On The Charts1945-1954

BillBoard Billboard began a more competitive

nature to the music industry.› 1894 Billboard was primarily advertising› 1920’s Billboard focused primarily on

record ranking and covered radio/recording artists

› 1950’s had top charts for pop (dominate), R&B, country, and intermittent album chart

New York was the epicenter of music of all kinds

Media Revolution Television

› 1946› In two years it took over radio as the

primary source of entertainment› Radio stayed current by popularizing live

shows with DJ’s whose personalities became as famous as the music

Media Revolution Cont. Two new formats

› Old records were breakable shellac (78 rpm) and played around 3-4 minutes of music

› New ones were called LP’s (long playing) 33 RPM Did not break when dropped

› Year after LP’s, Singles were produced Used similar vinyl format Very small Held only 3 minutes of music

Above The Charts Musical Theater

› LP’s allowed all or most of a cast show to be recorded and sold

› Entered a ‘Golden Age’ Jazz

› Musicians were no longer limited to recording 3-4 minute songs

› Recordings were made in a style similar to live

Musical Theatre honcho’s Richard Rodgers partnered with alcoholic

Lorenz (Larry)Hart Due to Larry’s laziness and bad health

Rodgers partnered with Oscar Hammerstein› Had great success with the following:

Oklahoma, Carousel, State Fair, South Pacific, The King and I, The Sound of Music, Some Enchanted Evening, etc Oklahoma played for 5 years approx 2248 times.

Styling Songs by these two went back in time

› Less/no syncopation, used classical opera style singers, no ‘swing’ music, and songs generally had nothing to do with the play!

› Nothing like current styling of music (example Yankee Doodle Boy)

› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIGWYlVlFQ8 Operatic, simple rhythm,

Modern Jazz Chuck Berry

› “I’ve got no kick against modern jazz unless they try to play it too darn fast”

› References people trying to play jazz like popular ‘bop’ music Bop often played around 300 bpm

› Jazz emerging after bop stayed slow, with dropped tempos and tuneful melodies

Modern Jazz’ cousin Third Stream Music

› Cool jazz› Extreme attempt at making jazz more

‘classical’› Famous quartet of Dave Brubeck, Leonard

Bernstein, Miles Davis, Gil Evans› More restrained, calmer, etc

Bop Jazz styling

› Originated 1940’s at Minton’s Playhouse (Harlem Jazz Club)

› Bassist marking beat: drums/piano/guitar played in a new style due to new beat keeping

› Rapid tempo› Irregular melodies› Complex harmony› Aggressive sonority (Charlie Parker and Dizzy

Gillespie) Dizzy solo around 2:20

› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpuHy5fVjCU

Pop World War II transition pop

› Shift in pre-war song focus, post-war artist focus

All popular recording artists were singers Post war song interpretation came into

play› Artists had their own was to sing that was

recognizable in the community, mold the pace and style to the beat, (example Sinatra)

Folk Revival The Weavers 1950’s

› Unlikely folk made pop stars› More important than their success is their

influence on bringing back fold to the mainstream

Rhythm and Blues Several styling's

› All style proliferated by strong beats and blues style form (what does that mean I don’t know!)

› Their was electric blues, doo-wop styled blues, big-band blues etc

Jump Bands Streamlined big-band swing (dance

music)› Reduced horns (trumpets and such) went

from traditional 4 beat to a shuffle› More singing› Louis Jordan-Tympany Five› http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=_A2pRVyBmOY

Ruth Brown Top female R&B performer

(debatably): competition was the more ‘poppy’ Dinah Washington

She earned title, “Miss Rhythm” Had a hoarse voice that would

squeak or moan at the end of phrases……………………yea..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bTF0QRZqOg&ob=av2n

More Blues, Electric this time Electric guitar move from primarily country and jazz to include blues

Popular in 1950’s Muddy Waters- popular electric blues

player› Grew up as sharecropper (basically

indentured slave system) Sharecroppers gave rise to deep blues the

book kinda just stops there….› Moved north and created a movement of

electric Blues› http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgAcDLZr6Gs&ob=av2n

Country again… after 1945 Re-popularized, as shown by Billboard

coverage Cover songs became prominent Hank Williams and honky-tonk

› Honky tonk- techniquely a working class bar.. Not some country party like modern country music says…

› Honky-tonk music characterized by fusion of pop and traditional black music

Hanky And Honky cont. Hank Williams- quixotic country singer

that began singing in Honky Tonks in Alabama in his early teens.

Spina bifida, alcoholism, and his lifestyle on stage contributed to his early death after creating record selling country music that appealed to the mainstream

Lovesick Blues changed the established considerations of country

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xu71i89xvs watch for moanin and yodellin

Sound of Honky Song text about normal daily life Token country voice Fiddle and steel guitat

Kitty Wells First female country artist to top

Billboard charts Record breaker was “It Wasn’t God

Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” Was sung over British classical “Great

Speckled Bird” similar to how we sing “My Country Tis of Thee” over “God Save the King”

Terms re-check LP Single Bop (Bebop) Third-Stream Music Jump Band Electric Blues Deep Blues Cover song Honky-Tonk