why is 1960 referred to as “the day the music died”?
declining state of pop music:
- Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper killed in plane crash
- Eddie Cochran killed in car accident in London
- Elvis enlisted in army
- Little Richard left music to become a minister
- Chuck Berry incarcerated
- DJ Alan Freed disgraced in payola scandal
rock n roll replaced by rising popularity of teen idols
what was the Brill Building? which genre emerged out of it?
- a commercial enterprise located in central Manhattan which took the successful rock n roll formula and reintroduced the stylistic features and production process of Tin Pan Alley (nicknamed “teen” pan alley)
- girl groups: new form of pop music comprised predominantly of young Black women with songs composed by young (often female, often Jewish) songwriters (like Carol King); featured layered vocal arrangements with call-and-response between lead and backup singers
- Phil Spector’s trademark “wall of sound”
who was Phil Spector?
- producer working in the Brill Building who pioneered the wall of sound technique: involved overdubbing instruments and playing them in the same room to make a bigger sound
- he was very controlling of the artists under his label as well as the women in his life
describe the urban folk revival
- a revival of the tradition of country blues singers
- emphasized authenticity and sincerity over commerciality
- often contained political left-wing messages, correlating with the rise of the civil rights movement
- strophic form (verses only)
- voice and acoustic guitar, fingerpicking
what did Dylan famously do in 1965? what was its impact?
- performed at Newport festival with an electric guitar, which was controversial since the electric guitar represented the commerciality that the urban folk revival was against (accused him of “selling out”)
- his new style represented a key development in the sound of mainstream rock in the 60s by combining folk earnestness with rock n roll musical aesthetics
what was the main change in the categorization of music in 1969?
R&B became soul
define and describe soul as a broad genre
- vocal style: use of melisma, gospel and doo-wop influence
- shift away from blues structure in favour of a more contemporary through-composed structure (verse-chorus-bridge parts)
- the Black antithesis to white-coded folk revival; represented racial pride and authenticity
- two regional centres: Motown (Detroit) and Stax (Nashville)/Muscle Shoals (Alabama)
what defined Motown/northern/uptown soul?
- took inspo from Brill building model of production but emphasized the control of music by Black artists
- HDH songwriting team and session musicians called the Funk Brothers helped to create the “motown sound”
- stereo to an extreme
- up-tempo, lively, catchy, feel-good, sweet pop sound but with a soul rawness
- lots of layered instruments show influence of wall of sound
- snare drum
- virtuosic bass
what defined Stax/southern soul?
- greater emphasis on gospel influence
- more spontaneous riffing as well as, gritty, and gravelly vocals
- less likely to have pop crossover than motown; marketed as “Blacker” and more authentic than Motown
what was the Harlem cultural festival?
- music festival in the summer of 69
- like Woodstock but less white, with entirely soul lineup
- represented fight for a better future, signified social mobility and hope for African American communities
why did British music become so popular in the US in the mid 60s?
- American R&B became increasingly popular in the UK during the 50s, and British artists picked up the style and gave it their own twist; perceived “novelty” to Americans
- it could be listened to outside the increasingly weighty context of American politics
- thanks to the Beatles, English rock was seen as more sophisticated than American rock as it integrated “high art” serious aesthetics into rock music
what were the key characteristics of British Invasion music?
- distorted guitar-driven sounds
- skiffly (jazzy, bluesy) drum grooves
- ironic suggestive lyrics
why was Sgt. Pepper so influential as an album?
- first concept album
- first LP to have the lyrics printed on the sleeve
what was the role of British art schools in shaping popular music?
- London’s art schools had a more blues-oriented scene than Liverpool, which provided a hotbed for aspiring rock n roll musicians
- helped to develop the distinctive form of British rock
- eg. Rolling Stones
why were the Who influential?
- pioneered the act of smashing guitar on stage
- emphasis on performance and enduring rock n roll blues values from the 50s
- explored high art forms, such as their rock opera
describe surf rock
- girl group formula but with male singers
- portrayed California as an idealistic cultural theme
- used jangly guitar song
- youthful lyrics and themes
describe 60s counterculture
- a subculture defined in opposition to the mainstream, associated with young, white, middle class Americans who identified with the Civil Rights Movement and protested the Vietnam war
- influenced music, fashion, philosophy
- associated with music festivals and outdoor concerts
why did psychedelic rock emerge?
since rock was seen as too mainstream, it was replaced by psychedelic rock to fit into the countercultural movement
describe psychedelic rock
- countercultural subgenre of mainstream rock
- associated with psychedelic drugs and youth movement
- intended to be listened to while under the influence
- electric guitar-centric, new timbres and techniques, dissonance, atonality, improvisation
- surrealist metaphorical lyrics
what city was an especially famous countercultural hub in the late 60s?
- San Francisco
- big in psychedelic rock, mass dosing of LSD (acid tests)
- guitar-heavy, bluesy sound
what was Woodstock?
- music festival in the summer of 69
- culmination of the countercultural movement
- mainly white psychedelic rock artists
what happened at Altamont?
- Rolling stones concert in late 1969
- hired the hells angels as security which resulted in several deaths
- represented the death of the spirit of music festivals
