MUSI 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Acetate Disc, Proto-Punk, Gary Glitter
MUSI 1002
Issues in Popular Music
May 22nd, 2018
History of Rock
Rock 'n Roll
- Starts as subcultural practice, in the American south (Memphis, New Orleans, Texas, California)
- Regional practice, spread to be global very quickly
- Term is quite old
o Trixie Smith, 1922
o John Lee Hooker, 1950
o Good Rocking' Tonight, 1948
- R&B + CW=R 'n R (Rhythm and blues, country western)
- Roots: Hillbilly, blues, country, swing, jump, gospel, boogie-woogie, Latin all contributed to rock
sounds
- Proportions of the mixture are regional
- Starts as a sub-cultural music in the beginning of the 50's, most released through small, indie
labels
- by the end of the decade it was mass culture
- Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston, widely regarded as first rock 'n roll song
- Different elements associated with different places (California and New Orleans, Latin roots)
Emergence of Rock 'n Roll
Three Moments in Western Popular Music
1. Bourgeois Revolution
o Late 18th to mid 19th century
o French revolution, American revolution, industrial revolution
▪ Greater literacy
▪ Wage labour system
▪ More advanced printing (metal instead of wood blocks)
▪ Commercial production of musical instruments
o Industry developed/controlled by commercialism of bourgeois class
o In urban areas, "most musical production is in the hands of or is mediated by
commercial music publishers, concert organizers, and promoters, theatre and public
house managers", reflects the taste of the class of people
o By mid 1850s, a "not exactly homogenous musical field" was "clearly dominated by a
bourgeois synthesis."
o Light opera, brass bands, mass choirs, domestic song, broadside songs, music hall
o Street music, political music, and avant-garde either marginalized or assimilated (out of
context) into commercial products
o Ex. Modern Major-General
2. Beginnings of Mass Culture
o Began in 1890s
o Large, well-capitalized corporations become more important/prominent
o American cultural products increasingly compete/commingle/displace local and national
practices and music becomes international (later global) business
find more resources at oneclass.com
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o Beginning of globalization of culture
o Ex. After the Ball - Charles K Harris
▪ Buy both the music and the recording
3. WWII-Present
o "moment of pop culture"
o Beginnings of increasing corporate domination (coexisted with local initiatives,
practices/business)
o Technological changes (recording/dissemination) leads to increased role of young
working class as creators of music
o Stabilized by the 1960s
o Corporations quickly assert control over rock production, but indies served essential
roles
o More vertical integration (ex. RCA, involved in music, film, and networks)
o Explosion of electrical instruments (ex. Guitars) in the 1950s
Terminology
- Rock n' Roll (up to 1958): earliest form, rough production/lyric content, indie/local labels,
developed from hybrid of local practices (Country, R&B, folk, some pop)
o Sun Records - Elvis Presley (1954)
o That's Alright
▪ Structurally a blues tune, country influences
▪ Guitar: Travis picking
o Blue Moon of Kentucky
▪ Shifts time signature, from 3/4 to 2/2
▪ Crude and simple production
- Rock and Roll (1958-1964): middle form, slicker production, blander, major labels, standardized
products
o Possibly earlier origin
o Tutti Fruitti - Pat Boone (originally done by Little Richard)
▪ Slicker, blander music
▪ Structured to hit a precise market
- Rock (1964-): partly brought on by The Beatles (and Bob Dylan lyrically), integration of rock and
roll forms/marketing with "black" styles (Chuck Berry), produced a more unified audience
o Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
▪ More mature audience
Richard A Peterson's "Why 1955?"
1. Roles of reatie idiiduals Sa Philips, Elis Presley, et…
o Individuals given too great a role
o Certain individuals came to prominence at specific times because of social conditions
(self-selecting mechanisms)
o Always more talented people that can archive prominence at any given time
2. Changes in the nature of the audience: Post WWII "baby boom"
o Not a large factor, oldest baby boomers were only 9 years old
3. Changes in the industry and media themselves
o Regulatory, technological changes (emergence of BMI and the rise of local radio, rise of
the recording as primary radio content)
o Peterson's production of culture perspective
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Starts as subcultural practice, in the american south (memphis, new orleans, texas, california) Regional practice, spread to be global very quickly. Term is quite old: trixie smith, 1922. John lee hooker, 1950: good rocking" tonight, 1948. R&b + cw=r "n r (rhythm and blues, country western) Roots: hillbilly, blues, country, swing, jump, gospel, boogie-woogie, latin all contributed to rock sounds. Starts as a sub-cultural music in the beginning of the 50"s, most released through small, indie labels. By the end of the decade it was mass culture. Rocket 88 - jackie brenston, widely regarded as first rock "n roll song. Different elements associated with different places (california and new orleans, latin roots) Three moments in western popular music: bourgeois revolution, late 18th to mid 19th century, french revolution, american revolution, industrial revolution, greater literacy, wage labour system, more advanced printing (metal instead of wood blocks, commercial production of musical instruments.
