Unit 10 – Music of
the 1970s
Many of the trends begun in the 1960s continued in the 1970s while new styles also emerged as existing genres diversified and differing genres interacted. Technology played a role in the increased use of practices like overdubbing and eventually led to whole new genres like disco and rap, in which technology itself became integral to the process of composition and performance. Rock had come of age by the 1970s, and there was a mix of both nostalgia for earlier rock and progress toward new styles. Alternatively, adult genres of music such as easy listening, adult contemporary and soft rock emerged out of the perception that hard rock was geared toward young people. The music industry became increasingly centralized in the hands of a shrinking number of large companies, a trend that would continue in the 1980s. A tension between the commercial mainstream and alternative voices on the fringes, which had always existed, intensified in the 1970s with genres like punk rock, heavy metal, rap, and outlaw contry music staking out alternative positions and perspectives.
Country Music showed tensions between
traditional and pop influences, conservatism and progressivism. The traditional style of singers like Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn, was at odds with a more pop-influenced sound, often performed by singers who came from a pop background outside of country but chose to adopt a country style or image. John Denver is an example of a pop-oriented country singer who was not accepted by much of the traditional country music establishment.
At the same time, there were differences and even apparent ideological differences among the traditionalists. While Merle Haggard sang of conservative values (whether sincerely or ironically nobody seems to know for sure) in Okie from Muskogee, Loretta Lynn took bold stances on issues of feminism and women's equality in songs like The Pill. Yet another group of country musicians that included Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings cultivated an image of outlaws, articulating yet another alternative position to the center of country music. On the whole, the particular blend of traditional and modern elements in country music of the 1970s resulted in a sound that has dominated mainstream country music ever since.
At the same time, there were differences and even apparent ideological differences among the traditionalists. While Merle Haggard sang of conservative values (whether sincerely or ironically nobody seems to know for sure) in Okie from Muskogee, Loretta Lynn took bold stances on issues of feminism and women's equality in songs like The Pill. Yet another group of country musicians that included Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings cultivated an image of outlaws, articulating yet another alternative position to the center of country music. On the whole, the particular blend of traditional and modern elements in country music of the 1970s resulted in a sound that has dominated mainstream country music ever since.
Rock became ever more diversified in the 1970s.
Many rock musicians viewed themselves as artists; there was a tension between this
orientation and pop/rock for entertainment or dancing. Here are just a few of the many styles and genres that were important in the 1970s with some of the musicians or bands associated with them.
The mainstream of popular rock included artists as diverse asElton John ("Crocodile Rock") and the
Eagles ("Hotel California")
Art rock
was closeley linked to the idea of a concept album and the idea that a song or album was an artistic expression and unity – Pink Floyd
Glam
rock made use of flamboyant costumes, theatrical performances, and often a bit of ambiguity about a performer/character's gender or sexuality – David Bowie
Heavy
Metal used distorted, amplified guitar solos, gutteral singing (screaming), and masses of loud sound – Led Zeppelin, Van Halen
Punk was hard-edged anti-establisment rock opposed to the popular mainstream
-- Ramones
New Wave emerged from a similar scene and attitude to punk rock, but was mare pop-oriented and often cultivated a collegiate, ironic, or nerd-chic image --Talking Heads
New Wave emerged from a similar scene and attitude to punk rock, but was mare pop-oriented and often cultivated a collegiate, ironic, or nerd-chic image --Talking Heads
Soul, Funk, Disco and more
On the soul side of things, black popular music also continued to develop and diversify, culminating in the takeover of mainstream pop by disco at the end of the decade. The popularity of Motown with its glossy packaging of pop-soul continued, with solo acts becoming more prominent. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Jackson Five (which would produce Michael Jackson) were all Motown singers. Funk, with its syncopated, layered, interlocking instrumental rhythms, developed largely out the groundwork laid by James Brown and was brought to the height of its influence by George Clinton and Sly and the Family Stone. Reggae, a Carribbean style associated with Rastafarianism, became popular through the work of Bob Marley and others. It exerted important influences on other genres, including punk and rap, by the end of the decade.
However, the music from the black family of genres that achieved the most phenomenal popularity in the 1970s was disco. Disco was recorded dance music that was played by DJs in dance clubs. At first it was the music primarily of black, Latin and gay clubs in New York and other cities. It featured a strong dance beat, with a bass drum thump on every beat of the measure (this beat is called "four to the floor" and is in conrast to rock, which has bass on beats one and three, with a higher pitched backbeat on beats two and four, as described in our discussion of Chuck Berry's Maybellene), often rich orchestral instrumentation with strings and brass, syncopated rhythmic layers from funk, and expressive vocals from soul.
As disco grew in popularity and entered the mainstream, it became an important alternative to rock, which at the time was in some degree focused on art and a certain kind of white-male-centered seriousness. The steady beat and simple, repetitive lyrics of disco provided an outlet for those who simply wanted dance and have an uninhibited good time. The height of the disco craze coincided with the realeas of the film Saturday Night Fever in 1977, with songs by the Bee Gees. The sound of disco became so pervasive in popular music by the end of the 1970s that it eventually provoked a backlash, especially from those who preferred hard rock. (Not to put to fine a point on it, but it should be mentioned that the black, gay and feminist associations with disco require us to ask whether some of the backlash was motivated by racism, homophobia and/or sexism.)
On the soul side of things, black popular music also continued to develop and diversify, culminating in the takeover of mainstream pop by disco at the end of the decade. The popularity of Motown with its glossy packaging of pop-soul continued, with solo acts becoming more prominent. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Jackson Five (which would produce Michael Jackson) were all Motown singers. Funk, with its syncopated, layered, interlocking instrumental rhythms, developed largely out the groundwork laid by James Brown and was brought to the height of its influence by George Clinton and Sly and the Family Stone. Reggae, a Carribbean style associated with Rastafarianism, became popular through the work of Bob Marley and others. It exerted important influences on other genres, including punk and rap, by the end of the decade.
However, the music from the black family of genres that achieved the most phenomenal popularity in the 1970s was disco. Disco was recorded dance music that was played by DJs in dance clubs. At first it was the music primarily of black, Latin and gay clubs in New York and other cities. It featured a strong dance beat, with a bass drum thump on every beat of the measure (this beat is called "four to the floor" and is in conrast to rock, which has bass on beats one and three, with a higher pitched backbeat on beats two and four, as described in our discussion of Chuck Berry's Maybellene), often rich orchestral instrumentation with strings and brass, syncopated rhythmic layers from funk, and expressive vocals from soul.
As disco grew in popularity and entered the mainstream, it became an important alternative to rock, which at the time was in some degree focused on art and a certain kind of white-male-centered seriousness. The steady beat and simple, repetitive lyrics of disco provided an outlet for those who simply wanted dance and have an uninhibited good time. The height of the disco craze coincided with the realeas of the film Saturday Night Fever in 1977, with songs by the Bee Gees. The sound of disco became so pervasive in popular music by the end of the 1970s that it eventually provoked a backlash, especially from those who preferred hard rock. (Not to put to fine a point on it, but it should be mentioned that the black, gay and feminist associations with disco require us to ask whether some of the backlash was motivated by racism, homophobia and/or sexism.)
The beginnings of rap
Rap music also had its beginnings in the 1970s, and it used many of the same technological practices as disco. We will save our first discussion of rap for the next unit.
Art Music
Composers of
art music reacted against the
experimentalism of the previous generation
·
Minimalist
composers like Philip Glass stripped
music down to its most basic elements
Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach
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