Lecture 8: The 1960s: American Pop, the British Invasion, Urban Folk, Soul, and Rock

Question 1

1940s: protest songs of Woody Guthrie
1950s: folk becomes a marketing category
The weavers recorded 1950-1954

Answer 1

Urban Folk 1950s:

The Weavers

Question 2

Eventually blacklisted as communists during Senator John McCarthy’s Red Scare hearings

Answer 2

Urban Folk 1950s:

The Weavers

Question 3

Mid 1950s Harry Belfort had some hits with Carribean calypso-pop

1957: kingston trio form, kingston referencing jamaican capital

Answer 3

Late 1950s:

Kingston Trio

Question 4

Three clean college boys playing acoustic instruments (guitar, banjo, bass)

Answer 4

Late 1950s:

Kingston Trio

Question 5

Depoliticized, clean cut, “able to appeal to many younger listeners while not scaring Mom and Dad”

Answer 5

Late 1950s:

Kingston Trio

Question 6

“Tom Dooley” was their big hit single, but they were an album band, with five #1 albums between 1958 and 1960

Answer 6

Late 1950s:

Kingston Trio

Question 7

Stood out commerically as a songwriter first- Peter, Paul, and Mary made a hit of anti-war song “Blowing in the Wind”

Answer 7

1960s:

Folk Bob Dylan

Question 8

Steeped in folk music, his compositions often borrowed melodies from older folk songs- “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (“Lord Randal”), (“Blowing in the Wind”, (“Auction Block””)

Answer 8

1960s:

Folk Bob Dylan

Question 9

1965 fifth album Bringing it All Back Home included electric insturments eg “The Tambourine Man” covered by the Byrds and hit #1 in June 1965

Answer 9

1960s:

Rock Bob Dylan

Question 10

Folk scene grew around colleges and in urban areas: mostly white, young, middle class people looking for an ‘authentic’ life

Answer 10

Folk growth

Question 11

Folk’s political side re-emerged after the Red Scare

Eg Pete Seeger’s activist “If I Had a Hammer” and anti-war “”Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

Answer 11

Folk growth

Question 12

“Folkies” were contemptuous of rock n roll, saw it as non-serious, and childish

Answer 12

Folk growth

Question 13

Folk music was political and socially conscious; played on instruments that allowed lyrics to be heard, and reduced the barrier between the performer and audience

Answer 13

Folk rock

Question 14

Rock n roll had been identified as fun, for dancing, and socializing, light, not serious

Answer 14

Folk rock

Question 15

But rock n roll was growing up with its baby boomer audience, becoming adults

Answer 15

Folk rock

Question 16

Brian wilson, the beatles, creating more complicated music

Answer 16

Folk rock

Question 17

a dance popular with some young African American dancers in the late 1950s

Answer 17

The Twist

Question 18

“The Twist”: written and recorded by R&B singer Hank Ballard in 1959 as a B-side
Chubby Checker (b. 1941) records it in 1960

Answer 18

The Twist

Question 19

the TV show American Bandstand, broadcast from Philadelphia, promotes the song and the dance

Answer 19

The Twist

Question 20

the twist –a non-contact, free-form dance –became very popular among all ages, races and classes, and significantly broadened rock’n’roll’s audience beyond teenagers

Answer 20

The Twist

Question 21

the song hit number one almost a year later again: only “The Twist” and “White Christmas” have done this

Answer 21

The Twist

Question 22

the pony, the mashed potato, the monkey

free-form dances become part of American popular music

Answer 22

Rock n Roll Dance

Question 23

the dance songs of the 1960s were “catchy and functional” but musically and lyrically unremarkable, so the early 60s are not remembered fondly in most pop music histories

Answer 23

Rock n Roll Dance

Question 24

began as a performer, but saw that the producer was becoming the real power behind the music

Answer 24

Phil Spector

Question 25

by 21 he had his own independent label: PhillesRecords

famously obsessive and controlling in the studio

Answer 25

Phil Spector

Question 26

his instantly recognizable “wall of sound” aesthetic overshadowed the individual singers and musicians contribution

Answer 26

Phil Spector

Question 27

output was small, but percentage of hits was high

Answer 27

Phil Spector

Question 28

instruments are doubled, play in unison
large amount of “echo” is applied
vocals are pushed “up front”
thick texture often includes strings

Answer 28

Wall of Sound aesthetic

Question 29

Described as “rock’n’roll’svertical Tin Pan Alley” Songwriters like Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil worked for various labels, producers, and groups

Answer 29

Brill Building

Question 30

Detroit-based label: “creative and financial aspects are under African-American control”
Unlike earlier black-owned labels, not aimed primarily at African American audience

Answer 30

Berry Gordy and Motown

Question 31

Avoided: 12-bar blues form, 1950s sounds by artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino
Used: “a generalized blues and gospel style”
Result:“pop-structured, pop-flavored” songs with an “African American slant”

Answer 31

Berry Gordy and Motown

Question 32

Both:
Relatively small output with a large percentage of hits
Have a recognizable sound
Used mostly vocal groups (often female, African American)
Used group of studio musicians
Used song writing staff

Motown:
Also groomed artists to be live performers
Nurtured solo artists like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder

Answer 32

Motown vs Philles