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TAMU MUSC 200 - Rock and Roll: Influences, Common Musical Elements, and Some African American Stars
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MUSC 200 1st Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture II. Gospel Influenced R&B (cont.)III. 1950s Rock and Rolla. Demographic and Economic Contextb. Culture of Consumptionc. Culture of Raced. Culture of Sexualitye. The Music Industry ContextIV. Rock and Roll RadioOutline of Current Lecture V. Finishing up crossovers VI. 1st Generation of Rock and Rolla. Influencesb. Common musical elementsVII. Some African American Rock and Roll Starsa. Fats Dominob. Little Richardc. Chuck BarryCurrent LectureListening: “Rocky 88” by Jackie Brenston- 1951 crossover song- Highly rhythmic phrases, driving bass line, Boogie Woogie left hand piano is transferred to the bass, overblown saxophone- Has most of the features associated with rock and roll1st Generation of Rock and Roll: 1955-1956- 1954 was the year of the crossovers, which led to the emergence of Rock and Roll in 1955- Rock and roll at this time consisted of some specific elements, but was also very diverse- Rock and roll songs were rhythm and blues songs written to appeal to a white teenage audienceo Teenage themes in lyricsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Some white artists started recording R&B/pop influenced rock and roll- Pieces of country were reinterpreted with elements of rhythm and blueso Called Rockabilly- Influences on Rock and Roll o Rhythm and blues mainstream musico Gospel quartetso Secular African American quartets from the 30s and 40s that were backed by small bands The Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers Smooth blends, pop style Had both white and black audienceso Country Chuck Barry, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash all influenced by countryo Rock and roll opposed TPA pop by emphasizing the singer instead of the song and being more aggressive But rock and roll also borrowed elements from TPA such as the verse/chorus form and the usage of hookso Latin music was also an influence, particularly Afro-Caribbean in New Orleans- Common musical elementso Rhythm section consisting of piano, bass, and drumso No brass or reeds sectiono Single saxophone o Electric guitaro Lots of rock and roll used Boogie Woogie left hand piano lines and played them on the bass to give energy and a driving rhythm o Snare drums gave heavy accents on the 2nd and 4th beats (backbeats) o Stop time breaks: band and singer are going together and then accompaniment drops out, leaving one person (either an instrument or the singer) all alone with the melody, then it all comes back in togethero Melody features Instrumental solos gave extreme displays of emotion- Overblown sax, loud and hard piano, distorted guitar, raspy singers, flamboyant and outrageous stage costumes and antics of singersSome African American Rock and Roll Stars- Fats Dominoo Vocals: smooth, gentle, easy-going, laid backo Signed with Matassa Studio in New Orleans Producer Dave Bartholomew helped craft Fats Domino’s sound Matassa was an independent studio but had the producers and engineers to make a cutting edge soundo First hit in 1950 with “The Fat Man” Mostly an African American audienceo Had many hits in the 50s and early 60so In the 60s, Domino shifted from independent labels to ABC and Mercury ABC and Mercury didn’t understand his sound and his songs didn’t turn out as well and he no longer charted But he still stayed on the oldies circuito Next hit not until 1955 with “Ain’t That A Shame” Extremely popular crossover song Contrast between laid back vocal style and rich, full, and energetic band Electric guitar is accompaniment, not central, it’s just another layer Stop time breaks throughout (the whole intro uses stop time breaks) Stratified Texture: lower pitched instruments have lowest frequency and are lessdense- Bass: 1 note/beat- Guitar: 1 or 2 notes/beat- Piano: 3 notes/beat (triplets)- Drums (ride cymbal): provides noisy buzz to fill out sound Every instrument fills up the frequency spectrum, there are no gaps, which gives interest and energy- This is a product of good engineering and producing Overblown sax imitates the laid back style of Fats Domino- Little Richardo Known for intense and over the top singing and stage behavior, hammering on the piano, dramatic clothes, and wearing makeup (a precursor to the gender benders of glam rock)o Known as the wild child in his devout and religious familyo Working class familyo Began singing early in rhythm and blueso Signed with a major record label (RCA) He wasn’t successful and nothing sold well and he ended up being droppedo Began to perform and tour regionally around New Orleans and gained popularityo 1955 – signed with Specialty Records Recorded at Matassa Studio in New Orleans- The recordings there are what made him famouso “Tutti Frutti” Story behind this song: Little Richard was recording with Specialty Records at Matassa Studios but nothing was sounding right or turning out well. They were having difficulty capturing the live energy. So he and the producer went to a bar where Little Richard banged out his frustrations on the piano using a 12 bar blues form. This song became “Tutti Frutti” and they went back to the studio to record it with a band. 1st track of Little Richard’s that captured the energy of one of his live performances Structure: string of 12 bar blues interrupted with stop time breaks with a verse/chorus form layered on top Overblown sax solo Snare drum backbeats give energy Ride cymbal provides noisy energy wash Background saxophone gives rhythm and drive Piano uses boogie woogie devices This was not unsophisticated, randomly-spit-out-at-a-bar music. It was the resultof years of careful work in perfecting the form and devices necessary to give the impression of a wild and out of control song.  Uses melisma from Gospel music and falsetto leaps in the middle of a phrase He recognized the tongue, lips, and teeth as percussion instruments- Spits out consonants - Syncopation: rhythmic surprise, accented notes falling between beats- Mediocre singers can’t give consonants that kind of strong, danceable rhythm Dynamic technique: band gets louder and softer to accent certain instruments or vocalist- When the sax solo starts, the band gets louder together. The solo ends and the vocalist comes back in and the band backs down in a coordinated and controlled


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TAMU MUSC 200 - Rock and Roll: Influences, Common Musical Elements, and Some African American Stars

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