Chapter 3 – Gospel and Country
Roots of Rock
“Blues are the songs of despair, but
gospel songs are the songs of hope”
– Mahalia Jackson
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Gospel Roots
Spirituals – religious folk songs (mid-18th cent. – the
19th century) and coded messages
Gospel Music – call and response tradition from
African music
“Melismas” embellish melodies sung by soloists
Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972), known as the
Queen of Gospel
The Soul Stirrers (formed, 1926, and first
recorded in 1936) featured Sam Cooke and
many other soul singers early in their careers
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Listening Guide
“How Far Am I from Canaan?” by the Soul Stirrers with Sam Cooke (1952)
Tempo: 96 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar, with double-time second
section at 192 beats per minute
Form: First half: four 8-bar phrases
Second half: four 16-bar phrases
Coda
Features: Sam Cooke sings lead adding many melismas to embellish the
melody, the Soul Stirrers sustain chords or add vocal responses.
A drummer accompanies the singers with bass drum and back beats
accented by a high hat cymbal
Uneven beat subdivisions are used throughout
Lyrics: The singer yearns for the beatific sate of heaven, but doesn’t know
when he can enter it
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Listening Guide
Full-choir gospel style started by Thomas A. Dorsey in the early 1930s,
made popular by the Edwin Hawkins Singers in the 1960s
“Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers (1969)
Tempo: 112 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Phrase and section lengths vary
Features: Even beat subdivisions
Rhythm section maintains a steady beat, but the vocalists
sometimes speed up slightly, adding the effect of enthusiasm
Dorothy Morrison uses melismas in her lead vocals, a large
chorus responds without embellishing the melody
Lyrics: The singers exclaim their joy at religious conversion
Charts: Pop, #4, R&B, #2 for 2 weeks, British Hits, #2
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Doo-Wop Listening Guide
Doo-Wop
Secular music sung by gospel-influenced groups, named for the nonsense
syllables sung by backup singers
Listening Guide:
“Crying in the Chapel” by the Orioles (1953)
Tempo: 69 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: AABA song form
Features: Sonny Til improvises melismas in his lead vocals, the other
singers respond simple words or syllables
Uneven beat subdivisions are used
Instruments include trumpet, alto saxophone, Hammond organ,
bass, and drums
The drums keep a strong back beat
Lyrics: The key to spiritual joy is humility
Charts: R&B, #1 for five weeks
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Cover Records
A recording of a song made after the original recording
The songwriter’s permission is not necessary, but the credit must
be given to the writer so that the writer can receive royalty income
for all recordings of the song
Lyrics and productions can be changed from the original in the
cover recording
The United States Copyright Law in 1978 allows the songwriter or
heirs to collect royalty income for the writer’s life and 50 years
beyond his/her death
After copyright has expired, the song is in public domain and can be
used without the payment of a writer’s royalty
Note: This information is about recordings. The writer’s or
publisher’s written permission is needed to use music in a written
work
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Listening Guide
“Sh-boom” by the Chords (1954)
Tempo: 134 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: 4-bar introduction, then 8-bar periods, with one 4-bar
extension where the title text is repeated
Features: vocal group accompanied by guitar, string bass, and drums with
a saxophone for instrumental solos
Uneven beat subdivisions
2-bars of the introduction are sung “a cappella” (without
instruments)
Most of the song is sung by the vocal group, but a bass singer sings
one section
The “doo-wop” chord progression (I-vi7-ii7-V7) is used
Lyrics: The song is about simple love and sexual desire
Charts: Pop, #9, R&B, #2 for two weeks
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Listening Guide
“Sh-Boom” by the Crew-Cuts (1954)
Tempo: 134 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Most of the song is structured like the recording by the Chords
Features: The vocal group is accompanied by a full swing-style dance
band including several saxophones, brass instruments, a rhythm
section, and a kettledrum
The introduction is sung by an accompanied solo singer
The periods are sung by various different soloists, none of whom is a
bass, The last seven periods are sung by the full group.
There are no full instrumental sections.
The “doo-wop” chord progression (I-vi7-ii7-V7) is used
Lyrics: The lyrics are the same as those in the Chords’ recording, with
some minor changes in the backup syllables
Charts: Pop, #1 for seven weeks, British hits, #12
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Listening Guide
“There Goes My Baby” by the Drifters (1959)
Tempo: 126 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Eight 8-bar periods
A variant version of the doo-wop progression is followed (I-I-vi7-vi7-IV-IV-V7-V7)
The ending fades out
Features: The vocals and background instruments vary from one period to another as
follows:
1. Bass solo voice with backup vocals, then strings swirl in at end
2. Lead singer (Ben E. King) sings with instruments
3. King’s solo includes soft backup vocal responses
4. Vocal group leads and King sings responses
5. King sings lead with lower strings accompanying
6. King and strings include backup vocals sustaining chords
7. King’s lead and swirling violins
8. King with full vocal group
No backbeat is accented
Uneven beat subdivisions are used
Lyrics: The singer’s lover has gone and he wishes to tell her of his love for her
Charts: Pop, #2, R&B, #1
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Country Music
Country music is a commercial form of folk music,
first called “hillbilly” music
Roots in the British Isles
Dances (the jig, reel, polka, waltz, and round
dances) accompanied by fiddle (violin), the guitar,
plucked and strummed dulcimers, piano, and the
harmonica
The banjo (of African origin) added after the Civil
War ended (1865).
End of the 1930s, string bass, the steel guitar, and
autoharp also common
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Country Music, continued
Many country styles avoided drums and
amplification, but the few that used them greatly
influenced rock and roll including:
Western swing from Texas – influences from the
blues and jazz (Influenced early rock by Bill
Haley)
Honky tonk – Bar or saloon music, loud with a
steady, danceable beat, and song lyrics about
depressing life events (Influenced the
development of 50’s Rockabilly music)
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Elements of Country Music
General elements of Country music that influenced Early Rock and Roll:
1. Very steady beat
2. Beat patterns in 2, 3, or 4 beats (4-beat patterns is most common in rock
music)
3. Even beat subdivisions are used
4. Harmonies usually simple triads (3-note chords without added notes
5. Eight-bar periods composed of w four-bar phrases are most common
(12-bar blues form also sometimes used)
6. Two-beat bass (bass alternating notes on beats 1 and 3 of a 4-bar
pattern) often used
7. Song lyrics about singer’s feelings, tell stories, or describe events
8. Singers often use a nasal tone quality and sound depressed
9. Vocal duos, trios, and quartets with main melody in the middle, not on
top
10. Sliding between notes or chords used In some voices and instruments
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Notable Country Music Figures
Jimmy Rodgers (1897-1933) often called the Father
of Country Music
Broke the tradition of performing only traditional
songs and wrote new songs
Influenced most country singers to follow him as
singers and songwriters
Hank Williams Sr. (1923 – 1953)
Singer, songwriter
Father of Hank Williams Jr. and Grandfather of
Hank Williams III, both of whom still perform
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Listening Guide
“I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive” by H. Williams (1952)
Tempo: 118 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: 2-bar with pickups intro. by 2 fiddles
AABA song form, 8-bar periods
Features: Very steady beat, but uneven beat subdivisions
Two-beat bass – string bass
Back beats in acoustic rhythm guitar
Instrumentals by steel guitar and fiddles often sliding from note to
note
Drums subtle, but supportive
Simple, three note chord harmonies
Vocals sound of the verge of tears
Lyrics: The singer virtually glories in his continuing bad luck
Charts: Country, #1
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Johnny Cash
(1932 – 2003)
At Sun Record Co. when Elvis Presley was
there
Wrote and recorded country songs, but
“crossed over” to the pop charts with “I Walk
the Line” and other hits
Known as the “Man in Black” when many
country performers wore colorful outfits
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Listening Guide
“I Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash (1956)
Tempo: 216 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar
Form: Strophic
19-bar instrumental introduction
16-bar verses
8-bar instrumentals between verses
Features: Even beat subdivisions
Two-beat bass on bass and bass strings of guitar
Wax paper wound through guitar strings muffle sound
Drums are subdued
Lyrics: “walking the line” is a metaphor for the lover being true and loyal
despite a separation.
Charts: Pop, #17, Country, #1 for six weeks
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Discussion question
Both blues and country lyrics can express
downheartedness. What are some differences
in the kinds of expression between the two
styles, and what are some reasons for the
differences?
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