Good Rockin’ Tonight

Tin Pan Alley (1880-mid 1950s) Genre of popular music that arose in the late 19 th to early 20 th century in New York City West 28 th St. between Broadway & Sixth Ave. Tin Pan name came from the sound of pianos furiously pounded by the so-called song pluggers Music distributed by sheet music (for home consumption) Professional songwriters dominated the time period (George Gershwin & Irving Berlin) Wrote for pop music, Broadway, & film Eventually Tin Pan Alley tradition was replaced by the Rock & Roll tradition

Tin Pan Alley Characteristics: Written by a professional (often non-performing) song writers Sophisticated arrangement Syncopated rhythm (accents on unexpected, weak beats) Clever, well-crafted lyrics Striving for upper-class sensibilities & mainstream respectability Primary audience---adults

Tin Pan Alley

The Birth of the Blues Rock & Roll comes from the Blues Blues – derived from American slaves (mainly came from West Africa) Sang together as they worked, call & response technique, sang about problems, used their bodies as drums Work songs – designed to synchronize manual labor such as swinging an axe or pounding railroad spikes Kept alive by rote memorization & an oral tradition Blues – turned into Gospel at African-American churches

Foundation of Rock & Roll During the Great Migration, more than 100,000 African American laborers moved from the south to the urban north. The brought along with them their music & memories. 1920’s the phonograph and the rise of commercial radio began to spread Hillbilly music & the blues. This led to an appreciating of American vernacular music, both white & black. The effect of blending several regional musical styles & cultural practices ultimately gave birth to 1950s Rock & Roll.

Great Migration Many former slave families left the south in the Post WWI era. Pulled by manufacturing jobs in the North and friendlier conditions. Chicago was a primary location – a.k.a. “The Home of the Electric Blues” Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Tampa Red, Sleepy John Estes, Sonny Boy Williamson “You Shook Me” - Willie Dixon, Led Zepplin

The Rise of “Roots Music”= The Blues AND Country Music The Blues 1920s – Mississippi Delta Blues 1930s – Urban Blues 1940s – Jump Blues 1950s – Rhythm & Blues Country Music 1920s – Cowboy Songs 1930s – Hillbilly Music 1940s – Country Swing (Country & Western) Rock & Roll

“Roots Music” (Vernacular Music) Regional popular & folk music Played by amateur musicians Not formally taught Spread through an oral tradition

Roots Music Pioneers

John Lomax Played a central role in preserving, recording, and promoting American Folk songs Cowboy Songs & Other Frontier Ballads (1910) Songs of the Cattle Trail & Cow Camp (1919) American Ballads & Folk Songs (1934) Negro Songs as Sung by Lead Belly (1936) Our Singing Country (1941) Folk Song U.S.A. (1947)

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Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter ( ) Discovered by John & Alan Lomax Popular entertainer playing “old- fashioned” blues Lead Belly’s Last Sessions (1948) contained songs that became the springboard to the 1960s folk revival: The House of the Rising Sun The Midnight Special Rock Island Line Goodnight, Irene

Mississippi Delta Blues ( ) Also known as “country blues” Primarily by male African-American itinerant laborers Lyrics expressed poverty, homelessness, unfaithful love, penitentiary life, alienation Vocal style – fierce singing style similar to that of field hollers Instruments – slide guitar, harmonica Rhythm – fluctuating & uneven Ex. Son House ( ) & Robert Johnson ( )

Robert Johnson He embodies the spirit of the rocker; a man and his guitar telling his story to the world.

Robert Johnson

Chicago Blues ( ) Bar room drinking music Rough, raspy, crude vocals Instruments— Electric guitar Amplified harmonica PianoDrums

Muddy Waters ( ) One of the most important Chicago Blues Masters The Rolling Stones derived their name from Muddy Waters’ song “Rolling Song” From Clarksdale, Mississippi Sold his last horse to buy a guitar from Sears for $2.50 Lived as a tenant farmer and musician in MS until he moved to Chicago in 1943

Muddy Waters

The Big Bang of Country Music Bristol Recording Sessions, 1927 – by Victor Talking Machine Company (RCA)

Country Players Ralph Peer The Carter Family Jimmie Rogers

Hank Williams, Sr. ( ) Blended Country and Western with the Blues

Bing Crosby ( ) First entertainer to use the tape recorder No one had ever considered pre-recording radio programs!

“Indies” 1 st commercial tape recorders became available shortly after WWII Small independent labels – Chess, Sun, & Atlantic records – emerged riding the wave of interest in R & B “Indie” records began filling the jukeboxes in the inner cities in the early 1950s White teenagers became infatuated with the new sound

“Indies” Atlantic – NY (Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson, & Jerry Wexler) Recorded early stars including Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, Clyde McPhatter, and Ben E. King Chess – Chicago (Leonard & Phil Chess) recorded Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Jackie Benston, Chuck Berry. Through its U.K. subsidiary Pye label, was largely responsible for the emergence of British Blues Sun Studios – Memphis (Sam Phillips) Birthpalce of the rockabilly sytle of rock. Recorded Howlin’ Wolf & Ike Turner

Alan Freed Cleveland disk jockey Began playing R & B records using the term “rock and roll” to disguise the music’s black origins A relatively unknown blues euphemism for sex & partying

The Phonograph Record 10-inch, 78 rpm shellac record ( s) 12-inch, 33 rpm “long-playing” record (LP) (1948, Columbia) 7-inch, 45 rpm single (1949, RCA) 5-inch, rpm Compact Disc (1982, Phillips)

RCA 45 rpm Record Player

Big Band Big Band Swing Music was the most popular style during WWII Touring was curtailed by rationed gas and rubber Jump bands were a scaled down version of swing bands with a jazzy, bouncy beat

New Orleans Jump Blues 1940s forefather of rhythm & blues Style characteristics— Big band swing style dance music Small ensemble (1-2 horns, piano, guitar, drums, & bass) Bouncy, upbeat rhythm Boogie-woogie piano rhythm Geared toward younger audiences More mainstream & commercial than other blues styles

Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five New Orleans “Jump Blues” King

Quick Review of Styles From Blues to “Rhythm & Blues” – Mississippi Delta Blues 1930s – Urban Blues Types Chicago Blues Memphis Blues Kansas City Blues Texas Blues New Orleans Blues 1940s – New Orleans Jump Blues Late 1940s – Rhythm & Blues