MUS 110CL Module 5 AVP Transcript
The Origins of Rock and Roll
Title Slide
Narrator: The United States emerged as the clear victor, and one of the world’s super powers, after the conclusion of World War II, and entered into a time of exuberant prosperity in the 1950s. For the first time in our history, teenagers became a market force and the music industry responded with music aimed at a youth culture. It’s difficult to pin point where rock and roll really began, because variations of the new style seemed to spring up in several regions of the country simultaneously in the mid-fifties, but all of the sub-styles had one thing in common: they were written and performed for a generation of young people.
Slide 2
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
Image of a red guitar.
Narrator: There’s disagreement over the very first rock and roll recording ever made. Some historians claim that “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets was the first example of the genre, while others give the credit to “Sh-Boom” by the doo-wop group called the Chords. Both songs were recorded in 1954. In reality there were five distinct styles that emerged in the mid-fifties that combined elements of the blues, Tin Pan Alley lyrics, and country music in differing proportions.
Slide 3
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
1. Northern Band Music: Bill Haley and the Comets
Kriegsmann, James. Bill Haley and Comets. 29 June 1956. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of Bill Haley and the Comets.
Narrator: In the north, Bill Haley and the Comets changed their country swing band sound by adding elements of jump blues, becoming a white rhythm and blues band with just a touch of country flare.
Slide 4
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
1. Northern Band Music: Bill Haley and the Comets
2. New Orleans Dance Music: Fats Domino
Fats Domino. 1956. Screenshot from DVD. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of Fats Domino on the screen of a television.
Bullet 1 in grey font color.
Narrator: In New Orleans, Antoine “Fats” Domino played a mean boogie woogie piano style and combined it with the clever youth oriented lyrics of Tin Pan Alley, sung crooner style with his smooth tenor voice, producing hits like Blueberry Hill.
Slide 5
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
1. Northern Band Music: Bill Haley and the Comets
2. New Orleans Dance Music: Fats Domino
3. Rockabilly: Elvis Presley
Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Inc. Elvis Presley Promoting Jailhouse Rock. 1957. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of Elvis Presley.
Bullets 1 and 2 in grey font color.
Narrator: In Memphis, a young man named Elvis Presley was discovered by record producer Sam Phillips. He developed rockabilly, a combination of country style lyrics set to upbeat 12 bar blues patterns.
Slide 6
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
1. Northern Band Music: Bill Haley and the Comets
2. New Orleans Dance Music: Fats Domino
3. Rockabilly: Elvis Presley
4. Chicago Rhythm and Blues: Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry. 1971. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of Chuck Berry.
Bullets 1-3 in grey font color.
Narrator: In Chicago, Chuck Berry broke into the pop market with high energy rhythm and blues guitar playing matched to teeny bopper lyrics like School Day and Maybelline.
Slide 7
Title: Five Styles of Early Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
1. Northern Band Music: Bill Haley and the Comets
2. New Orleans Dance Music: Fats Domino
3. Rockabilly: Elvis Presley
4. Chicago Rhythm and Blues: Chuck Berry
5. Doo-Wop: The Platters, The Chords
White, Bob. The Platters. 1970. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of The Platters.
Bullets 1-4 in grey font color.
Narrator: Finally, black male quartets sang catchy lyrics, in four part harmony, over swing band rhythms that earned the nick name doo-wop, after the sung version of the two-eighth note riff that characterized the style.
Slide 8
Title: Buddy Holly
Slide Content:
• 1936-1959
• Wrote and produced his own songs
• Toured England in 1958
• Influenced the music of The Beatles
Mural of Buddy Holly
Narrator: Buddy Holly deserves special mention because his short career was so influential. Holly combined the upbeat blues guitar style of Chuck Berry with his own unique vocal style that employed a twangy, crying sound. Unlike other singers at that time, Berry produced his own music, experimented with overdubbing, and did other audio techniques that became industry standards. Buddy Holly toured England with his band, the Crickets, in 1958. He inspired some young men in Liverpool who, at the age of fifteen, formed a copycat band they named the Silver Beetles. Two members of that band stayed together and went on to form the Beatles, one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Long after Buddy Holly’s tragic death in an airplane crash at the age of 22, Paul McCartney produced a documentary film about his life called, “The Real Buddy Holly Story,” in honor of the great influence that Holly had had on the music of the Beatles.
Slide 9
Title: High-Production Rock
Slide Content:
• Record companies and producers influenced the development of rock and roll
• DJ’s became important filters for rock and roll music
• Television introduced new artists to the American public on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and American Bandstand
Image of a soundboard.
Narrator: In many ways the story of rock and roll is also the story of audio recording technology, since the music and the technology were mutually dependent on each other. Recording studios and music producers played a large role in shaping the development of rock and roll. Radio was an important venue for the new genre. DJ’s became stars in their own right, since they now had the power to promote the music that they believed the public would favor. Television also played a critical role in introducing new artists to the public. Many rock stars became overnight sensations after appearing on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” or being promoted on “American Bandstand.”
Slide 10
Title: Urban Folk Revival
Slide Content:
Scherman, Rowland. Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. 28 Aug. 1963. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 2 July 2013.
Photo of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.
Narrator: Another musical trend of the late 50s and early 60s was the revival of American folk music, through singers like Woody Guthrie and groups like the Weavers. Middle class, college aged, youth preferred coffee bars and poetry readings to American Bandstand, and many were attracted by the left-wing philosophy that was often part of the folk music scene. Protest songs became important vehicles of expression during the Civil Rights movement, in which many prominent folk artists participated (including Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary). Bob Dylan is recognized as the poet of the folk movement. His eloquent songs like, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and “The Times, They are A’Changin’,” have become icons of the American folk repertoire.
Slide 11
Title: The British Invasion
Slide Content:
Graphic of an American and British flag together as puzzle pieces.
Narrator: After World War II, the Brits were captivated by the culture of the Yanks. Middle class Londoners fell in love with the blues before white Americans even knew that this American music existed. British bands quickly began imitating styles that originated in America, and in the early 1960s they brought their version of this music back across the sea to an American audience that was ready to embrace it. The British Invasion is defined by two distinct styles: one like The Beatles and the other like the Rolling Stones.
Slide 12
Title: The Beatles
Slide Content:
• Inspired by Buddy Holly
• Originally the Silver Beatles
• Overnight sensation in the U.S. in 1964
– Single release: “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”
– Played on the Ed Sullivan Show
• Movies and soundtracks
– A Hard Day’s Night
– Help!
• Maintained creative control
Image of The Beatles
Narrator: First, you now know that The Beatles derived their name from Buddy Holly’s band, the Crickets, and imitated his style of original songwriting and upbeat backgrounds. The Beatles’ first single to be sold in America was I Wanna Hold Your Hand. It was a hit song even before the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, and became an instant sensation. They capitalized on their early success by producing two movies and movie soundtrack records: A Hard Day’s Night followed by Help!. The Beatles were one of the most prolific songwriting teams in the history of rock and roll, and continued to write and produce songs that defied any attempt at categorization into one simple genre. The Beatles launched an entire generation of bands who put their creative energy into writing original songs and attempting to control as much of the creative process as possible.
Slide 13
Title: The Rolling Stones
Slide Content:
• Inspired by Muddy Waters
• Name from Waters’ song “Rollin’ Stone”
• Rebellious and highly sexualized lyrics
• Stage antics in live performances
• Reputation for decadent lifestyle
• Model/inspiration for “bad boy” styles of rock and roll
Image of the Rolling Stones.
Narrator: The second style was introduced by the Rolling Stones. Their inspiration came from Chicago blues artists like Muddy Waters, whose song “Rollin’ Stone” was the inspiration for their name. The Rolling Stones cultivated a bad boy image to counteract the Beatles clean cut look. Mick Jagger learned his famous strut from blues artists, and developed a high energy and highly sexualized stage presence. Much of the creative energy of the Rolling Stones went into stage antics that came to characterize one aspect of rock and roll. The Rolling Stones style of rebellious lyrics and sexualized performances influenced many hard rock bands that followed them, and included a decadent life style that unfortunately shortened the lives of many rock artists prematurely.
Slide 14
Title: Commercialism in Rock and Roll
Slide Content:
Image of a guitarist rockin out next to an image of a stack of $100 bills.
Narrator: One of the most enduring themes that run through the history of rock and roll is the tension between commercialism and anti-commercialism. It was the commercialism of the music industry that provided the fertile ground in which early rock and roll grew, and the commercialism of American record companies that allowed it to flourish. The very first examples of rock and roll were attempts by the music industry to cultivate a new market audience: teenagers. But rock and roll artists continually resisted the commercialization of the industry in order to preserve their own creative control over the content of their music. In the late 1960s, this resistance blossomed into an entire anti-establishment philosophy that would dominate a generation of rock music.
Slide 15
End of presentation.