MU121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Big Joe Turner, Ray Manzarek, Blues Scale
Mu121 lecture 7
Activity: Reveal
llowing artists die at age 27? Click on the “reveal” link to reveal the answers. bert Johnson
(died in 1938, thought to be poisoned by a jilted lover) hide
an Jones of the Rolling Stones (died in 1969 of "death by misadventure") hide s
pac Shakur (died in 1996 in a drive-by shooting) hide
m Morrison (died of heart failure in 1971 in his bathtub in Paris) hide s
mes Dean (died in a Porsche in 1955) hide
ddy Holly (died in 1959 in a plane crash)hide
mi Hendrix (died in 1970 of asphyxiation) hide s
nis Joplin (died in 1970 of a heroin overdose) hide s
d Vicious (died in 1979 of a heroine overdose) hide
n "Pigpen" McKernan of the Grateful Dead (died in 1973 of an alcohol related illness) hide s
rt Cobain (died in 1994 of suicide) hide s
torious B.I.G (died in 1997 in a drive-by shooting) hide
my Winehouse (died in 2011 of alcohol poisoning) hide s
ath Ledger (died in 2008 of a multi-drug overdose) hide
R&B
The next lesson will speak more about the ways R&B influenced rock in the 1950s, but we
can also see its ongoing influence today in modern pop music’s focus on dance-oriented
repertoire, the continued relevance of the electric guitar, the use of improvised instrumental
solos, the use of the blues scale, and the use of song forms such as simple verse. Like
country music, R&B tended to offer a much more gritty commentary on life than Tin Pan
Alley and songs about lovemaking, hard drinking and violent situations are templates for
much of today’s popular music.
Race Music and Racial Politics
The final theme from this lesson’s readings is racial politics. Whereas mainstream pop was
family oriented music marketed to the widest possible demographic in the United States—
middle-class white families—using nationally networked radio and television stations, R&B
and Country & Western were regional forms of music each with their own exclusive
audiences (African Americans for the former and lower class southern whites for the latter).
Document Summary
Like country music, r&b tended to offer a much more gritty commentary on life than tin pan. Alley and songs about lovemaking, hard drinking and violent situations are templates for much of today"s popular music. The final theme from this lesson"s readings is racial politics. Rock n" roll comes out of the integration of african-american and euro-american music traditions and the negotiation of race is important in this mix. Early in the documentary you"ll hear ray manzarek from the doors say that without the influence of black american music, the doors would have been playing minuets. You can hear several examples of pre- rock race music or what became known as r&b in this documentary, including muddy. Waters, ruth brown, louis jordan, big joe turner and ray charles. Activity: journaling a few questions about race and early rock n" roll based on the course material so far.
