1. Elvis and Doo Wop Day 3

2. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash Elvis Presley on the Milton Berle ShowMilton Berle Show (1956) Johnny Cash on Ranch PartyRanch Party (1957) For a young musician in the 1950s, it was considered a major accomplishment to appear on one of these network television shows.

3. The American Dream Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash began their lives under similar circumstances before launching their massively successful performing careers: Presley and Cash were born three years apart in the American South, Presley in Mississippi and Cash in Arkansas. Both came of age during the Great Depression and grew up extremely poor. Both worked various jobs to support their families before recording for Sun Records in Memphis in the mid-1950s.

4. The American Dream —the idea that every person who calls him or herself an American has the opportunity to achieve a better life, to find a voice within the structure of the "nation," to rise—is a concept that deeply permeates our American identity.

5. We will…… Evaluate the historical context in which music was performed Interpret how public reaction to popular music reflects the social norms and values of a particular historical era Make connections among political, legal, and cultural developments

6. Guiding Question How did Elvis Presley’s early career reflect race relations and racial tensions in mid-1950s America?

7. Eyes on the Prize The following video clip, "American Segregation," is an excerpt from the 1987 PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize, which examines the state of race relations in the United States in 1954, on the eve of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.Eyes on the Prize

8. The impact of segregation 1.What was segregation? What were Jim Crow laws? 2.How did many whites feel about socializing with African Americans? 3.What did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education? 4.How did many whites affected by the ruling react to the decision?

9. Elvis Presley’s birthplace What kind of music do you imagine someone growing up in here in the late 1940s and early 1950s might have listened to?

10. Bill MonroeBill Monroe -Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, “Blue Moon of Kentucky” (1946)Blue Moon of Kentucky How would you describe this music?

11. Arthur “Big Boy” CrudupArthur “Big Boy” Crudup “That’s All Right” (1947)That’s All Right 1.How would you describe this music? 2.How is it different from the first song? 3.Why might a white southern boy, or any other teenager, have listened to this kind of music? What was appealing about it? 4.Why might white teenagers, especially in the South, have been discouraged from listening to this kind of music? 5.What barriers might have prevented artists such as “Big Boy” Crudup from becoming major recording stars in the late 1940s and early 1950s? Why might certain radio stations not have played their songs?

12. Sun Records and Race Records Before the 1950s, American record companies released recordings of music by African-American artists known as “race records.” Billboard Magazine published a hit chart of “race records” in the late 1940s (Billboard changed the title of the chart to “Rhythm & Blues” in 1949.) Although these records were originally intended for African-American audiences, over the years many white listeners began to purchase them as well. However, in the days before the civil rights movement, many radio stations would not play them. Sun Records, in Memphis, Tennessee, was founded in 1952 by Sam Phillips, and issued many different recordings of songs written and performed by African-American artists. Phillips produced the song “Rocket 88,” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, a rhythm and blues record that is sometimes called the first Rock and Roll song. Phillips was interested in promoting blues and other African American-inspired music with both black and white audiences when he met Elvis Presley in 1954. Marion Keisker, the receptionist at Sun Records, later told an interviewer, "Over and over I remember Sam saying, 'If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.“ ** Phillips produced Elvis’ first single and helped launch his career. Sun Records also helped launch the careers of several other important early Rock and Roll stars, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. **Quoted in James Miller, Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977, Fireside, 2000.

13. Elvis “That’s All Right”That’s All Right How is the recording similar to/different from “Big Boy” Crudup’s recording of the same song?

14. “That’s All Right” on Memphis Radio, July, 1954 Dewey Phillips was a long-time disc jockey at WHBQ radio in Memphis, Tennessee. Phillips was known for playing music recorded by both white and African-American artists. Shortly after Elvis Presley made his first recording, of the rhythm and blues song “That’s All Right,” Phillips became the first disc jockey in the country to play the song on the radio in July, 1954. The account below is taken from the book The Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, by Peter Guralnick: The response was instantaneous… He played the record seven times in a row, eleven times, seven times over the course of the rest of the program. In retrospect it doesn’t really matter; it seemed as if all of Memphis was listening as Dewey kept up his nonstop patter, egging his radio audience on, encouraging them to join him in the discovery of a new voice… For Gladys [Presley, Elvis’ mother] the biggest shock was “hearing them say his name over the radio just before they put on that record…” She didn’t have time to think about it for long anyway, because almost immediately the phone rang. It was Dewey for Elvis… He said, “Mrs. Presley, you just get that cotton-picking son of yours down here to the station. I played that record of his, and them birdbrain phones haven’t stopped ringing since.” …Within minutes, Elvis was at the station. “I was scared to death,” Elvis said. “I was shaking all over, I just couldn’t believe it…” “Sit down, I’m gone interview you” were his first words to the frightened nineteen-year-old, Dewey told writer Stanley Booth in 1967. “…I had a couple of records cued up, and while they played we talked. I asked him where he went to high school, and he said, ‘Humes.’ I wanted to get that out, because a lot of people listening had thought he was colored.”

15. “That’s All Right”- reflection 1.How did the audience react to the record? 2.Why might listeners have thought Elvis was African- American? Why would it have mattered in a southern state in 1954? 3.In 1954, how could a resident of Memphis have known the race of a person simply by knowing where he went to high school? 4.Why do you think Dewey Phillips wanted the audience to know that Elvis was white?

16. Elvis “Blue Moon of Kentucky”Blue Moon of Kentucky 1.How is the recording similar to/different from Bill Monroe’s recording of the same song? 2.Does this recording seem to have been at all influenced by Rhythm and Blues – in other words, by African-American music? 3.Why do you think Elvis put these two particular songs on the same record? 4.How does the appearance of these two songs on the same record in any way reflect what was happening in the United States in 1954, particularly in terms of race relations?

17. Remembering Elvis 1.How does the author of the letter describe herself and the rest of Elvis’ fan base? 2.How does her description relate to the idea of the American Dream? ABC Nightline clipABC Nightline clip from 25th anniversary of Elvis’ death.

18. While the audience reaction to Elvis’ first single was largely very positive, many people, particularly in positions of authority, were angered by Elvis and his music. "The big show was provided by Vancouver teenagers, transformed into writhing, frenzied idiots of delight by the savage jungle beat music." -- Review of an Elvis Presley concert in The Vancouver Sun, September 3, 1957 "When our schools and centers stoop to such things as ‘rock and roll’ tribal rhythms, they are failing seriously in their duty." -- Letter from Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, banning Catholic school students from attending Presley concert, Feb. 28, 1957 1. What do you think the authors meant by the terms: “Savage jungle beat music”? “Tribal rhythms”? 2. Why might these authors have used these terms to describe Presley’s music? What do they seem to fear about Presley? 3. Where were these comments made? What conclusions can you draw about racial tension in the mid- 1950s in other parts of North America besides the South? 4. Think back to the video from Eyes on the Prize at the beginning of the lesson.  In this historical context, why might it have been more acceptable for some people to hear African- American music from a white artist than from an African-American artist?  Why might any type of music bearing an African-American influence have been unacceptable to some people in this climate?  How did Elvis’ first single reflect the racial and social climate in America in 1954?  Looking ahead, how do you predict Elvis’ embrace of African-American music would influence the way people would come to think about race in the late 1950s? Small group Discussion

19. Homework- Write a short response in reaction to the class discussion. Take a position in answering the questions below, or use one of the questions posed in class, citing evidence from the texts and videos in your analysis.  What was the Supreme Court trying to accomplish when it issued its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954?  How might music have helped accomplish what the Supreme Court was trying to do in the Brown v. Board of Education ruling?

20. Doo Wop Guiding Question: How did Doo Wop develop as a musical genre?

21. We will….. Point out similarities and differences between different genres of music Describe how one style music can influence another Derive historical information from primary and secondary source materials, including musical recordings

22. Doo Wop The term “Doo Wop” refers to a type of vocal music that became popular in the 1950s. It was usually performed by a group of four or five singers. Some of these groups did not use any musical instruments in their performances, and others had only minimal accompaniment. Instead, they made a wide variety of sounds with their voices. Doo Wop gets its name from the nonsense syllables singers produced as they imitated musical instruments. In many Doo Wop groups, a lead vocalist with a high voice would sing the melody and lyrics of a pop song, while the other members sang nonsense syllables in the background. Doo Wop originated primarily in African-American communities in big cities like New York and Philadelphia. Amateur and semi-professional groups would practice for fun in public places like street corners, schools, and churches. Many Doo Wop group members learned to sing in school or at church. Because only voices were needed to perform this style of music, it was an inexpensive form of entertainment. In the 1950s, Rock and Roll disc jockeys began playing Doo Wop on the radio, and audiences liked it. Record companies recruited singing groups off of the streets. White vocal groups, who were more easily accepted by some white audiences, began imitating black Doo Wop singers. Vocal harmony—with a Doo Wop twist—became a common sound all across the country by the middle of the decade.

23. Flamingos Flamingos “Would I Be Crying,”Would I Be Crying 1.What does the music sound like? 2.Who performed Doo Wop music, and where was it performed?

24. “Barbershop Quartets”Barbershop Quartets 1.What does the music sound like? 2.Who performed, and where was it performed? Barbershop music is usually performed by a group of four singers, or a quartet, without instruments. A typical barbershop quartet features one low voice and three higher ones. Each voice sings a different part. A high voice performs the song’s melody while the others provide accompaniment. The singers aim to blend their voices together to create ringing harmonies. The music gets its name from a location where this type of group singing was commonly heard, particularly in African-American communities: the barbershop. Since at least the nineteenth century, barbershops have served as community gathering places where people not only can get haircuts, but also meet for conversation and entertainment. Before radios were common, people created music in places like barbershops by singing it themselves. Customers waiting their turn in the barber’s chair would sing popular, gospel, and folk songs together. Barbershop singing was popular in America between 1890 and 1930. It made its way from barbershops and street corners to music shops and theaters: both white and black groups, usually all male, sold records and traveled the country. In the 1930s, the popularity of barbershop quartets went into decline. There are, however, still some groups today who have kept this style of singing alive into the 21st century.

25. Mills Brothers “I Ain’t Got Nobody”I Ain’t Got Nobody 1.What does the music sound like? 2.Who performed, and where was it performed? The Mills Brothers were a quartet of singing siblings from Piqua, Ohio: Herbert, Harry, Donald, and John. The group started performing in the 1920s and continued through the 1970s. When John died in 1935, his father—who was both a barber and a barbershop singer—took his place in the group. Early on, the Mills Brothers sang accompanied by only a guitar. They became famous for imitating the sounds of other instruments with their voices. Listening to the Mills Brothers sing on the radio, you might think that you were hearing a trumpet, trombone, or bass. In 1930, the group moved from Ohio to New York, where they performed in theaters and clubs. They had many hit records over the next two decades, both nationally and internationally. Their 1943 song “Paper Doll” was #1 in the United States for twelve weeks. In an era when racial segregation was still legal and common in the United States, the Mills Brothers became one of the first African-American vocal groups to be popular with both black and white audiences. In the group’s later years, they stopped imitating instruments and started performing with bands, but they continued to sing harmony together. They remained active through the early Rock and Roll era and inspired many younger vocal groups.

26. Golden Gate Quartet “Gospel Train”Gospel Train 1.What does the music sound like? 2.Who performed, and where was it performed? “Gospel” is a broad term for Christian music based in American folk traditions. There have been a number of Gospel music styles since the nineteenth century, many of which are rooted in the group singing that takes place in worship services and at community social events. The type that perhaps had the most influence on Doo Wop is the Gospel quartet. Gospel quartet singing owes much to the choruses organized by African-American universities beginning in the 1870s. Fisk University near Nashville, Tennessee, sponsored the most famous such group, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers. These student choruses, often called Jubilee groups, specialized in performing African-American spirituals. They became widely popular and toured the world to raise money for their colleges. It was less expensive, however, for a small group to go on tour. Fisk organized a touring group of just four singers, the Fisk Jubilee Quartet, and many other universities did the same. It was common for these quartets to sing a cappella (without any instruments) or with very simple accompaniment provided by a guitar or piano. Their singing style was also inspired by the barbershop quartets popular at the time. The Jubilee singers helped to increase audience demand for religious songs. From the 1930s through the 1960s, many professional groups, like the Golden Gate Quartet, specialized in singing Gospel songs. These later groups combined the passion of the music from the Baptist and Pentecostal churches in the American South with lively rhythms taken from Blues and Jazz styles. Often in Gospel quartet singing, one singer will take the lead and perform a dramatic solo while the other singers have supporting roles.

27. Homework 1. Explain musical similarities between barber shop quartets, the Mill Brothers, gospel groups, and Doo Wop. 2.Compare contextual similarities (where it was performed, who the performers were). 3.Are these vocal harmony groups of the past similar to contemporary artists? 4.Have any contemporary musical groups borrowed from these older styles?