Music Evolving Through the Decades

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Music Evolving Through the Decades

Group I

Group Members:

Matt Brown

Briana Burke

Kelly Cisar

Emma Harris

Ben Huddle

Colbie Okular

EDP 101B

Introduction

As a group we decided to focus our question on how music is evolved through the decades. We chose the decades of the 40’s till the 90’s, were there would be a lot of changes of music type throughout these years, as well as why these changes may have occurred due to certain things that went on during those time periods. Music plays a major role in our society today and did so up until now as well. It will be interesting to see how these changes occurred and what different types of music were popular during these certain time periods. Most of the time music becomes popular during a certain time because of an event such as a war, is going on, which will bring out a certain type of music. It is also very interesting to relate music to psychology, because it has a great influence on our lives and how our brain works. Overall music plays a major role in our world and always has. What we plan to do is discover the different music types of these certain decades where they came about.

The 1940’s

We as Americans are surrounded by music in almost all activities we do daily. Music and psychology are often closely identified because music has been shown to directly influence our values, identities, and our life overall. The music of the forties like most decades embodied the feeling of world around us in the United States. Looking back today, it is interesting to see how the historical contexts factor in to our understanding and interpreting of our musical past. The strikes against broadcasters teamed with World War II really changed the dynamics of music during this time. American music definitely had an influence on other cultures as a result of the war. For example, Allied servicemen help bring American and European popular music to Asian countries when they are stationed in Hawaii and the Philippines.

In 1940, the ASCAP went on strike against broadcasters forcing a move where only public-domain music was broadcast. According to the ASCAP’s website, the organization “protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the non-dramatic public performances of their copyrighted works.” This strike lasted until 1942 but in the process BMI was formed. According to BMI’s website, they are a performing rights organization. It states they, “collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed.” They represent music and are another source of music licensing. The organization represented many earlier R&B and Rock and Roll acts.

The war had a profound influence on American music. Up until this period, swing music was very popular and had been since the 1920’s. There are several reasons why swing music was pushed to the side in favor of new types of music such as R&B and Bebop. The swing bands tended to be large in composition and it was almost impossible to have fluidity and a number of talented musicians needed to comprise this type of band. Also with everything in ration, it became tough for these bands to travel due to cost and other elements involved.

Bebop became popular during the mid 40’s and carried with it important social and psychological elements. The musical department at GeorgeMasonUniversity describes Bebop as “a new style of jazz music developed by African-American musicians during late night jam sessions in New York City. To many, it sounded like everything popular swing music was not. Bebop featured willfully dissonant harmonies, breakneck tempos, and frenetic rhythms that made dancing difficult.” Often this genre of music was used as a form to voice concerns about political protest and resistance. Just like almost all music, the psychology of the individual influenced how we perceive the song. Many saw much of the same music as representing escapism, joy, or a release of energy. This was definitely the case with bebop because a mixed reaction toward the music was the norm when it came to people’s feelings. African-American efforts to gain equal civil rights increased dramatically during this time period. Bebop’s popularity was a venue for speaking out about the injustices that were alive in U.S. society during this time period. African-Americans were responsible for the “double V” campaign. Its message was imprinted in many of the Bebop acts. The campaigns ideal was to seek victory over fascism abroad and victory over discrimination at home.

While this paper does not yield itself to it due to length constraints, music psychology seems to explain much behind the theory of music. Upon much further review, it would not be surprising to discover that music theory, perception, and musical structure is tremendously influence by the psychology of influences surrounding the artist. The 1940’s was a decade that had plenty of socio-cultural influences that played out in much of the much that produced during this timeframe.

The 1950’s

What do you think of when you hear poodle skirts, Elvis and coon skin hats, and the 1950’s of course. With the end of World War II and the start of the baby boom, the music and fashion fads of the 1950’s definitely reflected the attitude of the country toward the historical events. After World War II ended, the servicemen needed to go back to America and pick up with their lives with existing relationships or starting new ones. The industrial corporations were starting to exhibit new jobs since families were starting to buy goods not needed during wartime. The country needed an uplifting revolution in the entertainment business. Entertainment needed to really present a new wave to help citizens move on with their lives.

This revolution offered a new combination of sounds in music, a sound for everyone to enjoy. There were a variety of genres to pick from including rock ‘n roll, rhythm and blues, romance, jazz, calypso and musicals. The music, for a change, started to revolt against a political sound. It wanted to go against this and be a-political for the people to purely relax and enjoy. Alongside reinvented music in the entertainment industry came other recreational ideas such as the hula hoop in 1957, and one of the longest lasting amusement parks, Disney land. Disneyland opened with rides and attraction in Anaheim, CA on July 18th in 1955 and today it is vastly innovating new ways to entertain the modern society.

The journey that music took after the war changed the face of music for decades to come. The two most popular genres of the 50’s were rock ‘n roll and western and country. Music stars such as Hank Williams, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis ushered new sounds of music never heard before in this era. Carl Perkins pioneered the sounds of rock music. His work consisted of music of a combination of country and rhythm and blues with a hint of rock. Carl was the writer and first recorder of the song, “Blue Suede Shoes”.

No talk of the decade of the 1950’s would be complete without at least a brief introduction of the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. Elvis revolutionized music when he popularized every genre of music he attempted such as, rock, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues. A studio manager signed Presley in hopes of him reaching a wide variety of ages with his music. Elvis turned out to be the perfect match for this quest and became almost an instant success. His hip gyrations and risqué dance moves were labeled controversy by the industry but the public kept tuning in to his performances. Elvis overcame the controversy and is still today known as the king of rock ‘n roll.

Hank Williams and Johnny Cash ushered in a new popularity for western and country music in the 1950’s. Cash’s music always centered around a certain theme of everyday life such as sorrow, and relationships. Themes that would relate to the personal lives of the audience. Humor always made its way into Cash’s lyrics as well. Johnny Cash’s good nature and compassion for the average man was seen when he began to perform at prisons for inmates. He revolutionized the country music generation by combining the classic honky tonk sound with more upbeat and emotional lyrics and sometimes introducing a piano or ragtime sound as well into the mixture. Cash created a genre of western music that focused on lyrics and sounds of spirituality.

The new show “American Bandstand” combined two sources of media, music and television. This show became quickly popular with young adults who wished to be on the floor in the show dancing with an admirer. This shows featured a cast of well-known dancers along with a group of teenage public who danced together to a popular band while a camera crew captured all of it on film. This television show brought a whole new experience that music doesn’t have to be only on the radio. This source of entertainment started a whole new wave of dancing shows and competitions to come.

The 1950’s started as an era of change as the Second World War ended and servicemen came back to the US to reunite with past family or start anew. Racial tensions were in the air being around the time of the Civil Rights Movement. Elvis Presley was said to have helped bring races together with his music that was enjoyable by all. There were revolutions in all media sources in this decade. The 1950’s was a time of vast innovation that helped to influence the entertainment industry as it is today.

The 1960’s

When you think about the sixties the first thing that comes to mind of course is hippies, tie dye shirts, drugs, and the Free Speech Movement. Even though the hippies used music to express themselves, there was a lot more to the sixties then just marijuana and a sexual revolution. The sixties was the time of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream speech,” as well as his assassination. The Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and the first man to walk on the moon were also very key events that took place during the sixties. Music was also beginning to take a new way during this time in that many new artists were coming about as well as a new form of music.

Popular music entered this era of “all hits” were there were numerous singles being produced as well as a variety of popular music beginning to be played on the radio. This was the time at which a huge market was created of rock and blues by the drug-culture, as well as a British invasion of bands coming to America from the UK, such as the Beatles. Pink Floyd was the first band to perform another type of music during the sixties that included long instrumental solos and weird electronic effects; this form of music was called psychedelic music and was also very popular during this time.

Some well known artists of this time period include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson airplane, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors. A well known performer of folk music included Bob Dylan. These were all performers of the rock and blues music produced during this time that is said to be developed from the drug-culture.

The sixties was a time of great suffering but also a time a which music was a form of expression as well as popular dance moves such as the twist that came along with the music, that helped people take there mind off the war. Many new artists came about during this time period, ones that are still very well known today.

The 1970’s

The 1970’s picked up where the 60’s left off, still ever changing and filled with many events that helped shape music and it’s evolution into what it is today. Music was so much a part of everyday life that TV shows like The Partridge Family was about a traveling family band and The Monkees which debuted new songs to their audiences. News events also inspired new songs such as the song “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was in tribute to the Kent State shootings which left 4 students dead although the playing of the song was mostly for an anti war protest. As the 70’s progressed and the war died down so did the music. The lyrics were more positive and laid back. Led Zeppelin combined hard rock and blues as well as the Eagles and Queen.

Rock and Roll was the main style of music in the 70’s. One influential musician in the Rock and Roll genre was Jimi Hendrex, who used his great guitar skills to win audiences over and become popular. Janis Joplin was a very influential musician in the 1970’s with her style of Rock and Roll and many young female artists today credit her with the reason they perform their style of music. The 1970’s seemed to be a decade of transition in music and many popular groups disbanded in the 1970’s. Simon and Garfunkel decided to pursue individual careers of music as well as The Beatles who disbanded because of artistic differences. The Faces, which included Rod Steward disbanded to pursue different careers and in 1971, Stewart had his first hit as a solo artist.

The mid 1970’s a new genre of music was being discovered in the clubs of New York City. This new music was called Punk. The Ramones were some of the pioneers in this new genre of music. They drew on influences from Rock and Roll to develop their new style. This music correlates with what was happening in our government. President Nixon was in the process of being investigated by Watergate and as the government was changing so was the music. Also a new fad, streaking, was becoming popular at the time which was considered very daring which was another sign that things were changing fast in the 1970’s.

Another genre of music was also finding its way to the mainstream. The Bee Gees were pioneers of a type of music called Disco. Their disc Saturday Night Fever spiked the short lived Disco Explosion that lasted only several years. Disco was a mixture of Latin and swing music which was played by DJ’s as records. Many clubs reflected the growing trend by placing strict rules on attire and how to dress.

In conclusion the 1970’s were a transition period. Many Americans just wanted life to return to normal following a very changing 1960’s and the music reflected the change in society by bringing a much more mellow sound by the end of the 1970’s. Overall the 70’s helped bring along the next wave of music which occurred in the 1980’s.

The 1980’s

Music of the 1980s was very different than that of previous eras. Bands were able to create new sounds with the advancement of technology, which brought the invention of the synthesizer. The synthesizer enabled sounds to be adjusted and altered to different preferences. Through music videos and MTV in particular, musicians were able to advertise themselves on different media instead of only radio waves. Young music enthusiasts were a driving force in the advancement of popular musicians and bands.

While reflecting upon the music of the 1980s, people may think it was a dull—and forgettable—decade, but those times produced songs that are still listened to today and artists that are still household names. For example, Madonna released her first album in 1982 and her first number one single, “Like a Virgin,” topped the charts in 1983. Michael Jackson, although already well known from his Jackson 5 days, really made a name for himself as an individual as he enjoyed several hits that made the charts of the 1980s.

As music changed from earlier years to the 80s, old artists began to change as well. The Beatles had much success in earlier years, but failed to last long enough to top the charts on the 80s. However, their band members continued to impress. John Lennon and Paul McCartney both had some success as individual artists, but that success paled in comparison to their days in The Beatles.

There are some big changes in music from decade to decade, but even throughout those years there is a pattern that develops. The beginning had a lot of pop songs like Blondie and Olivia Newton-John, among other artists. Michael Jackson and Madonna enjoyed popularity that continued throughout the decade. Toward the end, harder rock began to make a showing. Although they were not the most requested artists, bands like Poison, Guns N Roses, and Aerosmith emerged as talented musicians that could please and ever-changing crowd. These hard rockers also had a style of their own—ragged jeans, cutoff tee shirts, and hair that hung far past their shoulders. The Eighties brought the development of the Hair Bands, the ones that played with electric guitars, screamed into the microphone, and turned the volume up loud. During the 1980s, the Hair Bands never had a number one single, but they did have quite a following that lasted into the Nineties. The band Poison, which is regarded by many as the greatest Hair Band of the time, began their popularity toward the end of the decade.