Saturday, November 11, 2017

RACE, CLASS, REGION AND CULTURE IN AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC. Part 5: The 1960s


Soul Music
Gels in the early 60s, a blend of rhythm & blues and gospel, with the soulful passion of religious music in a secular setting. Often used call-and-response between the singer and the chorus, who might clap as well as sing. The term was first used in 1961.

Early influences
o   Ray Charles, “I Got a Woman” 1954 
o   Etta James, "Tell Mama"  1968  
60s Soul
§  Ben E. King, “Stand by Me”  1961
§  Sam Cooke, “Bring It on Home”  1962 
§  James Brown,  “I Got You (I Feel Good)”  1964    James Brown = The Godfather of Soul
§  Aretha Franklin, “Respect” 1967  
§  Otis Redding, “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long”  1965  
§  Sam & Dave, “Soul Man”  1967     [co-written by Isaac Hayes]

The Motown Sound
o   A blend of rhythm & blues and white pop, engineered by Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, based in Detroit.
§  Martha and the Vandellas, “Heatwave”  1963 
§  Little Stevie Wonder, “Fingertips” 1963
§  The Supremes, “Where Did Our Love Go?” 1964  [Diana Ross] 
§  The Temptations, “My Girl”  1964 
§  The Miracles, “I Second That Emotion”  1967 [Smokey Robinson]  
§  The Jackson Five, “I’ll Be There”  1970  [Michael Jackson]  

The British Invasion Brings Blues Back to America
British Blues
·         Bluesbreakers (including Eric Clapton), “Steppin’ Out”  1966  
·         The Animals, “House of the Rising Sun”  1964  
            Blue-Eyed Soul
·         The Righteous Brothers, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”  1964  [From the album Some Blue-Eyed Soul]   The first song by white singers to be widely played on R&B stations. Many people initially assumed they were black.
·         The Rascals, “Good Lovin’”  1966    The band was initially called the Young Rascals
Bluesmen Back in the Spotlight
·         BB King, “The Thrill Is Gone”  1969 
·         Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones, “Hoochie Coochie Man”  1981
·         John Lee Hooker, “Boom Boom”  1980   
            The New Lights of Blues-Rock
·         Taj Mahal, “Queen Bee” 1977 
·         Buddy Guy, “Stone Crazy” 1961 
·         Jimi Hendrix, “Red House” 1969 

Civil Rights Soundtrack
o   Nina Simone, “Mississippi Goddamn”  1964  
o   Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions, “People Get Ready” 1965 
o   Mahalia Jackson, “We Shall Overcome”  1963   
o   Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come”  1964  
           
            Bakersfield Sound
o   Country genre that arose in the late 50s in California, often performed by “Okies”. It was the first wave of country to protest the slick new “Nashville Sound.”
§  Buck Owens, “Act Naturally”, 1963 
§  Merle Haggard, “Mama Tried”, 1968  
           
Hippies Go Country
o   Bob Dylan, “Lay, Lady,Lay”  1969 
o   The Grateful Dead, “Cumberland Blues” 1969 
                       
            Country Responds to Hippies
§  Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler, "Ballad of the Green Berets"  1966  
§  Merle Haggard
·         “The Fightin’ Side of Me” 1970
·         “Okie from Muscogee” 1969 (meant to be satire) 

            Counter-Culture Country
§  Kenny Rogers, “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” 1967/1969 [“It wasn’t me who started that old crazy Asian war…”] 
§  Kris Kristoffersen, “Sunday Morning Coming Down” 1969 
§  Johnny Cash, “The Man in Black” 1971 
§  Waylon Jennings, “Six White Horses”  1971 [“I found his toy soldiers and threw them all away…”] 

            Charley Pride: African American Country
·         “Kiss an Angel Good Morning”  1971  

Country’s Working Class Anthems
§  Bobby Bare, “Detroit City”  1963
§  Roger Miller, "King of the Road"   1965
§  Tony Joe White, “Willie and Laura Mae Jones”  1969 
§  Merle Haggard, “Working Man’s Blues” 1969 
§  Loretta Lynn, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”  1969 
§  Waylon Jennings, “Love of the Common People”  1967  

            Say It Loud
§  James Brown, “I’m Black and I’m Proud” 1968  
§  Gil Scott Herron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”  1970   
§  The Staple Singers, “Respect Yourself”  1971  [“Take the sheet off your face, boy, it’s a brand new day”] 

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