Unit 9 – Rock, Soul
and Popular Music in the 1960s
(1964-1969)
If there
were some who hoped rock ‘n’ roll was a passing fad and others who complained
that it had become diluted and trivialized by the commercial music industry,
the course of the 1960s showed that it was here to stay. As the next generation
of musicians came of age, they began to call the music simply rock, to distinguish it from the earlier
style. Rock music became increasingly diverse and sophisticated over the decade
and would continue to do so into the 1970s. A parallel process of development
occurred in black popular music, which transitioned from rhythm and blues to
soul, while country music continued to be popular as well.
Some of the
important developments of the early 1960s included the growing role of the
record producer as both artistic partner to the musicians and visionary
entrepreneur, as mentioned briefly in the previous unit. Phil Spector started
out as a songwriter, but really found success as a producer. He was known for
creating his famous “wall of sound,” in which the use of rich instrumentation
and a good deal of reverb contributed to a saturated texture in recordings like
the Ronettes’ Be My Baby, which is
also a good example of girl group pop from the era.
Berry Gordy
founded Motown records in Detroit and pulled off a similar tactic with even
more success. Combining rhythm and blues, soul and other styles of black music
with large instrumental ensembles and backup singing, Motown music was meant to
appeal to the widest possible audience across racial lines. The Supremes,
featuring Diana Ross, were one of the most popular Motown groups.
Supremes, You Can't Hurry Love
Brian Wilson
was another accomplished producer, who created the Beach Boys’ unique sound
while also fronting the group in performance.
In the view
of many, rock was reinvigorated in the mid-1960s by the British Invasion. British
rock bands like the Beatles and the Rolling stones, composed of young people
who had been inspired by American rhythm and blues and rock and roll, made a
deep impression on American music when they began touring in the United States.
The Beatles’ 1964 US tour had an inestimable effect in this regard.
The Beatles
and other rock bands in the 1960s took the basic forms of rock ‘n’ roll and
expanded upon them, introducing more complex forms and different chord changes,
along with more obvious influences of Tin Pan Alley, classical music and
non-Western music.
The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
Country Music
Country music in the 1960s continued to cultivate the "Nashville sound," a blend of traditional contry with easy listening pop.
Patsy Cline, Crazy
Soul Music
Soul music developed out of gospel and largely supplanted rhythm and blues as the most popular form of black music in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the pioneers of soul music was Ray Charles, who combined secular (even sexual) lyrics with the gospel style of music that was common in black churches. This mixing of the sacred and secular was controversial in some corners, but it proved to be an important way forward for black popular music (especially at a time when rock was increasingly associated with white bands).
Ray Charles, What'd I Say?
Aretha Franklin was known as the Queen of Soul, and her work represents the apex of the genre in the 1960s. Perhaps her best-known recording is of the song Respect, which was originally written and recorded by Otis Redding. By putting herself in the position of the song's speaker, who demands certain kinds of "respect" from her lover, Franklin produced a hit that resonated with the feminist movement of the late 1960s and the 1970s. In addition, soul music generally, with its powerful vocals, became the soundtrack of black empowerment in the 1960s and 1970s, expressing the optimism many blacks felt in the wake of the civil rights movement. Franklin's Respect is easily read as an anthem of both of these movements.
Aretha Franklin, Respect
James Brown, known as the "Godfather of Soul" and the "hardest working man in show business" completes a trio of important soul musicians from the 1960s. His best known work strips the music down to one or two basic chords; blurs the lines between singing, speaking, and shouting; and involves a good deal of repetition of basic ideas in the lyrics along with "hits" on the horns and other instruments of the band that usually play melody, turning them virtually into percussion instruments in a rhythmically layered texture reminiscent of African polyrhythm. Elements of this sound became the basis of funk, of which Brown is considered a pioneer and which will be discussed again in the next unit on the 1970s. Brown was also known for his kenetic dance moves and showmanship. The music may sound simple, but it requires a great deal of precision from the band, and although Brown's performances look spontaneous, he actually approached his work with a great deal of discipline.
James Brown, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag
Rock in the Late 1960s
By the late 1960s, rock had diversified to the point at which certain subgenres, styles and association can be readily identified. Acid rock or psychedelic rock suggested a relationship between rock and drug use and the youth counterculture associated with social protest, opposition to the Vietnam War, and support for the civil rights movement. Much of what is memorable about popular music in the late 1960s relates to these trends.
Many rock musicians began to experiment musically, giving rise to art rock and other experimentalist genres. The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band shows the influence of psychedelia, art rock and other developments of the late 1960s. Unlike earlier albums, which were loose collections of songs, Sgt. Pepper's was intended as a unified artistic work, and it draws on diverse styles of music, including, rock, classical, folk and world music. "Within You Without You" makes use of the sitar, the instrument of North Indian classical music, which George Harrison had been learning from the internationally famous sitarist, Ravi Shankar.
The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, "Within You Without You"
Other prominent musicians of the late 1960s include Janis Joplin, who was important female voice in rock and laid a foundation for many women singer-songwriters to come; Jimi Hendrix, whose guitar techniques were profoundly infulential; and Bob Dylan, who updated the urban folk movement begun by people like Woody Guthrie and Pete Singer by combining the folk style with rock, and even eventually changing to electronic instruments--a move which shocked many in the folk music community! These musicians and others participated in various music festivals in the late 1960s that gave voice to a segment of the youth generation of the time. The convergence of music and 1960s counterculture reached full expression at the Woodstock Festival of 1969.
Janis Joplin, Ball and Chain, Monterey Pop Festival
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