mus 505 lecture 4 - the swing era - scholaryessay.com...piano, guitar • made for dancing ... •...
TRANSCRIPT
Next Week: Midterm and Midterm Listening TestSee YouTube playlist on D2L for listening examples
Midterm Test: ListeningContent:• 10 songs will be chosen from a playlist
of 20 that have been played in the lectures.
• There will be 3 multiple choice questions for each example:
1. the name of the artist
2. the name of the song
3. the concept or theme discussed in class that connects to the song
Midterm Test: ListeningExample 01
1. The artist who recorded this song was:
A.BeyoncéB. RhiannaC.SolangeD.CherE. Shania
2. The name of this song is:
A. Independent WomanB. AnacondaC.One DanceD.Billie JeanE. Freedom
3. What concept/theme from the course does this song best represent?
A.Music of the civil rights eraB. How old music is still relevant todayC.The development of sampling technologyD.White artists illegally covering songs by black artistsE. All of the above
Midterm TestMultiple Choice, 70 questions on Lectures 1 to 4Example Question:Afrika Bambatta’s rap hit “Planet Rock” sampled elements from a song by this German synth band:
A. Eurythmics
B. Karftwerk
C. Neu!
D. Depeche Mode
E. Die Fledermaus
SEE STUDY GUIDE ON D2L FOR MORE DETAILS
Themes and Connections• Contemporary
representations of the themes, histories, and sounds in today’s lecture
Learning OutcomesHistorical Context• 1930/40s: the swing era, World War II, jazz as popular
music between the wars, the creation of the mass media, musical integration, urban/rural divisions, the Baby Boom generation
Genres• Big band jazz/swing, country and western, western
swing, urban folk music, rhythm and blues, electric blues, doo wop, honky tonk country
Key Terms• Swing, integration, advertising, mass media, Harlem,
ASCAP and AFM, Baby Boom, Honky Tonk
Course Themes• Racialized genre categories (jazz and swing), new
technology changing the music business (radio), white musicians profiting by appropriating black music styles, integration and understanding through music
The Swing Era - 1935-1945• Swing - a jazz-inspired dance music, developed in
New York, Chicago, and Kansas City
• “Swing” refers to a rhythmic feeling that is typical of African American music
• Like Ragtime before, white composers borrowed the rhythmic framework of “swing” to enliven their pop songs
• Characterized by Big Bands - 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, bass, guitar, drums - playing notated arrangements with occasional solos
• Bands played on radio broadcasts and toured the country
• Music performed in big halls that allowed for dancing
• Commercially successful - pulled the record industry out of the depression, positive music that offset the negative feelings around WWII
Standard Big BandRhythm section:bass, drums, piano, guitar
Horn section:5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets
The Swing Feel• The concept of swing is arguably the most important
contribution to world musical cultural by African Americans.
• Characteristics of Swing• Steady, regular, propulsive pulse
• Usually in 4/4 meter
• heavy emphasis on beats 2 and 4
• Feel generated by the rhythm section: drums, bass, piano, guitar
• Made for dancing
• Archetypal swing: Count Basie Orchestra, “Moten Swing” (1933)
• White adoption of swing beat to a pop song form: Benny Goodman, “Sing Me A Swing Song” (1936)
• Key concept: Popular music composers always borrow from the contemporary popular dance music of their time, knitting the rhythms to standard song forms
Big Bands and the Swing Feel
Count Basie Orchestra
The Swing Era - 1935-1945• America still segregated in the swing era, even
as the US army fought against racism in Europe
• Musical exchange between black and white musicians accelerated through recordings and radio broadcasts
• Audiences for swing became increasingly mixed, as the both black and white bands became popular with each audience
• Swing primarily a youth music, college-age adults and teenagers who wanted to dance
• Swing represents the most visible and influential exchange between white and black music in the US, and the establishment of a mass “music” media (radio, records, movies)
• Jazz grew in popularity with the recording industry and radio technology
• By the 1940s most middle class homes had a radio and record player, which were the entertainment focus
• Big bands directly reflect the factory - interlocking parts, precision, organized labour
• Less improvisation, more composed parts reflects the working conditions of the time
• Dance helped regain a sense of individual bodies against the assembly line reality
• Swing dancing a way of rebelling for white youth
The Swing Era - 1935-1945
Dance Styles of the Swing Era
Lindy Hop
Dance Styles of the Swing Era
The Jitterbug
Dance Styles of the Swing Era
Tap Dancing
Count Basie• Based in Kansas City, developed a riff-based,
blues-centric dance music powered by a swinging rhythm section
• Developed music through jam sessions, informed by Boogie Woogie piano music, formalized big band instrumentation
• Moved to New York in late 1930s, influenced white bands with hard-swinging, highly danceable style
• Set the musical template for swing as a commercial dance music: minimal improvisation, ensemble-focused groove music
“One O-Clock Jump” (1937)
Boogie Woogie piano duel
The Harlem Renaissance and The Cotton Club• 1920s: The neighbourhood of Harlem in
NYC became home to African American intellectuals and artists
• Harlem Renaissance: 1918-mid 1930s
• African Americans were relatively free and autonomous from mainstream white culture - schools and businesses served the local community
• Developed an alternative version of “black” culture - urban and modern, rather than rural and traditional
• Jazz music was the soundtrack, with musicians able to find employment in clubs and at parties
• Curious white audiences came to hear the latest musical developments, including “stride” piano and big band jazz
The Cotton Club• Cotton Club (1919-1933): Black performers
played in shows that featured scantily clad black dancers, men in ape suits, and jungle scenery, for a white audience
• The site from which black music and ideas entered American mass culture
• Run by mobsters, created entertainment for white patrons looking to experience “authentic” African American culture
• Live radio broadcasts from The Cotton Club sent urban African American music around the country
• These broadcasts inspired many white musicians who heard them
• Featured performers: Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway
The Cotton Club
Duke Ellington Orchestra: Live at the Cotton Club
Harlem, New York City
Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club:Live radio broadcast
Benny Goodman: “The King of Swing”• Jewish musician, from Chicago• Credited with popularizing swing for the white
audience through live radio broadcasts• In favour of integration, studied African American
jazz, had the first racially integrated band• Purchased arrangements from black composer
Fletcher Henderson, which often became hits.
• Goodman’s band played the same score as Henderson’s own band, had more financial success
• Always gave credit to his black influences, and performed with them when possible
• “Taking A Chance on Love” (1940) - number 1 hit, arranged by Fletcher Henderson
Swinging Arrangements
“Christopher Columbus”Example1: Fletcher Henderson
“Christopher Columbus”Example1: Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman QuartetBenny Goodman ClarinetTeddy Wilson PianoLionel Hampton VibraphoneGene KrupaDrums
“I’ve Got A Heart Full of Music” (1937)
Glenn Miller (1904-1944)• Most commercially successful bandleader of the
era• Played a “sweeter” style of swing, less
rhythmically intense than the black bands, with a more classical music-informed sound in the horns.
• Had biggest hit of the swing era: “In the Mood” (1939)
• Main riff “borrowed” from the black bandleader Don Redman’s recording “Hot and Anxious”
• Died in action in Europe during WWII
Glenn Miller (1904-1944)
Glenn Miller’s “sweet” jazz
Duke Ellington• Focused on “jazz”, rather than “swing”,
made a distinction around creativity and economics
• Achieved widespread success after Goodman and Miller’s commercial breakthrough, but remained committed to innovation in his music
• Set the template for jazz musician as “artist” by composing thousands of pieces for his band
• Travelled all over the world, became an ambassador for jazz and American culture, and a prominent civil rights activist
• Outlasted the “swing era”, kept a working band together for over 50 years
• Signature tune: “Take The A Train” (1939)
The Big Band Business• The Swing Era features the establishment of the
modern, multi-media “music business” - music available recordings, on radio, in TV/films, and live concerts
• 1940s - Booking agencies emerge to organize tours, broadcasts, and recordings for big bands
• Many bands and radio shows sponsored by corporations
• Radio shows and live broadcasts crucial to the commercial success of the bands
• Make Believe Ballroom - weekly radio broadcast that featured recordings of swing bands, including Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller
• Few bands were racially integrated, and DJs, booking agents, and nightclubs privileged white swing bands
• White bands made much more money than black bands, yet the trends were set by black bands
Jazz Singers• In the swing era, women were primarily
restricted to being singers rather than instrumentalists/bandleaders
• Jazz singers primarily sang songs from Tin Pin Alley, mixed with blues songs and very occasionally original compositions
• “Girl singers” were often the main attraction for a band from the audience’s perspective
• Singers experienced considerable sexism, and it remains rare to see female jazz musicians (though there are many more than there once was)
• Most famous jazz singers: Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald
Billie Holiday• Classic “tragic figure” in pop music history:
died of a drug overdose, abused as a child, experienced career-destroying racism, under-appreciated in her lifetime
• The most influential jazz singer, modelled her singing on Louis Armstrong's trumpet playing
• Specialized in interpreting Tin Pan Alley songs, often changing the melody totally from it’s original form
• Did not scat, but improvised with melodic phrasing and rhythm
• Collaborated with some of the most famous names in jazz
• Example song: “All of Me”
Ella Fitzgerald• Jazz singer known as “The
First Lady of Song”, had a nearly 60-year career
• Known for her joyous voice, virtuosic scat singing, and ability to imitate other instruments
• Had her first hit at 20 years old in 1939
• Sang with many of the biggest names in jazz, including Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
• Big hit: “How High The Moon”
Country Music in the Swing Era• Hillbilly music gained in popularity, borrowed
from swing• Migration of white southerners to big cities with
the decline of agriculture as a major employer• Country well-represented on the radio,
generated 1/3 of the revenue in the music industry
• Themes of sentimentality, morality, and patriotism resonated in the war years, and the South becomes the patriotic heart of America
• Roy Acuff - most popular country singer of swing era
• “Great Speckled Bird” (1936) - religious themes, folksy, rooted in conservative morality, traditional instruments
The “Country” Market• The South = tradition, religious morality,
and the past
• The West = movement, independence, the future
• Country audience recognized by the entertainment industry as a viable market, offered a refined, “urbanized” sound
• The singing cowboy: as adept with voice and guitar as with a six-shooter
• A Hollywood invention for stage and screen
• Gene Autry - singer, actor, crossover success
• “Back in the Saddle Again” - clean, refined sound, cosmopolitan, use of orchestral instruments, crooning vocal
Western Swing• Western swing: combines fiddle music, blues,
swing, boogie woogie, and Mexican mariachi music
• A purposeful “mixed” form, designed to appeal to a wide audience - hillbilly/country (rural folks) and swing (urban folks)
• Most famous band: Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys
• Hit: “San Antonio Rose” (1940) - large band mixes traditional country string instruments with horns and drums
• Swing-style crooners take up the “Western” theme: Bing Crosby - “Don’t Fence Me In”
ASCAP and the AFM • Performing Rights Organizations formed to collect
royalties for songwriters: ASCAP and BMI• Country, jazz, and blues musicians had traditionally been
denied access to ASCAP, so BMI quickly gained a market share in the rights business
• Tensions grew between ASCAP (fighting for the rights of composers) and the radio stations (fighting to make more money)
• ASCAP calls recording and broadcast strike in 1941, and the Musicians Union (AFM) (who advocate for performers), does the same in 1942
• Very few recordings made in 1942 because of these labour actions
• Singers and “unorthodox” instrumentalists were allowed to record
• Example: The Harmonicats - Harmonica Boogie• Ends in 1944, but by that time many swing musicians had
been thrown out of work, big band fad had passed
The Post-war Era, 1946-1954• Period following WWII one of economic prosperity
and growth of the entertainment industry
• Crooning singers with big bands/orchestras were popular:
• Bing Crosby• Frank Sinatra: “They Can’t Take That Away
from Me” (1950)• Tony Bennett• Nat “King” Cole: “Unforgettable” (1951)
• Singers became multi-media personalities, on radio, TV, and movies.
• Frank Sinatra becomes first teen idol
• Music business becomes a balance between companies trying to predict what people want, and occasional “bottom-up” fads that break through from the audience
• Music increasingly treated as a product, measured in record sales rather than concert attendance
The Baby Boom Generation• Born between 1945 and 1960 following
World War II• Time of great economic prosperity,
particularly in urban centres• People could buy homes, particularly those
who returned from the war• Growth of suburbs,“car culture”, the
American dream of upward mobility • Families have more disposable income• The invention of the “teenager” as an
identity and demographic• Popular music a form of resistance to the
values and attitudes of the “parent” culture
Post-War Technology• New post-war technology:
• magnetic tape• microphones• multi-tracking (pioneered by
Les Paul)• long-playing records (12 inch, 22
minutes per side), and smaller• 3 minute limitation of 78 rpm
records became musical convention for pop music
• Radios become smaller, fit in cars• Television introduced in 1939,
became the focus of both family life and advertising
Urban Folk Music• Folk music always an undercurrent to popular music,
bubbles up every few years as a “rejuvenating” force
• 1940s and 50s: “folk” meant politically left-leaning songs sung by urban whites, modelled on Woody Guthrie’s working class protest music
• Sing-along songs, acoustic instruments, sanitized versions of African-American songs
• Strophic song - a musical unit (verse) repeated multiple times with different lyrics, like a poetic stanza, story-telling songs
• Leadbelly (1888-1949) - “Goodnight, Irene”
• The Weavers - “Goodnight, Irene” (1950), 3/4 time
• Further examples of white musicians borrowing from black musicians, changing the music to suit their audience
• Starts a “folk revival” that continued into the 1960s
Rhythm and Blues• African American popular dance music,
“stripped down” version of big bands, also known as “jump blues”
• Big Bands no longer economically viable• In marketing terms, Rhythm and Blues
(R&B) meant dance music performed by black artists
• Instruments: Horns, piano, bass, drums• Popular with white audiences, but played
segregated shows• Louis Jordan: most well known influential
R&B musician, saxophonist and songwriter• “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie”, connects trains to
post-war economic and social conditions• “Jump blues” a direct precursor to Rock’n’Roll
Women in the Church
Ecstatic baptist church tradition
Rhythm and Blues• Women singers have always had more
prominence in Black popular music than Euro-American music
• Connection to church music, where women were equal musical collaborators in the ecstatic Baptist tradition
• R&B an important site for exploring gender politics
• Long tradition of women blues singers: Bessie Smith, Mammie Smith, Billie Holiday
• Well known R&B singers: Ruth Brown, Carla Thomas, Big Mama Thorton
• Lineage continues to today’s pop charts
Ruth Brown“Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean” (1952)
Vocal Harmony/Doo Wop• Vocal groups common in African American
neighbourhoods• Doo Wop a secular version of the gospel a
cappella tradition, served as an alternative to gang life and a means of upward mobility
• Core audience for this music grew up within the gospel music tradition
• Appealed to a white audience, influenced James Brown, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin
• The Golden Gate Quartet: “Rock My Soul”• The Dominos (New York City) - “Have Mercy
Baby” (1952), combines 12 bar blues form with driving dance beat and gospel emotion
Electric Blues• Mass migration to northern US during 1930s and 1940s• People bring “rural” acoustic blues with them from the
south, electric blues develops in Chicago• Electric guitar changes the shape of blues music:
• new techniques and sounds develop• bands become larger and louder to support the sound
of the amplified guitar, add drums and electric bass• Electric blues provides template for Rock and Roll with
the use of distorted electric guitar• Muddy Waters: slide bar/bottleneck technique on the
guitar moved the development of down home blues forward
• “Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954), an extended boast about sexual prowess and cleverness, precursor to gangster rap
• Howlin’ Wolf - “Smoke Stack Lightning” (1959): growling vocals, one chord vamp, distorted guitar, shuffle rhythm, amplified harmonica
Honky Tonk Country• Conveyed the sound of a roadside bar in rural
America that developed after the repeal of prohibition - bars called “honky tonks”
• Musicians composed songs that suited the audience - songs about drinking, womanizing, family instability, partying, nostalgia for the rural past
• Instruments: piano, acoustic guitar, bass, fiddle, steel guitar, twang/cracks in the voice
• Hank Williams (1923-53) — most significant Honky Tonk singer and songwriter, influenced all country music to follow
• Nasal vocal timbre, southern accent, wrote dozens of blues-informed songs that used Tin Pan Alley song forms
• Died of an overdose at 29
• Songs: “Honky Tonkin’” and “Hey Good Lookin’” (AABA form)
Honky Tonk Country• Honky Tonks became a metaphor for “the wild side
of life”, where domestic troubles started with womanizing men and immoral women
• Alcohol and dancing positioned as social problems
• Hank Thompson: “The Wild Side of Life” (1952), documents how men are tempted and seduced by “honky tonk angels”
• Kitty Wells (1919-2012) - first female country star
• Hit song: “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” (1952) , an “answer” song to Hank Thompson’s interpretation of events at the honky tonk
• The Honky Tonk sound (vocal delivery, instruments) and lyrical subject matter become the foundation of modern country music
Homework
Midterm Tests:Multiple Choice and Listening
See D2L for study guides and playlists