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 2nd 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 2nd 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 6th 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 1st 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 3rd 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