LECTURE #1

What is “Genre?”
Can a Genre have an absolute definition
- Changes with time
- Grey areas
What are the purposes of genre categories?
- Historical use of genre categories

Origins of Rock and Roll

- Hard to say when exactly it started
- Before the early 1950’s “rock n roll” was not used to describe a specific type of music
→ rather it was a euphemism for sex
→ R&B(rhythm and blues), blues, boogie woogie, jump blues, etc.
→ music that sounds like rock exists but it was called other names
- Artists who are not usually considered rock n roll per se, but had a clear influence on
early rock n roll:
Ex. Ike Turner's King of Rhythm - “Rocket 88” (1951)
- Often considered the first rock n roll record
→ Distorted and prominent guitar is part of why
→ also had a semi mythological story
Ex. Big Momma Thorton (Willie Mae Thorton) - “Hound Dog” (1952)
- Written by white songwriters Mike Lieber and Jerry Stroller
- Big hit for Elvis Presley, 1956
Ex. Big Joe Turner - “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” (1954)
- Strong backbeat
- #1 R&B, no crossover
- Bill Haley covered the song in the same year (#7 pop)
→ less suggestive lyrics
- Original has some thinly-veiled sexual lyrics
Ex. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Louis Jordan

The “Golden Age” of Rock and Roll, roughly 1955- 1960

- Context for the emergence of rock and roll:
1. Rise of youth culture (a new demographic with money)
2. Independent radio (including black radio stations)
- Played stuff other than mainstream pop, Country and Westerm and R&B
→ 3 industry-segregated styles
3. Independent record labels
- Recorder music other than the three staples listed above
4. Transistor radios (replaced vacuum tubes)
- Cheap, portable, smaller
5. Adults see rock and roll as “dangerous”
Significant Events from 1955-1960
- “Rock Around the Clock” becomes a pop hit, and is associated with juvenile delinquency
 - Independent radio (vs. large network), and black stations, c. 1948
- Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Little Richard all have big crossover hits on indie labels
- Elvis Presely signs to RCA, major label
- Payola hearing
Alan Freed
- Radio (personality) DJ on Cleveland, Ohio
- 1951: one of the first to play R&B records for a white audience
→ Moondog’s Rock and ROll Party
- Concert promoter
- 1954: NYC, national syndication
- Perhaps the first person to refer to R&B as Rock and Roll
→ racial significance
“White music, Black music”
- Segregation in the US, especially in the South
- R&B, Country, Pop: segregation of musical styles
- Widely assumed that white listeners listened to “white music” and that black listeners
listened to “black music”
- Crossover hits in general (and Elvis in particular) dispelled this myth, and helped to
break down musical segregation
5 Styles of (Early) Rock and Roll:
1. Norther Band Rock and Roll
- Least influential
- “Whitening” of R&B
- Bill Haley and His Comets: one of the first successful white rock and roll acts
Ex. Bill Haley and His Comets - “Rock Around the Clock” (1954/1955)
- Sexual stamina replaced with dancing: why?
- Whote interest in black R&B before this
→ also popular in black markets, R&B charts
Rock and Roll and Juvenile Delinquency
- Fear and mistrust from older generation
- Hollywood representation of rock and roll as dangerous
- Clear association between rock and roll and teen rebellion
Ex. “Blackjungle opening”

2. New Orleans Dance Blues

- Piano and sax-dominated R&B
- N.O. an important musical city: jazz and R&B
Fats Domino:
- Warm, friendly image
- Less threatening for a white audience
E.x: Fats Domino - “Ain't That a Shame” (1955)
- One of the first black early rockers to crossover to the mainstream
Music Charts and Crossover Hits
- In the 1950s, there were three main categories on Billboardand Cashbox music charts
 → Rhythm and Blues (R&B)
→ Country and Western
→ Pop
- Segregated by race and class
→ original names of these categories: Race, Hillbilly, Pop (changed in 1949)
- In reality, people listened outside of theses categories
- Crossover: when a song appears on more than one chart
Ex: Little Richard - “Tutti Frutti” (1955)
- From nightclub act: “Tutti Frutti, Good Booty”
→ lyrics “cleaned up” for recorded version
- Lots of cover versions of his song (more later)
- Thinly veiled secuality
- Fewer crossover hits
→ why?
- Contrast to Domino
- Crazy man, rock and roll persona
50’s Cover Phenomenon
- Whote covers of black hits
→ usually a major label cover of an indie label R&B hit
- With a few exceptions, the white versions sold better and charted higher
- Resentments from original, black artists, who often had no songwriting rights, so no
money
- Note that cover versions had been common for decade
→ and outside of the “white covering black songs” context too
Ex. Pat Boone - “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955)
- Compared with Fats Domino’s original version
- Easy sell to a mainstream pop market
- Major star, well known cover artist
- Brought a conservative respectability to the music’s image

3. Memphis Country Rock, aka Rockabilly

- Basically a southern, whote version of 12 bar boogie blues
→ looser rhythms, no saxophone
- Typical instrumentation
→ electric guitar
→ Acoustic guitar
→ Stand up bass
→ And from 1956, drums
→ still taboo in Nashville, making this music distinct from country
Ex: Elvis Presley - “Baby Let’s Play House” (1955)
Elvis Presely
- Poor, working class family: more exposure to black culture than upper class whites
→ why is that?
→ grew up with popo, country, gospel, R&B, blues, etc.
 → and as an amateur singer, sang all these styles
- Summer 1953, vanity records at Sun Records
- July 1954: Elves gets a callback from Marion Keisker
- Session was country and pop, wasn't going well
- Towards the end, as things were winding down, Elvis starts playing an older R&B tune
Ex: Elvis Presely - “That’s All Right” (1954)
- Mixture of genres: country, R&B, pop
→ unlike any style at the time
- Sounds normal to our ears, but was very unusual at the time
→ they weren't sure anyone would want to hear it
→ this fusion had not been done before to this degree
- This song helped establish Sun nationally
Dewey Phillips - personality DJ in Memphis
→ played “That’s All Right” and it took off because people couldn't tell if he was black ro
white
Sam Phillips and Sun Records
- Indie DJ; studio owner; producer
- Memphis Recording Services, 1950
→ field recordings
- Vanity recordings
→ License recording for other labels
- Sun records opens c. 1952
- Initially focused on black blues and R&B
→ knew that he could find a white singer who could perform in an r&B style, he’d be rich
→ why would Phillips think such an artist would be successful?
→ racism
Elvis and RCA
- Near the end of 1955 Colonel TOm Parker became Elvis’s manager
→ Negotiated a $40,000 deal with RCA
→ $35,000 to buy Elvis’ contract form Sam Phillis, and $500 for Elvis
- Why would Phillips sell Elvis’ contract?
→ financial difficulties of running an independent record label
- The role of managers in general, and Parkey in particular
- The mass marketing of Elvis
RCA and later recordings
- Elvis moved from being a regional star to an international star
- Almost as soon as he got to RCA, Elvis’ image began to be softened, and his material
moved in a more pop direction
Ex: Elvis Presely - “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” (1965)
- In later years, Elvis becomes a pop crooner like Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatr
- Separated from rock image of earlier years
- 1958-1960, Elvis is inducted into the army
- Part of the end of the first wave of rock and roll
 - In 1960, post- Army Elvis does not return to rock style and instead becomes a Las
Vegas-style performer and movie start
Ex: Elvis Presley’s “Comeback Special” (1968) “Hearbreak Hotel”

LECTURE #2(CONTINUE OF FIRST LECTURE)

- Notes about song analysis assignment at beginning of lecture
→ focus on the way it sounds and its history

Other Rockabilly Artists

- Elvis’ Sun recordings helped establish a style later called “rockabilly”
→ mostly without drums(a nod to earlier country recordings)
→ acoustic and electric guitars, and stand-up bass
→ slap back echo/tape delay echo
Ex: Elvis Presley - The Story Behind Sun Studios Famous “Slap Back” Echo(video)
Ex: Elvis Presely - “Blue Moon” (1954)
→ at sun: Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash (both later signed with major label, Columbia)

Jerry Lee Lewis

Ex: Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
- Little Richard influence
- Quick downfall
→ on tour in UK, told press about his new bride(she was 13 years old and his cousin)

Wanda Jackson
- performed a radio show in highschool
- One of the only few female 1950’s rock and rollers
→ where were the women?
→ sexism, women's place was at home, not “proper” for women especially in rock music,
etc.
Ex: Wanda Jackson - “Let’s Have a Party” (1958)
- Album with Jack White, 2011
- 2000’s tours

Buddy Holly
- Often considered “second wave” of early rock and roll
→ took elements of Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis as point of
departure and did new things
- Songwriter
→ unlike many Rockabilly artists
- National star from august 1957 to his death in 1959
→ Died in a plane crash, American Pie signs about it
- Seven top 40 hits
 → plus R&B crossover
- Image: average guy, clean cut
Ex: Buddy Holly - “Oh Boy!” (1958)
- Open chords, country-style strummed guitar (country)
- AABA form (pop)
- 12 bar blues A sections (blues)
AABA Form:
- 2 contrasting sections of music
→ old pop songs form, very common
- Each A section is a 12 bar blues form
- B Section(kinda like a bridge): 8 bars (middle eight)
- Different from verse-chorus form
→ there is no repeated chorus, just a hook at the end of each A section

Modern Rockabilly
- 1980’s rockabilly revival: The Stray Cats
Ex: The Stray Cats - “Fishnet Stockings” (1981)
- 1990/2000’s
Ex: Reverend Horton Heat - “Big Red Rocket Of Love” (1999)
- “psychobilly”
- Surf rock elements, rockabilly elements
→ distorted guitar and sound of his voice

4. Chicago Rhythm and Blues

- Migration from rural South (Mississippi, Arkansas, Etc), Memphis
→ sometimes called the “great migration”
- Loud Chicago blues style:
→ heavily amplified guitar and harmonica(distorted)
→ often shouted vocals
→ aggressive drum beat
- In 1955, Chess Records becomes the first R&B label to crossover to pop market with
Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley
 → both were guitarist/singer who recorded with blues musicians, but wrote lyrics/songs
aimed at teen audiences

Chuck Berry
- Chess records, Chicago
- Foundational rock and roll figure
→ musically and lyrically
→ one of the initial inductees to the rock hall of fame
- Songwriter
→ becomes the norm in rock music
→
- Song directly relating to youth/popular
- Culture: school, parents, dancers, cars, etc
→ this was his intent in writing these songs: pop lyrics
→ looks non threatening
- Toured alone, would pick up a band wherever he went
Ex: Chuck Berry - “Maybellene” (1955)
- Crossover hit
→ his clear enunciation could have helped him “pass for white” on radio stations that
generally wouldn't play music by black musicians
→ Car race, allusions to sexuality in lyrics, but thickly veiled
- Talking blues style vocals
- Rockabilly style (or the closest equivalent among African American singers)
→ what country/folk elements are present?
→ what elements here are the same as Elvis’ Sun recording?
Comparison With Buddy Holly
- Both were guitarists who wrote their own songs and played in a distinctive manner
→ this songwriter-performer model was the norm, post Beatles
- Both wrote music for pop audience, with county and R&B influences
- Holly: country twang and vocal hiccups
Ex: Chuck berry - “Johnny B. Goode” (1957)
- John Lennon “if you had to try and give Rock n Roll another name, you might call it
Chuck Berry

Bo Diddley
- Another influences blues-to-rock figure
- Chess records
Ex: Bo Diddley - “Who Do You Love” (1956)
- Hyper masculinity
The Bo Diddley Beat:
- Clagve (Sub-Saharan Africa and Afro-Cuban music)
Ex: Bo Diddley - “Bo Diddley” (1955)
- Bump and grind shuffle
- One in a series of self mythologizing songs
 - Beatles and Rolling Stones covers

5. Vocal Group Rock and Roll

- Vocal groups were in some ways a throwback to earlier pop styles
- Black doo wop groups
→ street corner music, all vocal (a Capella)
→ vocables (when you sing a sound)
→ replacing instruments with voices (i.e. walking bass line)
→ Big in cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York City
- The other four early rock and roll styles used heavily amplified electric guitar and a
strong back beat
- Vocal harmony groups had a big influence on later rock groups
Harmonizing
- What is harmonizing?
→ vocals, guitars
Ex: The Beach Boys - “Unreleased Backgrounds” (1964)
Doo Wop
Ex: The Chords - “Sh-Boom” (1954)
- Original version
Ex: The Crew Cuts - “Sh-Boom” (1954)
- One of the first white groups to succeed in the doo-wop style
- Part of the 1950’s cover phenomenon
→ their biggest hit was this cover
Late 1950’s: A Major Shake-Up in the Music Industry
- Challenge from indie record labels
- Struggle between performing rights organizations: ASCAP vs. BMI
→ these organizations collect and distribute royalties
- The old power holders (major labels and ASCAP) were threatened by the new
(independent labels and BMI)
→ their way of fighting back was through the Payola investigations
- Payola: record labels and distributors often paid radio DJs to play their records (cash,
presents, tips, etc)
→ pay-to-play was not a new idea; goes back to 19th century in US
Payola Investigations
- Major labels and ASCAP lobbied the federal government to investigate indie record
labels use of payola to get radio airplay
- Late 1959: Congressional Committee began taking testimony
→ focus on stations/DJs who play rock and roll
→ no real no real acknowledgement that Payola had existed in the industry for decades
- Result: many DJ’s fired and radio stations formats changed
- Highest profile subjects were Alan Freed and Dick Clark
→ Clark: cooperative, remained in the music business; left with good reputation
→ Freed: did not admit fault; end of his career
- Played on racial stereotypes
 - Argument presented to the public:
→ how could this garbage music be so popular? The indies MUST be paying to have
rock n roll played
→ interesting assumption that people will buy/like what they are fed
End of First Wave of Rock n Roll
- 1957: at height of popularity; Little Richard joins the military
→ became an ordained minister
- 1958: Elvis joins the army (draft notice Dec. 1957, not voluntary)
→ stationed in Germany in September of 1958
- May 1958: British press breaks story of Jerry Lee Lewis’ child-cousin-bride
- Feb 1959: Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash
- 1959: Chuck Berry charged with violating the Mann Act
→ “transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes”
→ After appeals, eh ultimately received a 3 year sentence, served 2 years
- Thus, most stars were out of the public eye and the “passing fad” of rock and roll was
seen to be over

1958-1964 Transitional Period

- Sotie referred to as the “in between years”
→ why? In between what and what?
→ ignores some important developments and innovations in this period
→ most notably, soul (especially from Motown and Atlantic Records)
- Main [Link] of this time period
→ teen idol
→ Brill Building Pop and Girl Groups
→ Rise of producers (phil spector)
→ Motown and Soul
→ rockabilly and country influenced rock/pop
→ instrumental rock
→ surf music
- Musically:
→ from a marketing perspective, why might this be?
American Bandstand
- Like the 1950’s rock and roll radio show, but for TV
- Filmed in Philadelphia, nationally syndicated by the 1957
- Dick Clarks, host
- Focus on dance and dancers
- Ex: (video) American Bandstand, 1950’s
Brill Building Pop
- 3 interrelated meanings:
1. The building in New York City where these publishers and companies were located
2. It refers to a way of working/approach (professionalization, overt commercialization,
segregation of tasks, volume of production)
3. A mainstream aesthetic (formula, universal themes, accessibility, professionalism again)
 4. Tended to appeal to both mainstream pop audiences and rock and roll/R&B fans
5. A distinct pop music sound
- Unlike most teen idol music, there was influences from R&B, Rock and Roll, and Latin
music
- Peak around 1959-1964
6. Brill Building examples will be discussed in two subtopics: Girl Groups and Phil Spector
Girl Groups
- Mostly black teen girls, with little or no professional experience
→ some white groups too
- A different kind of female pop vocalist
- Professional songwriters wrote for these groups and the recording sessions were
controlled by producers
→ little say from artists themselves
→ all part of the Brill Building approach
Ex: The Shirelles - “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1960)
- Brill Building record
→ written and produced by Carole King and Gerry Goffin
- Uncommon song topic for the time
→ whether or not a teen girl should have sex
→ implies pre-maritial sex
→ obvious commercial risk
- African American performers and a mainstream pop style meant lots of crossover hits
- Like Teen Idols, very image driven
→ unlike teen idols, these musicians could actually sing
- Half way between modern and traditional image of female performers
- Heterosexual love songs
→ no over sexuality (love and romance)
→ codependency (i need you; needing boyfriends)
- complex/realistic depiction of teen life
→ sex and death, which was never in earlier pop
The Changing Role of the Producer in the Early 1960’s
- Music label employees vs [Link] contractor
- A key to this change was for the music industry and market to recognize that it isn't a
sign which becomes a hit, its a particular recording
→ the song is one factor, but equally important are performances and production
- New sound only available in the studio
→ up to this time a recording was meant to represent a live performance
→ now the record could be a performance in its own right

LECTURE #3 (CONTINUE OF #2)

Phil Spector
- Brill Building philosophy of making high-quality pop
- Often worked on one song for months
 - → “three-minute symphonies for the kids”
- Demanded total control at session
- → including total control at sessions, and releasing the record on his own label
- Two main contributors
1. The idea of the freelance and celebrity producer/producer as artist
2. “Wall of Sound”...
Wall of Sound
- Recording Techniques:
→ many instruments in a small place
→ lots of doubling of parts (2 instruments playing the same parts)
→ mixed to mono (bohemian rhapsody is a good example)
→ heavy reverb (echo chamber)
→ strings
- Careful pacing (makes the name a little misleading)
- → periods of near silence with dramatic changes in texture and dynamics
- → made the “Wall of Sound” passages even more striking when they did arrive
E.x. The Ronettes - “Be My Baby” (1963)
- Veronica “ronnie” Benner, 18 years old
- LA studio musicians, the Wrecking Crew
- Brian Wilson:
- → “The greatest record ever produced”
- Some of the most ambitious rock and roll/teen pop yet
- → inflices later experiments by George Martin, psychedelic rock, etc
- Drummer Hal Blaine: “the beat was an accident”
- → supposed to be snare on 2 & 4 but her dropped a drum stick
- → he also used this beat on Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night”
- Instrumentation:
- → Percussion: castanets, maracas
- → Backup Vocals: pre-fame Sonny and Cher
- → string section
- → saxophones, trombone
- Form: Contrasting verse-chorus
- → drum intro (repeated at 2:07)
- → song builds throughout, adding instruments, new textures
- Gold Star Studio, LA: Echo Chamber
Motown
- Started in Detroit Michigan but moved to LA
- african -American-owned record label
- → Berry Gordy, Jr
- Crossover intention
- Independent label, run like a major label:
- → division of labour, professional songwriters, arrangers, etc
- → epitome of mass-produced pop
- → control over all aspects of artists careers
 - “Charm School”
- → etiquette, choreography, vocal coaches, etc.
The Motown Sound
E.x. The Temptations - “My Girl (1964)
- Pop production style
- → strings
- → orchestral horn arrangements
- Flawless performance
- No improvisations
Ex: The Contours - “Do You Love Me” (1962)
- Atypical for Motown
- → rougher sounding vocal
- → clearer gospel influence
Rockabilly Developments
- Continuing country influence on rock = rockabilly
- New Brill Building influence
- → professionally written songs, and production
- And Teen Idol influence
- → image, and big pop production
- → but rockabilly artists tended to write their own music
The Everly Brothers
- Brother duo vocal harmonies
- → influence from bluegrass
- → influence on later rock singers
Ex: The Everly Brothers - “Bye Bye Love” (1957)
- First hit song (#2 Pop/#1 Country/#5 R&B)
- Establishes their early sound: unaggressive
- Bass, drum, piano, 2 acoustic guitars, prominent vocal harmonies
- introspective , gentler side of rock and roll
- → melodic songs with a rock beat
Ex: The Everly Brothers - “All I Have To Do Is Dream” (1958)
- Softer style, more pop element to rockabilly
- Rock ballad: new dimension to rock and roll
- #1 on all three charts
- Form: AABA (refrain at end of each A section); total is AABA BA
Roy Orbinson
- Often associated with rockabilly because of his early hits (including Sun Records), but in
reality he performed in a range of styles
- Heavy pop; rock; dramatic operatic vocals, etc
Ex: Roy Orbinson - “Only The Lonely Know (Know How I Feel) (1961)
- Stop time falsetto voice
- Doo wop style backup vocals
- Orchestral strings, vibraphone
Ex: Roy Orbinson - “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964)
 - Assertive, signature intro guitar riff
- → a staple of a lot of later rock
- Form
- → A (ends with guitar riff) x2
- → B (minor key sounds) x2
- → C (unexpected change - most songs would go back to A section)
- →A
- → extended outro on a A section rhythm pattern, return to intro
Instrumental Rock
- Popular rock subgenre in the late 1950s and early 1960s
- → big band swing groups had instrumental pop hits in the 1920’s and 1930s
Ex: Duane Eddy - “Rebel Rouser” (1958)
- One of the earliest instrumental rock hits
Ex: Link Wray - “Rumble” (1958)
Ex: The Ventures - “Walk, Don’t Run” (1960)
- Several hits, influence on later instrumental groups
- → i.e. The Shadows
Ex: Booker T and the MGs - “Green Onions” (1962)
- Riff based dance music
- Plays with instrumental colour (reverb, esp. the guitar)
- → note the guitar solo where the reverb is turned off, and then on
- What is happening with the instruments here that we might see as a precursor of later
rock developments?
Echo/Reverb
- “The persistence of sound after a sound is produced”
- → imagine yelling in a large stairway or a gymnasium
- → basically just an echo
Ex: Booker T & The MGs - “Green Onion” (1962)
- 1:14 little or no reverb, 1:30 lots of reverb
- Ex: (video) The Wiki Drummer
Surf Rock: The Beach Boys
- Eclectic influences
- → black doo wop, white vocal groups, Chuck Berry, Wall of Sound
- Song topics up to 1964: cars, girls, surfing
- Distinctive styles of pop group vocal sound
Ex: The Beach Boys - “Surfin’ USA” (1963)
- Doo wop style backup vocals
- Solos very “surf”: electric organ and Berry-style guitar, lots of reverb
- subculture-specific lyrics
Ex: Chuck Berry - “Sweet Little Sixteen” (1958)
- Copyright infringement (sounds the same as Surfin’ USA)
Instrumental Surf Rock
- Big in the early 60’s, southern California
- → Dick Dale and the Del-Tones were one of the first groups
Ex: Dick Dale and the Del-Tones - “Misirlou” (1962)
- Super fast tremolo picking and yelling
- Wet sound - refers to reverb
- → Late 50’s/early 60s spring reverb technology
- → Leo Fender developed this for Dick Dale
- Middle Eastrn scale
- → connection with later psychedelic rock
- Sliding pick on strings
- → sounds like crashing waves, became very common in surf rock

LECTURE #4
Folk, Folk Rock, Singer-Songwriters
Traditional Folk
- oral/aural transmission
- Anonymous composition (and communal composition)
- Heavy ideological side to the term
- → authenticity claims, idea that change with time
- Some folk song types:
- → ballads: narratives (love, war, heroes, disasters, etc.)
- Work songs
- → sailors, fishing, muining, lumber, sewing, etc.
- Other
- → lullabies, children's songs, drinking songs, etc.
Traditional Folk Song Features
- Often unaccompanied (a cappella)
- Simple melodies (and harmonies of present)
- → simple accompaniment
- → fiddle, guitar, accordion, whistle, spoons, etc.
- Strophic form (AAAAA, etc.) or verse/chorus
- Modal (not major or minor, but Dorian, Lydian modes, etc/
- Dancing often accompanies folk music
3 Different Ideas of “Folk” Music
1. 19th Century
- romantic nationalism
- european classical composers use folk melodies for new compositions
- start of song collecting
- → turns it into a pop music
- → shapes folk culture in terms of what is and isn't collected
- → turns it into a written music (as opposed to purely orla/aural)
2. 1930s and 1940’s
3. Folk revival period (1958-1965)
Folk in the 1930 and 1940s: Three Trends
- Folk music starts to be used as a political tool
- → beginning of connection between folk and protest music
 - → folk singers often advocate for social change
- → usually left wing positions; socialism, helping the poor or marginalized
- Creation of new “folk” songs
- → often written to sound old-timey, but were also often about current events
- Some of these new songwriters became celebrities
- → one of the best examples of these three trends (left wing politics, new songs, and
celebrity), was Woody Guthrie...
Woody Gurthie
Ex: Woody Gurthie - “Do Re Mi” (1940)
- Similar to 19th C. folk, tells a story
- → Dustbowl migration of the 1930s
- There were many changes to “folk authenticity” in the 1930s:
- → folk became more urban and intellectual in its associations
- → more political and protest-oriented
- → no longer as anonymous
- → no longer as firmly centred on old songs
Folk Revival Period (1958 - 1965)
- Popular with college-aged young adults
- Seen as more “real” and “authentic” alternative to mainstream pop
- → meaningful lyrics often touched on social issues
- → musical simplicity and non-theatrical performance
- → good looks not important (different emphasis on image)
- Huge increase in the number of acoustic guitars sold in US in the early 60s
- → passable voice, a few easy chords: anyone can do this
- → reinforces idea that folk music was for and by the people
- → as opposed to mainstream pop
Professional Folk Music
- In the late 1950s, folk music becomes a major commercial genre, and folk/pop hybrids
became popular (i.e. pop folk)
- Similarities with Brill Building pop:
- → carefully crafted to appeal to a particular part of youth market
- → pop seen as superficial, folk as serious; same business marketing for both
- → both polite and tame in comparison with first wave rock and roll
The Kingston Trio
- On of the biggest hits of this era:
Ex: The Kingston Trio - “Tom Dooley” (1958)
- Start of folk revival in mainstream pop market
- How does this song adapt folk for a commercial market?
- → cleaner, more professional sound
- → harmonies in the voice is more pop
- What are the pop folk elements?
Peter, Paul, and Mary
- Most successful pop folk group of the 60s
- Manager Albert Grossman
 - Despite a capitalist start, they were well received by folk fans
- Played both sides: pop sensibility and “authentic” performance style
Ex: Peter, Paul, and Mary - “Blowin’ in the Wind (1963)
- Compared with the original version:
- → Ex: Bob Dylan - “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
Spit in Folk Market
- The folk scene (and the idea of “folk” music) becomes more complicated
- The newer ideas of folk do not erase the older ones
- → instead they co-exist and influence one another
- Older-style: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan; Gordon Lightfoot
- Newer pop-style: Kingston Trio; Rooftop Singers: Paul, Peter, and Mary
Bob Dylan
- Greenwich village, NYC, 1961 (one of the hubs of folk music)
- Quickly became a leader in the scene
- → although his recording career was slow to take off
- Manager Albert Grossman
- → innovative management style
- → insisted his musicians be called “artists”
- → fought the labels for more artistic control
- Many of Dylan’s songs were hits for others
- → it was Grossman who had Peter, Paul, and Mary record “Blowin in the Wind”
- → an example of his leverage style of management
- → using more popular groups sing less popular artists songs to increase popularity for
both
- “Protest singer”
- “Voice of a generation”
Ex Bob Dylan - “Masters of War” (1963)
- By 1964/65, less political lyrics; more rock in terms of both image and musical style
Dylan Goes Electric
- Seen by some as a rejection of the traditional folk scene
- Not a sudden event, but spread out over a few stages
- March 1965, he releases and album which had an entire side of electric material
(Bringing It All Back Home)
- July 1965: the most famous incident, when he performed with an electric band at the
Newport Folk Festival
- Hostile reactions during the 1966 UK tour
- → which include the famous “Judas” moment
Ex: Bob Dylan - “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
- → Early electric Dylan
- 6 minute single - which says its not pop - although it was on the radio
- Four long sections (with one verse and chorus in each section)
- Campbell/Brody: “a cinematic portrayal of a privileged princess who’s strung out and
trying to survive on the streets”
- In what way does this still resemble his acoustic folk material?
 - Rock songs can now be about anything
- Dylan was a major influence on the mid 1960s transformation from Rock and Roll to a
style that would be called simply Rock
- → compare 1950s Rock and Roll with mid-to-late 1960’s Rock
- New potential for pop music: broad and important lyrics
- New musical sounds as well
- In July 1966 Dylan had a motorcycle accident
- → out of the spotlight for a while, but still influential
Folk Rock
- “Meaningful” lyrics with beat and electrical instrumentation of Rock
- Most songs were newly composed; but not all
Ex: The Animals - “House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
- British invasion
- 19th century folk songs
- First folk rock song?
The Byrds
- Formed in Los Angeles, 1964
- Several early rock versions of folk songs
Ex: Bob Dylan - “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1964)
Ex: The Byrds - “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)
- US and UK #1
- Brings together folk revival (Dylan)
- Girl Groups (Phil Spector/Wrecking Crew)
- Surf (Beach Boys)
- And with the 12-string, the Beatles/British invasion
Simon and Garfunkel
Ex: Simon and Garfunkel - “Sounds of Silence” (1964)
- Original acoustic version
- Not a hit when first recorded
- → S&G broke up, but reformed when this first became a hit
- After the success of Bob Dylan and The Byrds, the record company added other
instruments (without S&G’s knowledge) and released it; it became a hit
Ex: “The Sound of Silence” (1965) - overdubbed version
- Featuring members of Dylan’s Band
- Increased instrumental and vocal intensity as song builds
Singer-Songwriter
- Many similarities with folk
- → the emphasis is on lyrics and melody
- → minimal instrumentation, often solo, usually acoustic instruments
- → often features socially-minded lyrics and/or personal expression
- → strong connection between singer, their instruments, and lyrics
- → historical context: folk, country, blues songwriters were “singer-songwriters” by
definition
- → Hank Williams “3 chords and the truth”
Leonard Cohen
- From Montreal
- As much literary figure as a musical one
- Mid-1950s: poetry, novels
- By 1960s, musical performer
Ex: Leonard Cohen - “suzanne” (1967)
- First published as a poem, 1966
Joni Mitchell
- First woman folk singer with a large body of work
- Many different styles: jazz fusion
- Revered as a songwriter
- Painter, photographer
Ex: Joni Mitchell - “All I Want” (1971)
- Love song, but unusual in that it seems like we're listening to her subconscious thoughts
- Strophic form, 3 stanzas of lyrics
Newer Singer-Songwriters
Ex: Tracy Chapman - “Fast Car” (1988)
- About escaping poverty
- Strong emotion connection in lyrics and music
Ex: Ani Difranco - “Overlap” (1994)
- Influence as a guitarist as well as performer and songwriter
- Socially active as a performer and through her record label
- → Why do you think there are so many female singer-songwriters?
- → How does this genre fit in with genre stereotypes?
- → women considered emotional and soft which is in line with singer-songwriter
Newer Folk and Folk Rock
Ex: Great Big Sea - “Run Runaway” (1966)
- Late 80s/early 90s this kind of updated folk-rock sound became quite popular
- → traditional Canadian and Newfoundland folk songs
- → and new song written in this style
Ex: The Lumineers - “Ho Hey” (2012)
- “Indie-folk”
- Similarities and differences between these two examples and 1960s folk rock?

LECTURE #5
The Focus on Two British Invasion styles
1. Mersey Beat
2. London Electric Blues
- Skiffle → Mersey Beat → The Beatles
- Chicago (Electric) Blues → London Blues → The Rolling Stones

British Invasion (1964-1966)

 - A period where there is a surge of interest in UK bands in the US and elsewhere
(including the UK)
- → before this, there were almost no UK acts on US charts
- Many different musical styles fall under this category
- → Mersey Beat groups; London Electric Blues groups; soul, R&B, pop groups
- A commonality is that they are British groups with strong US influences, who sold that
music back to Americans
- → irony here is that British invasion groups often played an unintentional role in
damaging the career of the US artists/styes that had influenced them
- → also helped some blues artists contribute to an interest in US blues among white
Americans

Skiffle
- US origins, but in the UK it had a more general meaning
- → a movement of young musicians playing fast, enthusiastic versions of US folk songs
- → US folk music transformed when UK musicians tried to perform it
- Many musicians who would become important UK rock figures in the 1960a began their
careers in skiffle bands
Ex: Lonnie Donegan - “Rock Island Line” (1956)
- Very fast, hyper, loud

Mersey Beat aka Beat Music

- Pop music from Liverpool and NW England
- → named after Mersey River
- Beat groups influenced by blues, R&B, Brill Building pop and Soul
- Friendly, more cheerful image than the London Blues group
Ex: Remarkable Liverpool: The Mersey Sound (Video)
- In the late 50s Liverpool began to take rock and roll more seriously than most places in
Britain
- → A new sound was born known as Mersey beat
- Mersey beat began in 1958 as Skiffle faded and rock and roll took over (acoustic for
electric)
- Possible that because Liverpool was a thriving sea port, locals had more access ot
american goods brought back from sailors
- → records, instruments, etc
- Unique because they were exciting compared to previous music
- Influenced by american music culture at the time, many Liverpool locals started bands
and made Mersey music
- The most popular place for these bands to perform was The Cavern Club
- → A former Jazz venue that now hosted rock and roll
- → The Beatles performed in 1961
- During this time the Beatles became a national hit
- → many record labels cam to Liverpool and signed any talent they could find
- → because of this Mersey beat dominated the charts for the following years
 - This came to an end in 1965
- → all the bands had left Liverpool

Elements of the Beat sound include:

- → good example of Beat music is The Beatles (1961-1964)
- Folk influence (from Skiffle) (acoustic guitars)
- Catchy melodies
- concise pop song form
- Doo-Wop style back up vocal (early rock)
- Very jangly guitar sounds and an emphasis on cymbals in the drum kits (a bright sound
overall)
- Simple lyrics with a typically pop romance theme
- → at the same time a degree of toughness in the sound (volume distortion)
Ex: The Beatles “Please Please Me’ (1963)
- Very professional done
- Harmonica used (skiffle/folk cheap instruments)
- Happy theme
- High harmonies, high voices

The Beatles
- One of the first of this scene to write their own music (others were mostly playing covers)
- Formed in Liverpool as a skiffle band called The Quarry Men
- Early live experience and musical training, 60’-62 (did tons of live performances)
- → red light district in Hamburg, Germany
- → Cavern Club in Liverpool
- Brian Epstien, manager by later 61/early 62’
- → he suggests the “Beatles haircuts” and matching suits
- → got them better gigs, more money
- → and a recording session at Decca (who didn't want to release the record)
- → released through EMI/Parlophone by George Martin
- Late 1962, first UK hit: “Love Me Do”
- First two albums covers of US girl groups, Motown, early Rock and roll

General Phases of the Beatles’ Career

- Live band
- → Beatlemania period, 1962-66
- → ​Please, Please, Me; With the Beatles; A Hard Day’s Night
- → Stylistic eclecticism and Dylan-inspired seriousness, 1964-66
→ ​Beatles for Sale; Help!; Rubber Soul; Revolver
- Studio Band
- → Experimental music, 1967-68
- → ​Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band; Magical Mystery Tour
- → Travel to India, 1968
- → ​The White Album
 - → Roots rock period, 1969
→ ​Abbey Road, Let it Be
Beatlemania (1963-1966)
- Huge success in the UK in 1963, led to other domestic success stories
- Nothing in US yet: EMI’s US partner label (Capitol) turned them down
- US breakthrough: The Ed Sullivan Show, 3 times in February in 1964
- → Tv: 73 Million viewers
- → same show where Elvis debuted in 1950s
- Capitol agreed to release “I Want To Hold Your Hand” In Dec. 1963
- → became a #1 hit before the Tv appearance
Ex: The Beatles - “Let Me Hold Your Hand” (Live on The Ed Sullivan Show, February 9, 1964)
(Video)

Ex: The Beatles - “Let Me Hold Your Hand” (1963)

- #1 UK, #1 US by early 1964
- AABA form, partial reprise at end
- Very US pop influence:
- → Chuck Berry style guitars
- → Girl Group hand claps
- → Everly Brothers harmony
- → high “ooohs” in the style of Little Richard
- → Blues style lead guitar in bridge
- Story: Beatles meet Bob Dylan in 1964 and he apparently encourages them to move
past their teen love romance themes and to write about more things

A Hard Day’s Night

- July 1964: the Beatles’ first full-length film
- → follows Rock and Roll films of mid 1950s
- → emphasizes the gap between the young and old
- → Blurred lines between reality (they play themselves), fiction, and marketing of the
band
Ex: A Hard Day’s Night Trailer (Video)
- → also , The Beatles (animated series), 1965-67

The Beatles as a Studio Band

- Move shockingly quickly from a teen heartthrob group to serious artist
- Concerts too loud: the band regularly couldn't hear themselves play
- Pr problems: The Beatles vs Jesus
- → during a interview in england John Lennon was quotes saying “The Beatles are more
popular than Jesus” which was taken out of context in US media creating boycotts and
hate
- Last public concert: San Francisco, Aug. 1966
- The Beatles are now a studio only
- → up to this point, records were usually thought of as “records” of a live performance
 - → helped establish the model of rock bands as recording artists
- Leads to many studio experimentations
- → art rock(classical aspects), psychedelia, folk, children's songs, Baroque pop

Baroque Pop
- A rock subgenre that emerges in the early-to-mid 1960s
- Rock and classical instrumentation/arrangements (string, wind, brass)
Ex: The Beatles - “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)
- Breaks with pop conventions both musically and lyrically
- Music: String octet (4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos), no other instruments (very unique)
- Lyrics: a song about an unlamented death was new
- Detachment (no “you” or “I”; all third person)

Baroque Pop: Harpsichord (piano type instrument)

- Peak 15th to 18th century Europe
- Used today to play music of this time
Ex: Harpsichord Demonstration (Video)
- No dynamics
Ex: Van Morrison - “Everyone” (1970)
Ex: The Beatles - “Fixing A Hole” (1967)
Ex: The Rolling Stones - “Play With Fire” (1965)
Ex: The Yardbirds - “For Your Love” (1965)
- Other uses (Harpsichord sound on electric keyboard)
Ex: Eminem - “The Real Slim Shady” (2000)

The Beatles’ Rooftop Concert

- Final public appearance
- Compare with early US Tv appearances
Ex: The Beatles - “Don't Let Me Down” (1969) (Video)

The Beatles Open The Door For Other British Invasion Acts
- The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Kinks
- Good marketing term for British guitar based rock groups of this time, but there is also a
wide range in sounds
Ex: The Kinks - “You Really Got Me” (1964)
- Guitar riff is the dominant rhythm
- One chord approach
- → riff repeats at higher pitches
- Non standard chord progression

The Who
- Blues band origins
- Power trio, plus vocals
- Mod (youth culture; fancy clothes, amphetamines) (“Mod or Rocker”)
Ex: The Who - “My Generation” (1965)
- Four distinct musicians
- “I hope I die before I get old”
- Modulations through four keys

Chicago Blues
- Another main influence on British invasion groups was the style of electric blues being
recorded in Chicago in the 1940s and 1950s at labels like Chess and to a lesser extent
Vee-Jay
Ex: Muddy Waters - “(Im Your) Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954)
- Amplification changes sound of harmonica and voice, not just guitar
- → distorted, loud
- Riff, four-on-the-floor drumming
- Lyrics: mystical, voodoo, sexual potency
- Macho, self-assertive personas and attitudes

The London Blues Scene, Early 1960s

- Many British blues fans were purists and elitist:
- → they studied the music and had large record collections of rare records
- → preferred performance that were as close as possible to the US style
- → a general anti-pop attitude
- Musical influence, but also a matter of image
- → however, whenever a an artist tries to imitate someone else’s style, they almost
always end up transforming it in some way
- Eric Clapton is an example of this…

Eric Clapton
- Part of the London blues scene from the early 1960s
- Member of The Yardbirds, but left the group when they recorded more pop-oriented
material
- 1965-1966: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
- First rock “guitar hero”?
Ex: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - “All Your Love” (1966)
- How is Clapton’s guitar different from what we've heard so far, both in terms of the
sound and the role it plays in the song?
- → “call and response” he sings and Clayton plays him a response
- → very present guitar throughout
- Distortion, sustain, vibrato
- Jim Marshall’s amp design
- At the point, “the instrument” is both the guitar and the amplifier, rather than just the
guitar

Blues Rock Sound

- Simplicity and repetition; riff based
 - Core instrumentation: electric guitar(s), electric bass, drums, vocals
- → other instruments: piano, organ, horns, percussion (not many strings)
- Blues-based harmonic structures (i.e. 3-chord, 12 bar blues form)
- London Blues compared to Merseybeat:
- → a generally aggressive sound
- → rougher vocals
- → more prominent and distorted guitar
- → stronger beat

Blues and Blues Rock

Ex: Howlin’ Wolf - “Little Red Rooster” (1961)
Ex: The Rolling Stones - “Little Red Rooster (1964)
- Songwriting credit given by Stones
Ex: Muddy Waters - “You Need Love” (1962)
Ex: Led Zeppelin - “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)
- 1985 settlement
- Blues in the 1960s: US to UK to US

The Rolling Stones

- Started as blues cover band in July 1962
- → first single was a Chuck Berry cover: “Come On”
- Big in UK by late 1963, US late 1964
- Perhaps delayed because of their bad-boy image (compared with The Beatles)
- → long hair, scruffy, not matching suits
- → generally more rebellious looking
- → did not hide their drug use or sexual activity
- → generally shocking for the older generation
Ex: The Rolling Stones - “Around And Around” (T.A.M.I Show,1964) (Video)

Original Songwriting
- Before the mid-1960s, it wasn't considered particularly important for rock musicians to
write their own material
- → by the mid-1960’s, it became essential to be taken seriously
- → becomes a big part of rock ideology and authenticity
- The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were leaders in the trend
- → although for both the motives were as much economic as anything else
- Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham locks Jagger and Richards in a kitchen
Ex: The Rolling Stones - “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
- Development of the “rock” sound
- → listen to rhythm, timbres, form, lyrics
- → describe the mood or purpose/message of the lyrics
- → how does it relate to the emerging rock image and attitude?
- One of the earliest examples of the guitar effect
- → “fuzz tone”
 - → and this song is one of the earliest examples of fuzz on a widely distributed record
- Hotel room origins of riff
- #1 in US and UK
- Instruments enter one at a time

British Invasion Summary

- Beginning of domestic pop music market in UK
- → British charts no longer completely dominated by US groups
- → same kind of thing happens in Canada in the late 1960s/early 1970s due in part to
Canadian content regulations
- Opens the door for UK groups in US and around the world
- → prominent influence ever since then
- “Rock” becomes associated with white Brits, as opposed to earlier associations of Black
Americans (and juvenile delinquency)
- → rock is now on the path to be accepted as “art”
- Started a new phase of interest In the American Blues with a white audience

LECTURE #6
The Late 1960s & Psychedelic Rock
- The 1960s Rock Revolution
- What is Psychedelia?
- What does it sound like?
- San Francisco
- → Jeferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead
- London
- → The Beatles
- Los Angeles
- → The Beach Boys
- Modern Psychedelic Rock
- Outdoor festivals

The 1960s Rock Revolution

- Stylistic explosion
- Commercial dominance
- A new music press and the beginning of rock criticism
- Social changes: blurring of boundaries
- → race
- → class
- → geographic
- Global influence

Psychedelia
- Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood of San Francisco, 1965-1967
- → another important scene developed a little later in London
- This scene becomes mainstream and hits a peak in the summer