Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture II Elvis Presley cont a Sun Records period b RCA period Outline of Current Lecture III Elvis Presley cont IV Carl Perkins V Johnny Cash VI 2nd Generation of Rock and Roll Current Lecture Elvis Presley cont Listening Love Me by Elvis Presley Straightforward accompaniment the focus is on the vocals Ballad style with dripping emotions Vocal devices o Mumbled introduction doesn t articulate syllables to show how overwhelmed with feeling he is o Cry breaks o Fast and wide vibrato Vibrato vibrate up and down around a pitch o Country nasality in high range o Melisma o Blue notes gliding through pitches o Plays with dynamics Not aggressive rock and roll but he still has the essence of cool due to his whole persona 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 Elvis s first period at RCA ended when he went into the military o Military service authenticated him as patriotic Returned in the early 1960s and was able to pick up his career where he left of Didn t do as many live performances and did a lot of movies Didn t do much rock and roll focused on ballads and mainstream pop tracks 1968 Christmas special on NBC o 1969 released the Memphis album which was a return to the rock and roll sound o Wore his rock and roll look jeans and leather jacket and played both rock and roll songs and showy pop numbers Started doing more live shows and appeared to be going back to how he was before Based himself in Las Vegas o This threw him definitely into the pop direction o Performed tons of local shows and toured across the nation in big arenas o Developed drug and weight problems and died from a drug overdose in 1977 Carl Perkins Signed to Sun Records Grew up as part of the only white family of sharecroppers on a cotton plantation in TN o Grew up with African American music as well as country Some say he could have been as successful as Elvis if he had signed to a major label Listening Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins Elvis sang a version of this song as well They both used the same techniques but Elvis was much more exaggerated 12 bar blues stop time breaks guitar bends Gives a sense of cool by shifting the rhythmic coordination o Shifts between tight and precise then loose and relaxed Vocal techniques blue slides dynamic accents on top of a crescendo increasing in volume Country nasality in high ranges Rhythmic tension between vocals and band Interacts with the band Johnny Cash Started with Sun Records and in 1958 signed to Capital Records a major label Combated alcohol and drug problems his entire career By the 1960s he was primarily a country artist but kept ties with rock and roll Recorded a couple of songs with Bob Dylan Had a show on TV that featured mostly country artists but he would also book some rock and roll musicians which was unconventional Considered the anti Elvis o Cash wasn t showy he was spare and understated o The emotion of Cash s songs lies beneath the surface o Straightforward presentation o Cash uses a small amount of devices but uses them precisely Listening I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash Minimalist understated style Restrained emotion Glides are part of the composition rather than out of emotion Consistent timbre and vocal quality Humming portions are the closest thing to interacting with the audience or being showy Song tells a story but not in a series of events You have to piece it together as he illustrates the one theme over and over Listening Get Rhythm by Johnny Cash Straightforward guitar solo Consistent timbre and vocal quality A few glides Understated intensity 2nd Generation of Rock and Roll By 1957 everyone was familiar with rock and roll Buddy Holly and the Crickets and the Everly Brothers had their breakouts in 1957 The themes of the songs were more consistently about love and relationships Emphasis on the chords the guitar played o Chords were seen as the focus and something to listen to rather than just accompanying the melody