University:
Eastern Kentucky University
Course:
MUH 273 | Survey of American Popular Music
Academic year:

2022
Views:

462

Pages:

2
Author:

Maverick Martin

● “Blueberry Hill” - Fats Domino, 1956 ● Chuck Berry ○ Represent AABA pattern ○ Recorded for Chess Records (in Chicago) ○ His record “Maybellene” crossed over from rhythm and blues to the pop charts, and he had several more top 40 singles ○ His intention was to write songs for the average teenager ○ Many of his songs are written in the 12-bar blues form, guitar imitated a rock style (template for how to play electric guitar) ○ “Johnny B. Goode” - 1958 ■ Tells a story about an average teenager from Louisiana who knows how to play guitar ● Little Richard ○ Cultivated a flamboyant, “wild man” persona, but his style made it more difÏcult ○ “Tutti Frutti” - 1956 for him to advance his career in the mainstream pop market ■ #1 on the Billboard “Most Played in Jukeboxes” pop chart, #2 on both rhythm and blues charts ■ 12-bar blues The “Whitening” of Rhythm and Blues ● The practice of changing lyrics and music of rhythm and blues songs to appeal to white listeners could be called the whitening of rhythm and blues ● Bill Haley (and The Comets) did this in some of his records and helped establish model for early rock and roll (example, the song “Shake, Rattle and Roll”) ○ “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” - 1954 ■ First #1 rock and roll hit ■ Played in the movie “Blackboard Jungle” ○ He was originally a disc jockey, and swing musician ○ Bill Haley and The Comets were signed with Decca in 1954 and had hits on multiple rhythm and blues and rock charts ● Elvis Presley ○ From Memphis ○ Did not write his own material ○ Blurred the boundaries between pop, country and western, and rhythm and blues ○ Signed by Sun Records, owned by Sam Phillips ■ Recording with Scotty Moore and Bill Black of “That’s All Right (Mama)” (1954) launched his career and established Sun Records on a national level, includes some scat singing and guitar, simple verse ○ Sam Phillips sold Elvis’s contract to RCA in 1955 ■ Elvis’s manager felt that Phillips did not have the capital to promote Elvis, and Phillips needed the funds to keep Sun Records going ■ His move to RCA marked the beginning of major label interest in rock and roll ○ “Heartbreak Hotel” - 1956 ■ A hit on pop, country and western, and rhythm and blues charts (crossover), began to gain international exposure ● Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis ○ All three at Sun Records ○ Carl Perkins ■ Singer-guitarist whose “Blue Suede Shoes” sold more than a million copies and was a hit on all three charts ○ Johnny Cash ■ Popular on the country and western charts, though he crossed over with “I Walk the Line” ○ Jerry Lee Lewis ■ Known for energetic performances at the piano ■ Had hits on all three charts before his career stalled due to scandal