Module 5

During the 1960’s, some of the most socially and culturally influenced music was created to highlight the emotions and tension created in America. As stated by Staff and Waterman, “Few eras in American history have been as disruptive, controversial, and violent as the decade of the 1960’s,” (pg. 284).  This era was highly impressionable on musicians and culture alike.  Many historians of pop culture point to the impact of the assassination of JFK as the need for young people to buy into something more fun and uplifting (pg. 302).  From the British Invasion of the Beatles to the Civil Rights movement, every audience in vernacular music has something that was easily relatable to their emotions, struggles, celebrations or simply pleasures.  

The early 1960’s was the golden age for rock n’ roll vocal groups (pg. 290).  Records were written with the influence of Phil Spector and his “wall of sound.” Not only all-white male groups, but all-female black groups began to gain recognition during this time, like The Ronettes (“Be My Baby”) and The Crystals (“Uptown”).  “Be My Baby” illustrates Spector’s “wall of sound” by incorporating a doubling of instrumental parts in the vocals, allowing that to be the focus. Simultaneous to Spector, Berry Gordy Jr. was making a strong impact on the music of the early 1960’s with the Motown movement. Named after “the motor city,” Gordy was determined to keep all of the creative and financial aspects of the business under African American control (pg. 293).  While the Motown movement sought to create a sound for young America of all races, it certainly catered to African American musicians while still aimed at the commercial mainstream audience (pg. 294).  Gordy Jr. was a lot like Spector sharing the same passion for highlighting vocal groups, like Motown’s group The Supremes and their hit “You Can’t Hurry Love.” While not really in competition, it should be noted that Motown was a much more successful label than Spector’s Philles Records. Motown would begin to exemplify the rock n’ roll trends of the time (pg. 295).  “My Girl,” performed by The Temptations, is exemplary of the Motown sound with an opening statement that the listener engaged. “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes shows the label’s versatility in that it has a much more sophisticated sound and arrangement than previous songs of the Motown era (pg. 296). 

Simultaneous to the Motown movement, artists like The Beach Boys were making their mark on American vernacular music, creating a unique sound that branched out from the traditional forms, sounds, and lyrical content of rock n’ roll (pg. 299).  Brian Wilson, who served as the group’s main songwriter, led the Beach Boys.  Wilson acknowledged his reliance on previous rock n’ roll artists to carve out distinctive new musical ground for The Beach Boys (pg. 300).  Take “Surfin’ U.S.A.” as an example, which borrows the music of Chuck Berry’s 1958 hit “Sweet Little Sixteen.”  Paying homage to Berry’s influence on rock n’ roll, Wilson shifts the focus of the tune from dancing to surfing (pg. 300). The Beach Boys were also known for creating the “California Sound.” This sound featured new audio and harmony techniques that would eventually turn to Beach Music. The Beach Boys were able to focus their sounds on a younger generation for social and dancing purposes.

The Rock n’ Roll movement of the 1960’s had several influential members, but the most influential of this era, and most of American Popular music, was the British Invasion group known as The Beatles. This group of “mop top” teenagers from Britain was heavily influenced by some of Americas “rock n’ roll musicians.” While many artists blew up in American during the British invasion (The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks), The Beatles’ mass-audience appeal out-shadowed all others. “Please Please Me” is a straightforward, up-tempo love song containing many elements of rock n’ roll from previous years like an AABA form (pg. 306).  Its lyrics  emphasized the message with rhyming words as well as using “Please, please me”  as an adverb and then a verb.  Clearly, this song is exemplary of both the group’s lyrical and songwriting genius.  Compared to the harmonies of “Please, Please me”,  “A Hard Day’s Night” shows maturity and growth in the harmonic sense.  Chords outside of the 12-bar blues progression are used very effectively.  Take the third line in each of the A stanzas as an example, which resolves on the tonic chord for the phrase “feel all right,” first heard at about 0:21 of the song, to give the listener a musical reference of the singer’s resolve (pg. 307).  One of my all time favorite Beatles songs “Yesterday,” performed by Paul McCartney, crosses generational and stylistic divides in popular music (pg. 308).  It showcases melodic and harmonic genius, alternating between major and minor tonalities and pairing these tonalities with lyrics that fit them well. Often this song is used to demonstrate the use of these tonalities to depict emotions in my classes. The way the context can change with lyrics and tonality is truly astonishing and something that had not been truly experimented with until Paul McCartney.  The ascension of the phrase “all my troubles seemed so far away” using the melodic minor scale is indicative of this claim.  Further, the AABA form, straightforward lyrics, strophic form, and McCartney’s vocal approach certainly lend to the idea that this song very much evokes Tin Pan Alley models (pg. 308).  

Bob Dylan and the Urban folk music still existed through the Motown, soul, and rock n’ roll movements.  While his hits like “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Like A Rolling Stone” led this movement, referencing many touchy subjects and acting as “protest songs,” (pg. 342).  Dylan would writhe albums that featured both acoustic and electric instrumentation for the idea of Urban Rock n’ Roll.  Dylan’s influence through these methods of songwriting allowed the idea for rock n’ roll to become “adult,” (pg. 344).  “Like A Rolling Stone” is written in strophic form, building the story through the use of music. It references growth, and often returns to the lyric “how does it feel?” to provide the listener an opportunity to place themselves into the song. This was a very common approach in both folk music as well as more popular music to allow the audience to feel involved in the approach of the music.