Chapter 15

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Rock came from several styles and several regions at once
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Fused disparate ethnic music traditions with the pop music industry

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World War II had an incredible influence on the development of rock music
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General pace of life accelerated
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Diverse cultural groups intermingled
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More Americans experienced prosperity
(after the war)
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Americans had more leisure time

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America’s youth was bored with the polite music of their parents
They were looking for a unique sound
Took an interest in the driving rhythm and raw excitement of black rhythm and blues
Parents were outraged when they heard this antithesis to their own music blaring through their children’s bedroom doors
If the youth were originally drawn to rhythm and blues for its sound alone, they soon embraced it as a tool of rebellion against the conformist expectations of their parents

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Country music in the southwest was prominent in developing the use of the electric guitar
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It was the same for southwestern blues and jazz musicians
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With the electric guitar’s louder volume and ability to sustain notes, it was able to be used as a lead instrument that could be heard over the horn section

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Beale Street had been a gathering place for country blues musicians.
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W.C. Handy had developed a highly commercial version of the blues.
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The blues tradition of Beale Street remained strong into the early 1950s.
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The black church was also highly influential

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Believed by many to be the first musician to perform with the electric guitar
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Listed as an influence by Chuck Berry, B.B.
King and Jimi Hendrix
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With the sheer power and potentially raucous tone of the electric guitar, Walker helped to usher in hard-driving urban blues that were not as delicate as acoustic country blues
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1xvx0U
Ha0A Don’t Throw Your Love on Me So Strong

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Rhythmic bass pattern originated on the piano
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The actual notes played varied from performer to performer but were secondary to the bouncing feel that was created
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Was developed by black blues pianists such as
Pete Johnson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-84ShDVwjc
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Eventually found its way into the repertoires of western swing bands
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These western swing bands would eventually heavily influence the young rockabilly artists of the South

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The catchy boogie rhythm led to popular white imitations such as “Boogie-Woogie” by
Tommy Dorsey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxlL8l48q cM and “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy” by the
Andrews Sisters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oZITtcO
RjQ

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As rock and roll began to appear around
1954-1956, it was comprised of 5 basic styles, defined by region, that developed independently of each other:
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Northern Band Rock and Roll
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New Orleans Dance Blues
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Memphis Rockabilly
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Chicago Rhythm and Blues
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Doo-Wop

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This style can basically be described as white cover versions of certain black rhythm and blues numbers
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The primary inspiration for this style was jump blues

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Based on a heavy boogie rhythm
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Strong backbeat
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High-spirited feelings with novelty appeal instead of being depressed
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Notable performer – Louis Jordan
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A2pRVy
BmOY Choo - Choo Ch’Boogie

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Born in Detroit
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In the late 40s he led a western swing band in the northeast
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He gradually began incorporating elements of jump blues into his style becoming a white rhythm and blues band with a country flavor
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In 1951 he changed the name of his group from the Saddlemen to Bill Haley and the
Comets, disassociating the band from country music and moving toward rock and roll http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqjc17KEsc

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Fats Domino didn’t shout like Bill Haley
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNNiBcU
3BR4
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Sang in a relaxed mellow voice; had a tinge of coarseness
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Overall feel was looser than other types of rock
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Richard Penniman, also known as Little
Richard http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFL047f msgg
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Didn’t shout; screamed instead

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A truck driver named Elvis Presley came to
Memphis to record some songs for his mother; he was discovered by producer Sam
Philips
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmljYk dr-w
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0RzuP4Mk
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLSgqH2
BOeg

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Young and good looking
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Wore outrageous clothes
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Had equally outrageous body movements onstage
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Could convincingly sing country, gospel and blues
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Producers such as Chet Atkins set about glamorizing and smoothing out his sound

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Played piano professionally since the age of
15
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Blend of boogie woogie and pentecostal church piano
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Outrageous stage presence – kicked piano bench across the stage, played piano with his feet
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lidFipyLG
8k
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Married his 13-year old cousin – scandal!

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Blacks steadily migrated to the North
(including Chicago) during and between the two World Wars
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The South Side was home to Louis Armstrong,
Jelly Roll Morton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson
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While these musicians were influential in the development of rock and roll, they didn’t successfully cross over to pop audiences because of their deeper “adult” voices and often slurred speech

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Singer/guitarist
Originally from St Louis
Combined a rockabilly style twangy guitar with a lively backbeat rhythm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ofD9t_s
ULM
Sang with a high youthful clear voice
His music would continue to find popularity through the 1960s due to interpretations by
British rock artists and even later in movies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1i5coU-
0_Q

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The tradition of black male vocal groups dates back to gospel quartets of the 1800s
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Originally started out as untrained singers without instrumental accompaniment
A high tenor sang the melody, two middle voices sang the inner harmony and a bass sang far below everyone else
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Because they had no instrumental back up they had to create their own rhythm many times using the syllables doo-wop
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These syllables became the name used by fans for this style of music, just like _____???_______

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It was a rhythm and blues song that became popular enough to get onto Billboard’s top 10 list in the pop category
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Set a standard in pop music that would be imitated for years
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Was such a turning point in the development of rock that some consider it the first rock record
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTRfRK0a hYs

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One of the most successful doo-wop groups
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Based in Los Angeles
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The lead singer had a distinctive “hiccup” effect that he used in his vocals, something imitated by a number of musicians afterward
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzkszgjkj
6Q

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Originally from Texas
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Grew up listening to Hank Williams and Bill
Monroe and rhythm and blues
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His voice had a light, tense quality with an occasional cry like hiccup that added to the excitement of his performances http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVGM86X
Iilw
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Buddy Holly and the Crickets toured England in 1958, where there were already a significant number of fans of rock and roll

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One such band chose their name as a tribute
- ? THE BEATLES!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUK b4f4
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Buddy Holly famously died in a plane crash in
1959 with Ritchie Valens and the “Big
Bopper” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPa_xSt_ wP8 this date would come to be known as
“The Day the Music Died” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-
Hv-7U