Blog Assignment #1: British Musical Experience Trend
For my trend in the British Musical Experience, I decided to show the evolution of Rock’n’roll music. Starting from the early 1950’s, rock’n’roll started to become a huge trend and interest within the teenage population. One of the very first rock’n’roll songs was “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1955. This song showed a new style of guitar playing, a different drum beat that was easy and catchy to dance to, and a new band arrangement that was different from previous skiffle groups. The music was relatively simple, but almost all electric instruments were now used.
Another key icon of Rock’n’roll was the legendary Elvis Presley. Although Elvis started out as a country and even gospel singer, he soon became the rock’n’roll icon for teenagers. His appeal struck both girls and boys with his guitar playing, singing and of course his movements throughout his performances. An early example of his work to be considered Rock’n’roll would be “Hound Dog” which was originally recorded by Big Mama Thorton. Elvis released his version in 1956.
An important influencial figure of rock’n’roll music was Little Richard. One of his earliest songs was “Tutti Frutti”. Little Richard directed his music towards African American audiences, but his music was becoming popular with white audiences as well, which made him even more famous. Paul McCartney even learned how to sing like Little Richard! He had a distinct style of singing and was a great performer over all.
Buddy Holly and the Crickets were another important aspect of Rock’n’Roll. One of his most popular hits was “That’ll Be the Day” released in 1957. Buddy Holly and the Crickets released a variety of hits that were considered to be Rock’n’Roll and all became incredibly popular. The Beatles even got the inspiration for their name after Buddy Holly and the Crickets.
In the 1960’s Rock’n’Roll evolved slightly from the previous decade. Chubby Checker released a very popular hit titled “The Twist.” This song became a popularly social dancing song that practically anyone could do. This song was primarily popular for the dancing associated with it. Chubby Checker even made a sequel to “The Twist.”
In 1963 The Beatles released “Please Please Me.” Although this was not the first recorded single of the Beatles, it was the first number 1 hit. A difference in this song from the earlier Rock’n’roll songs is that there is a lot of embellishment with each instrument. The drums are especially different and bold, the bass has intricate riffs occasionally instead of only playing a bass line and John incorporates harmonica playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he0B0VMxCsw
Although Bob Dylan wasn’t always to be considered a Rock’n’Roll figure, his song “Like A Rolling Stone” became popular in the mid-60’s. This song is interesting because Dylan starts to use some synthesizer effects. He also incorporates the harmonica into the song, which is not so typical of Rock’n’Roll music. Although Lennon also incorporated harmonica, this was not a trait that they copied off of one another. Bob Dylan was becoming popular in America as the Beatles were becoming popular in Britain. It was not until later until they met and got ideas from each other. A significant trait of Dylan’s voice is that he sings very little melodic statements. His voice stays practically on the same pitch for the entirety of the song. The background music is what distinguishes the tonal center of the song, which is rather uncommon given the previous examples. This song became a popular Rock song as it incorporates some electric guitar passages and also bass. By this time Rock’n’Roll was more so becoming Rock because the songs became more ambiguous and are not as easy to dance to and distinguish a particular rhythm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he0B0VMxCsw
Although Bob Dylan wasn’t always to be considered a Rock’n’Roll figure, his song “Like A Rolling Stone” became popular in the mid-60’s. This song is interesting because Dylan starts to use some synthesizer effects. He also incorporates the harmonica into the song, which is not so typical of Rock’n’Roll music. Although Lennon also incorporated harmonica, this was not a trait that they copied off of one another. Bob Dylan was becoming popular in America as the Beatles were becoming popular in Britain. It was not until later until they met and got ideas from each other. A significant trait of Dylan’s voice is that he sings very little melodic statements. His voice stays practically on the same pitch for the entirety of the song. The background music is what distinguishes the tonal center of the song, which is rather uncommon given the previous examples. This song became a popular Rock song as it incorporates some electric guitar passages and also bass. By this time Rock’n’Roll was more so becoming Rock because the songs became more ambiguous and are not as easy to dance to and distinguish a particular rhythm.
In 1966, The Beach Boys released an album titled “Pet Songs” and the song “Good Vibrations” became a popular hit. This song was incredibly different from the standards. They used unusual instruments to create spooky sounds. The song was also very divided in terms of structure. There is the opening solo section that is harmonically slow and then the vocal bass line enters to pick up the pace of the song. Then the “Good Vibrations” chorus enters and is quite different from the opening statement. It is bold, loud, and full of sounds, where the other was scored rather thinly. Those phrases together become the theme of the song and then when it seems like it’s going to fade out to a close, a completely contrasting section starts up that is mostly acapella and much more relaxed than the previous section. The contrasting section contains a lot of harmony, while the beginning section does not. Once the contrasting section sounds like it is coming to a close, the opening section returns. This would be referred to as an ABA, or else sonata form. This song was very different than previous Rock’n’roll and even Rock songs. The intriguing aspect of the song is the mystery and being surprised with what is coming next. Paul McCartney even quoted that he was inspired by this album and took that inspiration and applied it to Sgt. Pepper.
In the 1970s, other musicians like Rod Stewart, Elton John, Don McLean started to become increasingly popular. By now the Beatles had separated ways as a band and had taken off into solo careers. The 70s were still considered to be a rock era, but the style amongst the different artists was vastly different. Individuals started to become more so famous than bands of several people. However, some bands included Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springstein, and Grateful Dead. This was a notable time of rock as it became louder, harsher, and used the electric instruments in new and different ways. Guitar chops were incredibly popular and looked very impressive.
Briefly entering into the 80’s, disco is what became the new fad and rock was a completely different meaning. Even though it began in the later 70’s, it really took off in the 80’s decade. Artists like Bon Jovi, Van Halen, The Ramones, ACDC, Aerosmith, and KISS took rock to an entirely new level. It was more of a hard rock with loud and full instruments, lots of distorted guitars and guitar solos, harsher harmonies, and more of a shout style of singing. Styles also changed dramatically from the original suit and tie to a completely white painted face with black eye makeup, long black hair, and black lipstick. Although it is completely different from “Rock Around the Clock”, this era is still considered to be Rock, even though it has morphed ever so much. Disco was a very beat based style of music and incorporated a lot of electronics. Again, this style of music was very popular for social dancing.
From the 80’s and beyond, Rock continued to change in some way. Instead of just Rock’n’Roll, there were numerous different categories of Rock. There was punk rock, hard rock, surf rock, classic rock, grunge rock, funk rock, country rock, disco rock, pop rock...you name it and it is some kind of rock. It has branched out into so many different categories that all sound so different. It’s incredible how one style of music can evolve in such a variety of ways. In my opinion, it is a blessing that musical artists take the liberties to change the norm and make it unique. If artists had stuck to the original style of Rock’n’Roll, there would be no new music to study, listen to and enjoy. It is thanks to the original Rock’n’Roll artists that musicians from the next era got their inspiration and creativity to make new styles of music.
Kimberlyn,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog, it was so interesting. I liked that you had incorporated so much of your own knowledge of music into it. It is clear that you have a strong passion for music. The different styles and inspirations that you discussed were very Intriguing, and I had no idea that Paul McCartney was so inspired by the Beach boys. Do you think that the Beach Boys would have or were inspired by the Beatles? If so, what do you think it was that inspired them the most, or what do you think the main similarity is between them?
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog. I felt as though I learned so much from you and your postings. One of the things that I really enjoyed was your posting about the 80's. I loved how you explained all of the different instruments that were played and big in the 80's. I also found it very helpful that you added youtube videos, it was a great touch to your post!
Kimberlyn, I really enjoyed your blog! I found your topic to be really interesting and it made a lot of sense. Your writing was well organized, cohesive and overall a fun read! I actually had fun reading everything because each paragraph had a video to go along with it. My only suggestion would be to add more about your specific experience at the British Musical Experience. It seemed like you knew a lot about the topic just from prior knowledge but if you would have added more about what you learned at the BME, your information might have seemed more credible. Overall I think your blog was awesome and I look forward to reading your next posts :)
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to follow the progression of rock’n’roll, isn’t it?! I always have to chuckle at how each generation has to push the envelope a little further and the older generations don’t seem to get it, when in fact they did the same thing in their youth. I love your colourful blog, and thanks for posting all the pictures since I haven’t taken the time to do it!!
ReplyDeleteKimberlyn, I liked how you started at the very beginning of the Rock and Roll Era; it gave a nice background on how Rock and Roll started and continued to develop throughout the decades to come. Overall, I liked how you described the different bands and singers that came to be well known artists that helped Rock and Roll evolve and take shape.
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