1970s Popular Music

Day 29: The Fragmentation of Pop

• The 1960s rolled into the 1970s, leaving behind a series of unresolved issues. As a result, the 1970s are often viewed as a decade of retreat.

• Rock became scattered and unfocused, breaking up into little genres.

Merger Mania

Warner Communications Empire– Warner Brothers Records

• Signed the Grateful Dead in 1967• Steve Ross became President of the company

– By 1973, Warner Communications owned:• A couple dozen record labels• Holdings in film and television• Mad magazine• 63 comic books• A piece of Ms. magazine

• Connection between music and the military• Recording Technology – multi-track

recording• Promotional Power – new visual dimension

to live rock shows, new small venues for performances with new effects…eventually went out of business as shows became too big and moved to stadiums and arenas

• Progressive FM Rock Radio – replaced Top 40 format

• Rock Press– Rolling Stone Magazine and Jann Wenner

• Launched on October 18, 1967• First issue featured John Lennon on cover

Day 30: Rock as Art

• Music became at the same level as the status of art

• Musicians became central to the creative process

• ‘Rock’ became the mature form of R&R• Change in race relations that devalued the

contributions of African Americans to rock

Art Rock continued…The Who• Treated their stage act as

performance art• Experimented with noise, and

destroyed instruments and sound systems

• Their image established them as the first pop art band

• First rock opera in 1969, Tommy

Andy Warhol

• Most famous pop artist• Designed many famous

album covers

Pink Floyd

First British group to perform with a light show

Reached their pinnacle in 1973 with release of Dark Side of the Moon album

Introduced the 360 degree sound system

Another Brick in the Wall

Rock as Art continued…

• Inclusion in the art rock category was linked to art school training, to the appropriation of classical and other obscure resources, and even to being British as well as a white male.

• Art Rock focused on extended songs and LP suites• Art rockers usually sold far more albums than

singles• Art rock music was music of the mind, not a music

of the body.

Day 31: Sweeter Soul Music

• Resurgence of AAs on the pop charts in 1972– AA artists emerged as album-oriented acts– Popularization of softer soul sounds build the

foundation for disco• Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff– Writer-producer team who pioneered Philadelphia

soft soul music– Formed Philadelphia International Records (PIR)– Their groups set the standard in black popular music

Jackson 5

Saved Motown when its other artists were leaving to go with other labels

First 4 releases went to #1 on the pop charts in 1970: I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, & I’ll Be There

Motown continued…Stevie Wonder• Began career at the age of

12• Challenged Motown’s

formula mentality• I Was Made to Love Her

Marvin Gaye• Spent years trying to

convince Berry Gordy to back him as an album artist

• What’s Goin’ On (1971) & Let’s Get It On (1973)

Stevie Wonder & Marvin Gaye introduced Motown to the financial joys of independent production and album-oriented releases. Both challenged Berry Gordy and his Motown formula.

• James Brown adapted to a new political era by singing a new political tune.– In 1970, he voiced that he didn’t want to “help Nixon.” By

1972, his loyalties changed. He went from ‘Soul Brother No. 1’ to ‘Sold Brother No. 1.’

– Living in America from Rocky IV (1986)• Aretha Franklin– Also faded from the Top 10 charts in mid-70s.

• Roberta Flack– Killing Me Softly with His Song

• Barry White– Took romantic sincerity all the way to self-parody with his

Love Unlimited female trio and Orchestra

Day 32: Singer/Songwriters, Soft Rock Solutions, and More

• Singer/Songwriters of 1970s were intensely personal

• Soft Rock was gentle…the opposite of ‘hard rock.’ First style that allowed women to sing in their own voice.

• Joni Mitchell– 3-octave range for her voice, started

the feminism movement– Big Yellow Taxi

Singer/Songwriters, Soft Rock, cont…James Taylor• One of the most successful

careers of the 1970s• Very talented and polite• Married Carly Simon in

1972• Fire and Rain & Country

Roads

Carly Simon• Signed to Elektra in 1970• Her #1 single, You’re So

Vain, is still a mystery• Nobody Does It Better from

James Bond movie (1977)

Carole King

Was genuine and wrote with a personal touch, sang in conversational tone

Outsold everyone in the music business in 1971

Began career as Brill Building songwriter in 1960

Her 2nd album, Tapestry, broke all existing records (1971).

You’ve Got a Friend

Bruce Springsteen

Singer/Songwriter

A working-class hero, promoted as the new Dylan

Signed to Columbia Records

1975 – Born to Run album broke him into the Top 10

1979 – Headlined No Nukes (weeklong concert series protesting the construction of nuclear power plants)

Singer/Songwriters continued…

• Van Morrison– Brown Eyed Girl

• Bob Marley• First black international

superstar• Singer/songwriter from

Jamaica• No Woman No Cry

Day 33: Women’s Music• Fanny – first self-contained all-

female rock band signed to a major label (Reprise Records)– Helped give women access to

electric instruments– Charity Ball

• The Runaways – Made up of 4 southern CA teenagers– Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Micki Steele, &

Suzi Quatro– Broke up, formed separate bands,

and had more success in the 1980s– Cherry Bomb

Women’s Music continued…

• The failure of all-female rock bands and the hostility of the music industry toward women in rock bands led to the development of explicitly female, mostly folk-oriented alternative music.

• Olivia Records – started in 1973 in Washington, DC– Formed a network called WILD (Women’s Independent Labels

Distributors) to distribute records at concerts, in feminist bookstores, and door-to-door

**Women’s music was originally conceived as music by women, for women, and about women.

Country Rock• Country Rock – genre started by Bob Dylan– Nashville, TN was the center for recording Country

Rock– The Band was hired by Bob Dylan to play back-up

for his 1965 tour.– The Byrds also moved to a country rock sound.

Country Rock continued…

The Eagles• Had 16 Top 40 hits & four #1

albums in a row• Hotel California

John Denver• A pop/country variant who

scored 15 Top 40 albums and 32 singles in the Hot 100 between 1971 and 1982

• Country themes and a jeans-and-flannel image

Country Rock continued…

• The Outlaws – country artists that were drawn to rock.– Challenged the conservative control of Nashville– Willie Nelson, Dollie Parton, and Kenny Rogers

Southern Boogie BandsThe Allman Brothers• Ramblin’ Man• Ain’t Wasting No More Time

Lynyrd Skynyrd• A phonetic spelling of the

name of the high-school gym teacher who suspended the group for wearing long hair

• Sweet Home Alabama

Southern Boogie Bands continued…

• ZZ Top– Texas-based trio– Influenced by acid rock and

infused a Tex-Mex culture– In the 1980s, they adopted

their anonymous bearded look

The southern rockers could only be distinguished from their hard rock friends by geography, and, in some cases, personal appearance.

Day 34: Mad with Power – Heavy Metal• Heavy Metal represented the absolute rejection of the

peace and love culture. It was hard rock taken to the extreme.

• Distinctive Qualities:– Sound quality: power expressed as sheer volume– The Power Chord– The power of heavy metal was intended to overwhelm its

listeners.

– Origins lie in blues-based rock, psychedelic music, and classical music.• Three pivotal heavy metal bands – Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, & Deep

Purple

Heavy MetalLed Zeppelin• Became the standard for

heavy metal groups, were a hit from their first self-titled album in 1969

• Stairway to Heaven

Black Sabbath• 5 platinum albums in a row

in less than 4 years• Lead singer: Ozzy Osbourne• Iron Man

Heavy MetalDeep Purple• Added the influence of

classical music• Ritchie Blackmore (guitarist)

defined the generation of metal guitarists

• Smoke on the Water

Aerosmith• Signed by Columbia in 1972• Was Boston’s answer to the

Rolling Stones• Steven Tyler (lead singer)• Walk This Way

Heavy MetalVan Halen• Signed to Warner in late

1970s• Eddie Van Halen dominated

the guitar, trained as a classical musician

• (Oh) Pretty Woman

Grand Funk Railroad• Played raw, basic rock that

was usually out of tune• We’re an American Band• Achieved status with

virtually no radio air play and no press coverage

Heavy Metal: Glitter or Glam RockAlice Cooper• Group of white middle-class

suburban athletes• Main influence was TV• Outrageous stage antics• Performed in spandex, high-

heeled boots, and makeup• School’s Out

Kiss• Made makeup their

trademark• Their image was their most

important contribution to rock history.

• I Want to Rock ‘n’ Roll All Night

Glitter or Glam Rock continued…

• Challenged traditional notions of masculinity and femininity as no other music had.– Men wore sequins, platform boots, and full

makeup.• David Bowie– The ultimate glam rocker– Fame

Day 35: Punk and Disco (The Poles of Pop)

• Popular music was on the verge of being tamed.

• Fleetwood Mac– Album, Rumours, hit #1 and sold 10 million copies

in the US

Elton John

• Piano player• Wore eccentric, glitter

costumes, and wild eyeglasses

• Early Hits were Rocket Man, Crocodile Rock, & Bennie and the Jets

Billy Joel

• Piano player• Intensely personal

songwriter• Piano Man• We Didn’t Start the Fire

Punk vs. Disco• Differences between punk and disco:

– Disco was smooth, punk was rough.– Disco depended on technological sophistication in the recording studio, punk

was easy to play.– Disco required dancing, punk had a ‘pit.’– Disco was a black dance music style, punk aimed to deconstruct R&R.– Disco focused on leisure suits, punk adorned black leather gear and ripped t-

shirts held w/ safety pins.• Similarities:

– Both shunned by radio.– Both were seen as destroying Western civilization.– Both encouraged active participation.– Both arose in reaction to the “boring” music that preceded them.– Both wanted to intensify the feeling of the moment in an otherwise uncertain

world.

Day 36: Punk - Rock as (White) Noise• Rivalry between London and New York in the competition

for the punk throne. Started in NY 2 years before it erupted in London.

• The Sex Pistols– British group– Never registered a Top 40 album & were not on the singles

charts in the US, broke up before completing their first and only US tour.

– Important feature of punk: ‘its myth is always more powerful than its reality.’

CBGB (Country Blue Grass and Blues)

Velvet Underground• Extremely important band to

the punk scene• Added the electric viola to

their sound which became their trademark

• Sunday Morning

Iggy Pop and the Stooges• Iggy Pop was named

“Godfather of Punk”• The Passenger

NYC bar that opened in 1974 and became the heart of the NY rock underground (punk scene)

Punk continued…

• Punk followed the maxim: Whatever is popular, do the opposite.– Refused to conform, the refusal to act with good

behavior, and in some cases, the refusal to learn how to play music.

– Every punk group was very different.• Television– First CBGB group to make a splash

Patti SmithFirst artist associated with CBGB to become famous

Started out as a poet

Used an independent single to attract major label attention

Signed to Arista Records in 1976

Trademark was a man’s white shirt and tie

Because the Night

Punk as New Wave

The Ramones

Formed by a group of middle-class kids from Forest Hills, NJ

Played only original music

Signed with Sire Records after performing in the CBGB Festival of Unsigned Bands in 1975

2nd punk band to get a major record contract

I Wanna Be Sedated

New WaveBlondie• London was the launching

pad for their success in US• Lead singer is Deborah

Harry• Call Me

Talking Heads• Instant hit at CBGB• Headlined for the Ramones• Signed to the Ramones’

label, Sire Records• Burning Down the House

New Wave• New York was not the only punk Mecca in US.

There was also Boston and Cleveland.• Devo– Formed at Kent State University in Ohio in 1972– Inverted flowerpot hats and jerky robot

movements defined their image.– Whip It

Day 37: Anarchy in the UKSex Pistols• Had difficulty finding

suitable venues to play in• Used scandals to generate

free publicity• Anarchy in the UK

The Clash• Name came from the word

used in tabloid headlines concerning class and race relations in Britain

• Represented the working middle class in Britain

• London Calling• Rock the Casbah

UK Punk continued…

• The Punk Rock Festival– Stage at the 100 Club in England in Sept 1976– Lots of problems…was a roaring success in punk

terms!

• The Roxy– The CBGB of London (home of punk)

Rock Against Racism

• US was started to see “reverse racism” come into our social language

• Rock Against Racism (RAR) was organized as a mass movement to oppose the National Front in Britain– Staged concerts, paired reggae with punk– Feeling of “black and white together” at events– Bob Marley was key to appeal of reggae in Britain– Crossed line of gender and sexual orientation– One of the most successful marriages of music and

politics ever to occur.

Day 38: Riding the New WaveElvis Costello• Bridged the gap between

punk and new wave• Combined the words of a

poet with the temper of a madman

• Staunch supporter of RAR

The Police• Viewed as too commercial

by the punk community• Appeared in TV

commercials• Sting – lead singer• Roxanne• Every Breath You Take

New Wave continued…

• The Pretenders– Immediate success in Britain and US– Back on the Chain Gang

• Hardcore Punk – increase the speed of the music to the limits of human endurance– The Dead Kennedys

• Straightedge Punk – found in Washington, DC, avoided drugs and alcohol

Disco• Defining elements: lights shows AND records

rather than live performances.• Eurodisco: controlled, high-tech energy and

pulsing beat• Funk Sound:– Wild Cherry, Play That Funky Music– Kool and the Gang, Jungle Boogie & Celebration

Funk side of Disco continued…Earth, Wind, & Fire• Turned out only platinum-

selling Top 10 albums• Transformed their spiritual

interests in Egyptology into a media-savvy image.

• September

George Clinton• Wore sequined jumpsuits

and a blonde wig• Had two bands: the

Parliaments and Funkadelic• We Want The Funk

Up from the Disco Underground• When disco first began to emerge as

a genre, most of the initial releases were by black artists…continued the development of black dance music.

• Van McCoy and the Soul City Orchestra – The Hustle

• Gloria Gayner, I Will Survive• Donna Summer became the first

disco diva.

Day 39: Disco continued…

• Disco was rarely heard on the radio. Its primary exposure was in clubs where music was played by disco deejays.

• Disco fans loved to buy records.• A Fifth of Beethoven• Shake Your Booty & That’s The Way I Like It• Turn the Beat Around

K.C. and the Sunshine Band

Integrated 10-piece Band (black, white, & latino)

Get Down Tonight

Boogie Shoes

Their strong r&b sound became known as “Miami Sound”

Donna Summer

Signed to Casablanca Records

Became the ‘Queen of Disco’

Last Dance earned her the first of 4 Grammies in 1978 and an Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Village People

Signed to Casablanca Records in 1978

A gay-oriented novelty act whose members represented a cowboy, an Indian, a construction worker, a soldier, a cop, and a leather freak

Macho Man, YMCA, In the Navy

Worldwide sales of 10 million albums

The Bee Gees

Brought disco into mainstream life

Made disco safe for white, straight, male, young, and middle-class America

Singing in falsetto became their trademark

You Should Be Dancing

Commissioned to write the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever

Crossover Media• Robert Stigwood was a master at crossover

media (a product in one medium that can sell a product in another).

• Stigwood’s involvement in Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Grease, and Evita.

• Saturday Night Fever– Movie with unprecedented success with $130

million in ticket sales– Sold 15 million copies of the soundtrack in US

and 30 million worldwide– Starred John Travolta