raggae disco and punk

Reggae - Jamaican Rock

• Reggae originated in Jamaica as a unique form of rock music
• It incorporates traditional Jamaican music with American Rhythm 'n' Blues
• Traditional Jamaican music can be traced to African music brought by Jamaicans descended from Africans in the West Indies

Reggae's Defining Musical Features

• Reggae emerged in the late 1960s
• It features a 4/4 time signature with heavy accents on the 2nd and 4th beats
• Strophic form is used, featuring repeated verses and choruses
• It utilizes vocals, backing vocals, electric guitars, bass guitar, and a drum kit typical of a rock band
• Prominent riffs are played on bass guitar
• Simple chord sequences are used
• References to Rastafari, a religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, are common

Types of Reggae

• Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music popular in the 1950s, similar to calypso, strophic in form and has light-hearted lyrics with offbeat chords played on guitar
• Ska is a fast, danceable style of reggae with offbeat chords that emerged in the late 1950s, lyrics concern serious social issues, and incorporates folk elements of mento are mixed with electric guitars and horn sections of rhythm 'n' blues
• Rocksteady is a slower style of reggae from the mid-1960s after ska which features a loud, repeated melody on bass and emphasized offbeat chords with political lyrics
• Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s
• Lovers Rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content that was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s
• Dub is a genre of electronic music that grew out of reggae in the 1960s, and has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae into genres such as Dub Techno

Bob Marley

• Bob Marley rose from poverty to become an international superstar and was the first Third World artist to be acclaimed to such a degree
• Marley had charisma and musical ingenuity
• Marley was a heroic figure to poor and oppressed people because of his articulation of their plight and calls for social and political change

Bob Marley and The Wailers

• Bob Marley was a founding member of The Wailers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer
• The Wailers' early success was rooted in ska which transformed the ska beat into a slower, bass-heavy reggae sound and added social commentary to their lyrics

The Wailers’ International Success

• In the 1970s, Bob Marley worked with Chris Blackwell, a wealthy white Jamaican whose "Island" Records was a popular rock label
• At the time, reggae was considered unsophisticated music that could never be appreciated outside of Jamaica.
• Blackwell managed The Wailers’ first Island album, Catch a Fire, which contained slick promotional efforts and tours of Britain and the United States
• Eric Clapton’s version of “I Shot the Sheriff” became a worldwide hit, leading many of Clapton’s fans to discover The Wailers’ music

The Birth of Disco

• Beginning as an underground phenomenon in the early 1970s, disco grew to dominate popular music by the end of the decade
• "Disco" refers to a musical style, a performance site, and a mode of participation and musical fandom
• Clubs catering to gay, African American, and Latino subcultures in New York City began playing music featuring a blend of Motown, soul, funk, and Latin music
• The genre name "Disco” was applied first to dance hits such as the 1974 Hues Corporations' “Rock the Boat” and George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby.”
• Van McCoy’s “The Hustle” (early 1975) launched the most popular dance step of the era

Disco and The DJ

• A central figure in disco was the disc jockey (DJ), who was responsible for selecting and sequencing songs
• The DJ dictated disco's sense of style, rather than the singers and instrumentalists, and could acquire their own following
• DJs established the creative spirit of the disco scene, as the focus was on the audience in terms of dancing, socializing, and community

Disco Styles

• Between 1975-76, disco concentrated on three main genres
• "R&B Disco" featured gospel vocals and funky guitar and bass parts; and included groups such as, The Ohio Players, Kool & The Gang, The Commodores, and KC and the Sunshine Band
• "Eurodisco" featured simple/quasi-chanted vocals, regimented bass parts, and arrangements of orchestratal instruments and synthesizers, that was defined by Donna Summer's “Love to Love You Baby,” which features an identifiable riff on a Moog synthesizer by Giorgio Morodor
• “Pop Disco" was represented by mainstream pop artists, such as The Bee Gees, on popular movies and tv shows

Disco's Popularity and Acceptance

• Disco transformed from an underground phenomenon to one embraced by straight, white Americans due to the success of the film Saturday Night Fever, which was released in 1977
• The soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever featured new songs by The Bee Gees, Kool and the Gang, Walter Murphy, and The Trammps
• Popular disco clubs, such as Studio 54 in New York City, became celebrity hangouts, and Eurodisco and pop disco styles ultimately superseded R&B disco in popularity
• Chic's last major hit, “Good Times” (1979), is notable for providing the musical basis for the first rap hit, “Rapper's Delight,” by The Sugarhill Gang (1979)

Punk - The DIY Spirit and Social Implications

• Punk's musical style, do-it-yourself aesthetic, and disdain for rock superstars resonated strongly among sectors of US and British youths
• Punk-rock in the UK had more social and political relevance because of the identification of British working-class youths with punk’s destructive nature given the facilitated unemployment and a depressed economy

Popular British Punk

• The Sex Pistols emphasized the nihilist aspects of punk
• The Clash pursued a more overt political agenda
• UK punk received an almost hysterical amount of attention in the press, leading to more popularity in the mid-1970s, whereas US punk maintained a more underground popularity

Punk Comparisons

• US Punk stayed primarily underground and varied in its approach, acting as a rebellion against fusion, jazz, and technically accomplished music within environmental/scene dynamics
• UK Punk was a more overtly popular kind of "anti" music, retained notable “pop” influences (The Clash) growing out of youthful exuberance and creativity, and had a subcultural “style”

Caroline Coon of Melody Maker's Words on The Sex Pistols

• The Sex Pistols were the personification of the emerging British punk rock scene as a reaction to complex equipment, technological sophistication, and jaded alienation that formed a barrier between fans and stars
• Punk rock sounds simple and callow, which is intentional, and its equipment is minimal and cheap
• It's played faster than the speed of light and if one musician plays a ballad, it's the fastest ballad on Earth
• The chords are basic and rarely last longer than three minutes. The are no solos and no indulgent improvisations
• The chords are kept with the clipped and biting cynicism of the lyrics, power through sets, and never less than hard, tough, and edgy
• They are the quintessence of a raging, primal rock-scream

More From Caroline Coon

• In the fifties, it was the rebel without a cause exemplified by Elvis, Gene Vincent, Marlon Brando, and James Dean of Rock
• In the sixties, it was the rock & roll gypsy outlaw image of Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Jimi Hendrix
• In the seventies the word “rebel” has been superseded by the word "punk". Although initially derogatory it now contains all the glamorous connotations once implied by the overused word—“rebel.”