History of Rock n Roll Chapter 1:

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History of Rock n RollChapter 1

• Roots of Rock n Roll

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Origins of Rock n Roll

• Blues originated as a mixture of African slaves
  native musical styles European styles of music
• many African cultures placed much more emphasis
  on the need for rhythm over harmony
• developed as a way to overcome the monotony of
  field labor on plantations
• Southern (Delta) blues themes tend to focus more
  on sullen, down themes
• Due to its birth from the oppression of slavery

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King of the Delta Blues Men

• Robert Johnson (1911-1938)
• called the Godfather of Rock n Roll
• Guitar skill attributed to the devil legend
• Inspiration for Tommy in O Brother, Where Art
  Thou?
• Very few actual recording sessions
• complete catalogue only 29 tracks
• No proof how he died, but all 3 legends involve
  poison a woman
• Songs of Interest
• Cross Road Blues
• I Believe Ill Dust My Broom

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Blues was primarily confined to the south until
after WWI (1919), when many African Americans
head north to Chicago

• Big Bill Broonzy (1898-1958)
• Son of slaves, 16 brothers sisters
• 1907 - made his first fiddle out of a cigar box
• Worked as a plow hand, preacher, railroad worker,
  waiter, piano mover
• Served in WWI, moved to Chicago in 1920
• Got first recording contract in 1924
• Worked odd-jobs while making music until a
  European tour in 1951
• Died of throat cancer in 1958
• Song of interest Keys to the Highway

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• Broonzy said
• The blues wont die because spirituals wont
  die. Blues is a steal from spirituals, and Rock
  is a steal from the blues
• 1940-1944 African-American immigration to
  Chicago increases by almost 75
• While Delta blues was acoustic, the blues sound
  that developed in Chicago was electrified.
• Urban Blues reflected optimism for the many who
  had moved north and escaped the lifestyles of
  their parents and grandparents

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From the Mississippi Delta to Muddy Waters

• Muddy Waters
• Born McKinley Morganfield 4/4/1915
• nicknamed Muddy by his grandmother
• Made a name for himself by age 17 playing at
  parties
• emulated earlier blues artists Son House Robert
  Johnson
• Moved to Chicago in 1940, but moved back to
  Mississippi by 1941

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• Recorded for the Library of Congress in 1941
• moved back to Chicago started playing bars
• had to have an amp to be heard over noise in
  Chicago bars
• Wanted his blues to have a little pep
• Winner of 6 Grammys
• 1987 inducted into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
• 4 songs on RnR HOF list of 500 Songs that Shaped
  Rock

• Songs of Interest
• Rollin Stone
• Hoochie Coochie Man
• Mannish Boy
• Got My Mojo Working

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• Howlin Wolf
• Chester Burnett (1910-1976)
• Nicknamed the Wolf, tried a style of yodeling
  got called the Howler
• Close friend of Muddy Waters
• Had a very lively stage act, predecessor of rock
  performers
• Won Grammy for Smokestack Lightenin (1956)
• 1991 - inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of
  Fame
• 3 songs on the 500 Song that Shaped Rock n Roll
• Songs of Interest
• Smokestack Lightenin
• Back Door Man
• Spoonful

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Riley B.B. King

• Born Sept. 16, 1925
• Delta influenced mixed a jazz sound in his
  music
• Bought his 1st guitar in 1937
• Started recording music in 1949
• Although he had a Farewell Tour in 2006, he
  continues to make music today (2009)
• 52 albums in 60 years
• Winner of 15 Grammy awards
• Inducted into the RnR HOF in 1987
• Songs of Interest
• Every Day I Have the Blues
• The Thrill Is Gone
• Humming Bird

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Tin Pan Alley Era

• To appreciate the impact of Rock n Roll, you
  have to understand what was on the airwaves in
  the early 1950s
• Jazz sounds, dominated by white performers
• Blues considered race music
• Typical lyrics non-offensive, noncontroversial,
  often dealt with boy/girl romantic love
• Songs - usually slow / moderate tempo, with
  orchestral accompaniment a small chorus
• Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Ray, Eddie
  Fisher, Nat King Cole
• Cole one of a very few black pop singers

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Country Music

• In the 1920s 30s it was never referred to as
  country music
• Old timey music
• Music from Dixie
• Old familiar tunes
• Later it became known as hillbilly music
• These would be the songs you would here from O
  Brother Where Art Thou?
• Despite the fact that Southern culture was viewed
  as degenerate, the music had a following
• Hillbilly music appealed to many around America
  because the South stood for traditional values
  and orthodox religion

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The Carter Family

• Recorded from 1928-1956
• Comprised of A.P., his wife Sarah her sister
  Maybelle
• A.P. Sara divorced in 1939, continued to play
  until 1941
• Maybelle went on tour with here 3 daughters
  (Helen, Anita, June)
• The Carters re-formed in 1952 and continued to
  record until 1956

• Songs of interest
• The Wabash Cannonball
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken
• Keep On the Sunny Side

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Jimmie Rodgers

• First real star of country music
• Style a combination of hillbilly blues
• Worked on the railroad until he began recording
  in 1927
• Inspired many hillbilly acts from the southwest
• Led to the westernization of country music
• Inducted to Rock n Roll HOF - 1986

• Songs of Interest
• Blue Yodel 9
• In the Jailhouse Now

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Racism in Music

• Music entertainment was segregated in the 1940s
  50s
• In the 1940s, African Americans had money to
  spend after WWII wanted to be entertained but
• Werent welcomed in white clubs, even if
  performers were black
• Radio was white-oriented, no black performers on
  network radio
• Blues, jazz even pop by most black performers
  not sold in same stores as white performers

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• Whites did not listen to black music, and
  African Americans were not given a choice
• Black performers did not appear on pop charts,
  likewise for white performers on RB charts
• Since music did not cross-over, if there was a
  popular RB song, it got covered by a pop singer
• While not mainstream, RB was gaining a following
  among high school college age whites around the
  US by 1954
• Soon, music as the world knew it was going to be
  turn on its head