MUH 2019 Spring 2016 Motown Records See bottom of guide for list of songs to be played during exam and for list of worksheets to submit on Exam 2 Study Guide day of exam Friday March 18th Berry Gordy and the ideology of Motown o Berry Gordy founded Motown Records which was known as the Hit Factory One of the most successful black owned businesses in history of music industry General musical characteristics of the label s recordings o Avoided direct evocations of blues and earlier African American popular styles aimed more at soul music with a distinct pop influence black music aimed at mainstream without selling out The Funk Brothers who are they their importance to the label etc o In house recording band for Motown Records o Group of Detroit based musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 59 72 considered one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history Early Soul Social and political associations o Influenced by the black power movement o Connections with Civil Rights Movement integration passage of Voting Rights Act Sam Cooke o Change is Gonna Come Social significance of the song Adopted as anthem of Civil Rights Movement Major influence on rock singers Political references to Malcom X and the black power movement Proceeded to Martin Luther King Jr o You Send Me to be played in class Musical characteristics and basic form Sentimental tin pan alley style AABA form Subdued rhythm Lush vocal background Vocal style crooning with hint of gospel malismas ex HeeEEeEeEEEeey o Vocal style Ray Charles Began career in gospel cool smooth vocal approach of crooners Tension between gospel audience and secular song output o Musical influences and vocal style Influenced by gospel and preaching tradition MUH 2019 Spring 2016 Controversial vocalisms used moans and preaching tehniques for songs evoking sex o Overview of career Master at making crossover hits Was a major influence on soul music Covered many country songs o Georgia on My Mind to be played in class Charles adaption of the song musical characteristics The song only took 4 takes to complete It wasn t until Ray Charles recording that the song became a major hit Incorporated more of a jazz feel with a crooning sentiment AABA form Stax Records o Connections to soul and broader social realities of the mid to late 1960s Rise in black militancy reflected in change in musical tone from that of Motown o Points of comparison with Motown Records musically and ideologically Motown was mainstream sound of young America Stax was down home southern R B audience sound of black America Motown is mechanically done At Stax whatever you feel you play it Otis Redding James Brown o General musical style innovations to soul and musical legacy Godfather of Soul Had a profound influence on funk hip hop and all of pop Repetitions of single words hypnotic syncopated displace the beats or accents so that strong beats become weak and vice versa syllables Left Structure of 50 s R B Static harmony Rhythm and timbre Limited vocal melody Race and Popular Music Paul Gilroy idea of changing same see powerpoint o Although roots of contemporary black experience are in some ways traced to Africa the cultural forums that have been created cant be understood simply in terms of common origins in Africa rather the cultural and political connections that bound black people together have been continually created through identities and practices that have been generated during processes of movement and meditation Urban Folk Revival Bob Dylan o His role in the urban folk revival College aged listeners drawn to social awareness and maturity of folk music Identification with minority groups poor and oppressed people MUH 2019 Spring 2016 o His distinctiveness as an artist Established as singer songwriter in folk movement in NYC Originality and intensity of songwriting gifted poet hard rambling persona rough style of performance incorporated traditional songs and original material o Controversy surrounding Dylan going electric Was inspired by listening to Animals cover of House of the Rising Sun led him to release Bringing it All Back Home 1965 then Like a Rolling Stone Appeared at 1965 Newport folk Festival with electric guitar and was booed off stage o Like a Rolling Stone Distinctive and innovative features of the song both musical and textual Dense sound with organ and piano density of lyrics Unprecedented recording length 6 00 minutes About a young woman s fall from privilege Surreal images poetic language metaphors blunt realism Variable strophic form Long strophes with variable lengths Late 1960s counterculture Important music festivals of the late 1960s discussed in class o Monterey Pop Festival o Woodstock o Changing attitudes towards sex rebellious attitude protests of gov policy rejection of mainstream pop mind enhancing drug use The Beatles album Sgt Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band o General artistic vision and musical characteristics of the album ways in which it embodied the ideals of the counterculture Released 1967 which was the Summer of Love Reflected counterculture values and aesthetics Countercultural figures on album cover Indian classical music Within You Without You Audience as an imagined community Conception of album as a single whole o First concept LP o Seamless segues between songs New standard for possibilities of studio production 44 o 8 months to produce o 100 s of hours in studio o Eleanor Rigby to be played in class not from Sgt Pepper General musical characteristics AABB structure Subject matter of the song text and connections to the music MUH 2019 Spring 2016 Talks about people surrounded by people but ironically being isolated by their loneliness It follows the AABB structure because there is a lot of repetition in the words Jimmy Hendrix o Career and musical artistry First US performance was at the Monterey Pop Festival 67 Moved to London and began his career there Most original inventive and influential guitarist of the late 60s rock era Built upon the techniques and innovations of T Bone Walker Muddy Waters B B King Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly Music vs noise Blurring the line between noise and sound o Star Spangled Banner performance at Woodstock Used his performance as a political statement through sonic depictions Example of Music vs Noise 1970s Rock Comes of Age Major changes in American culture in the early 1970s o Decade of Retreat from social issues the me decade o Emphasis on domestic
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