early 70s

Question 1

what major events contributed to the decline of the countercultural movement/the death of the 60s?

Answer 1

• altamont concert
• kent state shootings at anti-vietnam war protest
• assassination of MLK
• breakup of beatles
• death of janis joplin and jimi hendrix

Question 2

how did music shift following the decline of psychedelic rock?

Answer 2

• back to basics: shift away from experimentation and boundary pushing
• trends became fairly racially segregated again
• return of authenticity; sense of connection with artists; themes of daily life of middle class americans
• general sense of maturation amongst boomers, and the music followed suit

Question 3

how did gender norms change in the early 70s? how did this affect the music?

Answer 3

counterculture changed cultural ideas of love and relationships:
- marriage no longer end goal due to financial freedom and no-fault divorce
- “free love” movement and birth control accessibility led to normalization of premarital sex
- songs written by women became about more than just finding “happily ever after”
- rise of 2nd wave feminism

Question 4

what were the key characteristics of the singer-songwriters in laurel canyon?

Answer 4

• kept the softer sounds of the folk years, but lyrical themes became autobiographical, emotional, and nuanced
• solo performance/small ensemble, acoustic sound (guitar/piano)
• lots of collaboration amongst artists living in the Laurel canyon area

Question 5

describe the trajectory of country music in the early 70s?

Answer 5

• crossover of country into pop mainstream
• due to boost in conservatism as a reaction to counterculture; represents the values of middle-class white americans who were more traditionalist

Question 6

what did a typical rock band lineup consist of?

Answer 6

• vocals
• 1-2 guitars
• bass
• drums
• sometimes keys

Question 7

define and describe soft rock

Answer 7

• often similar to singer-songwriter but with fuller band
• rock instrumentation but with more vocal harmony or keyboard, less distorted guitar, drums and guitar aren’t overpowering
• eg. fleetwood mac

Question 8

define and describe country/roots rock

Answer 8

• typical rock band setup but with country influences
• vocal harmonies, often acoustic sound, softer than rock but harder than country
• eg. CCR (roots rock)
• eg. Eagles (country rock)