American Pop 1950 - 1980 - band4me

American Pop 1950 - 1980

The Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll
• Rocket 88 (1951)
– Jakie Brenston (a.k.a. Ike
Turner)
• That’s All Right (1954)
– Elvis Presley
– Rockabilly (fusion of country &
blues)
• Rock Around the Clock (1955)
– From “The Blackboard Jungle”
– Bill Haley and the Comets
– First Rock Song to top the
Billboard Charts

They Call it “Rock ‘n’ Roll”
• Early Origins
– Choo Choo ch’Boogie (1946)
– Louis Jordan
– Jump Blues, based on 12-bar blues
• Alan Freed (1951)
– Disc Jockey (DJ) Cleveland
– Promoter of R&B, first coined the term
– Slang for “sex” as early as 1922
• Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry (1958)
– Listed as 2 nd most influential rock song
– “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you
might call it Chuck Berry.” –John Lennon.

The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll
• Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)
– Born in Tupelo, Mississippi
– Influenced by Gospel music
– Listed as 2 nd most influential artist
• Big Breaks
– Contract bought by RCA for $35,000
(1955)
– Performance on the Ed Sullivan show
(1957)
• Jailhouse Rock (1957)
– Listed as the 6 th greatest rock song

Notable Rockers during the 1950’s
• Little Richard (b. 1932 - )
– Pianist/Singer – Lucille, Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally
• Fats Domino (b. 1928 - )
– Pianist/Singer – Blueberry Hill
• Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935 - )
– Pianist/Singer/Songwriter – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,
Great Balls of Fire
– Married 1 st cousin (13), he was 23, blacklisted
• Buddy Holly (1936 – 1959)
– Singer/Songwriter – That’ll be the Day, Peggy Sue
– Killed in plane crash (with Richie Valens, J.P. Richardson)
a.k.a. “The Day the Music Died”

The Sixties
• The Space Race
– The Soviet Union Launches Sputnik (1957)
– Neil Armstrong, lunar landing (1968)
• Counterculture/Social Protest
– Youth reject conservatism, conformity and
materialism
– The sexual revolution, flower power, peace
– The anti-war movement of the late 1960’s
• The Civil Rights Movement
– Sit-ins, happenings and marches
– Brown vs. Board of Education (1964)
– Civil Rights Act (1964 & 1968)

Motown
• Berry Gordy starts Tamla-Motown Records
(1959), sold to MCA (1988)
• Most successful black-owned company with
600 million records sold.
• A few notable recordings include:
– Money, That’s What I Want (Barrett Strong)
– I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
– Please Mr. Postman (The Marvelettes)
– Where Did Our Love Go – (Diana Ross)

The Wolfman Howls
• Robert Weston Smith (1938 –
1995)
– DJ a.k.a. “Wolfman Jack”
– XERF-AM at Ciudad Acuña in
Mexico, could reach almost all of
the continental US.
• Surf Rock
– Jan & Dean “Surf City” (1963)
– The Beach Boys (36 Top 40 hits)
• Songs include: Surfin’ USA, Surfer Girl,
Little Duece Coup, I Get Around,
Barbara Ann, Wouldn’t It Be Nice,
Good Vibrations (Pocket Symphony).

The Invasion Begins
• The Beatles (1960-1970)
– John Lennon, Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, Ringo Starr
– Considered the most influential group
in rock
• I Want to Hold Your Hand (1964)
– Arrive in the US to screaming fans
(mostly adolescent girls), a.k.a.
Beatlemania.
• Performance at Shea Stadium
(1965)
– 56,000 fans (the first large rock
concert)

Into the Recording Studio
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Band
– Considered the Beatle’s magnum
opus and the most influential
album of all time.
– The first “concept” album (1967)
• George Martin
– Studio engineer who helped
created the Beatles unique studio
sound.
• Rock Music for Listening?
– A Day in the Life (music) (lyrics)

Songs of Protest
• Bob Dylan (b. 1941 - )
– Top five influential popular artists of
all time
– Songwriter/Singer, figurehead of
American unrest
– Blowin’ in the Wind, The Times They
Are a-Changin’ are iconic protest
songs. (MUSIC) (LYRICS)
• A Few Other Protest Songs
– Hey Mr. Tambourine Man (The Byrds)
– California Dreamin’ (The Mamas &
the Papas)
– Eve of Destruction (Barry McGuire)
– For What Its Worth (Buffalo
Springfield)
• (MUSIC) (LYRICS)

GOT SOUL?
• James Brown (1956 – 2006)
– The Godfather of Soul
– Listed as 3 rd most influential
artist (behind The Beatles and
Elvis)
– I Got You (I Feel Good) &
Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
(1965)
• Aretha Franklin (b. 1942 - )
– The Queen of Soul
– Ranked as #1 singer of all time
– Respect (1967)

“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out”
- Timothy Leary
• Psychedelic Rock
– Haight-Ashbury Sts., San Francisco
– The Summer of Love (1967)
– Woodstock (1969)
• A Few Psychedelic Rockers
– Jim Morrison, The Doors
• Break on Through
– Jimi Hendrix
• Are You Experienced?
– Jefferson Airplane
• White Rabbit (MUSIC) (LYRICS)
• Poster Art
– Griffin, Moscoso, Mouse, Kelley, Wilson.

Smoke On The Water (1970-71)
• The Beatles Breakup.
• Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim
Morrison die of drug related
causes.
• The FCC blacklists songs
referring to drug use such as
White Rabbit, Lucy in the Sky
with Diamonds.
• The Casino in Montreaux catches
fire after someone in the
audience fires a flare gun. This
inspires the Deep Purple song:
Smoke on the Water.

British Invasion (part 2)
• The Rolling Stones
– I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)
•The Who
– Won’t Get Fooled Again
– Rock opera: Tommy
• Led Zeppelin
– Blues influenced rock.
– Stairway to heaven most
influential rock song of all
time.

Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Pink Floyd concept album.
• Deals with conflict, greed,
aging, and mental illness.
• Recorded after Syd Barett left
the band.
• Time
– Pink Floyd’s influential ballad.
– (SONG) (LYRICS)
• The Wall (1979)
– Film containing similar themes.
– Somewhat autobiographical.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)
• Film that helped launch the
popularity of Disco music.
• Starred John Travolta
• Featured music by the Bee
Gees
– Stayin’ Alive
• Created a dance sub-culture
craze that would last into the
1980’s.
– Also created a backlash “Disco
Sucks”

The King of Pop
• Michael Jackson (b. 1958 - )
• Began career as a child in
the Jackson 5.
• Five albums have become
Worldwide best-sellers
– Off the Wall (1979), Thriller
(1982), Bad (1987),
Dangerous (1991) and
HIStory (1995).
• Popularity of music videos
on MTV helped solidify his
career
– Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller