1950 pre rock

Lead singer with a trio or quartet back up,

Vocal style – nasal quality, occasional yodel

Significant melodies and easy to remember

Vocal style – smooth and mellow, crooner style

Instruments- Electric guitar, drum set, electric bass, Saxophone – alto & tenor

Non Musical factor that contributed to the emergence of rock- Television, which opens the radio waves. Also the invention of the transistor radio

Economic climate in the 1950s – stable

Crossovers – Record, Tune or Artist that is associated with one market – “Charting” in another. Example- Fats Domino – Blueberry Hill

Cover Version – A subsequent version of a song – Typically in the 1950s moving between the 3 markets

Sound Alike - Pop industry attempts to c

. . .

Lyric Content – Surrealistic word imagery, Drug referencing (Double entendre or overt referencing)

Experimentation with mind expanding drugs – LSD, Marijuana

1967 – summer of love – peace symbol, sunglasses

Beatles “Sgt peppers lonely hearts club band” – the first concept album and the first rock album with all the lyrics printed on back.

Orchestra, Electric Guitar

The Big Six:

Chuck Berry

Mainstream. It was the first formally named song – named as Rock.

1965 on their 3rd trip to USA “Satisfaction” is written and released – No1 hit

Beatles become big innovators of Rock music – Stones were not as diversified. The most consecutive top 10 records. Suggested the DJs, program managers took bribes to play one artist over another. The number of singles being sold was more than anyone before.

Doo wop styling – lead vocals & tight harmony behind it

1960s

1960-1963

Rock Styles –

Surfing Music

Southern California

Carefree Attitude

Blonde Hair

Lyric content – Girls, Dating, Cars, Surfing

Artists – Dick Dale, Jan & Dean, The beach boys

Dance Craze

Song Formula-

Lyrics – learn the dance name

Its great & easy & fun

Directions on how to dance it

American bandstand – Dick Clark – becomes a promotional vehicle for the dance craze

Chubby Checker – the twist

Emerging Folk Music Trend

Pioneer of American Folk Music – Woody Guthrie

Social political awareness

Critical of capitalism

Music and lyrics were written to say something

1957 Harry Bellefonte – Calypso – Banana boat song – Day-o

Folk Music appealed to 18 – 24 year old group

Format was albums not singles

Instrumentation was acoustic instrument only

Guitar, Harmonica

Artists –Joan Baez

Peter Paul and Mary

Bob Dylan

Lyric content- Social Political, Critical of War and Vietnam Issues, Civil rights awareness

Bob Dylan – was all about the lyrics – 1963 Freewheelin’ – All original music – all about the lyrics, lyrics, lyrics.

Rolling stones image – Beatle like at first in their 1962 debut…that did not work. Became a commercial force in all the markets internationally. reate it’s ‘original’ style similar to R&B

Youth culture emerges as a sub society

Disposable income

Develop their own fashion

Hood Look – Blue Jeans, Black leather jacket, Red tattoo

2 movies associated with the youth culture of the 1950s –

Rebel without a Cause

Blackboard Jungle – Featured the song Rock around the Clock, which caused the national birth of rock and roll.

1958 – 1960

The status of mainstream Rock near the end of the 50s was dwindling commercially

Some of the causes for the shaky status at the end of the 50s:

The Big 6 are out of the picture-

Fats Domino- OK but mellow

Buddy Holly – killed in plane crash

Chuck Berry – legal trouble

Little Richard- Turns to Religion

Jerry Lee Lewis-Legal Trouble

Elvis – Drafted and sent to Germany

Teen Idols that looked like Elvis but had high voices and were less threatening were introduced. 1964 developed the counter image to Beatles.

1956 – 58

The DJ who gave Rock and Roll its name was Alan Freed

3 basic stylistic trends of 1950s rock: Mainstream, Soft Rock, and Rockabilly

Mainstream – R&B

Vocal style – Shouter

Instruments – Electric Guitars, piano, drum sets, saxophone, Bass guitar.

Common topics in this essay:
Beatles Pre, Mainstream Crossover, POP Non-controversial, POP Festival, George Martin, Suggested DJs, Wolf Musical, Style Melody, Elvis Phenomena, Jimi Hendrix, youth culture, style –, electric guitar, british invasion, 1964 –, artist –, vocal style –, buddy holly, – lyrics, song –, soft rock, crossover artist –, – r& market, artist – r&, mainstream crossover artist,

Approximate Word count = 1391
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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