1950s

Chuck Berry

The history of modern pop music can easily be traced back to the mid 1950s, to Rock and Roll. It seemed to burst on to the scene as if from nowhere, something new and exciting, galvanising a generation who immediately saw it as the start of a new pop music Rock and Roll represented a great change in popular music and the explosion of creativity in the popular music of the 1960s can in large part be attributed to this revolutionary development. But RocknRoll did not come from a vacuum so where did it come from? Examples of some popular songs from the early 50s throw some light on this question not because they sound like precursors to rock and roll but for the opposite reason a song such as Magic Moments by Perry Como exemplifies the light entertainment style of many saccharine and sentimental 50s pop records. This sort of musical escapism suited those who had lived through World War II and perhaps the depression of the thirties but did not appeal to the young. It must be noted that he 1950s were a period of power and prosperity in the US and with that prosperity came teenage affluence and the development of youth culture as distinct from mainstream, adult society. This was a new cultural development and as young people sought to distinguish themselves from their parents music became an important aspect of identity. Thus when rocknroll emerged with its energy, rhythmic power and sexuality, it appealed to young people and offended the older generation in equal part. As a musical style Rock n Roll grew out of two important American musical traditions Blues and Country. These styles of course already existed in the 1950s but were not seen as pop music. Rather, they were styles of folk music produced and consumed within their respective communities and each had its specialist radio stations and record companies. The harmonic structure of rock and roll based largely around chords I, IV and V and often in 12 bar form could be found in these two earlier styles and many records from the late 1940s by the likes of Hank Williams (country) and Fats Domino (blues) sound

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like rock n roll. In fact, Rock n Roll was not a new type of music at all but a new audience for a type of music that had existed for some years. Blues in the 40s and early 50s There were two main branches of blues in the 40s and early 50s - the earthier country blues style of southern musicians such as Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf who had converged on northern cities and the City Blues from Kansas City and St Louis characterised by its greater emphasis on entertainment and dancing and. This City Blues, or Rhythm and Blues as it came to be known, was arguably the most important influence on rock n Louis Jordan and band roll. RnB performers such as Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan and Fats Domino played music with a strong backbeat, bass riffs and tenor sax solos which had much more energy than the mainstream pop of tin pan alley and thus appealed greatly to white teenagers. A key recording is Jackie Brenstons Rocket 88 an R&B hit from 1951. The good time feel and celebration of the motor car became the stuff of Chuck Berry songs, while the up-tempo swing rhythm bass riff (on a 12-bar pattern) and pounding piano exemplify the stylistic link between this R&B and what was soon to become rocknroll. KEY RnB (also called jump blues) ARTISTS & RECORDINGS ARTIST KEY RECORDINGS RECORDING DATE Jackie Brenston Rocket 88 1951 Louis Jordan Choo-Choo Ch Boogie 1946 Big Joe Turner Shake Rattle & Roll 1954

R n B and Country Bill Haley, a country singer incorporated these ingredients into his style arriving at the sound heard on his hits Shake, Rattle and Roll and Rock Around the Clock. The latter was a seminal record in the history of rock and roll and its use in the film Blackboard Jungle did much to establish the association between RnR and teenage rebellion. This RnB/Country combination can also be heard on the early records of Elvis Presley check out Thats Alright from 1954.

Bill Hailey & The Comets

So, really, Black RnR was, in essence Rhythm and Blues with a new white audience (Little Richard, Chuck Berry) and White RnR was a fusion of blues and country typified by the Rockabilly sound of Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.

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KEY ROCKNROLL ARTISTS & RECORDINGS ARTIST KEY RECORDINGS Elvis Presley Bill Hailey Chuck Berry Hound Dog Rock Around The Clock Johnny B. Goode RECORDING DATE 1956 1954 1958

ROCKNROLL POP MUSICAL FEATURES: Mix of black music styles - Rhythm n Blues (R&B) and gospel with Country (and Western) music Use of 12 bar chord patterns Up tempo shuffle dance rhythms Simple instrumentation: Guitar, Double bass, Drums, Piano, Vocals with some use of horns. Blues/Gospel influenced vocal delivery use of blue notes, call and response Rock and Roll the decline !955-59 were the boom years for RnR s independent record labels who were successfully satisfying teenage demand for the style. However, when RnR had became such a significant commercial proposition the major labels got involved and began to exert their more controlling influence on artists. Thus, there was a move away from the raw sound of early RnR towards a smoother, more polished product resulting in less localised sub-styles and a more formulaic approach. There was also a move away from 12-bar blues forms towards pop songs constructed with distinctive hooks and choruses. RnR was being watered down. Other 1950s Developments Tin Pan Alley was not killed off by RnR. Instead a middle of the road pop music was developed which fused RnR stylings with the production and marketing of the majors. While RnR was softened by an assimilation into the mainstream, Black music (RnB) remained raw and uncompromised and its influence grew. Gospel influenced RnB (Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, the Drifters) thrived leading to the soul music of the 60s. During the fifties modern jazz developed as an art music led by Bebop players such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. However, mainstream jazz remained an important influence on pop music as show tunes from Tin Pan Alley became standards in jazz. The importance of Frank Sinatra exemplifies the close relationship between jazz and pop.