MU121 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Bill Haley, Jerry Wexler, Wee Wee Hours
Ch 1 – The World Before Rock and Roll
What Musical Genres Did Rock and Roll Develop From?
1. America in 1940s
- Country and pop
- R&B
2. Mainstream Pop (Tin Pan Alley)
- White audience
- Southern
3. Country & Western (C&W)
- White audience
- Southern
4. Rhythm & Blues (R&B)
- Made by and for African Americans
Tremming
- First free neighbourhood for African Americans in New Orleans
- During days of slavery, slaves could meet at this park and sell things for money
- Where they could play drums
Tin Pan Alley
- Tin Pan Alley: music published from 1880-1950
o Ex. Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, etc.
- Components:
1. Physical Place
▪ New York
▪ People hired professional songwriters
2. Business Model
▪ Same one that Kanye West and Beyonce follow
▪ Professional songwriters writing songs for celebrities to sing
3. Form of Music
▪ Mainstream pop comes from this
- Tin Pan Alley music was:
o Family friendly
o Highlighted the American Dream
▪ Followed mainstream American values
o Not controversial, no songs about sex, etc.
o For clean cut, white people
- Artists today that follow this business model:
o Beyonce – 70 writers
o Kanye – over 100 writers
find more resources at oneclass.com
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o Rihanna – 30 writers
o Drake – 40 writers
Country Music
- Appalachian States: one form of country music
o Roots of country
o Irish, Scottish, English immigrants
- Fiddle Music:
o Often performed by coal miners
o Own style of music based on Irish, Scottish, English, and fiddle music
The Importance of Image
- Jimmie Rogers: the singing brakeman
o Had a costume
o On stage persona
- Hank Williams: live fast, die young
o Died at the age of 33
o Overdosed in the backseat of a Cadillac while driving to a gig
Rebel Image/The 27 Club
- The 27 Club: all died at the age of 27 because of drugs
o Jimmy Morrison
o Jimi Hendrix
o Janis Joplin
o Kurt Cobain
o Amy Winehouse
The Racial Politics of Rock
- Black music was considered a dangerous influence on white youth
- Rock and roll was described as the devil’s music
o Before this, so were jazz and blues
- People assumed African culture was uncivilized
o Elite white society tried to dehumanize blacks by portraying them as a
lesser species
- Sex in the European Christian tradition is demonized
o Up until the Reformation, the only times you were allowed to have sex
was within the bounds of a heterosexual relationship with the intent of
procreation
o In the 50s, there was the idea that a more civilized culture refrained from
sex – not outwardly sensual
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- Before the 50s, there was really no idea of the teenager
o Kids listened to the same music as their parents
o Tin Pan Alley and mainstream pop music was geared towards families
- Elite whites said black music was all about sex
o R&B comes from a different understanding of sex
- For Christians, sin is rooted in the body and in sex
o Pre-Christian African beliefs did not view the body with all these sexual
hang ups
- When Elvis Presley sings about rock and roll, controversy isn’t just because he’s
singing rock and roll, it’s because he’s singing black music
Asa Carter
- Asa Carter: KKK member
o The North Alabama White Citizens Council
- Against rock and roll because he saw it as the mainstreaming of black culture
o Wanted to keep black people on the margins
- Rock and roll is nothing but a plot by the National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured People to lower American youth’s morals. It does this
through its degenerate, animalistic beats and rhythms
Stagger Lee Myth
- The idea that black men are demons and driven sexually
o Black men want to have sex with virginal white women
- Comes out of colonial era, where white elites tried to keep races separate
Muddy Waters – ) Just Want to Make Love to You
- Whites started to apply the Stagger Lee Myth to people like Muddy Waters
o Some of his songs fell into the category of Hokum Blues
- Hokum Blues: songs about sex, even if they just lightly imply it
o Many songs play into this
- Some black artists crossed over to white charts
o Muddy Waters did not
▪ Was only successful on black charts
▪ His career essentially finished in the 50s
▪ He is brought back because of the Rolling Stones who named their
band after one of his songs
▪ They refused to play at some places without Muddy waters
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Ch 1 the world before rock and roll. What musical genres did rock and roll develop from: america in 1940s. R&b: mainstream pop (tin pan alley) First free neighbourhood for african americans in new orleans. During days of slavery, slaves could meet at this park and sell things for money. Tin pan alley: music published from 1880-1950: ex. Components: physical place, new york, people hired professional songwriters, business model, same one that kanye west and beyonce follow, professional songwriters writing songs for celebrities to sing, form of music, mainstream pop comes from this. Tin pan alley music was: family friendly, highlighted the american dream, followed mainstream american values, not controversial, no songs about sex, etc, for clean cut, white people. Artists today that follow this business model: beyonce 70 writers, kanye over 100 writers, rihanna 30 writers, drake 40 writers. Appalachian states: one form of country music: roots of country, irish, scottish, english immigrants.
