Roots of Rock

Music 28 Saddleback College

Roots of Rock• Africa

– Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Gospel

• Call & Response• Natural Delivery• Improvised• Shouter

• Europe– US Country, Rockabilly– Scales, Harmony– Rhythm, Song Forms– Band organization

The Blues• Developed in the American South after the Civil

War• An expression of the despair and hostile

environment of newly emancipated slaves.– Call and Response– Sacred – they sang their sermons– Bending notes – blue notes– Foot Stomp – juba body rhythms

• Evolved through the decades– A strong emphasis on rhythm– 12 bar blues – a standard format for the Blues

“Aberdeen Mississippi Blues” Bukka White

Blues Singers

• Many Blues singers had similar backgrounds– Born in the South– Raised in fundamentalist churches– Fled from home. Music making became their

ticket to a better life

Son House• Born Eddie James “Son” House (ca. 1902-88)• Trained as a preacher• Taught himself the guitar in his 20s• Known for:

– Strong rhythms– Slide guitar– Gospel style of singing– Metal guitar

• A Delta Blues Pioneer– Influenced many blues and rock artists

“Walking Blues”

Robert Johnson• Mississippi Delta Blues master

(1911-38) – only 27 years• Extremely talented guitarist

– Played in many styles– Sounded like 2 or more guitarists

playing• Sang using microtones

– Bending pitch for emotional emphasis

• Young death lead to devil legend– Crossroads– Johnson’s own admission or

sarcasm?

“Hellhound on My Trail”

Many types of Blues• Traditional country blues – a general term that refers to

blues from the Mississippi delta and other rural areas of the south– Son House– Robert Johnson– Blind Lemon Jefferson– Leadbelly

• Chicago blues – Delta blues electrified– Muddy Waters– John Lee Hooker

• Classic blues – sometimes called classic female blues– A combination of traditional blues and vaudeville theater– More traditional instrumentation– Traditional blues artists benefited

Women Blues Singers• Achieved high celebrity status

– Mamie Smith - first woman to record the Blues– Gertrude “Ma” Rainey popularized the Blues

• A.k.a., “The Mother of the Blues” was Paramount’s biggest selling artist in 1920

– Bessie Smith sold over 10 million copies of her songs – “Empress of the Blues”

What did Women Sing About?• Love gone bad• Shattered dreams• Sexual politics• Racism & sexism• Triumph through adversity

– Empowering for other African American women• Identity

– The Blues provided a genre where women could transform private expression into public music making

Bessie Smith (1892 – 1937)• Born in Tennessee

– Orphaned by age 8• Worked with Ma Rainey• Husband left her for another

woman• Drinking problem• Died in a car crash in 1937• At one time she was the highest

paid black performer of her era.

Bessie Smith (1892 – 1937)

• “Lost Your Head Blues”– Recorded in 1926– Displays Bessie’s huge,

sweeping voice– Includes the bends and

dips on notes indicative of the blues style

The Blues Travels North• The Blues was carried to Chicago by African

Americans seeking better lives• Chicago blues thrived during and after WW II

– Chicago Blues discovered a new sound• Electric guitar

“Sweet Home Chicago” Johnny Shines

Electric Guitar Origins• 1930s – Charlie Christian

– One of the first to play an electric guitar• 1942 – T-Bone Walker

– First blues recording with an amplified guitar• 1946 – Muddy Waters

– First electric guitar combo• 1948 – Leo Fender

– First solid body electric guitar in mass production

• 1950s – Les Paul– Helped popularize the instrument in the 1950s

The Birth of Chicago Rhythm & Blues

• In the 1940s Muddy Waters (1913-83) plugged in his guitar since he felt he could not be heard in the loud city streets of Chicago

“Mannish Boy”

Howlin’ Wolf• Chester Burnett (Howlin’ Wolf) – (1910-76) began as a

Tennessee delta blues man.– He howled like a wolf– He plugged in his guitar in 1948 while still in Memphis– He eventually moved north to Chicago rooming with Muddy

Waters– He had wild stage antics– A Shouter

• Hubert Sumlin (1931-2011)• Guitarist for HW• RS Top 100 Guitarists list

“Smokestack Lightening”

1956

Segregated Music• Rhythm & Blues music was not readily available

to white audiences– Early days only sold to black audiences

• Race records• Jerry Wexler of Atlantic records coined the term R&B

– Separate (if any) radio play– Separate record labels (Chess, Atlantic)– Sold via mail order or in five & dime stores

Chess Records• Chicago based recording company

– First to sign and release Rhythm & Blues records

– They discovered Bo Diddley• His self titled hit has been covered by many artists

Bo Diddley (1928-2008)

• Early Rhythm & Blues artist– Characteristics:

• Heavily rhythmic• Choppy guitar• Extensive use of riffs• Call and response vocal style

“Bo Diddley” - 1955

Fats Domino (b. 1928)

• New Orleans based, piano Rhythm & Blues artist– Suggestive lyrics

• “Blueberry Hill” – a 1956 cover

– Pounding piano chords– Loud full vocals

• Flooded out during Katrina– Now an activist for the restoration of New Orleans

European/US Influence

• Country & Country Blues– Hank Williams – “Lovesick Blues” – 1949

• Rockabilly• A combination of blues & country/western music

– Characteristics:• Twangy vocals• Strong emphasis on the backbeat• Slap bass

– Rockabilly artists spread early Rock and Roll to white audiences

Rockabilly

• Artists– Carl Perkins writer of “Blue Suede Shoes”– Jerry Lee Lewis– Elvis Presley– The Everly Brothers– Buddy Holly

The Spread of R&B• Early Rhythm and Blues had mostly an African

American audience.– As it spread, white teens adopted the style and made

it more popular• R&B sub-categories

– Doo Wop groups• Vocal R&B originating in the street of NYC, Philly, & Chicago• Usually 4-6 men sang in harmony

– The Jewels– The Coasters– The Drifters

“Yakety, Yak” by The Coasters - 1958

The Spread of R&B• Teen Hits

– Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers• “I’m not a Juvenile Delinquent” - 1957

• Crooner Style– Johnny Ace “Pledging My Love” – posth. 1955

• Cruising Music– The car was a cool place teens could be away from

parents• The Turbans “When You Dance” - 1955• Ritchie Valens “Come On Let’s Go”, “Donna” & “La Bamba” 1958

The Spread of R&B• Novelty Music

– “Beetle Bug Bop” – explained how to do the dance

– “Chantilly Lace” – The Big Bopper– “Witch Doctor”

Roots of Rock• Where did the term Rock and Roll originate?• The legend is wrong

– 1955 Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock”– Alan Freed DJ

• 1930 “Rockin & Rollin Momma”• 1944 “Rock me Momma” Arthur Crudup• 1946 a review of a record in Billboard magazine

used the term• Buddy Jones lyrics “I love the way you rock and

roll”• Early 50s “Rockin & Rollin” – Little Son Jackson

Alan Freed - R&R Promoter• Early 50s disc Jockey in Cleveland, Ohio • Played R&B (Rhythm & Blues) records • Hosted racially integrated concerts in

Cleveland• Moved to New York. Introduced white East

coast teens to rhythm and blues• Refused to play covers of the original artists• Convicted of payola and tax evasion • Died at 43 from the effects of alcoholism

• He is considered Rock & Roll’s early super promoter

Social Change and Rock and Roll• Television popularity

– More radio air time available

• New portable transistor radio– Teens could carry their music with them

• Radio DJ act as advocates of R&B– Rock’s super promoter was Cleveland DJ Alan Freed

• The car radio

• The civil rights movement– White teens were more accepting of African American-inspired music

• Financial wealth– American teens had money to spend on music

Unstoppable Rock• Despite congressional subcommittee

hearings on music corruption and payola, rock flourished

• Record companies got on the money bandwagon– Signed white artists to cover African American

R&B – “The Blanching of Rock”• Pat Boone

– Infiltrated stores with white cover versions• Rarely did the original African American artist

receive any money for these stolen hits.

Unstoppable Rock

• Bill Haley and the Comets– Often covered R&B hits– Made rock history when their hit – “Rock Around the Clock” was featured in

a popular movie Blackboard Jungle– No. 1 hit in 1955

• Other hits include:– “Shake Rattle and Roll” – original by Big

Joe Turner– “See You Later, Alligator”

The Big Five

• Each contributed in his own way to the style, spread and history of early rock and roll

• All had vibrant musical careers• All eventually left their rock careers, which

signaled to many the end of rock and roll

The Big Five

Little RichardChuck Berry

Jerry Lee LewisBuddy HollyElvis Presley

Little Richard (b. 1932)• Baptist choir background

– Family gospel group the Penniman Family• Style

– Shout, holler vocals– High energy– Flamboyant clothing

• He is often called the Father of Rock and Roll• His hits include many rock standards:

– “Long Tall Sally”– “Slippin’ and Slidin’”– “Tutti Frutti”– “Good Golly Miss Molly”– “Lucille”

Little Richard

• In 1957 Little Richard disavowed R&R and became a minister

Chuck Berry (b. 1926)• Sang in Baptist church choir• The greatest influence on rock guitar

styles until the appearance of Jimi Hendrix• Style

– Memorable riffs– Flamboyant stage antics – duck walk– 12 bar blues form

• His hits have been covered my hundreds of other bands– “Back in the USA”– “School Days”– “Johnny B. Goode”– “No Particular Place to Go”– “Reelin’ and Rockin’”– “Maybelline”

Chuck Berry

• 1959 Berry was arrested for violating the Mann Act

Jerry Lee Lewis (b. 1935)• Attended religious evangelist meetings as a

youth where he heard pounding piano styles• Style

– Pounding piano, glissandi, boogie bass lines– Shouting style of singing– 12 bar blues form

• His hard driving rockabilly style attracted a wider, white audience

• Hits– “Great Balls of Fire”– “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”– “Breathless”– “High School Confidential”

Jerry Lee Lewis• His marital escapades, which culminated

with his third marriage to his 13 or 14 year old-second cousin, severely hindered his music career

Jerry Lee Lewis was 23

Buddy Holly (1936-1959)• His music background was almost exclusively Country

& Western– Rockabilly

• Style– “hiccup” vocal style– Strong backbeat– Geek-like persona– Softer sound– Conservative stage presence and personal life

• Hits– “That’ll Be the Day”– “Peggy Sue”– “Words of Love”– “Maybe Baby”– “Heartbeat”

Buddy Holly• Holly’s life and career ended in 1959 when

he and two other 50s rock legends (Richie Valens and The Big Bopper) were killed in a plane crash while touring the U.S.

Elvis Presley (1935-1977)• Discovered while making a record for

his mother– Gained in popularity because he was a

white man who sounded black• Hits

– His first major hit was “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956

– “Hound Dog”– “Don’t Be Cruel”– “Love Me Tender”

• In 1956 alone his sales exceeded the 10 million mark

Elvis Presley• In 1958 Elvis was inducted into the U.S.

army which signaled to many the end of his career.– After his return in 1960 he resumed his music

and film career

The Day the Music Died• For many, the years 1958 & 59

were the beginning of the end for rock and roll– Little Richard found religion– Jerry Lee Lewis marries his under-

age cousin– Chuck Berry is imprisoned– Elvis Presley enters the army

• The 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens seemed to seal the end

• Why did Rock and Roll survive?

Why Did Rock Survive?• Rock and Roll succeeded in the

decades following the 1950s for a variety of reasons– Teen appeal– Vehicle for expression

• Love – both lost and gained• Angst – misunderstood youth• Social conflict – civil rights, women’s

liberation• Anarchy – war, politics

– Financial prosperity• Rock sold internationally