AOS – Popular Song Since 1960
FEATURES:
STYLE:
The Blues
Artists:
Lemon Jefferson
Ma Rainey
Bessie Smith
Rock ‘n’ Roll
1950’s
Examples:
Little Richard – Tutti Frutti,
Bill Haley – Shake, Rattle and Roll
Elvis Presley – Blue Suede Shoes/ Jailhouse Rock
1960’s Rock and Pop
Examples:
Rolling Stones – Satisfaction
The Who – My generation/Tommy
Beatles – Love me do/Please Please Me/Strawberry Fields
Musical Theatre
Composers/Examples:
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter
Rodgers and Hammerstein – The Sound of Music
Andrew Lloyd Webber – Cats, Evita, Joseph, Phantom of
the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar etc. etc.
The Singer-Song Writer/Ballads
Artists/Examples:
Carole King – You’ve got a friend/It’s too late
Elton John – Rocket Man/Daniel
Sting
Bjork
Ska
Examples:
Millie Small – My boy lollipop (1960’s)
Madness – Baggy Trousers (1980’s)
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Originated during slave trade.
Early Blues = solo singer accompanied by guitar or banjo.
Later became an urban form - added jazz instruments; trumpet, clarinet, piano, double bass.
12 bar blues structure in 4/4 time with 12 bars. Only chords are I IV and V. Set pattern repeated.
Minor 7ths are added to the chords.
Melodies created using the blues scale.
Walking Bass Line/ Boogie-Woogie Bass
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Developed out of a fusion of styles – Country ‘n’ Western and Rhythm ‘n’ Blues.
Country ‘n’ Western Features = Melodies are memorable and largely diatonic.
Rhythm ‘n’ Blues = Instrumentation: Electric Guitar, Saxophone.
12 bar blues structure but faster and rhythms were tighter.
o Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who.
o Many influenced by Rock ‘n’ Roll, Rhythm ‘n’ Blues, ideas from classical music, folk and non-western
Cultures (Eleanor Rigby/Norwegian Wood)
o Loudly amplified.
o Guitars, Drums, Vocals,
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Invented in USA early 20th Century.
Performed on stage or film.
Story is told through songs.
Orchestra/band accompanies and plays incidental music.
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Ballads tell stories.
Slow and Sad.
Each verse has the same rhythm and tune but different lyrics.
Different styles of ballad – E.g. Rock, Folk.
Artists tend to accompany themselves on guitar or piano.
Popular with boy/girl bands – Take That, Boyzone, Spice Girls, Girls Aloud, Westlife etc. etc.
o 1960’s
o Developed from Mento, Jazz and American Rhythm ‘n’ Blues
o Lyrics about local issues e.g. Poverty.
o Lively tempo, off-beat rhythms (emphasis on 2nd and 4th beats)
Instruments – Saxophones, Trumpets, Drum Kit, Double Bass (often playing walking bass line).
Rock Steady
Examples:
Jimmy Cliff
Desmond Dekker ‘You can get it if you really want’
Reggae
Examples:
Bob Marley
UB40
Gospel Music
Examples:
The Edwin Hawkin’s Singers – ‘O Happy Day’
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Emerged mid 1960s. Reaction against popularisation of Ska.
Slower beat than Ska.
Built around electric bass and drums.
Focussed on short repeated patterns (riffs).
Limited number of chords.
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Developed out of Ska and Rock Steady.
Lyrics are about local issues still, also linked to Rastafarianism.
Slower tempo – emphasis still on off-beat.
Instruments – Brass, Saxophone, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Electric Organ and Backing Singers.
Bass Guitar is loud and syncopated.
Simple harmony - 2 or 3 chords.
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Associated with African-American church services and prayer meetings.
Established after the abolition of slavery in 19th century. African-Americans established their own
churches and developed their own style of religious music.
Singing characterised by devices such as delaying notes by first singing to pitches above and below,
extending notes by the use of melisma, breaking a single syllable into many repetitions separated by
rests or breaths, extreme and rapid changes between sobbing and shouting.
Improvisation
By 1960’s accompanied by rock beat on keyboards, bass and drums.
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Soul
Examples:
Aretha Franklin – ‘Respect’
Otis Redding
Rock
- Heavy (70s)
Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath
- Progressive (Mid 70s)
Yes, Cream, Pink Floyd, Queen)
- Glam (late 70s - 80s)
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Derived from a fusion of Rhythm ‘n’ Blues with the solo vocal techniques of gospel music.
Saxophones, electric instruments, blues notes, riffs and rhythms of soul come from Rhythm ‘n’ Blues
and combined with the call (solo voice) and response (chorus) patterning of gospel music.
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Heavy = Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath. Songs built around blues-style guitar riffs and blues scales.
Guitar parts dominate and guitar solos are big. Drums are energetic and vocals wailing!
Progressive = Longer tracks and more complicated, often thematic, lots of strung-out instrumental
and electronic effects. Lyrics are mythical and nonsensical.
Glam = More rock ‘n’ roll feel. Catchy hooks.
Punk = Reaction against trends such as progressive rock. Sex Pistols – Anarchy in the uk, Pretty
Vacant, God Save the Queen = negative themes. Characterised by slogans in place of lyrics, a
limited number of chords, unvarying rhythm and shouting.
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David Bowie, Kiss, Gary Glitter
- Punk (late 70s - 80s)
The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, Ramones.
Folk Influenced Pop
Examples:
- Bob Dylan
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Simon and Garfunkel – ‘Scarborough Fair’.
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Traditional music, quite simple, conjunct melodies, often based on modes or pentatonic scales,
accompaniment is simple and played on acoustic instruments. Some bands mix pop and folk music
together – e.g. The Corrs, Enya, The Pogues.