Chapter 14- The Continuing Fragmentation of Rock
Substyles of the 1960s Evolve Into the 1970s and Beyond
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Jazz rock turns into fusion music
Folk rockers became known as singer-songwriters
Art rock evolves into progressive rock
Country rock became progressive country
Soft rock continued
Two new styles in the 1970s that developed in the 1980s
 Both were strongly anti-establishment
1) Heavy metal
 Watergate crisis
 Alienated the young people who were already skeptical of the government and
politics
 Heavy metal was their expression of anger
2) Rap
 1980-1988 Reagan years
 The African-Americans felt disenfranchised and used rap music as their
expression of anger
Art Rock into Progressive Rock
Progressive rock = longer, more complex rock works that are
different from the earlier rock with orchestra groups
Pink Floyd
 Formed in 1965 in London
 Debut-album: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (released as Pink
Floyd in the U.S.) became #131
 The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
 Was #1 and the holds the longest-running chart album with 741 weeks
(over 14 years)
 Deals with alienation, paranoia, and lunacy
 Heavy use of electronics
 “Time”
 “Money” (#13 in 1973)
 “Us and Them”
Art Rock into Progressive Rock (cont)
Pink Floyd (cont)
 The Wall (#1 in 1979-1980)
 Only 3 performances on tour because it was very elaborate
 “Another Brick in the Wall”
King Crimson
 Personnel kept changing but leader was always Robert Fripp
 In the Court of the Crimson King (#25 in U.S.)
 Contained 5 extended pieces
 Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (1973)
 “Exiles”
 “Easy Money”
 “The Talking Drum”
 1974- the band disbanded
Art Rock into Progressive Rock (cont)
Jethro Tull
 Moved from Blackpool to London in 1967
 Ian Anderson became their leader
 Thick as a Brick (1972)
 One album-long work
 Living in the Past
 Contained a song in quintuple meter, the first one since Brubeck’s
“Take Five”
Electric Light Orchestra
 “Can’t Get It Out of My Head”
 “Evil Woman”
A progressive rock offshoot was electronic rock using synthesizers
and electronic keyboards
 Also called synthe-pop, techno-rock, or electro-pop
Jazz Rock into Fusion
A new style of jazz-rock that is different than the older BS&T and
Chicago style
 The earlier version added jazz elements to rock, whereas the newer
version added rock elements to jazz
John McLaughlin
 Formed the group Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971
 Birds of Fire (1973)
 This group sometimes moved closer to jazz and others times
moved closer to rock
 Apocalypse (1974) was recorded with the London Symphony
Orchestra
 1974- the group disbanded
Jazz Rock into Fusion (cont)
Weather Report
 Modified their sound to make it more palatable for a larger
audience
 They leaned more towards jazz
 “Birdland”
Herbie Hancock
 Jazz pianist
 “Watermelon Man”
 Head Hunters (#13 in 1974)
 Emphasized electronic keyboards with wah-wah pedals, filters,
and synthesizer modifications
 Thrust
 “Actual Proof”
Jazz Rock into Fusion (cont)
Santana
 Began in early 1967 as a blues band emphasizing Latin and
African rhythms
 Santana (#4 in 1969)
 “Evil Ways”
 Caravanserai (1972) turned towards jazz-rock fusion and did not
have the old Latin sound
 Amigos (1976) returned to the Latin-oriented sound
 Supernatural (#1 in 1999)
 “Smooth” (#1 for 12 weeks)
 “Maria, Maria” (#1)
 Received 9 Grammy awards
Jazz Rock into Fusion (cont)
Earth, Wind, and Fire
 Formed in 1970 by Maurice White with brothers Verdine, Fred,
and 6 others
 Last Days and Time (#87 in 1972)
 “Power”- a 7-minute cuts that begins and ends with kalimba, an African
“thumb piano” consisting of tuned metal tongues fixed to a resonating
box
 That’s the Way of the World (#1 in 1975)
 “Shining Star” (#1)
 All ‘n All (1977)
 “Magic Mind”
 “Runnin”
 Set a high standard for horn-dominated, jazz-influenced music of
the 1970s
 Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000
Jazz Rock into Fusion (cont)
Tower of Power
 A group from San Francisco with constant personnel changes
 Provided an alternative to the psychedelic sound
 Black sound reinforced by funky rhythmic foundation and horn lines
 Tower of Power (1973)
 “What is Hip?”
 “Soul Vaccination”
 Back to Oakland (1974)
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“Oakland Stroke”
“Just When We Start Makin’ It”
“Can’t You See (You Doin’ Me Wrong)”
“Squib Cakes”
Jazz Rock into Fusion (cont)
Chuck Mangione
 Classically trained at the Eastman School of Music
 Formed a jazz quartet
 Friends and Love (1971) was accompanied by the Rochester
Philharmonic
 Feels So Good (#2 in 1977)
 “Land of Make Believe” (1973)
 “Children of Sanchez” (1978)
Steely Dan
 Leaned towards the rock side of fusion
 The quintet formed in 1972
 Pretzel Logic (1974)
 “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”
 Katy Lied (1975) has more jazz influences
 “Doctor Wu”
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s
 Typically the term for the latter-day folk rock performers, but the
term does not imply a style. It is simply a person who composes
and performs his/her songs.
 Lyrics focused on the self
 Composers used the latest advancements in technology
Joni Mitchell
 Born and raised in Canada and moved to Detroit and NYC
 Court and Spark (#2 in 1974)
 “Help Me” (#7)
 “Twisted”
 Her melodies are wide-ranging, inventive, have rhythmic
inflections and metric changes, and has harmony related to jazz
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s (cont)
Carole King
 She wrote a number of hits for other artists such as Bobby Vee,
the Everly Brothers, Herman’s Hermits, the Animals, BS&T,
Arethra Franklin and the Byrds
 Tapestry (her 2nd album- #1 in 1971)
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“It’s Too Late” (#1)
“I Feel the Earth Move” (#1)
“You’ve Got a Friend”
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”
 Wrap Around Joy (#1 in 1974)
 Jazzman (#2)
 Her style emphasized simple piano accompaniment and a pop or
soft rock style
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s (cont)
James Taylor
 Born in Boston and moved to London
 1st album: James Taylor
 “Something in the Way She Moves”
 Sweet Baby James (1970)
 “Fire and Rain” (#3 in 1970)
 “You’ve Got A Friend” (a Carole King song)
 Married Carly Simon in 1972
 Gorilla (1975)
 “Mexico”
 In the late 1970s, he recorded with Simon and Garfunkel and
Carly Simon
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s (cont)
Jim Croce
 Born and raised in Philadelphia
 You Don’t Mess Around with Jim (#1 )
 “Operator” made the top 20
 “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” was on of his “character” songs
 I Got a Name (1973)
 Was released after he was killed in a plane crash
 “Time in a Bottle” (#1 in 1973)
Cat Stevens
 Born in London
 Tea for the Tillerman (#8 in 1971)
 “Wild World” (#11)
 “Father and Son”
 He accompanied himself on acoustic guitar
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s (cont)
Billy Joel
 Born on Long Island in 1949 and was a classically trained pianist
 He moved closer to mainstream rock than folk
 Piano Man (1974)- made the top 30 and had a #25 hit
 The Stranger (1977)
 “Just the Way You Are”
 “Only The Good Die Young”
 52nd Street (1978)
 “Big Shot”
 Glass Houses (1980)
 “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” (first #1 hit)
 An Innocent Man (1983)
 “Tell Her About It” (#1)
 “Uptown Girl” (#3)
 “This Night” – uses 1950s soft rock with a Beethoven’s piano sonata
Singer-Songwriters of the 1970s (cont)
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
 They formed in Los Angeles, emphasizing vocal harmonies and
sociopolitical commentary
 Neil Young joined in 1969 for their performance at Woodstock
 3 played guitar and one played keyboard
 Déjà vu (#1 in 1970)
Reggae- Bob Marley
 Reggae is closely tied to Rastafarian religion of Ethiopia
 Rastaman Vibration (#8 in 1976)
 “War” was based on a speech by Emperor Selassie
 “Roots, Rock, Reggae”