles Davis (cont.) • For In a Silent Way, Davis added a guitarist, and two keyboardists to his working quintet of saxophonist, pianist, bassist, and drummer. • Davis relied on good judgment and imagination to avoid extreme chord-instrument overkill • Consists of two long tracks: eighteen and twenty minutes long-each assembled from two shorter segments • 3 layers: 1) foundation: repeated an ostinato or riff for a long stretch of time, 2) background: multiple keyboard instruments playing in different registers and timbres, 3) foreground: solo instrument, the most prominent strand in this rich texture • The result was NOT rock-it was dense, interactive textures, static harmonies, open forms, and active rhythms of rock and soul into a freer musical environment. • It was not bop or post-bop jazz either-it had radically different rhythm, harmony and form • Yet still contained the spontaneity of great jazz

21. Terms to Know • Samba • Bossa nova • Pop rock • Soft rock • Rock musical • Latin rock