MUSC 200 Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture I Chicago Blues a Timbre b Muddy Waters c Howlin Wolf II Rhythm Blues with a Gospel Influence a Gospel Proper b Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet Outline of Current Lecture III Virtuoso Female Singers IV Ray Charles V Emergence of Rock Roll a Demographic Economic Contexts b Race Relations Sexuality c Music Industry Context Current Lecture More on R B w a gospel influence Virtuoso Female Singers lead singers in gospel choirs clear voices are emphasized How I Got Over by Clara Ward Instrumentation organ piano drums no bass player needed o Organ has the characteristic gospel sound Big supporting choir Call response is quite obvious in this song back forth back forth Melisma an approach to ornamentation in which a singer sings more than 1 note per syllable o A series of notes in 1 syllable characteristic of R B gospel music at this time o Makes the line sound more interesting Characteristic voicing pacing of the chords o Voicing how the chords are stacked o Pacing spacing of the chords Have Mercy Baby by The Dominoes ft Clyde McPhatter Jump Blues w Gospel Influence Call response between lead vocals background vocals Gruff voice Smooth blend like an acapella gospel quartet Sophisticated melismatic embellishments Walking bass 12 bar blues Ray Charles Towering figure in popular music in the 20th century Huge hits in R B charts pop charts huge star who explored a wide range of styles o Released a Country music album no other African Americans in the Country genre I Got a Woman Ray Charles Rhythm Blues w a Gospel Influence o At the start 1st 2 seconds 3 syllables in 1 word well o Track adapted from a gospel song o Melismatic moves all kinds of improvisation around the melody ornamental notes o Sexist lyrics Ray Charles forged a path in this style influenced popular music for the next few decades Rock Roll Part I Start of Rock Roll is R B marketed under a different name Social context o A few years after WWII American economy took off No local conflict translated into an intact American industrial structure No competitors on the world stage Massive industrial build up during the war Tons of money spent on military as well as schools state highways BOOM in American economy Golden Age of American capitalism o Baby Boom population growth was huge Growth of the suburbs followed 1950 s inexpensive housing created in an efficient industrial type process Dominant social force of the era Size of suburbs increased by 47 in the 1950 s Everybody did not live in the suburbs or have heavy pockets Re entrenchment of segregation emerged along w the suburbs Through real estate practices cultural forces etc that made the country in some ways more segregated than it was before o Consumption culture in America If the 19th century was about INDUSTRIAL capitalism the 20th century was a period of CONSUMER capitalism people were buying things they didn t even know they needed Massive industry of public relations advertisement associate lifestyles meanings w particular products Fitting into a particular lifestyle based on material goods 1950 s is the time when advertising becomes a leading force in American culture Pens notebooks cars vacations music none of these things are JUST products anymore these products are an individual s IDENTITY In the 1950 s the mainstream music industry completely missed the boat on the identity the American public wanted to convey Rock Roll o Most important audience for Rock Roll was white urban teenagers more to spend Helped turn Rock Roll from a style to a genre At least 10 years went by until mainstream music industry decided Rock Roll artists were fair game for their exploitation as well Teenagers were not really thought of as a target audience Race Relations o Country is still quite segregated o African Americans were an exotic other to teens in the 1950 s Confluence of race class came together o Idea of women staying at home started in the 1950 s New concept that grew from the idea of economic affluence women don t need to work if the husband is bringing the bacon home mark of high status Sexuality is a huge marketing aspect Madison Avenue Album covers had nothing to do w the music just sexuality Music Music Industry Context o Explosive growth of African American music styles o Mainstream music industry ignored new popular styles independent record labels swooped in produced this music instead o African American teens could relate to the new popular music which was not so different from R B and Blues of their parents youths o For white suburban teens Rock Roll brought all kinds of new significance Emphasized themes of fun pleasure Speaking right to white suburban teens These teens could metaphorically cross racial boundaries by listening to African American influenced music experienced a whole new range of meanings that would otherwise be unavailable Sign of independence expression of sexuality way to stand up against racial segregation Music was also about class listening to Rock Roll was a way to cross class boundaries Conservative white suburban teens listened to TPA not too many African American elements o Fats Domino was a part of this style o Particular audience particular set of identities