Music 28 Slides No. 3 - S12

The Teen Market

Marketing to a Generation• The word “teenager” can be traced back to

approximately 1951– “Teener” used in the late 19th century.

• The marketing idea was to distinguish adults from children and capture the large teen market– 50s & 60s teens were more independent– Had more freedoms that past teens– Did not want to listen to the music of their parents– Experienced a prosperous post World War

economy

Dick Clark

• America’s oldest teenager• Hosted a new television format

in Philadelphia which presented local high school students as they danced to pop hits– Bandstand

Dick Clark

• American Bandstand -1957 when it was televised nationally

• He brought a new respectability to rock and roll– Boys = Jacket and tie or sweater and tie– Girls = no pants, right sweaters, shorts, or low-necked tops– No smoking, no hats, no gum chewing– Banned certain sexually suggestive dances

• The goal was to reassure parents of this new music and this new breed of teenager

• American Bandstand remained on air until 1989

Payola

• Literally “pay for play”– A common practice since vaudeville in the late

19th century

• Began with television game shows– Contestant admitted he was given answers

• Congress wanted to eliminate rock music– Claimed R&R would not last without payola

• Many DJs lost their jobs and entire careers– Alan Freed “What they call payola in the disc

jockey business they call lobbying in Washington.”

• Dick Clark remained clean, at least on paper

Don Kirshner (1934-2011)

• After the payola investigations songwriters gained a greater spotlight

• Kirshner wanted to shape rock music through the songwriters– Aldon Music

• Neil Sedaka, Carol King - songwriters

– The Brill Building• An office building housing music industry

producers, writers and studios

Girl Groups• Kirshner modeled girl groups in the doo wop

teen style• The first major rock/pop style for women

– Began with groups in the 50s - rarities– 60s an explosion of girl groups

• Girl groups provided a voice for a generation of women– Songs addressed

• Romance• Heartache• Search for true love

The Shirelles

Girl Groups

• 1961 The Shirelles – The first girl group to top the singles

charts with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” written by Carol King and Gerry Goffin

• They became role models for successful girl groups to come

Phil Spector

• Phil Spector – record producer – created a distinct “wall of sound” for Aldon Music’s girl groups– Huge echo sound – Full instrumentation – doubling– Special echo chambers

The Ronettes

• Produced by Phil Spector– Sang Aldon Music songs

• Members came from a gospel background– Lead singer Veronica Bennett married Spector

• Changes name to Ronnie Spector

• “Be My Baby” captures the early Spector wall of sound

Girl Groups

• The Shangri-Las provided a voice of angst and melodrama

• “Leader of the Pack” hit number 1 in the U.S. - 1964– Its melodramatic theme of death caused it to be

banned in the U.K.

• There image was radical for the time– Instead of matching dressed they wore

streetwise, hip clothing• Pants, go-go boots, “tough” look

The California Dream

• Americans on the East Coast and Midwest wanted California life– California seemed like a land of promise and

dreams-come-true• Good weather• 1955 Disneyland• 1958 Barbie

The Sound of California

• Surfing symbolized beach life & freedom– Dick Dale and his Del-Tones

• First all instrumental rock music

• Origins:– Hawaiian pedal steel guitar

• Characteristics:– Echo effects– overdubbing

Surf Music

• Not all groups were from CA– The Ventures – Seattle, WA– “Walk Don’t Run” 1960 considered by some

the first surf song

• Surf Rock Groups

helped standardize

the basic rock combo

Surf Music

• Surf music with vocals appealed to teens– Adults were excluded

• Subject matter– Cars– Girls– Beach parties– Big waves

Surf Music

• Jan & Dean – HB locals– “Surf City” – written by Beach Boy

Brian Wilson• Lyrics are about surf life and CA

lifestyles

– The Trashmen– “Surfin’ Bird”

• Pre-punk, nonsense lyrics• Covered by The Ramones

The Beach Boys

• Brought surf music to full maturity

• The Wilson brothers, cousin and friend– From land-locked Hawthorne, CA– Originally called The Pendletons– Brothers Brian, Carl, & Dennis Wilson, with

cousin Mike Love, and family friend Al Jardine• Brian was the main song writer, arranger

The Beach Boys

• Complex multiple part harmonies became a hallmark of their sound

• They had 36 top 40 hits

• 1963 “Surfin’ USA” a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”

Pet Sounds

• An important album in the history or rock:– First to be considered a concept album

• All songs relate to a concept, theme, story, feeling or images

– Influenced the Beatles to go into the studio and create Sgt. Peppers

– Pet Sounds is listed as the number 2 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the greatest rock albums of all time

Pet Sounds• Brian Wilson was obsessed with Phil

Spector’s recordings and his “wall of sound”– The song “Good Vibrations”

• Theremin• 17 sessions, 4 studios, $50,000, 90 hours of

tape

Phil Spector

Pet Sounds

• Paul McCartney has proclaimed it a personal favorite. – “It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water," he

recounted in 1990. "I love the album so much.”

• The Beatles' producer, George Martin, also has sung the praises of the album. – “Hearing Pet Sounds gave me the kind of feeling that

raises the hairs on the back of your neck and you say, 'What is that? It's fantastic!' It gives you an elation that is beyond logic."

Early 1960s Folk• The roots of the 1960s folk music are

traced to the 1940s– Pete Seeger– Woody Guthrie

• The 1960s folk revival appealed to clean-cut collegiate fans

• College students wanted something deeper than songs about how to dance and novelty songs

Bob Dylan (b. 1941)

• Direct, edgy, and often angry folk music– He brought the edginess of rock and

combined it with the powerful messages of folk music

• He began with acoustic guitar, harmonica and vocals only– Talking blues – a singing style

developed by blues singer Leadbelly and popularized by Woodie Guthrie

Bob Dylan

• His songs became anthems for the turbulent 60s– “Blowin’ in the Wind– “The Times They Are a-Changin’”– “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”

• 2nd period – after 1965– Dylan plugs in his guitar– This was shocking to the folk community– Birth of folk rock

• “Subterranean Homesick Blues”• “Like a Rolling Stone”

Bob Dylan

• Late in 1966 Dylan was in a serious motorcycle accident. He went into seclusion for a year and a half.

• He reemerged in 1967 with his album John Wesley Harding which inspired The Byrds among others– “All Along the Watchtower” ♫

Other Folk Rockers

• Joan Baez– Female counterpoint to Dylan

• Her natural vibrato and high soprano convey a haunting message

• A supporter of Martin Luther King Jr.– She marched with him at his rallies– She sang “We Shall Overcome” at King’s

famous March on Washington

• She served 2 jail sentences for protesting at draft induction centers

Other 60s Folk Rockers• Simon and Garfunkel

– Mixed solid song writing with lush harmonies

– “Mrs. Robinson”• The Byrds

– Covered many Dylan hits with their own vocal harmonic spin

– “Eight Miles High”• Donovan

– Scottish folk artist who was called the European Bob Dylan

– “Mellow Yellow”

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