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04/28/2011 03:55:19 PM · #1 |
First off I know this is not photography related but a lot of the stuff in this portion of the forum isn't either so I thought it would be okay to post.
I was told to ask people who lived during the time of the rock and roll era these questions...
What was so attractive about rock and roll back in the 50's-70's? What made rock and roll different from other forms of music? What artists do they consider to be the most important?
Because this is something I actually find interesting I am asking a lot of people and I thought what better than a forum? I have asked my mother and father but both of them didn't really listen to rock 'n' roll too much. So they were not really much help.
Any thoughts would help me a lot! :) |
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04/28/2011 04:16:22 PM · #2 |
1. It has a driving beat which inspires many to move in ways which were "socially inappropriate" for the times -- emphasizing the sensual/sexual aspects of dance.
2. It was loud (amplified).
3. The lyrics were more sexually explicit than the mainstream music of the times.
4. The music-makers were the peers of teens/young adults, not of their parents.
5. In an era of changing social values (civil rights, women's rights, war protests), some of the music spoke to those issues, some to merely a rejection of old ways, some to just having a good time.
6. By being "hated" by much of the older generation, the music itself became an intrinsic "weapon" of the rebellion.
You might want to check out a book, When the Music Mattered -- Rock in the 1960s by Bruce Pollock.
ETA: I can tell you what musicians' work I "cover" (play myself) most frequently or those I've found most influential:
Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Phil Ochs, Neil Young, Grateful Dead, Beatles, Linda Ronstadt, Donovan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Byrds, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Crosby Stlls & Nash, Gordon Lightfoot, The Moody Blues, Hamilton Camp, Harry Belefonte, Tom Lehrer, etc....
Message edited by author 2011-04-28 16:27:11. |
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04/28/2011 04:28:53 PM · #3 |
| Awesome! I have to condense this into a one paragraph answer which stinks but this is good information! Thank you! :) |
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04/28/2011 04:29:30 PM · #4 |
Don't really know where to start. I was born in 1951 and so my parents listened to the likes of Harry Secombe, Aker Bilk? and older stuff. We liked classical and of course radio! This was our one form of modern entertainment.
I guess rock n roll crept up on us, we had skiffle with Lonnie Donegan etc and boy bands from the States like The Kingston Trio, but also some young upstarts making a lot of loud music. One was Elvis Presley, my first 45(single record) was Wooden Heart by Elvis. In the Uk we had Cliff Richard and the Shadows to name just one! The time span of the 50's to 70's is rather broad as music styles changed dramatically in this time span.
The 50's Rock 'n' Roll with Bill Hayley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis etc was full of energy and lively, remember that the world was recovering from WWII, rationing was still in force. Us young things were growing up in a world of change and invention. As we moved into our teens, we were rebelling(although we didn't realise at the time!). The Teddy Boys of the UK were making way for the Mods and Rockers. Mods were sharp dressers with short hair and most rode scooters, Lambretta or Vespa. Rockers rode motorbikes, wore leather jackets and had longer hair and sideburns. There were groups for each genre, mods followed Small Faces etc, Rockers hung on to the Rock and Roll groups.
By the end of the 60's things were splintering, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones had taken up two camps, most fans didn't like the others. Of course the Hippies didn't really care, they had their own music with events like Woodstock. But there was an underlying movement from Rock n Roll, the music world was heading off in all directions and into the 70's we found Heavy Metal, Glam Rock, Folk, Blues and the remnants of the sixties, and there was another force creating music, progressive rock with bands like Cream, The Nice, Velvet Underground etc the musical journey was now a 20 minute waltz with guitar and drum solos. And there was Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison!!
Phew! something to chew on! |
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04/28/2011 04:41:45 PM · #5 |
Ugh ... I forgot Elvis -- I wasn't that big a fan of his in his heyday, though I certainly acknowledge his greatness and his role in introducing what had heretofore been considered "colored music" to white audiences.
A great part of the older generation's hatred of R&R was the irrational fear of their daughters being seduced by music anthropomorphized as hyper-sexualized black men playing Rhythm & Blues, the foundation of Rock & Roll.
Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba") were pretty important figures too ... and we haven't even touched on the whole MoTown or Reggae phenomena ...
Interestingly, one of the most important figures in the rise of Rock is Ed Sullivan -- for all his stiffness in delivery he insisted on bring top acts to prime time, even if they weren't white, male, and crooning "safe" songs. |
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04/28/2011 04:46:10 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
The Teddy Boys of the UK were making way for the Mods and Rockers. Mods were sharp dressers with short hair and most rode scooters, Lambretta or Vespa. Rockers rode motorbikes, wore leather jackets and had longer hair and sideburns. There were groups for each genre, mods followed Small Faces etc, Rockers hung on to the Rock and Roll groups. |
Thanks, I always wondered what the difference was. :-)
Originally posted by A Hard Day's Night:
REPORTER: Are you a Mod or a Rocker?
RINGO STARR: Uh, neither, I'm a Mocker. |
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04/28/2011 04:50:11 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Ugh ... I forgot Elvis -- I wasn't that big a fan of his in his heyday, though I certainly acknowledge his greatness and his role in introducing what had heretofore been considered "colored music" to white audiences.
A great part of the older generation's hatred of R&R was the irrational fear of their daughters being seduced by music anthropomorphized as hyper-sexualized black men playing Rhythm & Blues, the foundation of Rock & Roll.
Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba") were pretty important figures too ... and we haven't even touched on the whole MoTown or Reggae phenomena ...
Interestingly, one of the most important figures in the rise of Rock is Ed Sullivan -- for all his stiffness in delivery he insisted on bring top acts to prime time, even if they weren't white, male, and crooning "safe" songs. |
This has opened a whole can of worms! Music has been my life and I have been pulled in all directions by the progress through the years. R'n'R wasn't my favourite time, I liked Hendrix and ProgRock. I played Fleetwood Mac(Peter Green)stuff and Donovan on guitar, also Neil Diamond etc. Then we headed into Punk. One area I can't do is HipHop, Oh, and Rap!
60's & 70's were a great time for music, The Beatles at the Shea Stadium, Goodbye Cream concert, birth of Supergroups, sex, drugs and not rock n roll! A lot of babies happened in this new generation, don't know where they all came from:)
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04/28/2011 04:50:42 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
1. It has a driving beat which inspires many to move in ways which were "socially inappropriate" for the times -- emphasizing the sensual/sexual aspects of dance.
2. It was loud (amplified).
3. The lyrics were more sexually explicit than the mainstream music of the times.
4. The music-makers were the peers of teens/young adults, not of their parents.
5. In an era of changing social values (civil rights, women's rights, war protests), some of the music spoke to those issues, some to merely a rejection of old ways, some to just having a good time.
6. By being "hated" by much of the older generation, the music itself became an intrinsic "weapon" of the rebellion. |
basically what made rap music popular in the 90's |
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04/28/2011 04:54:13 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by SteveJ:
The Teddy Boys of the UK were making way for the Mods and Rockers. Mods were sharp dressers with short hair and most rode scooters, Lambretta or Vespa. Rockers rode motorbikes, wore leather jackets and had longer hair and sideburns. There were groups for each genre, mods followed Small Faces etc, Rockers hung on to the Rock and Roll groups. |
Thanks, I always wondered what the difference was. :-)
Originally posted by A Hard Day's Night:
REPORTER: Are you a Mod or a Rocker?
RINGO STARR: Uh, neither, I'm a Mocker. |
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:) My brother was a Rocker, he is two years older than me. He had motorbikes and a leather jacket. He rode with gangs, who mainly fell off and missed corners etc.
I was a Mod, I had a Lambretta TV 175, it was too fast for its little wheels and I still have the scars. So, I rode motorbikes and scooters, so like Ringo I was a Mocker. But my taste in music was always in the new and slightly weird. |
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04/28/2011 05:04:46 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
One area I can't do is HipHop, Oh, and Rap! |
Folks have been doing this for almost a hundred years, only back then it was called "Talking Blues" ... Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs have written (more recently) in this format for sure ... see if you can find Paxton's "Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues" for an excellent example.
Originally posted by SteveJ:
60's & 70's were a great time for music, The Beatles at the Shea Stadium, Goodbye Cream concert, birth of Supergroups, sex, drugs and not rock n roll! |
OLD FOGEY: I don't know what's wrong with kids today! Everywhere you look it's nothing but sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I miss the good old days of wine women and song ... |
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04/28/2011 05:07:51 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by SteveJ:
One area I can't do is HipHop, Oh, and Rap! |
Folks have been doing this for almost a hundred years, only back then it was called "Talking Blues" ... Tom Paxton and Phil Ochs have written (more recently) in this format for sure ... see if you can find Paxton's "Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues" for an excellent example.
Originally posted by SteveJ:
60's & 70's were a great time for music, The Beatles at the Shea Stadium, Goodbye Cream concert, birth of Supergroups, sex, drugs and not rock n roll! |
OLD FOGEY: I don't know what's wrong with kids today! Everywhere you look it's nothing but sex, drugs, and rock and roll. I miss the good old days of wine women and song ... |
You are right, I think...time for my night time drink and bed. Damn years of excess. Too much music, too much sex and too much tea:)) |
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04/28/2011 05:08:19 PM · #12 |
When I was a kid my father asked me why I liked rock. He loved classical and opera, and would listen to musicals and instrumental, but never liked rock or jazz.
I explained why i liked rock and asked him why he didn't.He ticked off on his fingers his reasons.
"Well, 1)there is little to no melody. It is little but a driving rhythm and someone yelling over the noise.2) You can't understand the words, and when you do they are fairly nonsensical or offensive. 3) You can't tell one artist from another."
I explained to him the importance of studying the lyric sheet, and ferreting out the subtle meanings, The harmonic interplay between lead and rhythm guitars, and the huge differences between the drumming styles of Led Zepplin and Arrowsmith, ect ect, He didn't get it. He wasn't supposed to. He was old.
Today I hear rap, and I think
"Well, 1)there is little to no melody. It is little but a driving rhythm and someone yelling over the noise.2) You can't understand the words, and when you do they are fairly nonsensical or offensive. 3) You can't tell one artist from another."
I don't get it, Im not supposed to. Im old.
Message edited by author 2011-04-28 17:10:06. |
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04/28/2011 05:15:03 PM · #13 |
My next task is condensing this all into one paragraph form! But this is all interesting to me because I like to know where my music came from! I love older music just as much as I like newer music (not rap though). Unfortunately rap has become the new "rock and roll" for the youth. I don't like the style maybe because I relate it to sex drugs and gangs? Which I understand that 50'70's rock and roll had a lot to do with but if you take todays lyrics and the lyrics of that era... The way they express it are totally different. For example, todays lyrics include popular songs like In the Morning by J. Cole which is talking about having sex with a girl in the morning.Link to this song. Whereas songs like Twist and Shout don't really make you think "wow that was vulgar." Not to mention I don't really enjoy the way the music sounds in today's rap or R&B.
Maybe this is just me? But again thank you all for your input I am now off to try and condense this into one lonely paragraph. Haha!
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