Popular Music Before 1960 Notes

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- “Hellbound on my Trail” (1937)

- “Love in Vain” (1937)- pitch bending,

Hillbilly Records

- Okeh Records- Polk Brockman- Fiddlin’ John Carson

- “Little Old Log Cabin in the Lake”- (1923)- nostalgic for the past, glorifying folk simplicity – authenticity

- Ralph Peer put out open auditions- at the Bristol sessions – found

- Carter Family- A.P Carter- song catcher, Sara, Maybelle (guitar)

- Lesley Riddle helped catch songs

- Maybelle- developed new strumming pattern- picking strings while strumming

- “Single girl, Married girl” (1927)

- “Can the Circle be unbroken” (1935)

- “Worried Man Blues” (1930) – 12 bar blues- crossover

- Jimmie Rodgers- “father of country music”

- Called “the Singing Brakeman” - railroad worker

- Ramblin’ Man image- always on the railroad, no home, free and lonely

- Yodeling- “waiting for a train” (1928)

- “blue yodel no. 2” (1928)

The Swing Era

- World War 2 c. 1945

- 1930- prohibition repealed

- rise of the Big Band Era

- arranger-

- Brass section, reeds section, rhythm section

- riffs in call and response- between brass section and reed section

- rhythm section – drums play “4 on floor”, bass- “walking bass line”- hitting every quarter note in 4/4 rhythm

- hot bands (black- radio)- improvisation vs. sweet bands (white- well-paid, big gigs)-prearranged, smooth mellow timbres, commercialized

- both sides wanted to play the other style

- Jitterbug

- Lindy Hop (Charles Lindburg)- first pilot to fly across Atlantic Ocean- more emphasized version of the Jitterbug

- Radio- influenced dispersion of music

- Fletcher Henderson- arranger / bandleader, played at Roseland Club (whites only), then after in Harlem at Savoy Club (black and tan)- Chick Webb- bandleader at savoy, drummer

- “Hotter Than ‘Ell’”- 1934

- Buster Bailey

- AABA form- trombone, sax, cornet, clarinet solo

- Benny Goodman- “King of Swing” – white band playing hot jazz

- John Hammond- promoted African American music, Vanderbilt family – helped Goodman get Columbia record and radio show- “Let’s Dance”- to attract teenagers

- Benny Goodman bought arrangements from Fletcher Henderson

- Gene Krupa- drummer in Goodman’s band

- Glenn Miller- sweet jazz

- Count Basie- went to Kansas City- lawless frontier wild west town

- piano player , “head arrangements”- musicians play the short memorized arrangement to increase improvisation

Western Swing; Bluegrass; Early Country & Western

Big Band Singers; Urban Folk Music

Gospel

Boogie Woogie; Jump Blues

Rhythm & Blues

From Rhythm & Blues to Rock n’ Roll

Rock n roll pt. 1

Rock n’ roll pt. 2

Doowop, the Backlash against Rock n’ Roll