50's Rock 'n' Roll
Essential Listening
Artist Title Year
Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock 1957
Chuck Berry Johnny B. Goode 1958
Littel Richard Tutti-Fruti 1955
Everly Brothers Bye Bye Love 1957
Budy Holly and The Crickets That'll Be The Day 1957
Ray Charles What I'd Say 1959
Websites
Genre Information
http://www.rhapsody.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll
http://uk.real.com/music/genre/50s_Rock_n_Roll/
http://www.emusic.com/
http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_artists50s.html
Important Artists
http://www.elvis.com/
http://www.chuckberry.com/
http://www.kolumbus.fi/timrei/lre.htm
http://www.raycharles.com/
http://www.everlybrothers.com/
50's Rock 'n' Roll was heavily influenced by blues, jazz country, folk and gospel music.
It also went onto to influence artists like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones The Kinks and many more.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Blog The 1960's
The British Invasion
During the years 1964-1967, British artists like The Beatles, The Animals, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones and Peter and Gordon all had huge success in American charts with several number ones. These artists, especially The Beatles, had an impact on the image of the young American population. In the following years bands such as The Who and The Kinks had success in the America.
Since the British invasion in the 1960's, the artists like The Beatles went onto influence the sound and image of many artists. Imparticular the Britpop era, in which bands like Oasis and Blur gained success in Britain and then in America.
I believe the British invasion was successful as the American people were ready for something new and fresh in a time when the nation were in a national and global struggle.
Throughout the 1950's, a new genre of music known as Rock 'n' Roll became hugely popular with young audiences across America. Influenced by the American Rock 'n' Roll scene, Artist like Peter and Gordon, The Beatles and The Animals started to emerge. By the early 1960's new artists were successful across Britain. However in 1964 the British bands found success in America.
Leading the British Invasion, were a four piece band formally known as The Quarrymen. Starting out as a skiffle band in there home city Liverpool, The Quarrymen became known as The Beatles in the early 1960's. The band consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star, were hugely popular in Liverpool and the UK.
In February of 1964, hugely anticipated, The Beatles arrived at the John F, Kennedy airport in America to a crowd of 3000 fans. The people of America were extremely excited about hearing and seeing The Beatles. In 1964, when The British invasion hit America, the country was at war in Vietnam and there was a national issue over racism to the black population. The arrival of the British bands like The Beatles and The Animals played a huge role in society giving the American population a 'lift'.
Days after The Beatles arrived, they appeared and performed on the Ed Sullivan show
in which an estimated 73 million people viewed. After this The Beatles released there first number 1 single in America 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. This was the beginning of Beatlemania and The British invasion.
in which an estimated 73 million people viewed. After this The Beatles released there first number 1 single in America 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'. This was the beginning of Beatlemania and The British invasion.During the years 1964-1967, British artists like The Beatles, The Animals, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones and Peter and Gordon all had huge success in American charts with several number ones. These artists, especially The Beatles, had an impact on the image of the young American population. In the following years bands such as The Who and The Kinks had success in the America.
Since the British invasion in the 1960's, the artists like The Beatles went onto influence the sound and image of many artists. Imparticular the Britpop era, in which bands like Oasis and Blur gained success in Britain and then in America.
I believe the British invasion was successful as the American people were ready for something new and fresh in a time when the nation were in a national and global struggle.
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Blog The 1970's
Punk
Punk is a music genre which peeked during the mid to late 1970's. Influenced by the attitude, image and the sound of earlier 1950's and 60's rock n roll, aswell as artists like The Velvet Underground, Iggy and The Stooges and The MC5, Punk was a loud, raw and an aggresive genre. The typical punk instrumentation included vocals, drum kit, bass guitar and electric guitar. In the genre of punk it wasn't essential for the musician to be able to play their instrument very well and therefore punk developed a " Do it yourself " attitude. This was the opposite to earlier genres shuch as Prog Rock which required a great amount of skill from the musician.
During the 1950's many new American artists began to perform with attitude and push boundaries when performing their music. One example of this was Elvis Presleys hip and leg movements during his songs. This new attitude reflected on the teenage audience who in various ways started to rebel against authority. As with the 1950's, the 1960's saw another movement similar to the 50's, however it occured more so in the UK. The decade again saw a change in the way young people acted. One of the main changes was the fashion in which the punk scene drew from.
By the late 1960's and early 70's, bands like Iggy and the Stooges and the MC5 were emerging playing fast, energetic and aggresive music. This style of music later became known as 'Protopunk'.
As the 1970's progressed, their was a new scene developing in the New York area with Bands like New York Dolls and The Rammones at the forefront. The music was again stripped down and played at a fast pace with lots of aggresion. As the scene developed British artists began to draw from these bands not only with the sound but also the image and fashion. One example of this is when Malcolm Mclaren visited New York and took ideas from the scene. He then took these ideas back to England where he owned a clothing store called 'Let it Rock' which he renamed 'Sex'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_mclaren
By 1976 the punk movement was well under way in the UK, especially London. New bands were beginning to form, creating music which had a distingtive, raw sound and consited of rebelious, anti-establishment lyrics. The Sex Pistols single, 'Anarchy in the UK' was a prim example. Along with the music came the ima
ge of the genre. Partly influenced by the earlier American scene, bands and their followings in the UK started wearing leather jackets, chains, pearcings and ripped jeans. Also the hairstyle known as the 'mohawk' was adopted by many 'Punks'.
ge of the genre. Partly influenced by the earlier American scene, bands and their followings in the UK started wearing leather jackets, chains, pearcings and ripped jeans. Also the hairstyle known as the 'mohawk' was adopted by many 'Punks'. The following year the The Sex Pistols released their debut album 
'Never Mind The Bollocks' with new bass player sid vicious, who, after his death in 1979 would become a punk icon.
'Never Mind The Bollocks' with new bass player sid vicious, who, after his death in 1979 would become a punk icon.Along with The Sex Pistols, bands like The Damned were relesing music of a similar kind. 'The Jam' relesed their debut album 'In The City' the same year. Although The Jam had similar characteristics to bands in the punk scene, ( e.g fast tempo songs, political and anti-establishment lyrics) the way they dressed, acted and performed was completely different.
1979 saw the decline in the popularity of punk. At the end of the previous year and throughout many of the mainstream punk acts split up. The Clash, who released the single 'London Calling' that year began playing stadium gigs to huge crowds. This was completely against the idea of punk music being played on a crowd level in a small venue. The punk scene was fading out.
Since the punk explosion in the 1970's, the genre has gone on to influence many other genres and artists. The grunge movement of the 1990's took direct influences of the sound and most importantly the attitude and rebellious nature of punk. Many subgenres have been created from punk, one of the most famous being 'pop-punk' which has seen bands like 'Green Day' and 'The Offspring' sell many records.
Monday, 9 February 2009
Blog The 1980's
Hip Hop
Throughout the 1970's Disco music dominated America. Artists such as the Bee Gees were at the top of the charts. Due to the popularity of the genre there were also many nightclubs and 'discotheques' across the States. The majority of the people who went to these clubs and listened to the music were predominantly white. This was one of the main causes that sparked a reaction from primarily black musicians and led to the creation of Hip Hop.
In the late 1970's, a new direction in music was taking place in the New York area mainly in Harlem and The Bronx. At the start of the movement a DJ in a public area would play music for anyone who wanted to attend. These became known as block parties. One such DJ was Kool Herc Campell who was credited for originating hip-hop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop
During the block parties, DJ's began interacting with the crowd before and after the tracks were played. For example introducing the song, and introducing another DJ onto the stage after the track had finished. This started to catch on in many areas of New York and with the introduction breaks (break beats) from other songs played on loop, DJ's had more freedom to interact with the crowd during the tracks. The breaks were generally used from funk and soul songs. These two genres were played a huge role within the development of hip-hop and had a huge influence on many hip hop artists.
Whilst the break beats were on loop, the DJ began to put lyrics together. This became widely known as 'MCing' and 'rapping. As a result of this, DJ'S started to create groups consisting of a DJ and one or more MC's. The hip-hop group Run DMC were a prime example of this. http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/rundmc.jpg
By the early 1980's, block parties in the New York area were extremely popular with a black audience. However the music still hadn't made a huge impact on the rest of the country and still wasn't regarded as mainstream. In 1982 hip hop artist 'Grandmaster Flash' released the single 'The Message'. This was probably the most significant early hip hop record due to fact that it portrayed the reality of life for young black Americans at the time and gained instant recognition from the rest of America. Released two years earlier, the record 'The Breaks' by Kurtis Blow was also hugely significant as musically it incorporated popular techniques in the genre like scratching and mixing using 'turntables'.
http://rap.about.com/
In 1981 the television channel MTV was launched. The channel played a huge role in getting black musicians videos out to the nation especially hip-hop artists. This was also an opportunity for the solo artists and groups to illustrate the style and fashion surrounding the music. This often consented of baggy clothing, tracksuits, sneakers, jewellery, medallions and hats or baseball caps.
http://l.yimg.com/lx/artist_images/309/004/000/4309-large.jpg
http://www.startsoma.com/images/mailer/rockstar8.jpg
By the mid to late 80's many hip-hop artists had broken through and had established themselves within the music industry. Artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, and many more were enjoying the success and publicity.
After the 1980's hip-hop has continued to grow in popularity not just in America but across the world. Throughout the years since early hip-hop, 1980's hip-hop has influenced many artists of today such as LL Cool J, Jay Z, Kanye West and Rhianna who have all gained worldwide recognition and have sold millions of records.
Throughout the 1970's Disco music dominated America. Artists such as the Bee Gees were at the top of the charts. Due to the popularity of the genre there were also many nightclubs and 'discotheques' across the States. The majority of the people who went to these clubs and listened to the music were predominantly white. This was one of the main causes that sparked a reaction from primarily black musicians and led to the creation of Hip Hop.
In the late 1970's, a new direction in music was taking place in the New York area mainly in Harlem and The Bronx. At the start of the movement a DJ in a public area would play music for anyone who wanted to attend. These became known as block parties. One such DJ was Kool Herc Campell who was credited for originating hip-hop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop
During the block parties, DJ's began interacting with the crowd before and after the tracks were played. For example introducing the song, and introducing another DJ onto the stage after the track had finished. This started to catch on in many areas of New York and with the introduction breaks (break beats) from other songs played on loop, DJ's had more freedom to interact with the crowd during the tracks. The breaks were generally used from funk and soul songs. These two genres were played a huge role within the development of hip-hop and had a huge influence on many hip hop artists.
Whilst the break beats were on loop, the DJ began to put lyrics together. This became widely known as 'MCing' and 'rapping. As a result of this, DJ'S started to create groups consisting of a DJ and one or more MC's. The hip-hop group Run DMC were a prime example of this. http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/rundmc.jpg
By the early 1980's, block parties in the New York area were extremely popular with a black audience. However the music still hadn't made a huge impact on the rest of the country and still wasn't regarded as mainstream. In 1982 hip hop artist 'Grandmaster Flash' released the single 'The Message'. This was probably the most significant early hip hop record due to fact that it portrayed the reality of life for young black Americans at the time and gained instant recognition from the rest of America. Released two years earlier, the record 'The Breaks' by Kurtis Blow was also hugely significant as musically it incorporated popular techniques in the genre like scratching and mixing using 'turntables'.
http://rap.about.com/
In 1981 the television channel MTV was launched. The channel played a huge role in getting black musicians videos out to the nation especially hip-hop artists. This was also an opportunity for the solo artists and groups to illustrate the style and fashion surrounding the music. This often consented of baggy clothing, tracksuits, sneakers, jewellery, medallions and hats or baseball caps.
http://l.yimg.com/lx/artist_images/309/004/000/4309-large.jpg
http://www.startsoma.com/images/mailer/rockstar8.jpg
By the mid to late 80's many hip-hop artists had broken through and had established themselves within the music industry. Artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, and many more were enjoying the success and publicity.
After the 1980's hip-hop has continued to grow in popularity not just in America but across the world. Throughout the years since early hip-hop, 1980's hip-hop has influenced many artists of today such as LL Cool J, Jay Z, Kanye West and Rhianna who have all gained worldwide recognition and have sold millions of records.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Blog 1 The 1990's
Britpop
Britpop first came about in the early 1990's, in the UK. The movement started out mainly in the London area with bands like Blur and Suede creating a new scene. However, as the decade went on bands began to emerge from many areas in Britain such as Manchester and Sheffield. The genre mainly Incorporated instruments such as; electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit and keys.
In the early 1990's, 'Grunge' music from America started to become popular in the UK. As a reaction London based bands like Blur and Suede started creating their own music appealing primarily to a young British audience, which, is partly why the genre struggled to gain popularity in the US. Also on numerous occasions Damon Albarn from Blur, openly admitted his hate for Grunge music and became part of an opposing music force against Grunge.
However this wasn't the case in every Britpop band.
Once the foundations of Britpop had been set, bands not only from the London area, but from across the UK started emerging. Once such band were Oasis. Oasis were a five piece band from Manchester, at the time consisting of brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, Tony McCarroll, Paul McGuigan and Paul Arthurs signed to the big record label of the time 'Creation'. Like many bands at the time, Oasis were massively influenced by the 1960's/70's bands like The Beatles, The Kinks and The Who. This was evident Oasis' sound and songwriting.
By 1994 Britpop was beginning to have a huge impact in Britain with many bands starting to 'breakthrough'. However 1994 would become known musically for the 'Battle of Britpop'. In the summer of 1994 Oasis released their debut album 'Definitely Maybe'. At the same time Blur released their third album 'Parklife'. Both the press and the public had hugely anticipated both albums. I believe one of the most significant factors, which caused the rivalry, was the area the bands came from. Most fans of Oasis' would generally be from the Manchester region, whilst most Blur fans came from the London area. Also differences in the music between the bands had a huge effect. In the end Blur came out on top selling more copies of there album at the time. However 'Definitely Maybe' would sell far more in the long run.
In the same year as the 'Battle of Britpop', The Stone Roses released their new album, 'The Second Coming'. In my opinion this was massively significant in the Britpop development as The Stone Roses had been involved in the late 1980's movement known as 'The Madchester Scene' along with bands like the Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets. This illustrated a 'follow on' from the late 80's into the 1990's Britpop for The Stone Roses.
The 'Madchester' scene, and the bands involved had a great influence on the Britpop groups. One such influence was the lyrical content of songs. Bands like Pulp and Blur were using similar lyrical content, song titles and album names. For example Pulp's single, 'Common People' describes a normal, working class life of a young person at the time. Another example would be a Blur album titled 'Modern Life is Rubbish'. This title clearly represents the bands thoughts of the modern era. This representation of an average life became typical in the Britpop scene (although many Britpop bands came from wealthy middle class families). When compared to many lyrics and song titles of the Madchester period the influences are evident. Also an 80's band 'The Smiths had a huge influence of the sound and lyrics of Britpop bands.
By 1995 Britpop was in its prime. Many bands had established themselves within the music industry. Bands like Sleeper and Supergrass and became well recognised groups within Britpop. Another band Emerging were Elastica. The band had a more 'punky' sound and style to them and were therefore influenced by punk artists of the past. The lead singer Justine Frichshmann was also famous for being with Blur's lead singer Damon Albarn.
In 1997 Oasis released there hugely anticipated third album 'Be here Now'. Although the album has sold a huge number of copies, the album received bad press and criticism. Around this time many other Britpop bands started to falter and split up. Due to this many people started to distance themselves from Britpop. After this period Britpop started to decline in popularity across the UK and people began to buy into a new genre, 'Girl Power'. I believe this was a major factor in the Britpop decline.
Although Britpop's mainstream ended in the 1990's, the genre and the bands of the time have had a huge influence on many artists today such as Coldplay, Stereophonics, Keane and many more.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Stereophonics
Stereophonics are one the most successful Welsh bands of all time. The Indie/Rock, 4 piece now consisting of kelly Jones (Guitar/vocals) Richard Jones (Bass Guitar) Adam Zandani (Guitar/vocals) and Javier Weyler (Drums), have had 5 number 1 UK albums and a total of 25 top 40 singles.
The band first formed in 1992 as three piece under the name of 'Tragic Love Company' and played covers at local venues in there hometown.There big break came in 1996 when in March the band played a gig at the 'Colisium Theatre' where their talent was spotted by a manager named John Brand. After the gig the band signed a deal with Brand. The following month the band were signed to entrepeneer Richard Branson's new company V2 records and became known as 'Stereophonics'.
The bands first studio album 'Word Gets Around' was released in 1997 and entered at number 6 in the charts. The follwing year the band gained there first BRIT award in the catagory 'Best New Group'. Throughout 1998 the band gained huge success and publicity with there debut album going "Gold", 2 top 5 singles, there second album 'Performance and Cocktails' going straight to number 1 and performing live to huge audiences across the UK.
Throughout the early 2000's, Stereophonics maintained there success and had another number 1 album in 2001. But in 2003,after the release of there 4th album which became there 3rd succesive number 1 album, drummer Stuart Cable was sacked by Kelly and Richard. Cable by this point had created his own T.V show known as 'Cable TV'. He is believed to have "sacrifised his music career for his media career" and as a result the band suffered. Due to this he was sacked and replaced by Argentine drummer, 'Javier Weyler'.
After there new drummer had been appointed, the band released their 5th album, 'Language, Sex,Violence, Other' in 2005 which again went to number 1. The album also contained the number 1 hit single 'Dakota', which became the bands biggest song. since then, Stereophonics have released another number 1 album and continu touring around the world, along with new band member, Adame Zanani.
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