Class 4A Notes (Filled In) PDF

Class Notes – Week 4A The Turn of the 60s Ø Though the 50s was characterized by economic resurgence and peace, it was also a time of mindnumbing conformity Ø With the successful conversion to peace time and the excess of money, the demand for consumer items rises – The Pleasure Principle – people bu...

Class Notes – Week 4A The Turn of the 60s Ø Though the 50s was characterized by economic resurgence and peace, it was also a time of mindnumbing conformity Ø With the successful conversion to peace time and the excess of money, the demand for consumer items rises – The Pleasure Principle – people buy according to what increases their pleasure Ø This sets the stage for a contradiction in social conditioning when relating the two decades: o The 50s demanded a society that produced a functioning work force – this required discipline, frugality, asceticism and abstinence o The 60s produced a new economy that required a model consumer who was eager to absorb manufactured goods – this required hedonism, impulsiveness, boundless extravagance and instant gratification Ø Teenagers saw this conflict unfold between the official values of school/family/church and the reality of their leisure activities Ø Conflict was fueled by the challenge of rock ‘n’ roll music and the political upheaval of the sixties Ø There was a sharp shift towards the political “left” spurred on by a variety of social and political movements that came into existence at this time: o Civil Rights o Antiwar protesting o Black power o Student power o The counterculture o Later – women’s lib Ø Though the country enjoyed economic success, a number of cultural paradoxes still existed: o Widespread, but largely invisible poverty o Race relations were still very bad, despite the integration of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas (in 1957) o Anyone who had money was encouraged to become hedonistic spenders, yet there was still an almost Victorian attitude toward sex Other notable events included: Ø 1957 – the Russians beat the U.S. into space with Sputnik Ø Education was supported as the key to the future Ø John F. Kennedy passed a number of landmark legislations and social programs that allowed young adults of all classes, races and ethnic backgrounds to enter college in record numbers Ø More education produced more thinking, which produced more questions – and this combined to produce the tumultuousness that defined the 60s Let’s get on to The Music Ø Musically, the decade is marked by a resurgence of folk music and a number of trends including Surf Music, Boy/Girl Teen groups and Dance Crazes. Ø Rock ‘n’ roll will receive its biggest revival with the British Invasion Ø By the turn of the decade, the first wave of rock ‘n’ roll had virtually been decimated: o Elvis was back from the army, but had more or less become a pop/gospel/movie star and Vegas headliner o Chuck Berry was in jail o Little Richard “found” religion o Jerry Lee Lewis’ career was in shambles due to his marital escapades o Buddy Holly was dead o The Payola scandal had rocked radio stations that played r’n’r and the independent labels that produced the records 1 Ø There is a move back to the days of Tin Pan Alley tradition – the focus shifts from the musicians, disc jockeys and indie labels back to professional producers Ø This era of r’n’r is hotly debated – was it an attempt by the corporate world to “tame” r’n’r – or can it be seen as a maturation of the style Ø The establishment of youth culture as a viable, marketable demographic was a positive outcome Ø The market split into two distinct markets at the turn of the decade – one focused on the new generation of teenagers; another on the college-aged former rockers Ø Teen idols and dance music were aimed at the teenagers – this was nonsexual romance, nonconfrontational lyrics Ø The older demographic turned to folk, a style that was more serious and dealt with social, political, cultural, and economic issues The Teen Market Ø The music at the turn of the decade shows a return of Tin Pan Alley characteristics to teen-based music Ø This is most clearly seen in the music that came out of the Brill Building in New York City – though this is an actual building, it came to describe a certain style of music Ø For a history of the Brill Building… In 1958, Don Kirshner and Al Nevins opened one of the Brill Building’s most important labels Aldon Music Ø Aldon decided to try to corner the teen market and hired a number of young songwriters to write romantic lyrics with upbeat melodies – some of these songwriters were Neil Sedaka, Howie Greenfield, Carole Klein (Carole King) and Gerry Goffin Ø Songs were designed especially for teens – lyrics couldn’t be racy and couldn’t approach any “deep” subjects Ø The song was recorded by professionals (often not the songwriters themselves) Ø The control moved away from the artist and back to the producer – this became typical of much of the music in this early part of the decade The Teen Idol Ø Dichotomy between “bad-boy” Elvis and “good boy” Pat Boone led to the formation of the Teen Idol Ø In cornering the female teenaged demographic, both Independent and Major labels released hits by good-looking, “ideal boyfriends” (or the good ol boy next door) Ø Image was the most important thing – the teen idol would be backed by a professional orchestra and groomed to play the part – if he could sing, it was a bonus! Ø The songs were innocent – about romance, but not sex; the accompaniments were arranged and professional Artist: Frankie Avalon Ø Was considered the first of the manufactured teen idols Ø Mostly successful because he had a musical background – started as a child prodigy trumpet player Ø Incredibly successful in the late 50s/early 60s Ø Later, he reinvented himself as a clean-cut, pretty boy surfer and made a number of successful Beach Party movies with Annette Funicello Ø His first #1 hit came in 1959 with the song Venus Ø Success would start to ween by 1962, the chart domination was coming to an end Song: Venus Ø Begins with drums, Latin-style bass line, autoharp and backup vocals Ø Lead vocals enter over the opening instrumentation – crooning vocal style Ø Backup vocals drop out during the verse – serve as the bridge into each consecutive verse 2 Artist: Bobby Vinton Ø Vinton’s ballad style and orchestral, middle-of-the-road arrangements were a throwback to decades earlier, before r’n’r had found its mass audience Ø He is placed in the r’n’r genre ONLY because he appealed to the all important teenage demographic, if only for a short time Ø Though he originally aspired to lead a big band, he found much more success singing Ø He had his first #1 hit in 1962 with Roses Are Red Ø Though the Beatles and the ensuing British Invasion dampened his stardom, he was consistently popular throughout the decade, scoring 28 Top 40 hits Song: Roses Are Red Ø Begins with a portion of the chorus – sung by female backup female singer Ø Accompanied by piano, guitar and drums Ø Solo vocals sing the verse – crooning vocal style Ø Harmonized backup vocals enter again for the chorus and remain for the next verse Ø Compound AABA – the A section consists of verse and chorus; the B section consists of bridge and chorus Artist: Bobby Vee Ø Got his start when his band The Shadows were tapped to fill in for the recently deceased Buddy Holly in the Winter Dance Party tour Ø Had most of his hits in the early 60s sandwiched between the end of the first wave of rock ‘n’ roll and the rise of the British Invasion Ø Found his style with the infectious Brill Building pop – this was due to his great voice and the professional songwriters who supplied him with tunes Ø His biggest hit came in 1961 when Take Good Care of My Baby spent three weeks at the top of the chart Ø His fame suffered greatly after the British Invasion hit America Song: Take Good Care of My Baby Ø Begins with just piano and vocals – melodic vocal style Ø Piano leads into the entrance of bass guitar, guitar and drums Ø Harmonized backup vocals enter and are replaced by strings Ø AABA form – the backup vocals and strings become more active in the B section Ø While most of these teen idols were merely placed in front of an orchestra and had songs written for them, some enterprising young men (and women) actually continued to write their own songs Ø While some of these gentlemen were eventually relegated to the role of songwriter, a couple of them did continue to perform up through the 70s Artist: Paul Anka Ø Canadian artist who became one of the biggest teen idols of the late 50s Ø Proved to be a child prodigy and by 14, was even known for stealing the family car to drive to amateur singing contests – where he was also writing songs too Ø At the age of 16, he scored a #1 hit with Diana, eventually selling a reported 10 million copies world wide Ø A string of chart successes in 1959 was led by Put Your Head on My Shoulder, the ultimate “good boyfriend” song Ø Has proven himself to be a long-lasting song writer and a very astute businessman – also appeared in a number of movies Ø To date, he continues to record 3 Song: Put Your Head on My Shoulder* Ø Begins with electric guitar with echo, backup harmonized vocals (imitating guitar melody), piano with triple division of beat, and bass guitar Ø Uses the doo-wop progression in an AABA format (depart from doo-wop progression in the B section bridge) Ø Solo vocals enter – melodic vocal style – this takes precedence Ø Drums and bass supply a constant background – guitar and backup vocals enter for fills Artist: Bobby Darin Ø Difficult to put this artist into one genre as he made a point throughout his career of not becoming committed to any one style Ø He has been classified as a r’n’r singer, a Vegas Hipster cat, an interpreter of popular standard and even as a folk rocker Ø Though he could have easily made it as a sort of junior version of Frank Sinatra, he would frequently record pop/rock and folk rock singles Ø This may have cost him, but is makes his work more versatile than almost any other vocalist of his era Ø His first hits came in the late 50s, with the ballad Dream Lover reaching #2 in 1959 Ø In the early 60s, he mostly abandoned rock for the adult pop market Ø Due to congenial heart problems, he died in 1973 during open heart surgery – a four-CD box set attempted to put his wide-ranging efforts into perspective Song: Dream Lover Ø Begins with harmonized vocals, guitar playing a rhythmic riff, drums and bass Ø Clear, solo vocals enter – female backup vocals supply a constant background; male backup vocals supply fills Ø Use of call and response between the lead vocals and the backing vocals and instrumentation – tambourine enters here Ø AABA with an extra A section added on at the end in a new key Artist: Neil Sedaka Ø Singer, songwriter and pianist Neil Sedaka enjoyed two distinct periods of commercial success – first, as a teen pop star of the late 50s/early 60s; second as a singer of more mature pop/rock in the 70s Ø Sedaka is a classically trained pianist and composed the music for all his hits Ø He wrote eight Top 10 pop hits for himself, the most successful of which was Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, which reached the top of the charts in 1962 Ø His songs have been covered and performed by a multitude of performers from all genres of music Ø Met his songwriting partner while still a teenager – he and Howard Greenfield would collaborate on a number of hits throughout the 50s, 60s and into the early 70s Ø Like many artists, he saw his career go into decline with the onset of the British Invasion – he came back more as a songwriter than a performer Song: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do Ø Begins with harmonized vocal riff, hand claps, finger snaps, piano, guitar and drums Ø Harmonized lead vocals are accompanied by the opening harmonized vocal riff over piano and drums – melodic vocal style Ø Hand claps and finger snaps enter in the second A section of this AABA form Ø B section is characterized by solo vocals (this will be an interchange between backup and lead vocals in the second iteration of this) and employs organ and guitar 4 Ø The inundation of Teen Idols at the turn of the decade gave rise to a new style, at least in terms of marketing gurus – this musical style would be referred to as “bubblegum pop” Ø This genre will continue on through the decades, changing to fit the fashion and style of the day. Ø These teen idols were marketed on radio, but also on TV, and in particular, on a show called American Bandstand Dick Clark and American Bandstand Ø Radio was the main means through which early rock ‘n’ roll was disseminated Ø Larger, corporate radios stayed mainly with pop music, much of which was broadcast live Ø Smaller, independent stations would feature a Top 40 format in which the music popular in their particular locale would be featured – much of this was canned (taped) music Ø The Top 40 format had a feverish growth leading to competition for ratings through contests and promotional stunts Ø Television became involved with rock ‘n’ roll in the last half of the 50s Ø A show existed during this time – Your Hit Parade – which served to play orchestral covers of the Top 10 Pop songs of the week Ø The show was aimed at an adult audience – by the late 50s, the Top 10 hits no longer translated well to orchestra Ø 1952 – the show Bandstand begins as a local program on Philadelphia’s WFIL-TV – it is hosted first by Bob Horn and then by Dick Clark Ø 1957 – the show is picked up by ABC and renamed American Bandstand – by 1958 it was nationally syndicated and aired on 67 TV stations nationwide – now this was, by no means, the only TV show dedicated to music – but it is the one that survived Ø Occasionally rockabilly and mainstream artists were featured, but more often, it was the white pop teen idol that Clark groomed, promoted and cast as the stars Ø Performances were lip-synched and all raunchiness was bled out of any performance on American Bandstand – corporate control at its best! Ø Focus was more on the dancing and less on the music and the artists Ø Clark and American Bandstand were important to rock ‘n’ roll for a number of reasons: o They brought a respectability to r’n’r that had not existed with the rockabilly and mainstream rock style o Clark portrayed a prim clean-cut image – this was mirrored in the performers and dancers on the show – a dress code was enforced o Songs that were considered too “racy” or “suggestive” were simply stripped from the play lists o Clark and the show served as a tranquilizer, reassuring parents that r’n’r would not change their children into rebellious, leather-clad delinquents o Clark had equal representation from both black and white performers – he thus soothed racial tensions by approaching it from the young person’s point of view Ø American Bandstand served to define and identify the new youth culture on a national level – rock and roll could finally be considered a part of American Culture 5