Outline of the text for Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9
Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll 1945-1960

2. “Rhythm and Blues” – R&B
 Early1940s race record market expanded
 1949 – term “rhythm and blues” caught on
 New chart on Billboard

3. Changing Audience
 WWII mixed soldiers – common experience –
shared music
 Post-war recovery = prosperity
 TV -1946 (6000) 1950 (2 million)
 Took over radio’s role as primary source for
entertainment
 What’s on TV?

4. Radio redefined
 Programming recorded music
 Pop and alternative

5. Records – 78s – LPs – 45s
 Recording was not simply a version of the
song – it was the song
 Notion of covers was new
 Rise of Independent labels

6. Change in Ensembles
 WWII signaled end of Swing Era
 Less demand/high costs for big bands
 Need for small ensembles

7. Jump Bands
 Strong beat
 Shuffle rhythm
 Stripped down swing band
• Rhythm section
• 2-3 horns
• Vocals
 Sounds of R&B

8. Example: “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” – Louis
Jordan 1946
 Roles of musicians clearly defined
 Clear Hierarchy
• Bass – walks
• Drummer – shuffles
• Guitar/piano – keeps beat
• Horn – riffs

9. Formula of Jump Bands
 Upbeat lyrics
 Repeated riffs
 Shuffle rhythm
 Chorus-based blues form
 “Jump!”

10. Electric Blues
 Darker sound
 Free-for-all
 Little influence on later African-American
styles
 Influence on 60s/70s rock.

11. Latin influence on Rock and Roll
 Bo Diddley (1928 – 2008)
 Incorporated maracas for rhythm
 Known for “Bo Diddley Rhythm”

12. Example: “Bo Diddley” (1955)
Clave rhythm = Bo
Diddley Rhythm

13. Rock and Roll
Early 1950s
Another term for R&B
Alan Freed - DJ in
Cleveland
Playing black songs to
white audiences

14. Much of Rock and Roll from mid
1950s was:
R&B
White takes on
R&B
Elvis’ hits

15. Rock and Roll and R&B diverged
 R&B remained popular among African-
Americans
 Rock and Roll had a more assertive beat and
became more popular among white teens

16. Boogie Woogie
 Loud, boisterous
 Born out of necessity
 Piano

17. Example: “Roll’Em Pete” (1936)
 Pete Johnson and Big Joe Williams
 Shuffle in Left Hand
 Riffs in Right Hand
 Eight beat rhythm
 Roll on Brother

18. Rockabilly
 “Country man’s song with a black man’s
rhythm”: Carl Perkins
 Developed in the south
 Blues form

19. Example: “Blue Suede Shoes – Carl Perkins
-1955
 One for the money….

21. Bill Haley (1925-1981)
 “Rock Around the Clock” 1954
 Popularized in the film The Blackboard Jungle
 First “hit” associated with Rock and Roll
 What’s all the fuss, Doris?

22. Example: “Rock Around the Clock” 1954
Like a jump
band, light
voice
More like
rockabilly than
Rock and Roll

24. Elvis (1935-1977)
 Essentially rockabilly
 Able to adapt to any style/material and still
sound like himself
 Memphis 1953 – demo for his mom’s birthday
 1st hit for Sun Records 1954 “That’s All Right”
– cover tune

25. Elvis Gave Rock and Roll a Sound and Look
 Immediately set the style apart from
anything before
 He was cool to teens and evil to adults
 His look and moves propelled him to
stardom
 Within a year several #1 hits
 Ed Sullivan Show
 Became the symbol of Rock and Roll

26. Elvis was essentially the Rock and Roll star
in mid 50s
 Except for his hits, Rock and Roll represented
only a modest segment of the pop industry.
 Top selling albums during this period were
mostly soundtracks from Broadway shows and
films.
 Elvis was the most important commercial
presence in Rock and Roll.
 Records sales of the time indicate that besides
Elvis, top artists were Frank Sinatra, Perry
Como, Andy Williams, Johnny Mathis, Pat
Boone, The Platters

27. Musically significant part of his career lasted
only 3 years
1958 he was
drafted
After his discharge
his music changed

28. Elvis’ Importance
He blended the various
influences, Country, blues, and R&B
He was the symbol of Rock and Roll
Elvis was the most important commercial
presence in Rock and Roll.
He set Rock and Roll apart from anything
before

29. Example:

30. What he didn’t do:
He did not write his songs
He did not copy the beat
used by many late 50s R&R
bands
These concepts prevented
his music from influencing
rock and roll that followed

32. Little Richard (b. 1932) Richard Penniman
 Product of vaudeville shows
 2 biggest contributions:
 1. Clear, locked in rhythm
 2. Vocal sound that was as outrageous
as his appearance.
 Tutti Frutti

33. Example:
 Lyrics become meaningless, an excuse for his
voice
 Many have followed his example – Mick
Jagger, Prince, Jimi, Elton, KISS

35. True Architect of Rock and Roll
 Songs captured the newly emerging teen
spirit
 Voice lighter, more transparent than Muddy
or Elvis – neither bluesy nor sweet
 Overdubbing added depth to the song during
solos
 He adapted the standard boogie-woogie LH
pattern from piano to guitar – straight 8ths
 Lead guitar lines are radically new

36. Example: “Johnny B. Goode” (1958)
 Putall the pieces together
 3 main influences on Rock and Roll come
together
• Instrumentation from blues
• 8 beat rhythm from boogie-woogie
• Rock beat – 8 evenly spaced sounds – no shuffle
• Blues-based verse/chorus from R&B

37. Rock&Roll: The Second Generation

38. Buddy Holly (1936-1959)
 Collaborated with Norman Petty
• Created new sounds
• Echo/reverb
 His imagination took R&R to a new level

39. Example: “Not Fade Away” (1957)
 Rock and Roll was primarily dance music –
begin with a clear, strong beat
 Holly’s take on “Bo Diddley” rhythm
 Holly writes songs for everyman – geek, not
the hero
 New direction – Music created just for
listening

40. Fall of Rock and Roll
Elvis drafted in 1958
Little Richard became a preacher
Jerry Lee Lewis – scandal
Buddy Holly died in a plane crash 1959
Chuck Berry arrested and jailed
Alan Freed – Payola scandal

42. Ray Charles (1930-2004)
 More than any other artist, he was
responsible for the synthesis of blues and
gospel
 His singing was more from uninhibited
holiness churches
 Eclectic – fused blues, gospel, R&B, jazz – also
Latin, country, pop
• “What’d I Say?” – Latin influence – hit song
• “I Got a Woman” – gospel
• “Georgia” – pop

43. The Shirelles
 Formed in 1958
 Women’s point of
view
 Hey baby…

44. Example: “Will You Still Love Me
Tomorrow?” (1960) – written by Carol King
 Music written and performed by women
 Song also helped close the gap between
black/white – written by white
woman, produced by black man, white-
sounding strings, black singers
 Message of song is colorblind – all teens
could relate
 Preview of changes to come in the 1960s

45. Change in attitude was underway in the
1960s
 Possible because mainstream pop culture, or
at least the audience for pop song could
accept this kind of straight talk
 The look of the group was designed to cut
across racial boundaries – appeal to the
widest audience – current hairstyles, prom
dresses/evening gowns