1. Chapter 10: San Francisco  In the last half of the 1960s, San Francisco was mixed with a wide variety of styles, both musically and culturally.  Why such a mix in San Francisco?  During the Johnson administration, the youth sensed a return to “politics as usual” and JFK’s dream was gone  The Vietnam War was escalating  Kids continued to “drop out”  San Francisco (and the West Coast) was considered “new America,” representing new thought, new ways, and alternative lifestyles.  By 1967, there were 500-1500 local bands in the Bay Area  By 1970, this wave of bands lost their power to the new music of the 1970s

2. The San Francisco Sound How was this mixed society brought together?  Rock concerts halls  Bill Graham began presenting rock concerts in auditoriums and theaters beginning in 1965  BY 1970, “Woodstock” and “Altamont” created audiences too large and unruly for small theaters  Concerts then moved to sports arenas and stadiums  Radio  FM radio was just beginning to expand as they were prohibited from copying AM programming  Created the “progressive rock” format featuring album tracks, lengthy sets and calmer DJ chatter  1967- Tom Donahue (from a San Francisco FM radio station) tried the new “progressive rock” format and it worked

3. The San Francisco Sound (cont.)  Many San Francisco bands combined folk music with British bands’ R&B-derived rock  Most San Francisco bands are characterized by:  Drugs  Sometimes this music is called “psychedelic rock” or “acid rock”  The lyrics became blatantly and explicitly drug oriented  Volume levels reached a new high at rock concerts  Groups were now permitted to amplify their sound through walls of speakers  Vibrations were felt in the rib cage and ears were ringing long after the concert ended  Instrumental Emphasis  Long improvisations were common by instrumentalists (even 20-30 min long)  Considered “Musical trips” inspired by drugs  Electronic technology  More sound-producing gadgets were used, especially electronic feedback

4. Jefferson Airplane  The first San Francisco band to receive a recording contract with RCA  1965- lead singer Marty Balin formed the group  Paul Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen on guitar  Signe Toly on vocals (female)  Jack Casady on bass  Skip Spence on drums  Played a mix of folk rock and Beatle-like tunes  Their first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, did not do well  Signe and Spence left to join Moby Grape  Grace Slick and Spencer Dryden replaced them

5. Jefferson Airplane  2 nd album: Surrealistic Pillow (1967)  #3 on the album charts  Two Top 40 singles  Somebody to Love (#5) Somebody to Love  Shows the disillusionment of the youth generation  White Rabbit (#8)  Has a double meaning; the lyrics evoke images of a psychedelic Alice in Wonderland  Grace Slick becomes the first female rock star  4 th album: Crown of Creation (1968)- mainstream rock songCrown of Creation  Chushingura- haunting and tasteful electronic experimentation Chushingura In the early 1970s, members began to leave the group and form other groups, including Jefferson Starship.

6. Grateful Dead  They combined all major characteristics of the San Francisco style, yet their roots were in folk music  History of the group:  Jerry Garcia (born in San Francisco in 1942) became fascinated with bluegrass music and played banjo in coffeehouses  Ron “Pigpen” McKernan played harmonica  Garcia, McKernan and Bob Weir formed Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions  They decided to go electric and play rock and roll  “Pigpen” switched to organ  Added Bill Kreutzmann (drums)  Changed their name to the Warlocks  Phil Lesh (violin) then joined

7. Grateful Dead (cont)  The Warlocks performed at freely-structured parties called Acid Tests  Here they were able to experiment freely  Music became louder; harder; more improvisation; longer songs; used electronically generated sounds  They changed their name to Grateful Dead once these parties no longer existed  Music consisted of blues, Motown, soul, and Dylan songs  This group was more about live performances, not studio recordings  The Grateful Dead album was released (1967)  Mickey Hart (drummer) and Robert Hunter (lyricist) added to the group

8. Grateful Dead (cont)  3 rd album (double album): Live/Dead (1969)  Live recordings including a 21-minute version of “Dark Star”Dark Star  “Feedback”- uses electronic experimentationFeedback  “Turn On Your Lovelight”- blues-based rock and improvisation  2 albums with simplified, country-oriented sound reached the Top 30  Workingman’s Dead (1970) – “Cumberland Blues”Cumberland Blues  American Beauty (1970)  They both relied on acoustic instruments and a pedal steel guitar  Terrapin Station (1977 album) used a variety of approaches including horns, strings, and vocal choruses Terrapin Station

9. Janis Joplin  Born in Port Arthur, TX in 1943  She was heavily into black R&B styles  1966- she joined the San Francisco band called Big Brother and the Holding Company as the female lead singer  She began to scream and shout her lyrics  1968- Columbia Records offered the group a recording contract  1 st album: Cheap Thrills (#1)  “Piece of My Heart” (#12)Piece of My Heart  “Ball and Chain” (Big Mama Thornton’s cover)  “Summertime” (Gershwin cover)  1969- Janis left for a solo career  Had a powerful, sandpaper-raw voice  Had a soul-like vocal quality

10. Janis Joplin (cont)  Her last album was Pearl with her group, Full-Tilt Boogie  Mostly recorded during the summer of 1970  Janis was found dead in her hotel before it was released  Died October 4, 1970 at the age of 27 due to a heroin overdose  Pearl was #1 for nine weeks  “Me and Bobby McGee” was Janis’ only Top 40 hit at #1Me and Bobby McGee  Her style:  Mainstream rock, even though her roots are in R&B and gospel  Her voice was characteristic of the soul singer, even though she was white  Had a sandpaper voice  Dressed like a hooker; hair unkempt; rough complexion; not attractive  Always had liquor or drugs with her

11. Acid Rock Outside of San Francisco  Summer of Love in 1967 is when San Francisco hit its apex  1968- crime, drugs and racial tensions took over The Doors  Jim Morrison  1943- born in Melbourne, FA  Went to UCLA and began to take LSD regularly  He met Ray Manzarek (piano- born in Chicago in 1943)  John Densmore (jazz drummer from L.A.)  Robbie Krieger (guitarist from L.A.)

12. The Doors (cont)  First album: The Doors (1967- #2)  Included Krieger’s song, “Light My Fire”Light My Fire  Musical style:  Blues-based mainstream rock  Morrison had a flat baritone voice with dark tone quality  Very narrow range and quite repetitive  Used minor keys, resulting in the darker sound  Lyrics often discussed death, violence, darkness, menacing kind of sex  Second album: Strange Days (#3-1967)  “People Are Strange” (1967-#12)People Are Strange  “Love Me Two Times” (1968-#25)

13. The Doors (cont)  Waiting for the Sun (1968) was the only #1 album  Included “Hello, I Love You” (#1)Hello, I Love You  1969- Morrison developed a serious problem with alcoholism  The Soft Parade- album made the top 10  An acid rock group doing a soft rock album  “Touch Me” became #3Touch Me  Morrison Hotel (1970) was mainstream rock  L.A. Woman (1971) was their last album  “Love Her Madly”Love Her Madly  “Riders on the Storm”Riders on the Storm  July 3, 1971- Morrison died in Paris due to a heart attack in the bath tub. He was 27 years old.  The Doors disbanded in 1973

14. Jimi Hendrix  There are connections between Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan  Hendrix did not sing much until he heard Bob Dylan  Hendrix’s only Top 40 hit was “All Along the Watchtower,” a Bob Dylan cover (#20)  Hendrix influenced post-1968 rock guitar styles just like Dylan influenced the lyrics of rock music  Born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle  Played backup guitar for Little Richard, Ike Turner, etc  1964- played wit the Isley Brothers in NY  1965-formed his own band called Jimmy James and the Blue Flames

15. The Jimi Hendrix Experience  Sept. 1966- went to England and recruited Noel Redding (bass) and Mitch Mitchell (drums) to create The Jimi Hendrix Experience  This group scored several hits on the British charts:  “Hey Joe”Hey Joe  “Purple Haze”Purple Haze  “The Wind Cries Mary”  Heavy doze of blues, some soul, and a few originals  Began experimenting with feedback, fuzz tone, and other electronic sounds  They frizzed their hair and wore psychedelic costumes

16. The Jimi Hendrix Experience (cont)  June 1967- American debut, following The Who  Hendrix played his guitar with his teeth and behind his back  He performed Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and Trogg’s “Wild Thing”Wild Thing  He drenched his guitar in lighter fluid and set it on fire  Are You Experienced? album was #5 in 1967  Contained hard, raw, blues-based mainstream rock  The guitar sounds were unique  Used fuzz box, wah-wah pedal, tremelo bar and other techniques  “Third Stone from the Sun”Third Stone from the Sun  3 rd album: Electric Ladyland (August 1968)  Was Hendrix’s only #1 album (was a double album)  Included “All Along the Watchtower” and “1983”All Along the Watchtower

17. Jimi Hendrix (cont)  1969- he disbanded the Experience and opened his own recording studio  He died on September 18, 1970, also at the age of 27, from inhalation of vomit resulting from barbiturate intoxication  Hendrix set new styles and new ways of making music with his instrument  He is the link between the 1950s mainstream rockers to the harder rock and heavy metal bands of the 1970s and 1980s

18. The Art of Improvisation  Instrumental improvisation is an important factor in most rock styles from 1970s on.  Prior to that improvisation was limited in rock and roll  Improvise: to compose, or simultaneously compose and perform, on the spur of the moment and without any preparation  The improviser must think/feel what to play and play it within a second  Musicians’ rudiments to improvisation:  Must have technically mastered their instrument  Must have an absolutely solid feeling for rhythm (must be internalized)  Must thoroughly understand chords and scales  Must know what notes will sound “right” and when  Have a general overall idea of their solo: structured length or open solo