MUS 330 The Style Change

The Style Change

End of the Period: Elvis in Army, Jerry Lee 13 yr. Old Wife Problems, Little Richard Got Religion, Chuck Berry Legal Problems, Buddy Holly & Eddie Cochran Dead

? Styles Would Have Changed Anyway?

New Recordmen Replaced the Old

Style Change

New Guys: Dick Clark, Leiber & Stoller, Phil Spector, Brill Building Writers

Birth of “Top 40” Radio

Todd Stortz KOWH (Omaha) 1951

Chart Placement Rather than DJ Taste

Payola

DJs Accepting Money to Play Certain Records

Old Practice to Generate Higher Sales

History (1863 “Tenting”; 1892 “After”

Alan Freed Got A Cut of the Publishing of “Maybellene”

Payola

1959 A House Sub Committee Began Investigating Payola (After the Quiz Show Hearings)Why? The Old ASCAP - BMI DisputeOR, Afraid of Rock and RollFindings: 335 DJs Had Received $263,245Alan Freed Lost His Job

Payola & Dick Clark

Dick Clark Did Not Take Payola, But He Owned 160 Copyrights, Parts of Swan & Jamie Records, Publishing Companies, Pressing Plants, Distribution Company.

He Said “no amount of airplay can turn a stiff into a hit”

Brill Building Pop

The Teen Songwriting/Publishing was Centered in the Brill Building, 1619 Broadway (165 music businesses)

Aldon Publishing, 200 hits

Aldon Writers: Goffin/King

Sedaka/Greenfield, Mann/Weill, Greenwich/Barry

American Bandstand: Teen Idols

Effect of Television in Selling Teen/Rock, Ozzie & Harriet Show, Mickey Mouse Club, Donna Reed Show.

American Bandstand Started 1952, Dick Clark Became Host 1956, ABC in 1957

1959 20 Million Viewers, 101 Stations

Bandstand

Bandstand

Bandstand Teen Idols

Frankie Avalon (Francis Avallone) 1st of the Bandstand Idols

Series of Hits (“Venus”)

Beach Movies with Annette Funicello (Mickey Mouse Club): Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Muscle Beach Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, How To Stuff a Wild Bikini

Beach Movies

Frankie & Annette

Teen Idol: Fabian

Pretty Face, Not a Good Singer

Clark Said the Girls Went Wild

“Tiger”

Teen Idol: Dion

Dion & the Belmonts

“Why Must I be A Teenager in Love”

Teen Idol: Neil Sedaka

Talented Song Writer

Scholarship to Julliard

“Oh Carol”

Bandstand & Dance Craze

Series of Dances with Their Own Songs

Dick Clark Alerted Recordmen to Dances Needing a Song

1st was The Bop

The Stroll

Dance Craze

Dances Songs: Usually Gave Instructions, 12 Bar Blues or I-vi-IV-V, The Twist, Saw Kids Doing Dance, Asked For a Dance Record, Hired Chubby Checker (Ernest Evans)Other Checker Dances: Pony Time, The Fly, Limbo Rock

Chubby Checker

Girls Groups

Theme: Finding self worth through A Boyfriend

The Angels “My Boyfriends Back”

George Shadow Morton Produced groups

Shangri-Las “Leader of the Pack” “I Remember Walkin’ in the Sand”

Girl Groups

Leslie Gore, a touch of feminist\

“Its My Party”

“You Don’t Own Me”

Phil Spector

Boy Genius or Crazed Madman?1958 bought studio time and produced “To Know Him is to Love Him”Involved with local community, Lieber & Stoller, Lester Sill, Lee Hazlewood1960 Went to NY to work with Leiber & Stoller

Phil Spector

Leiber & Stoller Producing The Drifters & Developing a Unique Sound: triangles, castanets, guiro, Latin Percussion

“On Broadway”

Played Guitar Solo

“Under The Boardwalk

“Save The Last Dance For Me”

Phil Spector

1961 Formed Philles Records w/Sill

Produced 20 Consecutive Hits

Developed “Wall of Sound” Technique

Recording multiple groups of homogenous instruments playing the same part. Then rerecording them while studio speakers played

Phil Spector

Crystals

“Uptown”

He’s A Rebel”

“Then He Kissed Me”

Each Hit Escalated the “Wall”

Phil Spector

Rightous Brothers

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” the high point in the Wall of Sound technique.

He Floundered with “River Deep Mountain High” and went into seclusion

Phil Spector & Beatles

He Flew into NY with them in 1964

When Beatles were breaking up he was brought in to fix the “Let It Be” session tapes.

Worked on early Beatle Solo projects with George and John.