Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll!!

 Last week we saw the groundwork being laid down - electric blues and R & B coming out of the industrial cities like Chicago and Detroit, a new, more urban style of Country music labelled, for good or bad, "honky-tonk" and a sped-up version of hillbilly music coming from the mountain ridges of Appalachia called "bluegrass." However, these were musics on the margin. In the mainstream, pop music was mild and inoffensive, bland and saccharine, with artists like Patti Page and Frankie Laine topping the charts. In cities like San Francisco and New York, there was a movement of discontent with the "safeness" of post-WW II American. The Beat movement, led by writers like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs was changing literature. Painters like Jackson Pollack and William de Kooning were changing painting and other visual arts, film, sculpture, etc., were also reacting to the blandness of post-war American culture. It was only a matter of time before a pop music reaction to the white bread culture would emerge. There was a force loose in American and its vehicle was radio . . .

At the forefront of this new sound was Chess Records in Chicago. Because they had a large stable of Blues artists already - Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and others - it was easy to make the shift to this new hybrid - this Rock 'n Roll music.

But Chess Records wasn't the only label to realize the enormity of this new music and the market it fed. Small independent labels sprung up all over the country. Some came and went - on the record stores shelves one day and then gone the next. The same was true for its artists. Many artists started on small labels and then moved to a bigger label. Elvis is an example of that - going from Sun Records in Memphis to the national RCA Victor. Another fairly large label that supplied much of the hunger for rock 'n roll was Atlantic Records.

 As Robbie Robertson on The Band says in the first clip of this week's blog - one day there was no rock 'n roll and then the next, the floodgates were wide open and everything changed. Not only was the music different, but society changed as well. The most powerful thing was the integration of the races. White kids were listening to black music and black kids were dancing to white music. All through the course we have seen how these two streams have been separate - running parallel courses but distant from one another, only occasionally drawing from each other. That all changes during this period. Of course, every action has a reaction and there was a lot of discontent about rock 'n roll. Here is a clip from the History of Rock 'n Roll series that looks briefly at that backlash but also presents one of the great artists of the era - Chuck Berry - the first poet of Rock 'n Roll.

Even though the colour lines seemed to be breaking down, there was still no artist that bridged the gap completely. Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records - primarily a blues label - has be accredited with saying "Show me a white man that can sing like a black man and I'll make a million dollars." Shortly afterwards, a young truck driver from Tupelo, Mississippi shows up to record a song for his mother's birthday. That truck driver's name was Elvis Presley.

It is hard to believe the impact Elvis had on Rock 'n Roll. It was a Teutonic shift of the first order. He electrified and divided audiences. Established mainstreams artists like Frank Sinatra made fun of him. Moms and dads hated his long sideburns and sexy attitude and movements. Kids, of course, ate it up like a breakfast food. 

After Elvis, there was a wealth of artists coming out of the woodwork. Two that were more based in country music than the blues were Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly. Here is a clip from The History of Rock 'n Roll that ends with some of the backlash against this new revolutionary music and the apparent threat it posed to the bland conformity of the 1950s.

 Pure Rock 'n Roll was a small bubble in some respects. Although the music influenced everything afterwards, there was a concerted effort to make sure it didn't spread. Community groups, church groups, city fathers, and ultimately the government stepped in to squelch  it. 

 But, of course, as Plato said - "when the mode of music changes, the walls of the city shake" and, in spite of the horribly bland "safe" music that followed in the wake of this crackdown, there were artists, producers, songwriters still producing great music. We'll look at them next week and watch as four young guys from England of all places set the world on fire again . . .

CHOO CHOO CH' BOOGIE

This week we look at the fall of Swing, but the rise of something else, something that will send ripples through the pop musical landscape of America and give birth to a form that shakes the world not only in music, but in art, literature, fashion, culture, politics, the whole gamut of experience - Rock 'n Roll. But before we get there, we have to examine its germination.

Once World War Two was over, life sort of settled down. Men came home from the traumas of the war and wanted to just settle down - to create a family, find a job and a home, and live a life as pleasant as possible. However, things had changed. Music had become a driving force in people's lives and there was still a demand for a music that spoke to the yearnings of the post-WWII generation. Swing, for a number of reasons, some of them economic, fell by the wayside. Here is a clip from the Ken Burns' series, Jazz:

Out of the collapse of the Big Band Era came a floodgates of popular male singers led by Frank Sinatra and others. One of the most interesting was Johnny Ray - the Princes of Wails - a fragile, vulnerable singer who was, ironically, partially deaf. Here is a clip from YouTube of him and the Mills Brothers' recording of his biggest hit record - Cry:

As we saw earlier, what was once called "hillbilly" music garnered great popularity - changing its name to Country music - mostly through the radio. The radio allowed even the poorest farmer or worker access to music free of charge. The same was true of "race" music - now called the Blues - all across the South. Here is a clip from American Roots Music:

 There was a huge migration during the war from the South. Men and their families moved to cities like Detroit and St. Louis and Chicago to get well-paying jobs working for the war effort - munition plants, car plants, etc. Most decided to stay once the war was over. Because they had more money in their pockets than if they had stayed in the South, they spent much more on entertainment, going out to clubs and dance halls at night and on the weekends, trying to escape the drudgery of their factory and other menial jobs. Of course, when they migrated, they brought their music with them. One city that had developed a large black population was Chicago and a new sound emerged in the clubs on the South side. Here is a clip from American Roots Music:

Chess Records became the home of this new blues style and its roster of artists would have a huge impact on the music to follow. here is a clip about the Chess Brothers from the The History of Rock 'n Roll series:

The centrepiece of the impressive Chess roster was, of course, the great Muddy Waters. He is him and his amazing band in performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960:

the centerpiece, the supreme artist of the large Chess Record staple was, of course, Muddy Waters. Here is a

Because the clubs in Chicago's south Side were so noisy, the blues artists had to plug their guitars into amplifiers and this new "electric" guitar sound made the music change in structure and, on some levels, subject matter. As we have seen over and over again, a shift in Afro-American music often accompanies a shift in other forms. Many of the workers who moved to the North to get the war efforts jobs were white and they brought their music with them. Those who stayed plugged their instruments into amplifiers and Honky-tonk was born. Here is another clip from American Roots Music:

 Some people have called Bluegrass music, hillbilly music on steroids. you decided - here is a clip from American Roots Music:

Earlier, in the 30s actually, people developed an interest in what will become know as Folk music. Although was an immensely popular musical form, its effect would be felt much later, especially in the protest music of the early 1960s. Here is a clip from American Roots Music featuring two of the most influential of these artists - The Weavers - who introduced the mainstream to the  songs of Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. Imagine the songs Woody would be writing if he was alive in our times.

So, as we can clearly see, the groundwork is all in place for Rock 'n Roll. Next week, Elvis enters the building and the explosion of Rock 'n Roll is heard around the world. Here is a clip from series The History of Rock 'n Roll that sort of sums up the impact the music we looked at this week on the music we will look at next week.

"It Don't Mean AThing If It Ain't Got That Swing"

The Great Depression that swept through North America in 1929 had a huge devastating effect on the music of the late 20s and early 30s. With jobs as scarce as hens' teeth and whole families starving, the idea of purchasing records or going to a night club to hear some dance music bordered on the insane. The economy was depressed and the spirit of the people was even lower. Something was needed to stir the hearts, souls, and feet of the nation. Like a lightning bolt from Zeus in the heavens, Swing music arrives and "let the good times roll." Here is a clip from Ken Burns' "Jazz" series:

Though a number of big bands emerged in the Swing Era, none were as popular and as influential as the Benny Goodman Band. like Paul Whiteman earlier, it took a white man to bring a black musical form to the attention of the masses. the following clips illustrate the growth of the Goodman Band and the Swing music they made popular. All three clips are from the "Jazz" series:

Although Benny Goodman was called the King of Swing," many other artists - Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, and many others - many people consider Duke Ellington as the true artist of the period. His music brought an elegance to the scene and his influence is still felt. Here is a clip from the "Jazz" series.

Is there possibly any thing so infectious and joyful as Swing music from the 30s and 40s? Just as the Great Depression was starting to lift and prosperity was returning, if not quickly than certainly steadily, Benny Goodman and his Orchestra was there to tell people "Blues skies, nothing but blue skies from now on." From the "Jazz" series:

Benny Goodman's band and the other big bands that sprung up to play this new hot dance music dotted the landscape with their performances. The Palomar in Los Angeles, the Savoy Ballroom and the Cotton Club in New York City, even the Palais Royale in Toronto, were meccas for young people who wanted to dance and jive the night away, to put the troubles and strives outside the door and enter into a world of "pure pleasure." Doing the Lindy Hop and the Big Apple and the Jitterbug were ways to escape the present and pay no heed to the looming dark future. Europe was falling under the sway of Fascism and the drumbeat of war was sounding again but they couldn't match the drums of Gene Krupa!! This is from the movie "Hollywood Hotel" and features the song that sums up the whole period and sound - "Sing, Sing, Sing":

Is it any wonder that this music is still so popular today? The Big Band Sound endures because it brings in and employs many aspects of American music that went before and it mixes them all up in a bag and out pops something new and old and hot and cool and tame and wild - a true American Invention.

At the core of the Swing  Era is, of course, dancing. Pumped by the solid "four on the floor" beat and the intricate rhythms, kids dance and danced and danced. all across America dance halls and ballrooms were jammed packed with young people doing the Lindy Hop, the big Apple, jitterbugging the night away. Here is a clip from the "Jazz" series:

 If Swing can be described in two words, those words would be "pure" and "pleasure."

Of course, it is futile to try and present even the tip of this huge musical iceberg. Swing is far too big and influenced too much of the music we listen to today. Through the "four on the floor" rhythms to the youth marketing to the driving irrepressible beats to the wild abandonment, Swing had it all. But mostly, and at the core of it, is the joy and almost giddy nature of it. I defy any one to be in a bad mood and not spring out of it by watching or listening to the Andrews Sisters. Here is a clip from the Abbot and Costello film "Buck Privates":

 

Black 'n White Blues

This week we look at the beginnings of much of the music we listen to today: blues and early country, both  musical genres that grew out of the hardships of the rural poor. In a sense, they are both about the blues. Although they appear somewhat distant from each other, their emotions have much in common. In spite of much of country music being gospel based, it can also be said that the blues has many of its roots in the music of the church. It comes from field hollers and work songs, from African melodies, from the pain and humiliation of slavery, infused with the yearning for redemption and salvation. Music becomes deliverance.

Let's start with a short clip from "The Great American Songbook" that shows how much Blues owes to Jazz and visa versa:

 But much can be made of the idea that the rise of "race" records and "hillbilly" music was the new technology that developed at the beginning of the 20th century - particularly the gramophone and the radio. Now, for the first time, people didn't have to leave their homes to hear music. They could have it right in their living rooms. This was indeed a radical change in how music was consumed and led to a new industry - the record business. Here is a short clip from "American Roots Music":

 Bessie Smith, known as the "empress of the Blues," was one of many strong and powerful woman blues singers. Here is a clip from Ken Burns' amazing series "Jazz" that looks at Bessie Smith and the beginnings of "race records":

Another important artist in the classic blues tradition is Ethel Waters. Here is a clip from Ken Burns' "Jazz" series:

This clip comes from the two-part series "American Roots Music" and covers the same ground as the clip above. It is interesting to note that the term "race records" was meant to classify more than stigmatize and the word "race," at that time, was a word of pride among African Americans. To be a "man of race" was to denote a man proud of his African heritage. Even though it looks racist to us through our somewhat "enlightened" eyes, at the time, it was a matter of black pride and power. I find it fascinating how we often distort things when we view them through the prism of our concerns and not in their original historical context. Maybe Bakhtin is right when he says context gives meaning.

Here are two of the great artists of country blues - Bukka White and Son House. Their performances were recorded in the early 1960s and are included on a great series called "American Folk Blues Festival 1962 - 1966." if you find copies of this three DVD set, do yourself a huge favour and scoop them up. 

At the same time as the blues - delta blues, country blues, and classic blues -  is developing in the rural areas of America, another seminal music is blossoming. with its roots deep in the English and Celtic folk ballad tradition. Country music gives voice to the trials and tribulations of the rural poor. Though many of the songs had been passed down from generation to generation, it was until A. P. "Doc" Carter decided to collect and perform them with his wife and sister-in-law that the music was taken seriously. Shortly afterward, Ralph Peer - a Missouri born talent scout for Okeh Records -  set up the now famous recording session in Bristol, Tennessee in 1923 and recorded the Cater Family and Jimmie Rodgers. This clip is also from "American Roots Music."

 Soon the radio starts to broadcast shows that featured this music and the working class and rural farm workers became a solid and steadfast audience, both as purchasers of the records and listeners of the radio broadcasts. The biggest and most important show was the Grand Ol' Opry, broadcast every Saturday night on WSM out of Nashville, Tennessee. It still exists and the broadcast is still very much at the heart of contemporary country music. You can't call yourself a country music star until you played the Opry. Here is yet another clip from "American Roots Music" dealing with the importance of radio in the promotion of country music.

Finally, here is a "lost" clip edited out of the first Star Wars trilogy. Why? I have no idea - it certainly would have added a deeper and more resounding insight into the nature of Darth Vader and his relationship with Luke Skywalker. I think it illustrates the far-reaching range of the blues . . .