Hippies can attribute their origin to the Beats of the 50's

• Jack Kerouac, Columbia football star turned author, planted the seed for the Beats when he "bummed" around the country with Neal Cassady and later recorded their adventures in a book called On the Road The Beats formed their counterculture philosophy based upon the ideas of Eastern religion

• The name "Beats" suggests the journey for beatitude that is found in Zen Buddhism. And, the Name also symbolized the "patron saints" of the Beat movement who were caught in the trappings of the normal 9-5 life — they typically looked "beat down" to the "straights". This term eventually moved its way to the jazz music of musicians such as Miles Davis.

• The Beats preached a "cultural relativism" (Love for everything, No value is absolute — morality depends on the individual)

• The Fugs emerged as the NY connection: Ken Weaver, Tuli Kupferberg, and Ed Sanders (the editor of Fuck You: A Magazine of Art) started the Fugs. Its based on the idea of putting Beat poetry to current rock music

• Psychedelic music had its basis in Dylanesque folk — the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane both were strongly influenced by folk music and the Beat doctrine: Other acid rockers who came out of folk include Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin) but unlike the original acoustic folk, acid rockers liked to mix in long guitar solos, feedback, blues riffs, country-western, and Indian ragas. Think of the harder edge found in songs by Jefferson Airplane and the Doors.
• Acid rock was part of a counter-culture that initially started in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. This counter-culture was inspired by the Beats of the 50's. Influential 50s Beats were Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Allen Ginsberg. From the Beat culture sprung a particular type of Beat music. This movement became associated with the jazz music of artists such as Miles Davis. The Beat movement died down and then reemerged in the early 60's with acid/psychedelic rock in San Francisco. This new type of music reflected the 60's generation's experimentation with sex and drugs. Remember that the 50s beats were into pot, speed, and liquor, while the acid/psychedlic 60s hippies were into pot and acid. Two early influential bands during this time were The Fugs and Velvet Underground. Eventually, through the help of Allen Ginsberg, a "bridge" was formed between the earlier Beats and the newly developing Hippie culture of Haight-Ashbury. Acid Rock and the Hippie culture were tightly intertwined. Each fed off of the other. Acid Rock was again a reflection of the continuing experimentation in sex and drugs; with the Beats it was marijuana and amphetamines, with the Hippies it was marijuana (and derivatives of) and LSD (hence the name Acid Rock). Acid and marijuana became an important, even vital, components to the Hippie community. These drugs were considered as performance/awareness enhancing aids by both the audience and the performers/composers. Communal living became popular. The bands of this era helped promote these ideas through living them themselves. Some influential Acid Rock bands were The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. The Grateful Dead was more folk, less rock edged, and thus a psychedelic band. Eventually overuse of drugs caused many of the hippies to become burnouts, and commercialism moved into the Haight-Ashbury district. By the late 60's the hippie counter-culture was in effect dead, consumed by the cultural attributes it had so strongly disagreed with.

Social unrest continues to be a driving force for new music. The begins by pointing to the protests in 1967 Detroit. The death of Martin Luther King happened in 1968 and 700 fires erupted in D.C. Three days of rioting, 10 dead. The totals by the end of the week: 168 cities had riots, 5117 fires, 2000 businesses destroyed (by were Black owned), 46 dead, 73,000 troops called into service. This is why soul music was born. Soul became the term for separateness, identity, pride, and integrity. The term appeared on album titles. Read the soul is quote on top of 162.

James Brown is the godfather of Soul, aka "Soul Brother Number One." His first release was with the flames in 1956. Influenced by Little Richard, Brown picked up many vocal nuances from the 7^th day adventist. Brown really became the first and quintessential front man- not playing an instrument, just singing and dancing in ways that redefined the genre. His moves were absorbed by almost every artist to follow- especially Michael Jackson, Prince, and Hammer. He began his musical career in church playing organ and drums. He sang gospel in prison and joined Sarah Byrd's Gospel Starlighters when he got out. Around 1965-6 Brown began perfecting a new style called Funk. (He invented it). The 1964 hit Out of Sight began the Funk genre: bursts of dominant, repeating, overpowering rhythm, acceted by angular vocals, and staccato horns. The release of Papa's got a brand new bag and I feel Good set the standards for the genre. Both were top ten hits. Read his soul brother number one quote on bottom of 166. It truly defines the term. The pennicale black anthem hit "Say it Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud" charted the top ten in 1968.

Ray Charles is called the "Genius of Soul." This well traveled musician got his start in 1947 doing Nat King Cole tunes in clubs. His style embodies the gospel roots and R&B. He is most directly linked to gospel music as he took old gospel standards and made the lyrics secular and similar. He remade Nobody but you Lord to Nobody but you, This little light of mine became This little Girl of Mine.

Wilson Pickett has R&B and gospel roots. He got his break playing guitar and singing on his front porch. Otis Redding is considered "the King of Soul." Aretha Franklin is called "Lady Soul" (or the First Lady of Soul). She also began and remained a gospel singer. Her father, the renowned Reverend Clarence L. Franklin wouldn't have it any other way. Her influences were steeped in James Cleveland and Mahalia Jackson, but Clara Ward singing "Peace in the Valley" at an aunt's funeral was her musical epiphany. Aretha toured with a family based gospel group until she signed with Columbia. Aretha Franklin was the first to appeal to the white audience in a major way. She signed with Columbia and agent John Hammond (Basie, Goodman, and Dylan). He arranged vocal coaching. It was a disaster, she acutally ended up owing Columbia money. When the contact expired she signed with Wexler at Atlantic. Soon after she hit in 1967 with Respect, an Otis Redding hit 2 years earlier. The song became an anthem for black america selling a million in 10 months and reaching #2 on the charts.

Atlantic Records distributed most of the gospel recordings. Established by Ahmet Ertegun, son of the US Turkish ambassador, Atlantic was funded when Ahmed auctioned his 15,000 78s and joined partner Herb Abramson who had worked as a producer at National Records. Wilson Pickett soon joined and took Atlantic to the top with hits like Mustang Sally, 634-5789, Land of a Thousand Dances, and In the Midnight Hour. Atlantic also distributed for Memphis based Stax Records.

Owned by siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. The label gave prominent acts to Atlantic who distributed Stax's records — Stax became a scout label of sorts. The name came from the initials Stewart/Axton. Atlantic, via Stax was Motown's main rival.

Main players: Steve Cropper (gtr.), Booker T. Jones (piano), and Donald ‘Duck' Dunn (bass). This studio band became the nucleus of Booker T. and the M.G.s hit the charts with ‘Green Onions.' The Stax stable included Otis Redding (Sittin on the Dock of the Bay), Sam & Dave (Hold On), Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett (In the Midnight Hour), and producer-song writer Issac Hayes.

As with the previous chapters, this chapter begins with the motivation for change and the musical manifestations of this change. Vietnam becomes the main cause in the late 60s. Protests were still conducted in the hippie spirit of non-violence as late as 1967. American troop involvement had grown from 23K ca. 1960, to 184,000 by 1965, and had reached 542,000 by 1968. The college campus asserts itself as the staging point for social change. As protests became more violent in 1968, the hippies and radicals began to part ways. Students at Columbia begin a sit-in work stoppage. They felt to go on as if nothing was happening was immoral. The police action which ended the protest marked the end of an era- 698 arrested and 120 injured. Other campuses soon joined in Columbia's example and soon 101 colleges had witnessed 221 major demonstrations involving over 40,000 students.

The musical reaction to all the anger was- at times- angry music and this was the beginning of hard-rock. Hippies turned from folk music and acid rock to the slashing blues rock of British and American groups.

1967 marks several important events: 1) Monterey Pop Festival: (free concert combines numerous diverse acts: Ravi Shankar, Miles Davis, Hendrix, Who, The Dead, etc. ) 2) Sgt. Peppers (considered the toppermost psychedelic album by many), 3) Hendrix returns to America and his career booms because of Monterey, 4) The Dead's first LP, 5) the celebrated death and burial of Hippiedom, 6) Otis Redding dies, 7) Detroit burns in protest and protest music begins to return via Brown, Hendrix and others.

Born part African-American and Cherokee Indian from a broken home in Seattle, Hendrix was the first hard-rock guitar hero/virtuoso. The flower power album cover from his first release, Are you Experienced?, placed the group in hippie clothes through a fish-eye lense. In many ways, Hendrix's musical roots were the same as Elvis', the Beatles, and the Stones. He learned his trade from listening to Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Elmore James. He, like B.B. King and Elvis, was in the Army. After he was discharged, Hendrix worked from 1961-1964 backing blues acts like Slim Harpo, and later R&B acts such Little Richard, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and BB King. He moved to NY city and played with the Isley Brothers and Curtis Knight. "Good dope equaled good music" according to Noel Redding. Even the titles of songs explain the connection: Are you experienced? and Stone Free, Wind Cries mary, Purple Haze, and his version of the national anthem. Hendrix formed The Experience in 1966 and went to Europe. His performances reflected his influences. He was able to take what he had learned from Brown and Richard, and the rest, and repackage it with the attitude and emotion of his times. This individuality made Hendrix the consumate guitar innovator. His use of effects and recording tricks enhanced the psychedelia. Hendrix said, "Lots of young people now feel they're not getting a fair deal. So they revert to something loud, harsh, almost verging on violence; if they didn't go to a concert, they might be going to a riot."

Clapton was not the social protestor per Hendrix. While Hendrix was simply being- expressing himself and his past. Clapton was trying to find himself, prove his blues worthiness, and carry on the tradition. Cream was a collection of weathered blues musicians. Clapton had just quit the yardbirds, Drummer Ginger Baker and Bassist (six string) Jack Bruce had left Blues Incorporated, Bruce had also toured with Manfred Mann and like Clapton, had played in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Their jazzy angle of blues was captured on the first album Fresh Cream. The album covered tunes by Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. The next album hit the US charts with the success of "The Sunshine of Your Love." The quintessential Clapton quote is "Rock is like a battery that must always go back to the blues to get recharged."

Yardbirds guitar school: Eric Clapton joined when Top Topham went to college. Clapton left in 1965 when the tune "For your love" was released — he felt the tune was too pop and wanted to return to the blues. Jeff Beck took the reins after Clapton- a more rockabilly style with eclectic murmuring. Later in 1966, Jimmy Page, a coinventor of Heavy Metal, joins.

• The Kinks- an early Heavy Metal influence: "You really got me" in 1964 and "All Day and All of the Night" in 1965.
• Spencer Davis hit the charts in 1965 with "Gimme Some Lovin." This group was not only influenced by the R&B style- but they could write originally in that style.

The important point to consider is the role these British groups played in popularizing or re-popularizing, the traditonal R&B artists such as Waters (Mr. Rolling Stone), B.B. King, Wolf, and Johnson.

Janis Joplin was the white Bessie Smith/Billie Holiday. She had a past deep in the blues and what she didn't learn from emulation she already had naturally. Her first notable band was Big Brother and the Holding Company, which she transformed from psychedelic to blues. She, like Hendrix, got her American boost to fame at the 1967 Monterey pop festival. In 1970 she bought a head stone for the unmarked grave of Bessie Smith.

CCR- After Joplin, the next important act to appear was CCR. Their self described swamp music found a new niche and with the group the Band, they sowed the seeds for southern rock (created the genre). CCR's antiwar songs include Who'll stop the rain, Fortunate Son, and Effigy. The Blues based southern rock genre leads to groups which combine Texas swing, Southern style, and delta sound. Groups like ZZ Top, Steve Miller, the Allman Brothers pave the way for later acts like Molly Hatchet, Lynard Skynard, and Charlie Daniels.

Read Final Paragraph (189).

Soft Sounds of The Seventies

The economy was getting worse and Kent State, and Watergate were fresh in mind. The slant was definitely away from Heavy metal or acid rock and toward a softer sound- a sound which reflected the mood of enlightened apathy. Youth were reaching out even further for a way to cope musically. Eastern philosophy became fused with jazz classical, country, folk, and rock. We already defined rockabilly as a blend of other musics: Delta, R&B, and Texas swing — per Elvis and Holly. Rock n roll came from combining blues with a straight country beat. Bob Dylan created folk rock by plugging up. Gospel with R&B lead to Motown, Soul, and Funk. Psychedelic bands merged blues with folk and eastern musics. But in the 70s Jazz entered the mix.

Blood Sweat and Tears and Chicago fall into the same type of style. Both were horn feature groups. Chicago certainly had a stronger guitar presence with Terry Kath. Consider the nastalgia of Saturday in the Park. The significant factor here is that the horns are not background blips and fillers, these parts are prominent main segments of the song. These songs also reflect a deeper musical education and a desire to make a more formal musical statement. The results are long works with thicker textures, the music is more complicated and if it is lick based, the patterns are longer and more intricate. You can readily hear this by comparing James Brown and Chicago. The end result is the Horn section has much more importance and larger role in defining the music style. The departure here as in Santana is in the emphasis of mode versus blues scale. The larger problem with understanding Chicago's role in Rock history is arbitrating the different phases of the group. It is really unique in the way it has been able to replace the lineup and maintain a following. The decades serve as decent markers: 70s, 80s, and 90s Chicago.

Consider Santana latin rock with a jazzy modal feel. If you hear his early works, say Oye Como Va, the modal jazz riffs are there and the latin rhythm predonimates. Is it Latin guitar, or latin percussion that defins the latin in his music? Which is the more definitive? Is Santana the first latin rocker? (Richie Valens)

Steely Dan has been called Corporate Rock by many. They, like Boston, have a very engineered studio sound and rarely tour. Steely Dan's use of studio players further complicates this point as star session players really cant tour and pay the bills.

Miles Davis and the School of Miles with players coming through his group such as John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Wayne Shorter. I realize the Book credits Hendrix, and I'm sure they are referencing the late trio which was quite experimental, but, after years of listening to Miles; I hear more miles in Hendrix, than Hendrix in Miles. With Miles, after his bebop and advant-garde periods, you get the age of cool. The emphasis here is on groove and individual greatness, a lot of space- a lot of space. The forms are free forms, everything is worked out live infront of the audience, every night the tunes themselves are different, vamps and grooves change, the solos evolve, the personalities of the players really project.

Stevie becomes, in many ways, along with the Jackson 5, becomes the final motown legacy. His evolution sees the moves from being molded to molding. He begins with life in a trust fund and at 21 ends up out from under the chains of Barry Gordie, in total control of his artistic product. His songs are the sweet 70s soul sound and reflect a personal side of the artist. Stevie looks inward with Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. Listen to I just called to say I love you and For once in my life. (V01; V25) How does the groove differ from James Brown, and Aretha, The Temptations. Stevie really does redefine soul for the 70s.

The O'Jays are an extension of soul protest music as noted in the back stabbers.

Philadelphia International Records House band (MFSB what does that mean= mother, fathers, sisters & Brothers). Know the sound of philly is the house band at Philadelphia international records. What other house band became famous (Booker T and the MGs.) and what label were they with? (Booker T. and the MGs were the Stax studio band and the main definition of the Stax sound. The Ojays were the first big hit PIR had. How did they get their name? (from DJ, fan and compatriot Eddie O'Jay). You certainly should know the group who created the song Soul Train (MFSB). That, along with the song "TSOP" defined the 70s soul. Also know that owers Gamble and Huff became the second largest black owned label grossing more than $25 mil. annually. The amount of protest music, black and white, has declined by this time. Stevie did livin' in the city and the Ojays did back stabbers, other groups had similar hits, but the presence has diminished.

Classical Rock- The age of nostalgia continues as groups like The Moody Blues and Procol Harem wrote epic songs with epic content. The lyrics are fantasy based, escapist, and not connected to the present problems of society. Its crucial to understand the delta blues was the early musical influence, but somewhere along the way, classical form and design creeped into the mix. Harem's Whiter Shade of Pale is epic poem by lyricist, not guitarist, or singer, Keith Reid. The music is derived from Bach's suite no.3 in DÆ. (know that). The symphony begins to play rock with Harem's realease: Procol Harem in Concert with the Edmond Symphony Orchestra that included an orchestra version of Conquistador.

The Moody Blues described Nights in White Satin was self-described as a little rock opera.

Classical Rock- A term identifying the incorporation of classical music referents by some rock artists from the late 1960s to present day. It is not to be confused with the classic rock song whose popularity and frequent radio play causes the tune to become a standard of the repertoire. The earliest example is Procol Harum's a Whiter Shade of Pale whose descending bass line and close part writing resemble a Baroque chaconne. The chaconne is simply a variation piece built upon a recurring harmonic progression and bass line (passacaglia). It spread to other progressive British groups like YES whose album Fragile contains a reorchestrated version of Brahm's symphony no. 4 (1971). Deep Purple released the Concerto for Group and Orchestra in 1970 and Jethro Tull's arranger, David Palmer, scored a version of the Bach Bourée from BWV 996 which became a concert staple. Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (from the album A Night At the Opera) reflected Brain May and Freddie Mercury's (mainly Mercury) desire to inject rock music with Italian operatic content (1975). Emmerson, Lake and Palmer used a Russian, Hungarian, and Bohemian classical sources: Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Bartók's Allegro Barbaro, and Janácek's Sinfonietta. ELP also arranged works by Tchaikovsky, Copland, and Ginastera. Heavy Metal guitarists from Richie Blackmore to Yngwie Malmsteen have relied on baroque violin figuration that resemble Tartini, Vivaldi and Corelli, and have added a virtuoso concerto element to the guitar's repertoire. Obviously, this new genre was primarily a British innovation.

By 1970 the Vietnam war and Kent St. painted a bitter reality for young America. Many young people turned to country music and country-rock for solace and escape. Songs from this genre convey the simple life and rural traditions - Peaceful easy feelin', Horse with no name, Up on Cripple creek, and so forth.

Dylan is largely responsible for this change - from protest music to country-rock, his country style album: John Wesley Harding, was very successful. Dylan's next album, Nashville Skyline, featured a duet with Johnny Cash with a follow up performance with Cash at the Grand Ole Opry.

The Byrds and The Band both followed Dylan's path and used several of his tunes on their albums. Other groups like Buffalo Springfield (C,S,N,Y), and the derivative Poco remade country rock on their own terms.

Linda Ronstadt began as folk singer, moved to LA and was soon a part of the country rock movement. Her covers ran from Patsy Cline to Hank Williams to Buddy Holly. Her band included Glen Fry and Don Henley. They split from Ronstadt in 1971 and added former Poco bassist Randy Meisner. Their release of Desperado (a concept album about the mythical old west), in 1972 begins the peak of this movement.

Jackson Brown is important as both a song writer and performer. Hewrote tunes for Ronstadt and the Eagles.

The empowerment of women, women with college degrees and increased earning power, lead to a change in the family paradigm. Men and Women worked long hours, spent little time at home and divorce rates soared. This was partly necessary because of economics - America now demanded the two income family. Women were indeed more liberated and had the money to buy the material things to make life easier. Both sexes needed a new way to meet and connect. The problems of this period leads to a folk-rock style with very personal introspective songs by artists like James Taylor, Carly Simon, C,S,N,Y and Joni Mitchell.

Tom Hayden and Jerry Rubin are reborn as members of the establishment- selling life insurance and jogging- enjoying the pleasures of capitalism. John Sinclair summed it up: "you cant make a revolution if you have to make a living."

The Me Decade: 60s radicals became 70s yuppies. The Vietnam war was over (1975), racism took a backseat to poverty and people got on with living, as opposed to talking about living: pleasure boats, hair transplants, facelifts, hot-tubs, and automatic garage door openers.

The college students of the 1970s wanted a tangible rather than spiritual return on their education. These grads bought boats, cars, vibrating recliners, garage door openers, and other modern marvels. Drugs become simply another thing that is bought and used.

Gays and lesbians push for sexual freedom. Many homosexual periodicals appear. Gays during this era have frequent partners and some have as many as 1000. Baby boomers enter the self-enrichment phase of life- yoga, fitness, and carma.

His life and style personified the trends: publicly gay, extravant apperal, lavish lifestyle. His playing combined the gospel-blues legacy of Ray Charles and Little Richard with elements of Liberace. He had five no. 1 hits in the 70s, six no. 1 albums between 72-75, and was the first group since the Beatles to have four albums in the top ten simultaneously. His sincerity comes through his music in hits such as "Your Song" and "Goodbye Norma Jean (England's Rose)."

Elton John is the marquis extravagant rock star. His gospel based tunes harken to Ray Charles while his flamboyant persona recalls little Richard. His extravagant clothes, decadent behavior, and in-your-face gayness mark a new era in rock music.

These terms begin a new genre. Every new genre begins by combining rock with something new. In this case it is Theatrical design, makeup, and shocking stage antics. Marc Bolan begins the glitter-rock craze in England with the group T-Rex (bang a gong). David Jones works backing up Bolan.

Performed unsuccessfully with several groups during the 60s and changed his name from David Jones to David Bowie to stifle confusion with the same named Monkee's star. His top five hit "Space Oddessy" was inspired by the 1969 Moon landing. Bowie rode the Glitter Rock scene and backed the trendy group T-Rex ("Bang A Gong"). The Glitter scene gave him the forum for his image change: now androgynous in public and in private. He too claimed sexual liberation and publicized his bisexuality as the alter alien personality "Ziggy Stardust" (1972). The extreme sells. Bowie purposefully adopted this extremism as marketing tool. He knew what he was doing. Mott the Hoople and Iggy Pop became Bowie legacies as his advice, money, and songs helped them achieve punk-pop stardom. The Lou Reed story is much the same. After quitting the Velvet Underground, Reed went home and got away from the music scene. Bowie, a long time Velvet Underground Fan, encouraged and financed his return. The result was the hit "take a walk on the wild side, (1973)" a story of a transvestite. At least with these groups, Bowie became the Dick Clark of avant-garde.

Simply an over the top punk heavy metal group: androgynous clothes, destroying equipment and audience abuse (more about this in Punk). They adopt the Bowie type dress and image but their music is coming from a totally different place. The Dolls were born not made, and this has to do with economics, wanting to feel important just as they were, and a lack of upward mobility. They were a wild, extreme heavy metal act. Kiss was the main rival and tried to outdo the dolls. Gene Simmons quit teaching school and made the image of the Dolls the example to work from. The point here is that Kiss was more interested in success and tapered their antics to go mainstream. Kiss was a bit more contrived than the Dolls, the Dolls were angry and fought for the cause. Alice Cooper really grows from the same mold as Kiss and also influenced by the Dolls.

Band named by group's leader, Vince Furnier. They ran the audience away a show co-billed with the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin. Frank Zappa was there and loved how they cleared/abused the house. He signed them to his label and the group had several successful albums. Cooper was also interested in making "a million" and worked to do just that. Their hit "18" became an anthem for rebelling youth, and a #1 seller.

Brown said "heat the beat and the rest'll sweat." He discussed his vision of music where he said to emphasize the beat over the melody. His style of funk gave way to the heavy metal minimalistic space funk of George Clinton. The extravagance of stage persona and the flirtation with space got funky. Sly Stone followed and their effect extends to Disco. The point here is how Sly really bridged the Funk gap for mainstream America. Their hits like "Dance to the Music," "Family Affair," and "Thank You" were monumental in this effort. Clinton vis a vie "Funkadelic" and "Parliament" brought Funk together with 60s Psychedelia, Theatre, and Glitter. His main contribution occurs when decides a change of direction while on the road touring. He already had James Brown's horn section and bassist (Bootsy Collins) in the band but wanted to add Hendrix and Clapton style guitar to the groove. He bought Hendrix and Cream records and gave them to the band to hear and incorporate. The result was totally new and Funkadelic. So, Clinton was more innovative and outrageous, but Sly was the one to gain a lot of success and reach mainstream America with a tempered type of funk. Both are extensions of James Brown, but Clinton is very open about his desire to get away from heavy lyrics and protest tunes. He felt it was time for music to just be fun and groove. That sentiment marks much of the music from this period, Disco, Classical Rock, Country Rock, etc... Its not very protest oriented nor does it try to tell the audience what to do.

Disco is a simplified version of Funk. Gloria Gaynor and other black artists felt that the reason white America had not gotten into R&B and Funk was that the beat was to complicated. Clinton said Disco was funk sweetened up with a little off the bass. Other elements factor into disco. First, the European techno beat via "industrial music." Second, the need for audience empowerment and participation. Disco, via the discotheque, was not a live band oriented event. Here we have the true birth of the Club DJ. The DJ spins the tunes and the audience dances like they are the real stars of the show. This facet is the main element in the movie Saturday Night Fever. There was a dress code of sorts, stylized dances to learn and perform, and dance battles. This genre became a phenomenon. Movie stars and politicians went to discos. It was the place to be seen. It was also the place to meet single people - a needed thing at this time with so much divorce and overtime.

Basically the independents are losing market share as most of the industry during this time is controlled by the big seven. These companies, RCA, MCA, Capitol, etc., also begin to diversify. They own controlling interests in motion picture companies, food businesses, even banks. Many rock stars also diversify into sound investment vehicles like property, gas, and oil. The point is that many musicians and record companies made more than most other industries and executives during this time. The resurgence of independent labels recurs with the Punk scene. Major labels were afraid to sign Punk acts due to their controversial lyrics/actions. In general, like with Elvis and others, independent labels are excellent vehicles for controversial artists. Numerous Independent labels arise with the interent, the ease of creating CDs, and proliferation of .mp3s.

Punk Rock and the New Generation

Punk Rock — A term originally given to garage bands in the early to mid 60s and later applied to groups in the UK from 1976 onwards as played by the Ramones, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Buzzcocks. It is the legacy of trends started by Richard Hell (Television), Patti Smith, and the Ramones. These acts, including Tom Petty, were themselves influenced by New York's Velvet Underground, the Fugs, and the New York Dolls (Richard Hell). This groups were the early seeds along with avant-garde rockers Patti Smith, Television, and the Talking Heads. These pioneering groups played NY's CBGB's backroom (Country Bluegrass and Blues) for free (1974-75). The trend took hold and became the quintessential night spot for this segment of society. Richard Hell set the trends musically and visually. His torn T-Shirt, Safety pinned jeans, leather jacket, and Tattoos gave this subculture its identity. Malcolm McLaren briefly managed the Dolls but could not convince Hell to go to England. McLaren took Hell's concept to the UK and formed the Sex Pistols in his image. The Roxy became London's equivalent to NY's CBGB's.

Groups like Television, Smith, and the Talking Heads formed the early bridge between avant-garde and punk, between the beats/hippies and angry youth of the 70s. The mainstream arrival of punk happened at CBGBs at the Punk festival hosted by CBGBs in 1975. It featured the Ramones, The Talking Heads and Television. The Ramones helped shape punk. They added buzz saw guitar sounds and speed. Their tunes were fast and over quickly. Some were less than two minutes long.

The British arrival of Punk as a genre came at the punk festival at the 100 Club in London. Punk made Rock dangerous again after the soft sounds of the early 1970s. The media devoured the angry attitude, anti-establishment lyrics, torn clothing, spiked hair, piercings with safety pins, and bondage accessories. The anti- attitude came across in the profession, albeit braggingly, of creating self-taught and non-technical music. The Neo-Nazi element gave the genre a lot of bad press. But be sure to understand that British Punk was much more politically motivated than its progenitor American Punk. This is mainly due to the horrible economic conditions/joblessness of Britain during the 70s.

McLaren realized the marketing potential and created Shop Sex, a store with punk appearel. McLaren and his acolytes managed many Punk acts. He could be the Dick Clark of Punk. The music laid the path for New Wave and punk had returned to the underground by the 1980s. The remnants are seen in two ways: more women in rock and the punk legacy as seen in groups like the Prentenders (Chrissie Hynde), and in the combination of styles which first came together at Rock Against Racism, a concert that placed rock, reggae, and punk bands on the same bill. Many see the results of this cross-pollination as SKA (reggae and punk combination). The other path manifests in New Wave groups like the Police and Wang Chung. The Rock Against Racism concerts became a series of concerts against racism - but the main reason many punk acts got involved was to debunk the idea that punk was rasict/nazi and to expose the plight of blacks in Britain and Jamaica - this was Bob Marley's reason for reggae, it was a musical vehicle for his protest lyrics. A brief punk resurgence occurred in the 80s when Devo (de-evolution) garnered MTV publicity with "Whip It" and Billy Idol's "White Wedding." In the 1990s, the tradition became hardcore and peripheral. The frantic speed playing of groups like LAs Black Flag and DCs Minor Thread paved the path for alternative and grunge genres. On the other hand, later groups like The Police, Billy Idol, The Cure, The Pretenders, and The Cars find a way to combine punk energy with pop style and are able to tame punk and make it mainstream.

MTV marks a totally new epoch in music history. The synergy of putting a face on the music star in an age of mass video consumption via video games, the VCR, the camcorder, and cable TV is exponential and monumental. Now artists lament the fact that excellent players and composers fail at times because of their looks. Dancing, choreography, theatre, and video narrative now competes with what was just musical talent. On the flip side, artists with no talent or ability become major stars, like Millie Vanillie, because they look good and dance well. During this age, few groups can make it without a music video and subsequently, the frequency of video play can put any artist at the top. Don't you wonder how the payola issues have infiltrated the video industry (MTV, BET, VH-1, CMT, etc.)? There's even a classical music video channel now. MTV becomes the first national music radio/video station.

MTV was created by Turner and American Express as experiment in 1981. It was a huge hit. Viacom bought the network in 1986. The early message of MTV and videos in general was and largely is escapism. One would think that this would be the perfect vehicle for social protest, but nervous executives don't. The early videos were raw, cheap, and largely improvised. Current videos are master media works and can cost as much as a full length movie. Early MTV videos focused on the techno beat groups popular at the time. These groups focused on synthesizers, not guitars, and sythnesizers had become much cheaper and smaller in the 80s. This music was dance beat focused - two prime examples are the early videos by Herbie Hancock ("Rock It") and Gary Numan (Cars).

Duran Duran is the first band to rise to fame because of MTV. Other MTV propelled acts soon follow like the Human League and Spandau Ballet.

David Bowie, always looking for new possibilities, was already adopting the techno pop sound and soon hit the video waves with his hit "Let's Dance."

MTV begins to catch a lot of heat for having few African American artists. The time was right for Michael Jackson and MTV was eager to spotlight him. Michael bluts the synthesizer/euro-beat focus. His early motown hits are shown and motown style begins to infiltrate new trends. This trend is furthered by the numerous new wave artists who incorporate motown's influence: Eurhythmics, Culture Club, Wham, George Michael, Madonna, the Commodores, Whitney Houston, and soon a whole new R&B resurgence with Mariah Carey and others.

This is Michael Jackson's prime time. Quincy Jones comes in to produce and the results are magical with "Off the Wall" following in 1979. Jackson, per Jones' idea, does a duet with Paul McCartney and later releases "Beat it" with Eddie Van Halen on Guitar - No doubt that playing on "Beat It" also helped Eddie. Both events help the bridge to mainstream America - pop with McCartney, and rock with Van Halen. Jackson becomes the king of pop. The release of Thriller in 1982, later followed by an epic video, only solidified his position. Only Elvis and the Beatles can rival his importance to pop music history.

Van Halen is really the archetypal MTV pop metal band. Eddie and Alex's classical training results in well crafted songs and blazing guitar features. Eddie, without argument, redefined the position and possibilities of rock guitar. The lyrics of Van Halen personify David Lee Roth in technicolor and embodies the escapist mentality. Other metal acts soon follow the path blazed by Van Halen as many labels scramble to cash in on the trend: Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Ratt, Bon Jovi, and numerous other acts.