MUSC 200 1st Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture II Gospel Influenced R B cont III 1950s Rock and Roll a Demographic and Economic Context b Culture of Consumption c Culture of Race d Culture of Sexuality e The Music Industry Context IV Rock and Roll Radio Outline of Current Lecture V Finishing up crossovers VI 1st Generation of Rock and Roll a Influences b Common musical elements VII Some African American Rock and Roll Stars a Fats Domino b Little Richard c Chuck Barry Current Lecture Listening 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 roll 1st 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 audience o Teenage themes in lyrics These 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 blues o Called Rockabilly Influences on Rock and Roll o Rhythm and blues mainstream music o Gospel quartets o Secular African American quartets from the 30s and 40s that were backed by small bands o The Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers Smooth blends pop style Had both white and black audiences Country o Rock and roll opposed TPA pop by emphasizing the singer instead of the song and being more aggressive o Chuck Barry Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash all influenced by country But rock and roll also borrowed elements from TPA such as the verse chorus form and the usage of hooks Latin music was also an influence particularly Afro Caribbean in New Orleans Common musical elements o Rhythm section consisting of piano bass and drums o No brass or reeds section o Single saxophone o Electric guitar o 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 2 nd 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 together o 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 singers Some African American Rock and Roll Stars Fats Domino o Vocals smooth gentle easy going laid back o Signed with Matassa Studio in New Orleans o 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 sound First hit in 1950 with The Fat Man Mostly an African American audience o Had many hits in the 50s and early 60s o In the 60s Domino shifted from independent labels to ABC and Mercury o 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 circuit 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 less dense 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 Richard o 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 family o Working class family o Began singing early in rhythm and blues o Signed with a major record label RCA He wasn t successful and nothing sold well and he ended up being dropped o Began to perform and tour regionally around New Orleans and gained popularity o 1955 signed with Specialty Records Recorded at Matassa Studio in New Orleans o The recordings there are what made him famous 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 result of 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 fashion Boogie Woogie derived right hand meandering This song was Little Richard s first major hit o 1957 Little Richard decided that rock and roll didn t match up with his religious beliefs and he switched over to sing Gospel o