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Eruption of Rock n Roll

Eruption of Rock n Roll (cont.). 1955? = Bill Haley: Rock Around the Clock1953? = Crazy, Man Crazy1951? = Dominoes: Sixty Minute ManDefinition of Rock n Roll = equally obscureActual Rock n Roll"R

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Eruption of Rock n Roll

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    1. Eruption of Rock n Roll Impossible to pinpoint the beginning of Rock n Roll

    2. Eruption of Rock n Roll (cont.) 1955? = Bill Haley: Rock Around the Clock 1953? = Crazy, Man Crazy 1951? = Dominoes: Sixty Minute Man Definition of Rock n Roll = equally obscure Actual Rock n Roll R & B called Rock n Roll (disguise its origins)

    3. Eruption of Rock n Roll (concl.) Irony: Rock n Roll = term used by white deejays, meant to be more wholesome, actually slang for sex More accurate = sometime during the 1950s, music that came to be called Rock n Roll rose from diverse, seldom heard segments of the population to transform the concept of popular music (p. 81-82)

    4. Cultural Diversity Formula: r&b + c&w = r&r woefully inept True of Chuck Berry and Elvis Overlooks black inner-city vocal sound All-American, multi-ethnic hybrid

    5. Cultural Diversity (cont.) Musical sources = firmly rooted in working-class culture Workers = retained elements from their traditional cultures and combined them with others

    6. Cultural Diversity (concl.) 1955-58 = equal representation of white and black artists, due to popularity among mainstream fans Women = not well represented Sexuality that characterized rock n roll = predominantly male in nature (p. 82-85)

    7. Structural Changes Rules of the music industry: artist & repertoire, recording techniques, marketing strategies, national distribution, and consumer preference = turned UPSIDE DOWN by rock n roll 1953 Orioles release Crying in the Chapel = #1 (r & b) crossed over to pop New precedent for independently produced records featuring black singers

    8. Structural Changes (cont.) Marketing categories (1948-9) = simple National market = popular music Regional market = c&w African American market = r&b Advent of r&r swept these away

    9. Structural Changes (cont.) Major labels = strong hold on all aspects of record production Two events gave rise to independent labels Independent radio market 45 rpm record = national distribution cheaper

    10. Structural Changes (cont.) Chains of radio stations Businessmen invested in radio Profitability = Top Forty radio advertising $ pays off

    11. Structural Changes (concl.) Top Forty radio Total sound format: jingles, special effects, promotional gimmicks & news Personality jocks Unfair to single record business Lowering listenership Charts = radio, jukebox play & record sales (p. 85-87)

    12. New Orleans Sound Cosimo Matassa co-owner and chief engineer of J & M Studio 1940s 1960s almost every New Orleans r&b record cut in his studios Elementary philosophy: set the knobs & let the band play Classic sound: heavy bass & drums, light horns & strong vocal

    13. New Orleans Sound (cont.) De Luxe (NJ) recorded Roy Browns Good Rockin Tonight in Matassas studio Focused attention on New Orleans Dave Bartholomew

    14. New Orleans Sound (cont.) Antoine Fats Domino (b. 1928) Worked in a bedspring factory = days, gigged in clubs = nights met Bartholomew Recordings = warm, inviting French Creole accent Steady boogie-woogie piano

    15. New Orleans Sound (concl.) Little Richard (Richard Penniman) Left home @14 1956 recorded Tutti Frutti (New Orleans) = instant success 1958 left r&r for ministry (p. 87-93)

    16. Los Angeles Late 40s - independent labels = met needs of migrants (shipyards) Artists = moved from Big Band jazz to r&b Developed regional variants of Louis Jordans jump blues

    17. LA (cont.) Johnny Otis = drummer/entrepreneur Genetically white, but black in all other respects Influenced several artists in LA area

    18. LA (cont.) 1958 Rockin Robin drew attention to the LA sound Rock n Rollers = drew on Mexican rhythms Ritchie Valens: La Bamba, Cmon, Lets Go, Donna, etc. (p. 93-98)

    19. Chicago Steady influx of musicians from Mississippi delta Leonard Chess of Chess Records regularly recruited talent from the South = signed Bo Diddley (1955-9 = 8 r&b hits) & Chuck Berry (biggest star of Chess)

    20. Chicago (cont.) Chuck Berry = but for racism: King of Rock n Roll Leonard Chess encouraged him to change his sound 1957-8 School Day, Rock & Roll Music, Sweet Little Sixteen & Johnny B. Goode = all in Top Ten 1959 = prison 1972 = My Ding-a-Ling (only #1 hit)

    21. Chicago (cont.) Early 1950s = Vee Jay Records Vivian Carter & James Bracken (deejay & record store owner/operator) Key to success = Calvin Carter (producer) Began as a gospel label Biggest artist = Jimmy Reed 13 r&b hits/6 yrs. John Lee Hooker signed 1955 = became popular during blues revival in 60s

    22. Chicago (cont.) Vee Jay = could have risen to prominence rivaling Motown. Folded in 1966: Lost most of its best acts Fiscal mismanagement, (p. 98-103)

    23. Cincinnati Crossroads of Blues and Country King Records (Syd Nathan & Henry Glover) recorded both & encouraged artists to crossover Federal Records (King subsidiary) = largest impact on r&r gospel groups (p. 103-104)

    24. Gospel Connection R&B = Devils music, gospel music = stairway to heaven 1950s gospel singers moved toward r&b sound, while maintaining gospel roots The Dominoes (1950) = 3 r&b hits (Federal) set off flood of other gospel/r&b groups Intentional ambivalence persisted You = God or a lover?

    25. Gospel Connection (cont.) Atlantic = produced most influential gospel-tinged vocalist: Ray Charles Robinson Influences = Nat King Cole, Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, Chopin, Art Tatum Saw no division between gospel & blues

    26. Gospel Connection (cont.) Sam Cooke = v. popular gospel singer member of Soul Stirrers 1956 met Bumps Blackwell offered to cut Sam Cooke pop Torn between r&r & gospel eventually forced to leave Soul Stirrers by followers 1957 signed w/Keen Records = 8 Top 40 hits 1960 signed w/RCA = 19 Top 40 hits

    27. Gospel Connection (concl.) Sam Cooke (cont.) 1959 formed Kags Music (publishing co.) w/J.W. Alexander Financed a production/artists management company, and SAR (Sam & Alex Records - first soul label?) SAR = vehicle for Cooke as writer/producer (p.104-108)

    28. Doo Wop Product of urban vocal harmony groups (mostly black/male) Tenor lead, bracketed by bass & falsetto Came from all areas of the country and were plentiful!

    29. Doo Wop (concl.) NYC = center for doo wop: Alan Freed Atlantic = label w/most doo wop recordings White doo wop groups = dominated by Italian Americans Gender bias also existed (fewer female doo wop groups) (p. 108-119)

    30. Rockabilly 1953 = Sun Records founded by Sam Phillips saw the potential of a merger of c&w & r&b Bill Haley & the Comets = first white group to reach mainstream market w/fusion of c&w & r&b Phillips discovered The King Elvis recorded for Sun (rockabilly)

    31. Rockabilly (cont.) Bill Haley = an anomaly Born/raised in Michigan Already balding when career launched Best seller (Rock Around the Clock) written by Tin Pan Alley composers Signed by Decca (major label) Sang w/no discernable accent Approximated pivotal sound of Louis Jordan Sound = drive of Tympani Five & color of c&w

    32. Rockabilly (cont.) Bill Haley (cont.) 1954 released Rock Around the Clock = fizzled Selected as theme for film: Blackboard Jungle = instant #1 hit 1955 Elvis came on the scene & supplanted Haley

    33. Rockabilly (cont.) Sam Phillips: discovered many artists. Driven by the impulse to get this music heard Former radio engineer started Memphis Recording Service (1950) Wanted a white southerner w/black sound (enter: Elvis)

    34. Rockabilly (cont.) Elvis Born in Mississippi 1935 = raised on Pentecostal & Delta blues music Marketing dilemma: white? Or black? Recorded 10 sides for Sun: v. popular, but not BIG hits Contract sold to RCA: enjoyed multiple Top Forty hits (total: 149) until death

    35. Rockabilly (cont.) Elvis (cont.) Career options mushroomed: TV, movies, records & Las Vegas club dates $50,000.00 paid for several slots on The Ed Sullivan Show Notoriety rose, as influence dwindled, in the Army (1958-60)

    36. Rockabilly (cont.) Sam Phillips sold Elvis contract to RCA = had another artist: Carl Perkins in the wings Perkins = had a few hits & was nearly killed in a car wreck: never hit Top Forty again

    37. Rockabilly (cont.) Jerry Lee Lewis piano/singer Did most to keep Sun operating after Elvis Life peppered w/debauchery & violence (2 of 6 wives died mysteriously) Made Elvis look like a Boy Scout Boogie powered pumping piano Left wife #2 (w/out a divorce), married 13 yr. old cousin, Myra = press had a field day: returned to US from GB w/career in shambles

    38. Rockabilly (concl.) Lots of others started @ Sun Records: Including: Conway Twitty, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, etc. Capitol Records: Gene Vincent & Eddie Cochran: big in Great Britain Cochran killed Buddy Holly = BIG in Great Britain too (p. 120-132)

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