THE EARLY 50’SAMERICAN POP MUSIC

EARLY 1950’SOVERVIEW

• In general, the 50’s were prosperous times in America

• Stable economy

• No active war

• Emphasis on going to college, getting married, and raising a family

• Middle class became more wealthy and were now able to go on vacation, buy a car, or a TV

1950’S POP MUSIC

• What was 1950’s pop music like?

Continuation of popular styles of past decades

Lyrics - Innocent boy-girl love

Non-threatening content

Comfortable, pleasant, not overdone

BLACK CULTURESUBCULTURES

• Jazz, Gospel, and R&B (Rhythm & Blues) Music

• Not only were blacks segregated from white society, R&B was segregated from the pop music market

• Had it’s own record companies and consumers

Song Example - Roll ‘Em Pete - Big Joe Turner

WHITE CULTURESUBCULTURES

• Country and Western (C&W)

• Poor Southern whites developed “hillbilly” music. This was somewhat similar to folk music

• Bluegrass/western swing

• These country genres weren’t preference for more wealthy whites, who preferred pop music

Song Example - Johnny Cash Cry Cry Cry

TIN PAN ALLEY50’S POP MUSIC

Area of NYC Center of pop music publishing from 1800’s to late 1950’s Professional songwriters

MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICSTIN PAN ALLEY

• Lyrics - non-offensive. Simple boy-girl romantic love

• Uncomplicated rhythm in the background

• Melodies are most important. Often very catchy

• Slower tempos - fast songs were usually bouncy and light with humorous lyrics

• Usually professional singers accompanied by full orchestra/small chorus

• Popular songs would stay on the charts for 16-20 weeks, sometimes longer

Song Example - Wanted - Perry Como

THE MAJORSRECORDING COMPANIES

Early 1950’s were dominated by Major recording companies RCA Victor, Columbia, Capitol, Mercury, Decca in 1954 42 of the top 50 selling discs were produced by the 5 Majors Majors dominated due to sophisticated distribution systems/promotions One company came out with a hit song, then others would immediately try and produce a version of that song with their artists Music industry was adult dominated - kids would listen to whatever music their parents listened to Pop music scene was almost exclusively white

STYLE CHARACTERISTICSC&W

• Melodiesandlyricswereimportant• Lyrics-positiveandnegativelove• Simplerharmoniesthanpop• Simplerhythm• Mainsingerwithvocaltrioorquartet• Somesongsweretraditional,butmanyartistsperformedtheirownmaterial• Notnotated• Arrangementswereputtogetherinrehearsal• Solosstayedclosetomainmelody• Vocalist/steelguitar–mainfocus• Yodelinginsomesongs–Falsettowasalsoused.

STYLE CHARACTERISTICSR&B MUSIC

• Most songs used the 12-Bar Blues

• Rarely notated

• More improvisation and freedom

than C&W

• Most songs were originals

• Content: Love, jobs, hard knocks,

general life philosophies

• Driving rhythm

• Lyrics more prominent than vocal

melody

• Shouting style singing

CROSSOVERS• Acrossoverisarecordorsinglethatoriginatedinonemarket,butsucceededinanother • TypicallythesewereR&Bsongsthatendeduponthelowerendofthepopcharts

AUDIOEXAMPLES:

LawdyMissClawdy–LloydPrice

EarthAngel–ThePenguins

• Whatwastheappealofthesesongs?

• HowdidtheycombinetheR&Bsoundwithsomethingthemainstreamaudiencemaylike?

Questions to consider….

CROSSOVERS LEAD TO COVERS• Once songs started to crossover into the pop charts, the Majors started having their own artists do cover versions of the song

• Majors had more money/publicity —> the covers sold better than the originals

• Sometimes this involved a white artist covering a black artist, but it worked both ways

• Occasionally both the original and cover version were on the pop charts at the same time

• AUDIO: Earth Angel – The Crew Cuts

Ain’t That a Shame - Fats Domino —— Pat Boone

THE EMERGENCE OF YOUTH CULTURE

THE EMERGENCE OF YOUTH CULTURE

• Teenswerenolongercontentwaitingtobeincludedintoadultsociety • Theteenimageandattitudereallystartedtodevelopinthe50’s • Theyhadtheirownmovies,rolemodels,dresscode,slang,hairstyles,andmusic

• Howdoyouthinkthesenseofyouthindependencechangedtheentertainmentindustry?

• RebelWithoutaCause–JamesDeanbecameaXigureheadoftheteenrebellion.TherewasnospeciXictargetofrebellion.

• BlackboardJungle–Teenagersstrikeoutatwhateverisaround:parents,teachers,andotherteens.

BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS

• Musicalcareerspannedthreemusicmarkets(pop,R&B,C&W)

• StartedasaC&Wstar,butlovedR&BandwouldoftencoverR&Bsongswithappropriateversionswhenplayinggigs.

• CoveredanoriginalR&Bhit“RockAroundtheClock”bySonnyDaewhichskyrocketedhisfameandbecameahugepartofthewallsbetweenpop,countryandr&bbreakingdown.

WHAT TO KNOW

QUIZ NEXT CLASS - EARLY 50’S

• Name the 5 Majors and know what an “indie” is

• Be able to describe some style characteristics of C&W, R&B, and Pop (Tin Pan Alley)

• Know the demographics of each genre of early 50’s music

• Be able to discuss the difference in instrumentation between C&W, R&B, and Pop

• Crossovers/Covers

• Youth Culture