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1900 to the Present...and the FutureTwentieth century classical music

The 20th century has been a period of immense change in almost every possible way imaginable. The

century saw a major shift in the way huge numbers of people lived. This was a result of changes inscience, technology, economics, education, ideology, culture, society, and politics. The 20th century

probably saw more scientific and technological progress than all the other centuries combined. Medical

science and the Green Revolution in agriculture have helped the worlds population grow from about 1.6

billion in 1900 to approximately 6.0 billion at the end of the century.

To cite a few more examples of change, global life expectancy increased from approximately thirty-five

years to seventy (in the industrialized nations, it is closer to eighty). In transportation, the century started

with horses, simple automobiles, and steam-powered freighter ships. It concluded with high-speed rail,

global travel by jet, cruise ships, nuclear-powered sea vessels, and the space shuttle. Major changes in

communication (and education) included public schools, paperback books, computers, mass media,

telecommunications, and the Internet. Among other things, this resulted in making all of the worlds

knowledge instantly available to everyone. Through these developments and others, like popular music

from the West, the world has become more culturally homogenized. American culture has spread around

the world through Hollywood, Broadway, rock and roll, pop music, fast food, big-box stores, and the hip-

hop lifestyle.

However, this progression of change has not all been for the betterment of the global society. During the

last thirty years of the 20th century, the impact of an exploding population on the earths environment has

resulted in an increased membership in a new grass roots movement, environmentalism for the protection

of our natural resources. Also, in the same time frame, an increased awareness of global warming has

caused a huge social and political debate around the world, with no winners to date.

With that background information, what about changes in music? Music, like all the arts, reflects the

society in which it was created. Some general statements about 20th century music would include the

following

No specific trend (everyone seemed to be experimenting, searching for new)

More complexity

More emphasis on texture and timbre

Harmony is more chromatic, or completely absent (atonalism)

New instruments and new uses for old instruments

A multiplicity of styles and directions

New forms of composition

New symbols (new notation systems) for expressing a new musical language

Multicultural influences

It is important to remember, in addition to the above, all the musical characteristics and forms from the

19th, and earlier, still existed in the 20th century. In fact a lot of people who enjoyed classical

music rejected most of the new innovations, preferring music from one to three centuries earlier. Bach,

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Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi are probably still the most well-known and well-liked

composers of classical music.

So what was actually new in classical music, or any other music in the 20th century?

Music affected by advances in technology (electronic music recording, then manipulating

sounds with oscillators, then digital synthesizers and samplers) New music that is hard to classify (new techniques combined with old forms)

Avant-garde composers (trying to find new genres and techniques to avoid the music of the past)

Composers who worked for universities (did not have to sellmusic to live new compositions

were viewed as research)

Development of jazz (syncopation, new scales, new musical forms, genres)

Development of popular music genres (change in philosophy of what is popular music)

New genres of Western classical music in the 20th century and

representative composer(s)

Impressionism (French Claude Debussy)

Neoclassicism (Russian Igor Stravinsky)

Atonalism and/or Serialism (German/American Arnold Schoenberg)

Aleatoric or Chance music (American John Cage)

Minimalism (American Philip Glass)

Electronic music (French/American Edgard Varse)

Nationalism (not new, but with complex harmony and new techniques Hungarian Bela Bartok)

Traditional (19th century styles with new techniques Russian Sergei Prokofiev, English Vaughn

Williams)

The uncertainty of our global society, and its place in history, makes it difficult to discern which music in

this century will be remembered in the future. In previous historical periods, time has sorted this out for

uswhats greatwhats goodwhats badwhat will last. Many people have strong opinions about

this, but we are really too close to it to be sure what styles, forms, works, and composers will withstand

the test of time. Time always makes it easier to judge. However, that doesnt mean we cannot recognize

the important innovations in music, new genres, and the individuals who created them. We need to do this

because this music, and the composers will influence everything that comes next.

In this chapter, we will start with classical music, and its innovations, from 1900 to the present. Then we

will return to 1900 and trace the development, and evolution, of jazz to the present. After that, we will

return to the 1940s and the beginnings of a new genre, popular music, accepted and imitated throughout

the entire world, and we will trace its evolution to the present. So lets get started.

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This is an impressionist painting from the

same historical period in France, called

simply "Landscape." If you get close to the

real painting you will see it is just a series

of dots or daubs of paint arranged in a

certain way. It is an impression rather than

a real image or snapshot. ImageShuttertock,Inc

Claude Debussy (1862 1918) led the impressionist movement for music in France. He is also

considered to be the first important composer of the 20th century, which means he bridged the gap

between music of the Romantic Period and the modern era of classical music, the 20th century.

Debussy wanted to exceed or go beyond what was considered normal for the day. His music was very

romantic but it reflected a different philosophy. It was not accepted at first, but eventually it revolutionized

the musical world. He was a genius at orchestration, which is the art of arranging a musical composition

for all the instruments of the orchestra. How a piece is arranged for instruments can have a dramatic

effect on how well it sounds when played.

The musical themes (melodic phrases) he used in his music were really just fragments, fluid with no

sense of a strong direction. As you listen, it seems like a succession of slowly changing images that are

impressions only, rather than real images. To Western ears, this is more like listening to the music of

Eastern Asia. It is non-developmental or non-directional (no movement toward a goal). Debussy used a

different scale in organizing his music, the whole tone scale where all the notes were equally important.

The music was romantic but here was no sense of a tonality.

This is the 3rd movement of one of Debussys most famous works. It is called La Mer, which means "the

sea." The music is supposed to evoke an impression of what the sea is like, and how it can change

dramatically. Someone has attached a video to the music to enhance the effect. After watching the video,

try listening again, without looking at the video, to get the impression from just the music.

Debussy - La Mer, 3rd mvmt.

Arnold Schoenberg (1874 1951), in the early part of the 20th century, composed music as part of the

expressionist movement in Germany at that time. German films of the period were dark, gruesome,

often about insanity. Painters used garish colors. The literature was a representation of inner thoughts,

stuff no one ever talks about. Schoenberg was considered the leading composer of music influenced by

this movement. This was his period of atonal composition (19081921) before he devised the twelve-

tone technique, which was his major contribution to 20th century classical music. At a concert in 1908, his

music caused a cultural shock. It was called the Scandal Concert of 1908. Reporters wrote that he must

be insane.

Later he immigrated to the United States and taught first at USC (University of Southern California), then

at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). He is known as the inventor of atonalism, or the absence

of tonality. His musical compositions were mathematically conceived rather than created for a musical

effect. This was called twelve-tone music or dodecaphony. He used all twelve notes of

the chromatic scale to organize the music. The notes were put in an order so there was no hint of tonality.

No notes could be repeated in what was called the original tone row. The row could be used in four ways:

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the original, backwards, upside down, and upside down and backwards at the same time. Whatever

artistic creativity involved was in the manipulation of the row. For example, it could be changed

rhythmically, it could be grouped vertically (like chords), the texture and timbre could be changed, or

contrasting dynamics could be used. Once the row was established, a composition became basically a

theme and variations.

Schoenberg may have been the most influential composer of the 20th century. By that I mean influential

to the composers who followed him. He managed to break the constraints of the 18th and 19th centuries

musically and make way for all kinds of experimentation by others. Many other composers experimented

with twelve-tone music; and, some were successful in creating very musical compositions.

Chamber Symphony No. 1, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, played by the Berlin Philharmonic

Orchestra, and conducted by Sir Simon Rattle (an English conductor). This is an orchestral piece

using twelve-tone techniques, starting with a tone row. The row is difficult to hear because it is being

tossed around the orchestra to different instruments. The form of the piece is really a theme and

variations based on a twelve-tone row.

Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No.1

Igor Stravinsky (1882 1971) is one of the most important composers of all time. Today, he is rated

alongside Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart for his contributions to Westernclassical music. He

changed the way people listen to music forever. And because his music is less jarring to the ears, it is

accepted by audiences everywhere. He used classical forms like sonata form and theme and variations

in his music, but he applied extremely chromatic harmony, atonalism, and more rhythmic complexity to

them. Some of his music is called neo-classic because it is based on the musical forms from that period.

However, because of his innovations, it does not sound as if it were composed in the 18th century. Some

of his greatest and most astonishing music was for ballets produced in Paris early in the 20th century.

Two of the ballets, Firebird (1910) and Petrouchka(1911) were based on Russian legends (he was bornand raised in Russia). A third ballet, TheRite of Spring (1913) caused a riot when it was first performed,

but it has since become one of his most important works and is considered a masterpiece. It included

fertility rites, both for humans and for the planting season in spring. Because these were pagan rituals, the

music was primitive sounding. This new musical style was called primitivism and several other composers

wrote in this style. The music for all three of these ballets has since been rewritten as orchestral suites to

be performed in concerts without choreography; and, they are all quite popular today.

Later, Stravinsky moved to Switzerland and eventually to the United States. In addition to his neoclassic

music, he experimented with the twelve-tone techniques of Schoenberg. He broke away from

traditional harmony and melody, and used new rhythms, such as syncopation from jazz. In doing so, he

created new challenges for all the composers who followed him.

Firebird Suite, composed by Igor Stravinsky, and conducted by Stravinsky himself. This is an old video.

The sound is a little scratchy and the video is a little grainy, but it is worth it to see Stravinsky conduct his

own musicat the age of 82. Near the end, you will be able to hear the exciting new rhythms Stravinsky

has incorporated into his music.

Stravinsky Conducts Firebird

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This is the Sacrificial Dance from the Rite of Springby Stravinsky. If you remember

the ballet Nutcrackerby Tchaikovsky, perhaps you will understand what a shock this was to the audience

in 1913. No one had ever seen anything like this. The choreography is like modern dance today, so we

are used to it; but, back then it caused a riot. Because it depicted a pagan ritual (sacrifice), the musical

style is called primitivism.

Balletto Maurice Bjart Sacre Du Printemps

John Cage (1912 1992) composed aleatoricmusic, also known as chance music or indeterminate

music. These were a random selection of sounds, not unlike what actually happens in our environment

(e.g., nature, traffic). The performer controlled the performance, not the composer. Cage created a

template for a performance (overall structure) and made suggestions about its performance, but it was up

to the performer to determine what actually happened. According to him, a work should never be

performed the same way twice because that is how natural sounds are in the environment. Cage also

experimented with twelve-tone music and rhythmic percussion. He was also fascinated with East Indian

philosophy (Buddhism). However, he was most known for the aleatoric music he created in the 1950s.

This is a piece by John Cage called Cartridge Music. It was composed for amplified small sounds. A

cartridge is a vintage phonograph pickup into which a gramophone needle is inserted for the playing of

records. Instead of a needle, any object that will fit into the cartridge may be inserted (e.g., a coil of wire, a

toothpick, a paperclip). In addition, auxiliary sounds are added with the use of contact microphones.

There are written explanations of the activities at various points in the video. The pictures are of John

Cage, himself.

Cage: "Cartridge Music"

Philip glass (1937 ) is one of the leading composers using the techniques of minimalism in his music.

A working definition of this technique is seeking the greatest effect from the least amount of musical

material. Glass takes a musical pattern or idea and repeats it incessantly. It is somewhat like

an ostinato except that any or all of the musical elements can be used in a repeated fashion. The

rhythmic activity might be fast but the speed of change in most of the other musical elements is slow. This

is also a return to tonal music, a reaction to the experimental music of the first half of the 20th century.

Glass has acknowledged being influenced by jazz, rock, and the music of Africa and India. Philip Glass

has written music for the educational TV series Sesame Street, several movies, and concerts.

This is the trailor for a 1982 cult movie titled Koyaanisqatsi. In the Hopi language (Hopi is the name of an

Indian tribe living in Arizona). The word means crazy lifelife in turmoilor out-of-balance. Philip Glass

wrote the music for the movie, which uses slow motion, time-lapse photography, and natural landscapes

to highlight a life that is out of control.

Koyaanisqatsi (trailer)

Edgard Varse (1883 1965) was born and educated in Paris, France. He came to the United States in

1915. He accepted any sounds, whether perceived as pitches or noise, as potential material for a music

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composition. Early in his career, he used percussion and brass instruments to create what he called

"sound masses." In the 1950s, he concentrated on electronic music. His work was important historically,

probably leading to the analog Moog synthesizer and eventually to digital synthesizers and the electronic

music of today.

This is one of Varse purely electronic pieces and it culminates what he had been working toward foryears. Put together with manipulated sounds and a set of images, it was really a scathing attack on what

our society had become by 1958. This was during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West

(mostly the United States). The threat of a nuclear World War III was a real possibility, and the images

allude to that toward the end of the piece. This composition was created for the Philips Pavilion at the

1958 Brussels Worlds Fair, in Brussels, Belgium. It was presented originally at the Fair using over 400

speakers. The sounds seemed to move through space in a way that had never been attempted before.

Varese-Edgard-and-Le-Corbusier

Aaron Copland (1900 1990) was one of the most prominent of the American nationalistic composers.

Actually, he was the best known and most successful American composer of American music. He workedto create a style that would immediately be recognized as uniquely American. He

merged elements of classical music, folk music, jazz, and popular music. And, his music was more tonal

(easy to listen to) than most of the other innovators in the 20th century. He wrote what are called tone

poems, ballet music, music for films and radio, and patriotic works. His music contains cowboy songs,

popular Mexican songs, church music, jazz, blues, and patriotic songs.

This is a tone poem titled Lincoln Portraitand was written by Aaron Copland. The purpose of this piece

was to honor one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln. It was written for a narrator and an

orchestra. The narrator in this version is Gregory Peck who was a very well known movie actor and a

great humanitarian. In 1969, President Lyndon Johnson awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom

for many humanitarian efforts throughout his career.

Lincoln Portrait

William Grant Still (1895 1978) was the first African-American to have a symphony performed by a

major symphony orchestra. He was the first African American to conduct a majorsymphony orchestra.

And he was the first African American to have an opera performed by a major American opera company.

Still worked in New York City in the 1920s, arranging music for jazz bands and dance orchestras while

trying to establish a career as a composer. He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1930s. There he

composed and arranged music for films, the stage, and the concert hall.

The Finale of the Afro-American Symphonytitled Aspirations, composed by William Grant Still.

This symphonywas intended to portray African-Americans of the period immediately following the Civil

War. The four movements are titled Longing, Sorrow, Humor, and Aspirations. Listen for jazz influences

and similarities to film music.

William Grant Still - Afro-American Symphony

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and played by black musicians. Often the musical form was the same as the street marches played by

English, French, and Spanish military bands, although European dances were also incorporated into this

style of music. The ragged style is in reference to the syncopated, swingy style of performance, which

was like the black dixieland bands that began to appear on the streets of New Orleans shortly before

1900. These bands would march down the street, playing the English, French, and Spanish marches they

had heard before and learned by ear, and they applied this ragged style to the music.

Maple Leaf Rag, composed and played by Scott Joplin (1868 1917) in 1899. ScottJoplin was the leading composer of ragtime piano music in his time, having composedsome 600 rags. He composed and recorded Maple Leaf Rag in 1899, havingperformed as a ragtime piano player for about twenty years by then. Within a short time,his publisher was swamped with orders for copies of this song. The recording is an old"piano roll," which was used in "player pianos." The roll would be inserted into acomplex mechanism inside the piano, and the piano would play itself. So this is areproduction of Scott Joplin, himself, playing his most popular composition.

Maple Leaf Rag

The development of one more genre that has been mentioned before but needs to be explained further

before we begin our jazz journey through the 20th century is the blues.Theblues probably evolved from

spirituals and became important after the Civil War (1865). Originally these were called sorrow songs, and

were sung by sharecroppers who were former slaves that now were renting small plots of land, often from

the plantation owner who formerly owned them. Since they were usually working in a field alone now, they

would sing songs about the work, their loneliness, and their bad luck in life. These songs would become

part of the repertoire of the songsters, usually black musicians who entertained other blacks in the

evenings, after the work was done for the day. Sometimes they would pick up the tempo of their songs for

dancing. These songs were calledjump blues.This musical style would eventually lead

to rhythm and bluesin the 1930s and 1940s.

Many of the great early blues singers (songsters) were from a place called the Mississippi Delta, a stretch

of land from Memphis, Tennessee to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and between the Yazoo and Mississippi

Rivers. The Delta was a place of large plantations and many slaves, from before 1900 to the Civil War.

After the Civil War, it continued with many of the slaves working as sharecroppers for their former owners.

This land had been built up by silt (soil) carried down the Mississippi River from the Midwest. It was very

fertile and excellent for growing crops. There was a lot of commerce on the river, including steamboats

and barges carrying freight and people to and from places like New Orleans. At night, in clubs along a

wharf on the river, there were many opportunities for entertainment and dancing. It was in places like this

that the blues singers built their reputations. Because so many of these performers became famous later,

in Memphis, Kansas City and later in Chicago, the Mississippi Delta was sometimes called the birthplace

of the blues, even though this style, now called country blues,was performed all over the South by this

time. The blues would become one of the most important musical forms of early jazz, and it remains so

today.

Rattlesnake Blues by Charlie Patton (1891 1934); Charlie Patton was considered thefirst "blues singer" to become famous. He was also famous amongwannabe blues singers. Many tracked him down and learned to play blues guitar from

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him. He sang a variety of styles in the old songster tradition, but by the time herecorded music, he was mostly singing the blues. The recording industry did not comeinto existence until around 1917. Charlie Patton lived most of his life on the MississippiDelta at a place called the Dockery Farms. His style of singing was characterized ashollerin or shoutin. This is not the fully developed form of the blues yet. It is in

the blues style, but it was called country blues.The fully developed musical form wouldlater be called urban blues.

Rattlesnake Blues

When explaining the characteristics of a typical, early dixieland band, it was music learned through an

oral tradition. In other words, most of the musicians played by ear. The musical style was

collective improvisation with all the instrumentalists making up their parts on the spot. The ensemble

sections, (everyone playing at the same time) was really polyphony(several melodies occurring

simultaneously). The trumpet, or cornet would usually play a version of the melody, a clarinet would

improvise a countermelody above the trumpet, and a trombone would improvise a melody that outlined

the chords below the trumpet. The harmonic accompaniment was played by a tuba and banjo, or guitar,

and drums would provide thebeat. That beat would consist of four equal beats per measure, with no

accents on any of the beats. This type of beat had a name, flat four. Any solos were not

free improvisation. Rather, they were short solos that either outlined the chords or simply added

embellishments to the melody.

Milenberg Joys, recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and probably composedby Jelly Roll Morton, thepiano player in the band. This was recorded in the 1920s, butwas probably composed and performed much earlier. The recording industry had notcome into existence until about 1917. Milenberg Joys is in the ragged style of playingmarching band music, and the form of the piece is very similar to that of a march. Theopening and final chorus are improvised in a style known as collective improvisationmeaning all the players are mostly improvising at the same time. Later on, as this styleevolved, individual players would be featured more in solo improvisations. Notice thesimilarity in style between the ragtime piano piece and this piece for several differentinstruments.

Milenberg Joys

Ma Rainey (1896 1939)was known as the Mother of the Blues. Its interesting to note that several of

the early, commercially successful blues singers were women. This not theblues that was dominated by

men from places like the Mississippi Delta. Country blues was the type that was performed earlier by menwho had worked as slaves and/or sharecroppers. The singer usually accompanied himself with a guitar,

the rhythm was free, the lyrics were related to the old sorrow songs, and the singers were untrained and

rough sounding. With urban blues (city blues) there were usually several different instruments providing

the accompaniment, the form was fully developed (12-bar blues form), the lyrics were usually

sophisticated observations on love and carefully constructed to fit the rhythm and meter, and the singers

had voices that were more refined. This was music developed in the cities of the South and performed in

clubs that specialized in that kind of music. Commercially successful means Ma Rainey recorded her

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West End Blues, written by Joe King Oliver and performed by Louis Armstrong. Thisrecording was the most analyzed and celebrated jazz record of the time (1928). Theopening solo is really like a cadenza from aconcerto, a place to show off with virtuosoplaying. Again, the rhythm is "flat four" like New Orleans jazz bands, even though this

recording came from Chicago. Eventually Armstrong and Oliver reintroduced the two-beat style (return to the marching bands). This two-beat style became one of the maindifferences between Chicago style and New Orleans style jazz.

West End Blues

After World War I, many of the New Orleans jazz musicians moved to Chicago. Chicago was an

industrialized city and jobs were more available there. This also made for an active nightlife, which was

good for musicians. This was also the time of prohibition, making alcohol illegal. However, the nightlife in

Chicago was controlled by the mob in the 1920s and they operated several speakeasies, nightclubs

where patrons could drink and dance. This period came to be known as The Roaring Twenties and

Chicago became a center for jazz, followed soon after by New York City.

The dance halls became quite large in order to make room for the crowds who came to party and dance

to the jazz bands. After World War I, a ballroom-dancing craze took over America. Many of the ballrooms

could accommodate up to a thousand dancers at one time. The bands started adding musicians partly so

they could be heard in such large venues. These changes ushered in the Swing Era and the 'Big Bands.'

The bands would include sections of saxophones, trombones, trumpets, and a full rhythm section

with piano, bass, and drums. Some bands added a guitar, a vibraphone, or a conga drum to

the rhythm section. The smooth, swing style of the music created for dancing was the reason for this

period injazz history to be called the Swing Era. Some of the big bands were really dance orchestras,

not jazz bands. To organize such large groups, the arrangements were written out, so the musicians had

to be able to read music. Some of the most popular bands in this style were Paul Whiteman, Guy

Lombardo, and Lawrence Welk. Benny Goodman became the first white bandleader to organize a

real jazz big band, followed by the likes of Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Stan Kenton, Don Ellis, and

Charlie Barnet. Black bands played for black audiences, and they wanted to hear and dance to jazz.

These bands were stilljazz bands, and they included Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Louis

Armstrong, and Jimmie Lunceford. In addition, Count Basies band came from Kansas City and went on

to become one of the greatest jazz bands of all time. The big band era lasted until the 1940s, when

another new genre in jazz would be formed.

This is Fletcher Henderson and the Dixie Stompers, playing The Variety Stomp in1927. Fletcher Henderson was a pianist who earlier had toured in Ma Raineys band,

Bessie Smiths band, and with another blues singer, Ethel Waters. He formed his ownorchestra, which was very successful during "The Roaring Twenties." He createdseveral of his own arrangements, and later arranged for other bands, notably the BennyGoodman Orchestra.

The Dixie Stompers (Fletcher Henderson Orchestra)

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After playing with Joe King Oliver in Chicago, Louis Armstrong went to play in several other important

bands, eventually, he formed his own band(s). These were studio bands, mainly used for recordings, The

Hot Five and the Hot Seven. From 1930 on, he became a world personality, traveling to Europe and

beyond. He appeared in several movies, and led several swing bands until 1947. Then he returned to the

Chicago Dixieland style of music. He was really apart of the star system in this country, a personality, a

movie star who was bigger than the jazz scene. However, he was also one of the mostimportant jazz performers and innovators of the first half of the twentieth century.

"When the Saints Go Marchin In," recorded by Louis Armstrong (trumpet) and the HotFive in 1937. This is Chicago Style Jazz, which featured a two-beat style of rhythm likethe old marching band style, before the flat four gained popularity. During his career,Louis Armstrong played so much trumpet, sometimes 6-8 hours a day, that he literallyruined the muscles in his upper lip. He had to hold the trumpet rigidly against his lip tobe able to play. And, he always had a large, white handkerchief in his hand, to wipe offthe perspiration as it formed on his face and lips.

When the Saints Go Marching In

Benny Goodman (1909 1986)was from Chicago, having gone to Austin High School from where

many jazz players came. He quit high school after one year and worked in a dance hall. He was a

perfectionist and, after he started his own band, it was one of the best of the day.

Benny Goodman and "Sing, Sing, Sing." This is a scene from a movie called HollywoodHill which was released in 1937. This famous song was part of the repertoire of thegreat Benny Goodman band. Several very famous players started out with BennyGoodman, and then formed their own bands later. In this movie clip, you will see BennyGoodman, himself, on clarinet, Gene Krupa on drums, Harry James on trumpet, andLionel Hampton on vibraphone.

Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Harry James, Lionel Hampton

Glenn Miller (1904 1944)had one of the most popular dance orchestras in the country. It was not really

a jazz band; rather it was a dance band. In 1942, he disbanded his orchestra, joined the Army in World

War II and formed a new band there. It was called the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. He disappeared

in an airplane flying from England across the English Channel. This video shows the Glenn Miller style,

and what big band dance music sounded like at its best. Also, you can see people actually dancing, and

crowding around the bandstand as they often did in the 1930s and 1940s. This is also a clip from a movie.

The band is playing "In the Mood," one of Glenn "Miller's" signature pieces. It was oneof the most requested of all dance tunes at the time, and wherever there is ballroomdancing today, it is still requested more than any other song. The Glenn Miller Band stillperforms today (different personnel) and is still in great demand.

In the Mood

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Duke Ellington (1899 1974)is considered by many the very best jazz composer and bandleader of the

20th century. He wrote music for certain performers, not just for instruments, much like the classical

music composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of his music actually bridges the gap

between jazz and classical music. After New York City became the center for jazz and every other kind of

entertainment, Duke Ellington obtained a booking at the Cotton Club, Harlems top nightclub. Harlem was

the place to be for great jazz bands in the 1930s and 1940s. He spent many years in that position. Hewas able to tour the world and return to the Cotton Club pretty much as he wished. Ellington received

awards, decorations, citations, and honorary degrees from everywhere. His band was voted the

top jazz orchestra nine different times.

Duke Ellington and his band playing a song he composed, It Dont Mean a Thing if itAint Got That Swing. This is movie clip from 1943, and Duke Ellington isthe piano player.

It Don't Mean a Thing

Count Basie (1904 1984)took piano lessons as a teenager. He learned a style known as 'stride piano.'He joined a band in Kansas City known as the 'Benny Moten Band.' After Moten died in 1935, Basie took

over the band and it became known as the 'Count Basie Orchestra.' He developed a piano style that was

very sparse and rhythmic, emphasizing key places in the music or in a solo by another instrument. This

style is called 'comping,' and it has become the standard for pianists accompanying other instrumentalists

or singers in a jazzsetting. Originally, the Basie band was a riff band. In the early days of big bands,

different sections of the band would have something like a musical conversation with each other. One

section, like the saxophones, would play a short, melodic figure, and it would be answered by another

figure from the trombones, or the trumpets. This was a way to expand the size of the orchestra without

requiring written arrangements. Eventually, the Count Basie Orchestra used written arrangements also,

and went on to become one of the greatest and longest-lived orchestras in the era. Even though Count

Basie and many of the original musicians are dead, the orchestra still tours, under the same name butwith different leadership and players.

The Count Basie Orchestra playing a medley Dance of the Gremlins and "Swinginthe Blues." The recording was probably made around 1941. Notice how the band playsin a riff style at the beginning, mixing the call and response techniques betweensoloists and sections of the band. Then entire sections also answer each other in a kindof battle within the band. Later in the clip, please notice Basies sparse style ofplayingwhat is now called "comping."

Count Basie Swingin' the Blues

In the economic depression of the 1930s, it became harder and harder to keep big bands together and

touring back and forth across the country, as they had done successfully for several years. Also, some of

the musicians became bored with the dance band style, which did not leave much room for more than

very short solos. In New York City after they had played for a dance, they would meet after hours in the

nightclubs of Harlem (after midnight, usually). They experimented with new ideas, improvising freely for

several choruses and challenging each other with their new styles. Early on, only a few performers were

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capable of performing this music. It was much more cerebral, requiring a thorough understanding of music

theory and new chord progressions. The original melodies were much more complex; and, so were the

rhythms with the drummers adding more and more syncopated figures rather then just keeping a

steady beat in support of the others. The audiences were small and they had to be more knowledgeable

also as they listened rather than danced. Jazz was being raised to the level of "art music," but it was

losing much of its audience because people couldnt dance to it. This new style wascalled bebopbecause a song would often end with an abrupt two-note figure that suggested the word be-

bop or re-bop.

Several musicians contributed to this new style, but one name seems to stand out above all the others.

That was Charlie Parker (1920 1955). He seemed to personify everything about this new music. It

wasnt easy for him to succeed. At first, he was rejected as a participant in the music that made him

famous. He had to work very hard to hone the skills necessary to play in this style. Then, in addition, he

had to try to control a drug addiction mixed with alcoholism. Eventually, he committed himself to a

psychiatric hospital, and it is believed he was 55 when he died. He also had a famous nickname

bestowed by his fans and fellow musicians. He was known as Charlie Bird Parker. The slogan Bird

Lives is a reference to him, bebop and his genius for the style. Others who became known for playingbebop included Dizzy Gillespie, a trumpet player, who continued to play bebop through his entire career.

Thelonious Monk, a pianist, was also recognized as a leader of the style. He did not play in the fast,

virtuoso style of others, but he was an innovator in the area ofharmony and structure of the form. Others

included pianist Bud Powell, as well as trumpeter Miles Davis, who would go on to be an innovator in

several other new styles of jazz in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Charlie Parker Sessions probably filmed around 1950. There are not very many videorecordings of Charlie Parker. This is short, but it will give an idea of how different andinnovative bebop was compared to any of the earlier styles of jazz.

Charlie Parker Sessions

Dizzy Gillespie (1917 1993)was different from other bebop players in one way. Charlie Parker did not

have a chance for a long career because he died young. But the others used bebop as a stepping- stone

to other new jazz styles in the 1950s and 1960s. Dizzy, on the other hand, continued throughout his

entire, long career as a bebop trumpet player. His incredible technique on the trumpet is legend and he

was also a jazz performer with a lot of personality. His trumpet was bent at a party early in his career. He

liked it so much he had trumpets built for him just the way the first one was bent. Also, he played quite

often with a mute in the bell of his horn, specifically a harmon mute. This became a trademark for his

trumpet sound. Other jazz trumpeters would emulate his style later on, Miles Davis being one of the most

notable.

Dizzy Gillespie appearing on the BBC Jazz Show 625. He is performing a tune calledAnd She Stopped. Notice the bell of his trumpet, as well as the beat up harmon mutein the bell of his horn.

Dizzy Gillespie Quintet

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Around 1950, there was a kind of backlash against the frantic tempos of bebop. A new style, called cool

Jazzemerged. This style was also called West Coast Jazzbecause several jazzperformers from there

took up this new style of playing. This was less dissonant, less aggressive jazz. The leader of the cool

movement was Miles Davis (19261991), a former bebop trumpet player. Davis ranks with Louis

Armstrong and Duke Ellington in importance to the development of jazz. He has been the most

continuously innovative jazz performer of his time. Other well-known leaders in this new genre were DaveBrubeck and Gerry Mulligan, both west coast musicians.

"So What," performed by Miles Davis, trumpet, and John Coltrane, tenor saxophone.Miles Davis wrote the tune, and in addition to being part of the cool jazz genre, it is alsoknown as modal jazz. The modes are scales used in the Middle Ages in the classicalmusic of the Catholic Church. In modern jazz these old church modes, as they arecalled, have been dusted off and used as scales on which to improvise. So What usesthe Dorian scaleas its organizing factor. The chords played by the rhythm section arereally just clusters of notes taken from the samescale. The solo improvisations by MilesDavis and John Coltrane also use the notes from the same scale. This is another

innovation in jazz by Miles Davis. Modal scales will remain a characteristicof jazz throughout the rest of the twentieth century, and for the foreseeable future.

Miles Davis - So What

Another new genre, called Hard Bopemerged in the mid to late 1950s. It was a kind of backlash to cool

jazz and bebop. It was an attempt to bring jazz back to its roots (e.g. the blueswith its blue notes). It has a

hard driving funky sound. Some actually call it funky jazz. It has a heavier drumbeat with accents on the

second and fourth beats. Miles Davis was also part of this new trend, but he was more of a participant

than the leader. The innovators were Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins,

Cannon Ball Adderly, and John Coltrane. From this time forward, most people will generally refer to both

bebop and hard bop as 'bop.'

Moanin performed by Jimmy Smith, jazz organist, with the Blue Note Big Band at aJapanese jazz festival. Moanin is a classic hard bop tune. Notice that the band is abouthalf and half American and Japanese instrumentalists. Also, Jimmy Smith is playing aHammond organ, which became popular as a jazz instrument in this style. This mighthave been because the hard bop or funky jazz had a close affinity with gospelmusic ofthe same time.

Jimmy Smith Moanin'

A reaction to everything in jazz during the 1940s and 1950s was a genre called Free Jazz. It was an

attempt to break down the conventions of jazz that had built up since the 1920s really. It was an attempt

at returning to the origins of jazz, emphasizing collective improvisation. The leading exponent of this style

was Ornette Coleman (1930 ). There were four organizing factors in this style: 1) Tone color (timbre)

became a structural element of the music; 2) Collective improvisation returned as a kind of musical

conversation among the instruments; 3) There were special roles assigned to the players (e.g., solos,

accompanying instruments) where all players were free to play at any time they desired as long as the

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soloist was allowed to dominate; 4) All traditional musical "rules" in Western music were open to question.

It is interesting to note that free jazz occurred in the same time frame as thealeatoric music (chance

music) of classical composer, John Cage. Other jazz musicians who experimented with this style were

John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Cecil Taylor, and Anthony Braxton.

"Lonely Woman," recorded by Ornette Coleman and his quartet. This is a more recentversion of this song, recorded in 2010. Ornette Coleman is one of thefew jazz musicians who did not change or refine his style as the last half of the centuryunfolded. He continued in free jazz. Lonely Woman is his most well known piece, firstrecorded in 1959. Coleman did not become very popular during his career, but he isgiven credit for influencing other jazz players with his innovations in the genre.

Ornette Coleman - Lonely Woman

In 1969, Miles Davis was involved in another innovation. He introduced the electric guitar, electronic

keyboards, an electric bass guitar, and amplified trumpet to jazz. These instruments had been used

in rock music for years. The combining of jazz and rock elements would have an effect on the popular

music scene during this time period as well. Miles did

this through a new album he recorded called Bitches Brew. He felt the true expression of black music

was rhythm and blues, the heart and soul of most popular music. He felt jazzfrom the 1950s and 1960s

was a product of white America. Ironically, he seemed to be attacking the very styles of jazz he helped to

create.

"Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," recorded by Miles Davis and his 5tet. This is a songfrom the album Bitches Brew. Here he uses tone clusters, not chords. There is anunchanging harmony, which gives the impression of a continuous vamp, likethe ostinato of early African traditional music. The traditional conceptsof melody, harmonyand phrasing were replaced by repetitious and hypnotic rhythms,or ostinato. There is a kind of resemblance to the philosophy of minimalist classicalmusic composer Philip Glass, who was writing music in the same time period. The otherperformers playing on this album are all important to the jazz scene, participating in thecreation of more new styles throughout the rest of the century. They are Wayne Shorter,soprano and tenor saxophone; Chick Corea, Fender Rhodes, piano; Dave Holland,drums; and Jack DeJohnette, also on drums.

Miles Runs the Voodoo Down

After Miles Davis kind of set the standard, several groups began to experiment withcombining elements of jazz and rock. Later when we are discussing popular music in this time frame, we

will learn that popular rock groups were also adding jazz elements to their music. In jazz, this style

became known as fusion. Technically, the word fusion could be used to imply a combination of any styles,

such as rock or jazz and classical music. But, at this time it is used to describe a combination

of jazz and rock. It is also called jazz/rock, which helps to clarify the style further. Some use the

word fusion to describe the music for instruments only, and jazz/rock for the music that included a vocalist

or vocalists.

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In the 1970s, the instruments were electronically modified to alter their sounds. Some bands also had

acoustic instruments to be used when accompanying vocalists. The keyboard player used synthesizers to

create new effects. Fusion keyboard players required up to four or five synthesizers and a traditional

"acoustic" piano. Rhythm sections often inclined toward the rock style, along with Latin

influenced percussion instruments (e.g., wood blocks, cowbells, bongos, congas). Often the horns andvocalists, along with the bass guitar, would perform in a jazz swing style, while the percussionists would

play in a rock style, or Latin/rock style. There was no set rule or standard however.

Some of the jazz groups who led the way in this new style were Weather Report (Joe Zawinul), Return

to Forever and the Electric Band (Chick Corea), Yellowjackets (Bob Mintzer), and Headhunters

(Herbie Hancock). Herbie Hancock introduced a combination of funkand jazz, calledjazz-funk. These

styles, with slight variations, would remain popular through the 1970s, 1980s, and beyond.

From this point forward, except for a more widespread use of electronics, there was not so much

innovation in jazz as there was a synthesis of all styles. The spotlight was more on the individual artist

than the style that he or she played. Good jazz performers today pride themselves on being able toperform in several, if not all styles of jazz, from all periods in the history of the art form. Every style

of jazz created in this century is still being performed somewhere. An example of this is an entire new

generation of successful New Orleans jazzplayers who have gone back to playing acoustic instruments,

like Wynton and Branford Marsalis.

Birdland performed by the group "Weather Report," led by Joe Zawinul on keyboards,and Wayne Shorter on saxophone. This was a kind of landmark recording inestablishing jazz-fusion as a popular new style in jazz. This recording was released in1977 on an album titled "Heavy Weather," and the album actually peaked at number 30on the Billboard Pop Albumschart. The song (Birdland) won Zawinul

three Grammys(special awards for recorded music). Zawinul, along with Chick Coreaand Herbie Hancock, was one of the first to use electric pianos and early synthesizersin jazz. Another member of the group, Jaco Pastorius, introduced the fretless basstojazz, making the bass line more prominent in a combo setting. The bass line becamealmost like a countermelody in itself.

Weather Report - Birdland

Herbie Hancock (1940 )started out as a keyboard player for Miles Davis. He was one of the first to

combine jazz and funk music, and he had many of his songs crossover and become hits with pop

audiences. His jazz improvisations are a blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, like that of

Claude Debussy.

Chameleon, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2006. This is fusion, or morespecifically jazz-funk. Hancock is playing a keyboard synthesizer, capable of producingalmost any sound imaginable. The guitarplayer is playing an electronic version of anacoustic guitar.

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Herbie Hancock - Chameleon

Bob Mintzeris one of a new breed of jazz musicians emerging during the latter part of the twentieth

century and into the 21st century. In the 1950s and 1960s, high schools and junior high schools began to

incorporate jazz bands into their curriculum. And, after the beginning of that trend, jazz musicians were

hired by colleges and universities to develop jazzprograms at that level. Part of their responsibility was/isto help prepare future music teachers for teaching jazz in the public schools, along with the other

traditional classes and ensembles. Like many of his kind, Bob Mintzer is equally active in performing,

composing/arranging, and music education. He tours and records with his quartet, the Yellowjackets, and

his big band. He is also on the faculty at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he

teaches jazz composition, saxophone, a jazz workshop, and directs a studentjazz orchestra.

This is a recording of Bob Mintzer and the Yellowjackets at an outdoor festival inJacksonville, Florida. He is playing an electronic wind controller (EWI). This instrumentis both a breath controller and a synthesizer. It has a mouthpiece very similar to that of asaxophone, which is Mintzers main instrument. Again, this instrument is capable of

producing almost any type of sound imaginable. The major manufacturers of windcontrollers are Akai and Yamaha. The music Bob Mintzer and his group are performingcould be described as jazz, fusion, and crossover (incorporating sounds of pop music).

Bob Mintzer's EWI Adventure: Yellowjackets Live in Jacksonville

The 1960s and 1970s also produced all kinds of vocal jazz groups. Eventually, vocal jazz was

incorporated into public school curriculums, along with the jazz instrumental groups. Some of the pioneer

groups were the Swingle Singers, Lambert Hendricks and Ross, and the Hi-Los. In the 1980s,

vocal jazz groups that were very popular (and still are) included Manhattan Transfer, and Take 6. Take 6

is a very interesting group. They were originally a gospel group who

incorporated rhythm and blues with jazz styles in their own, unique style of music. They also produce their

own instrumental sounds as vocalists, using special techniques on microphones.

Rat Race composed by Quincy Jones, performed by the Double Six of Paris, a vocalgroup that would later become the Swingle Singers. This was recorded in 1960, andwas based on an instrumental recording by the Count Basie Orchestra. They are using"scat" syllables, in French, to imitate the instruments, both in ensemble playing and insolo improvisations. This was one of the pioneer groups in vocal jazz. Today, theyperform throughout the world and record every kind of music imaginable, from Bach to

the Beatles to jazz-fusion.

Les Double Six - Rat Race

Manhattan Transfer started performing and recording in 1969. They were based in New York City. The

group is still very successful, although some of the personnel have been replaced for various reasons.

They regularly perform in the style of modern jazz, and almost every other musical style imaginable.

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"Birdland," first recorded in by Manhattan Transfer in 1980. The group had a hit recordwith this version of the song, which was originally recorded successfully by WeatherReport. They won their first Grammy award for bestjazz-fusion performance. Here, theyare performing Birdland at a concert in Japan.

Manhattan Transfer Birdland

Take 6 is an American gospel music sextet, formed in a college in Huntsville, Alabama in 1980. They sing

in a contemporary style integrating rhythm and blues and jazz elements into their gospel songs. They

have won ten Grammys and many, many other awards. This group is in great demand all over the world.

"Wade in the Water," performed by Take 6 at a concert in Paris, France in 2013. Wadein the Water is an oldspiritual going back to the days of slavery on the cottonplantations in the South. It is also a message song about wading your way to freedom.So now we have come full circle, from the beginning of jazz in 1900 to today, with someof the original music that contributed to the development of jazz.

Wade in the Water

So, where is jazz going now and in the future?

We have seen, and heard jazz that has gone through dozens of permutations on its journey through the

20th century. Some "purists" argue that the only real jazz is what was developed in New Orleans

between 1900 and approximately 1918. And, some others think that jazz is anything with a beat,

improvised solos, and blue notes. Still others think that jazzis a special shared experience between

performers and listeners, where music is composed on the spot in a way that will never be repeated

exactly the same way again.

We have seen jazz as the nations and the worlds popular music in the 1920s and 1930s. We have seen

it elevated to the level of art music and considered equal to classical music in the 1950s and 60s. We

have seen it incorporate and absorb other musical styles such as rock, classical music, gospel music, and

Afro-Latin music. We have seen it rejoin with Americas popular music in the 1970s and 80s

with jazz/rock or fusion, and jazz-funk, and again become part of the popular music scene of its day.

Obviously, it is a vibrant art form, able to adapt to changing times and reflect the mood of its audiences. It

doesnt generate the same monetary resources as popular music, but it shows no signs of disappearing.

The history of jazz continues to be written, and everything that has been developed since 1900 is still

being played somewhere for an audience. That is a powerful sign, it is a vital part of todays society.

Duke Ellington made a prediction many years ago. He said that, eventually, there would be no separate

styles in music, such as classical, jazz, pop, or folk. It will all be just music. What do you think?

1900 to the Present...and the Future ContinuedPopular music in the 20th century

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Any so-called popular music in the United States before 1950 was a mixture of European music and

various styles that evolved from a blend of African and European music. There was no one genre known

as the popular music of the population. Examples of music that could be considered popular music

are the following:

European songs from classical forms (e.g., opera, dances)

Folk music from Great Britain (e.g., fiddle tunes, folk ballads, dances)

Songs from minstrel shows, tent shows, circuses, church hymn

Early ancestors of jazz (e.g., ragtime, marching bands)

Music of the songsters (e.g., country blues, jump blues, ballads, work songs)

Hillbilly music (e.g., mountain music, western swing, bluegrass)

Songs from vaudeville, revues, musical comedies (e.g., Broadway) Jazz (e.g., the swing era of big bands in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s)

Rhythm and Blues & Gospel (e.g., the black communities in the 1930s and 1940s)

The Swing Era with the big banddance bands was a period of popular music for many. Most of the bandshad vocalists who would sing special songs during the dancing. Often these songs would be recorded

and sold to the public, at times right from the bandstand. Some of the songs were originals, written just for

a particular vocalist performing with one of the popular bands. Other songs originally performed

in Broadway musicals had their popularity increased by recordings of vocalists performing with one of the

well-known dance bands.

"Oh, Look at Me Now," recorded by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1941, with FrankSinatra, Connie Haines, and the Pied Pipers singing. Most of the songs were eitherwritten in the blues form, or a form called the 32-bar song form. This form isdiagrammed as AABA. It means eight measures of music (A) with half of the

first verse of text; then, eight measures of the same music repeated (A) with the secondhalf of the first verse of text; then, eight measures of new music (B), with new text (oftencalled the bridge); and then, finally, the first eight measures again (A) with new text tobring the song to a close. Oh, Look at Me Now is in AABA form.

Oh Look At Me Now

During the same period, the 1930s and 1940s, the last of the Delta blues singers were performing to

packed audiences on the south side of Chicago. Among them were Muddy Waters and Son House. In

those days, this was primarily black music for black audiences. Record companies, like Chess Records in

Chicago, recorded this music and the records were sold to the black community. These records werecalled race records. Because this music was in the classic blues form (12-bar blues) and it had a

strong beat for dancing, it became known asRhythm and Blues. Earlier, in places like the Mississippi

Delta, it was calledjump blues.Then it was accompanied by a guitar or banjo. By the 1940s, it was often

accompanied by electric guitars, bass guitars, keyboards, horns, and a drummer. This music would start

to attract white teenagers toward the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s; and, this would bring on the

beginning of what we now refer to as American popular music.

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Chester Arthur Burnett (1910 1976), known later as Howlin Wolf, actually met Charlie Patton in 1930. At

that time, Patton was the most famous blues singer in the Mississippi Delta. Chester learned to

play guitar from Patton, and they performed together. Later, Howlin Wolf performed alone in

the blues clubs in Memphis, Tennessee. Finally, he moved to Chicago, recorded for Chess Records, and

performed regularly in the blues nightclubs on the south side.

"How Many More Years," performed by Howlin Wolf , most likely on the south side ofChicago. This is in the tradition of the Delta jump blues, but it is performed here with anelectric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums. So now it is called rhythm and blues.Theharmonica has always been a popular musical instrument associated with the blues.Harmonicas were first made in Europe, and they began to appear in North Americaaround 1850. Civil War soldiers in both the Confederate and Union Armies carried them.They were heard on early "race records" sold in southern states in the early 1900s.

Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years

This is an excerpt from a documentary titled Legends of Rhythm & Blues. It features Big Mama Thornton

who was a "well-known" song writer and performer of blues tunes in the black communities of big cities,

like the south side of Chicago and Harlem, in New York City. She recorded quite a few of her own songs.

This documentary was filmed in 1984, and Big Mama Thornton was very old by then. She sings three

songs in this film clip, her own Rooster Blues and "Ball and Chain." The third song, titled "Hound Dog,"

was not hers, but she made the first recording of it. Elvis Presley, who was white, recorded it later in the

1950s, and the song helped launch his huge career.

Big Mama Thornton 1984: Rooster Blues/Ball & Chain

The 1950s, politically and socially

This was the time of the Cold Warbetween the West and the Communist Soviet Union. After World War

II, Russia occupied most of Eastern Europe. They declared it as part of the Soviet Union, essentially

raising an iron curtain between the East and the West. In Asia, Communist North Korea invaded South

Korea (1950). This was followed by a return to the area by the U.S. military forces, which was also

followed by an entry into the war, on the side of North Korea, by Communist China. Eventually, an

armistice was signed in 1953, but North Korea and South Korea remained divided. Another war, still part

of the residue of the Cold War era, started in Vietnam, between Communist-supported North Vietnam and

South Vietnam, which was supported by the United States and its allies. This war would last from 1955 to

1975. After that, the tension between the East and West, with the threat of a nuclear war, would continueuntil the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the meantime, strong feelings developed in the United States concerning war, itself, and the so-called

spread of Communism. The U.S. Government, through hearings in the House and Senate, investigated

the threat of a secret infiltration of Communist spies and sympathizers into U.S. society. During this time,

several actors, entertainers, and musicians were accused as either members of the Communist Party, or

as sympathizers.

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The U.S. Supreme Court, in 1954, ruled that public schools for black and whites in this country could not

remain separate and still be equal in opportunity. In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman in Birmingham,

Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white person. A few years later, Martin Luther

King organized a bus boycott in Birmingham. With others, and the help of sympathizers from the North,

he continued to organize protest marches and sit-ins. These actions marked the beginning of the CivilRights Movement in the United States, which spread to college and university campuses and cities in the

North.

The 1950s was also a period of relative prosperity for the white population in this country. This led to

many first-generation graduates from colleges and universities. Television sets became common in this

decade. The first microwave ovens were also available (at a cost of about $1,300). The first polio shots

became available. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California (1955).

Against this backdrop, white teenagers, many rebelling against their over-protective parents, discovered

black rhythm & blues records. Record companies began to look for successfulrhythm & blues songs so

they could record them with white musicians. A disc jockey named Alan Freed called the music rock nroll(actually, this word was stolen from the lyrics of earlier rhythm & blues songs). So, most of the

early rock and roll records were white "covers" of black artists recordings. Some examples are: Sh-

Boom by the Chords (covered by a white group, the Crewcuts); Shake, Rattle, and Roll by Joe Turner

(covered by Bill Haley and the Comets); Im Walkin by Fats Domino (covered by Ricky Nelson); and,

You Aint Nothin but a Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton (covered by Elvis Presley).

So now that we have reached Rock n Roll, and the beginnings of the genre called popular music in this

country, what were its main contributors? Gospel was religious music developed from spirituals and camp

meetings. In the 1940s and 1950s, groups singing secular songs in the gospel style were common. They

were called doo-wopgroups, and they were an important contributor to the new popular music. Country

music, from folk songs, dance music, and honky-tonk piano (e.g., ragtime, boogie-woogie) was also animportant factor. Rhythm & Blues (songsters, blues, jump blues) was not only a contributor; it may have

been the catalyst for the new popular styles. Finally, rockabilly(a fusion of hillbilly music,

black gospel styles, rhythm & blues) was a style performed and recorded in the 1950s by several artists,

and some of them actually claimed to be the originators of rock and roll.

1900 to the Present...and the Future ContinuedMusical characteristics of rock n roll

Now that we know how a new popular music came to be formed in the 1950s, it would be appropriate to

discuss the main characteristics of this new genre. First, the primary subjects for the lyrics were either

love and/or social protest, depending on current events of the time. The melodies were clearly shaped

and usually included a hook, which was something catchy and memorable so the listener would

remember it and wait to hear it again. Rhythm was emphasized in this music. Most of it was in

quadruple meter (4/4 time) with strong accents on the backbeats (2 and 4). Often the rhythm was also

layered, a strong main rhythm with added counter rhythms. The harmonies were derived from the

European major/minor system, with frequent use of 7th chords (4-note chords). The texture was

homophonic, with frequent use of call and responsetechniques. The most commonly used musical forms

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were theblues and the 32-bar song form (AABA). The instrumentation included electric lead

and rhythm guitars, electric bass guitar, keyboard (electric and/or acoustic), and drums. Vocals included a

lead singer, sometimes with backup singers. Because it had the potential to be very lucrative, this music

had a lot market exposure (radio and TV), and it was mass-produced to be sold. First, there were vinyl

records (single 45-rpm and 33-rpm albums). After that came tape (reel to reel, 8-track, then cassettes),

and finally, CDs.

Chuck Berry (1926 ) grew up in a black middle-class neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri. He

sang gospel hymns with his family in church. He listened to country music on the radio, as well as the

music of Muddy Waters, a former Delta blues singer performing in Chicago. So, his roots were

in gospel music and rhythm and blues, with a singing style influenced bycountry music.

In 1955, he recorded for Chess Records in Chicago. His first record was Maybelline, a country song he

adapted to a boogie-woogie beat, now called a shuffle rhythm. This rhythmic style would become his

signature. By 1956, he and another performer named Little Richard, had established what would become

known as rock n roll. He became a hero to white teenagers who had

discovered rhythm and blues records, and he was one of the very first to perform live for integratedaudiences, blacks and whites together. DJs on radio started switching from jazz and blues to this

new form. Later in his career, Chuck Berry was one of the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of

Fame.

Johnny B. Goode, composed and recorded by Chuck Berry. He is performing here ona TV show in 1958. Notehis singing style, which is very much like a country singer. Also,listen to the shuffle rhythm on the instruments. This style was derived from anearlier piano style called boogie-woogie. Chuck Berry was an excellent guitarplayer, andhe influenced several who followed him.

Johnny Be Good

Little Richard took upand left the ministry several times. As a performer, he used the style of a

Pentecostal preacher, which he was, to work his audiences into a frenzy. After one retirement from show

business, he engineered a comeback through a tour of England. Later, performers in several

English rock groups who would become famous, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, gave him credit

for influencing them. Little Richard liked to call himself the Father of Rock and Roll.

"Long Tall Sally" performed by Little Richard and his backup band in 1956. Notice hisfrenzied style of performing.

Long Tall Sally

Bill Haley (1925 1981) grew up in Michigan. His mother was a piano teacher and his father was

originally a mandolin and banjo player from Kentucky and played bluegrass music. Bill eventually became

the leader of a band that also specialized in country and western swing music. The name of the band was

Four Aces of Western Swing. In 1954, he recorded a song called "Rock Around the Clock." It was only

mildly successful. In 1955, the record company re-released it with a cover of a Joe Turner race record on

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the other side called Shake Rattle and Roll. This record sold over a million copies and eventually

became a gold record. Later Rock around the Clock was used as the theme song of the movie

"Blackboard Jungle," which was about the teenage rebellion and street gangs in the mid 1950s. Again, it

soared to the top of the charts. It is regarded by some as the beginning of a new era in popular music.

Rock Around the Clock recorded by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1954. This versionwas released in 1955.

Rock Around the Clock

A record company in Memphis, Tennessee started by Sam Phillips in 1952, who was first involved in

recording Rhythm and Blues singers, was instrumental in giving four young performers a start in show

business, three of whom would go on to become the biggest stars of a new style of popular music known

as rockabilly. The four were Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash

was really a country singer who would experience a great career, but he was not a part of

the rockabilly craze.

All four of these young men had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks in poor southern towns.

Consequently, they were exposed to the music of both the white and black communities. They concocted

the mixture of African-American rhythms, blues, gospel, and country/western music that became known

as rockabilly.

Elvis Presley (1935 1977) was very familiar with the country, gospel, and blues that were performed in

his racially mixed neighborhood. He listened to blues singers, from the Mississippi Delta, who were

performing in Memphis and Chicago on the radio. He also listened to country and western singers like

Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, and Jimmie Rodgers. He referred to his own music as a "combination

of folk or hillbilly music and gospel, which was really rhythm & blues with religious lyrics." His first

important recording was Heartbreak Hotel in 1956.

You Aint Nothin but a Houndog performed by Elvis Presley on the Milton Berle TVshow in 1956. This is the song that Big Mama Thornton recorded earlier on a racerecord. Elvis recorded it and it became a major hit.

Hound Dog

Carl Perkins (1932 ) first developed as a country singer. He recorded his own song, Blue Suede

Shoes in 1956, and it became a big hit. A good songwriter and an excellent guitarplayer, he performed in

the recording studio with many artists, and traveled with several touring shows. All the artists whorecorded for Sun Records at that time "covered" each others records. Eventually, Perkins became tired of

all the "hoopla" associated with Elvis Presley and the rockabilly craze. He gradually moved back

to country music.

Blue Suede Shoes performed by Carl Perkins on the Perry Como TV show in 1956.This song peaked on Billboard at number two. It reached number one on the Countrycharts, and was in the top five on the Rhythm & Blues charts.

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Blue Suede Shoes

In the 1960s, early rock and roll and rockabilly died out in the popular music scene. Little Richard quit to

become a preacher again. Chuck Berry was in jail. Buddy Holly, another successful performer, was killed

in an airplane crash. Jerry Lee Lewis was involved in a scandal, and Carl Perkins stopped performingpopular music. Elvis Presley went into the Army. After his release, he became a movie star and changed

his style of singing.

The music publishers and record companies took over the market. They hired songwriters to create

"formula songs" that had no real energy. Sometimes the music from this era has been called

"schlock rock." Dick Clark started a weekly TV show in Philadelphia. It showed Philadelphia teenagers

dancing to the new sounds. The show was called Bandstandthen American Bandstand (1957)and

finally The Dick Clark Show. He insisted on a dress code for the teenagers who were on his show, which

made the parents very happy. He also groomed a new group of teenaged singers who recorded the

songs produced by the publishers, and they were also featured on his weekly show. Fabian, Frankie

Avalon, Bobbie Rydell, and Chubby Checker were some of the singers who were featured.

Part of Dick Clark marketing technique was to introduce a series of dance crazes on his TV show. Of

course, his staff invented most of them. Because they had nationwide exposure on his show, some of

them became popular. Here are a few:

Hucklebuck

Poney

Limbo

Fly

Fish

Bristol StompContinental

Mashed Potato

The Slop

The Twist

Venus - Frankie Avalons biggest hit released in 1959. This is an example of the sortof songs the publishers were giving young artists to record after the rockabilly crazecooled down. Some people called this "schlockrock." Frankie is performing here on theDick Clark Show.

Venus

The Twist Chubby Checkers first big hit, released in 1960. Actually this was a cover of

a rhythm and bluessong released in 1958. Chubby got his start on the Dick Clark Show, and the Twist

was one of the dances described earlier. Chubby also introduced two other dances on the show, the

Limbo and the Fly.

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The Twist

Gradually, the publishers of popular music gained complete control of the industry. They hired the

songwriters, picked the artists, supervised the recording sessions, and booked the concert tours. For a

few years, they actually created the new stars of popular music.

One of those publishers, Don Kirschner, literally picked groups off the street corners in New York City and

recorded them. The singers were originally gospel groups, and now they were singing secular tunes on

the streets of New York hoping to get into show business. Many of them took their group name from birds

the Ravensthe Larksthe Robinsthe Penguins. Others were named after cars that were driving by

the Cadillacsthe Edselsthe Imperials.

This is called 50s Rock Medley, but the songs are really doo-wop hits of that period.

There were all-girl pop groups too with names like the Shirellesthe Ronettesthe Blossom. Also,

lots of recorded songs were not even aimed at teenagers. They were designed for 10 to 12-year-olds.

These groups had names like the Dixie Cupsthe Chiffonsthe Archies.

In 1959, "Gidget," a movie starring Sandra Dee was released about surfing in California. Later, Gidget

was a TV series starring Sally Fields. Surfing on the West Coast was not a big thing until this movie was

released. Before that, most of the surfers were in Hawaii. But by 1963, there were 100,000 surfers on the

beaches of California, and most of them were teenagers. Eventually, they had their own music. Early

groups specializing in "surf music" were Dick Dale and the Del-tones, and Jan and Dean. Fender, of

Fender guitars and amplifiers, created new amps for this music. They sounded fuzzy (lots of reverb), just

like the surf. The group that made it big with this music was the Beach Boys.

Surfin USA performed live by the Beach Boys in 1964.

Also in the 1960s, folk music was part of the popular music scene. With the Civil Rights Movement and

the Vietnam War, there was a return to the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and their protest

songs. College students, mainly, reacting to the times and to the "pop" music aimed at teenagers, turned

to folk music. It is also interesting to note that a lot of college students were also jazz enthusiasts in the

1950s and 1960s. Some of the new performers in this style were: the Kingston Trio, the New Christy

Minstrels, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Peter Paul and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, and the leader of them all,

Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was more of a poet than a performer, and the lyrics of his protest songs became

anthems to the fans.

Blowin in the Wind written and performed by Bob Dylan in 1963, on a live TV show.Blowin in the Wind was one of his most popular folk songs.

Blowin' in the Wind

Eventually, folk music was mixed with light rock backgrounds. Some of these groups were the

ByrdsChad Mitchell Triothe Limeliters and Simon and Garfunkel.

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The Sounds of Silence- performed by Simon & Garfunkel on a concert in Central Park,NYC, in 1967. It was released on a recording earlier, in 1964. This is a protest songabout poverty and prejudice in U.S. society.

Sound of Silence

In 1964, there was the beginning of a British invasion of the United States by rock bands. The first of them

were the Beatles. Originally, in England, they were a skiffle band, which meant they mostly "covered"

American rhythm and blues songs. They also acknowledged Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley as major

influences on their music. Their first performance in the United States was on a popular TV show, the Ed

Sullivan show, which was watched by most of America every Sunday night. They were an instant

success, and eventually they were regarded by many as the greatest and most influential rock band of

their era.

I Want to Hold Your Hand performed by the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show

in 1964.

After the initial success of the Beatles, the so-called British Invasion of rock bands included the following:

The Searchers

The Dreamers

The Hollies

Hermans Hermits

The Dave Clark Five

The Monkees

The Who

The YardbirdsThe Rolling Stones

In1963, a recording company in Detroit, Michigan, released a recorded version of Martin Luther Kings I

Have a Dream speech. This company, Motown Records, owned by Berry Gordy, went on to become the

first African-American owned record label to sell the music of African-American youths to the white

American audience. They took young performers from the streets of Detroit and organized a complete

package for them. This included learning proper stage presence, how to move, how to dress, and a new

style of "pop" music based onrhythm and blues. Many of the top performers of the 1960s and 1970s were

discovered and recorded by Motown Records. A representative list includes the following:

Diana Ross and the SupremesAretha Franklin

The Temptations

The Four Tops

Martha and the Vandellas

Gladys Knight and the Pips

Jackie Wilson

The Marvelettes

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Martha Reeves

Marvin Gaye

Stevie Wonder

Michael Jackson (as a member of the Jackson Fiveor The Jacksons)

The Jackson Five, performing Can You Remember? from their first album in 1969.This was a weekly TV show called Hollywood Palace. Introducing them were DianaRoss and Sammy Davis Jr.

Can You Remember?

My Girl- as sung by the Temptations and released by Motown Records in 1964. This song reached

number one on the Pop Charts in 1965. It is the signature song of this group.

My Girl

Also in the 1960s, the beatnik generation was occupying Greenwich Village, in New York City. In the early

days, the beatniks were jazz fans. In Greenwich Village, they were able to hang out in the jazz clubs that

were part of that community. Also, this same generation was part of the hippie culture in San Francisco.

Quite a few beatniks from New migrated to this part of the country, specifically a place called North

Beach. Middle-class, college-educated young people who were trying to demonstrate that love could

replace warthat sharing could replace greedthat a community could supersede the individual. "On the

Road," a book written by Jack Kerouac became the bible for the hippies. Allen Ginsberg was an admired

poet (America). Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor, edited a journal called the Psychedelic Review,

which among other things, extolled the use of the new drug, LSD.

These people were the supporters of the return to popularity of folk music, represented by Bob Dylan,

Peter Paul and Mary, Tom Paxton, and Joan Baez. These people were also supporters of a new

music genre in popular music called Acid Rockor Psychedelic Rock.Acid Rock was music associated

with, and about LSD. Performing groups who represented this new style were: Jefferson Airplane, the

Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia), the Doors, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Psychedelic rock bands

appeared in Great Britain at this time also. Two of the representative groups were Pink Floyd and the Soft

Machine.

Somebody to Love recorded by Jefferson Airplane and released on the AlbumSurrealistic Pillow in 1967. The vocalist is Grace Slick. This band was formed in SanFrancisco, and they were a favorite of the hippie culture in North Beach.

Somebody To Love

Still in the 1960s, another new genre in popular music, Soul Music, appeared. Actually this music existed

in the 1950s also, but it was not really noticed until after 1960. This music seemed to grow out of the civil

rights movement. It represented a search for an African-American identity. The phrase, Black is

Beautiful became a kind of rallying cry. There were race riots in the community of Watts, in Los Angeles,

and in Harlem, in New York City. There was soul food (e.g., chitins, black-eyed peas, collard greens,

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sweet potato pie), soul brothers, and soul sisters. The style of soul music is difficult to describe in words.

It was part of the merger of gospel and rhythm and blues that occurred in the 1950s, but it also had a

character all its own. Important artists associated with this style were: James Brown, who is often referred

to as the Father of Soul; Ray Charles, who was the epitome of the style; Aretha Franklin, a Motown star

who started as a gospel singer; Jackie Wilson, another Motown star; and Sam Cooke, who was also a

famous gospel singer before he became associated withsoul music.

Ring of Fire performed by Ray Charles. This song reached number one on the PopCharts in 1970. Ray recorded it as part of an album titled "Love Country Style." Ring ofFire was originally a hit record by Johnny Cash, a country music singer who useda rockabilly band as an accompaniment. Ray Charles treatment of this song is the bestway to describe the style known as Soul Music.

Ring of Fire

James Brown performing in 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire (Africa). The show was called "Soul Power Live."

James Brown was called the "Father of Soul," and later, he was also called the "Father of Funk." This

music haselements of soul music, but it also forecasts the funk music James Brown was famous for a

little later on. Notice James Browns dance moves. He was also imitated a lot by breakdancerswho were

part of the hip/hop/rapscene in the 1989s. In fact, some people also refer to him as the Father

of Breakdancing.

Soul Power

Still in the 1960s, this became a time of very loud and sometimes violent music. In the late 1960s this was

a sign of the times. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was a band that formed in England in 1966, although

Jimi Hendrix was American. He brought his music to the United States and was a success, as well as an

influence on many who came along later. He used all kinds of special effects with his electric guitar, a

wah-wah pedal, a fuzz box, deliberate feedback, and stacked Marshall amplifiers. This was explosive,

hard-edged blues for violent times, and it would forecast the coming of heavy metal bandslater. Another

important band from England was Cream, led by Eric Clapton. This was psychedelic blues at a near-

deafening level of volume. Janis Joplin, a vocalist who started with psychedelic bands, had a hit album

titled Cheap Thrills. She was involved with two bands as a soloist, The KosmicBlues Band and The Full-

Tilt Boogie Band. Her career was cut short when she died of a drug overdose in 1970. Finally, there was

"Creedance Clearwater Revival." Their music was referred to as "swamp music," or blues with a political

message. It was a combination of Chicago electric blues, rockabilly, and fuzzy-sounding psychedelia.

Their biggest hit was Proud Mary.

Purple Haze performed by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. This was a major hit record in1967. "Purple Haze" has become one of the "archetypical psychedelic drug songs of thesixties. Many metal guitarists would emulate his virtuosic guitar techniques.

Purple Haze

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Still in the late 1960s but fully developing in the 1970s, were groups called heavy metal bands. This style

of rock probably evol