WORKSHEETS 9 & 10
- Due No Due Date
- Points None
- Available May 21, 2020 at 12am - May 31, 2020 at 11:59pm
Here are the last 2 worksheets. Make sure you study all 10 worksheets for the final.
First, download the worksheets: HIS:ROCK WORKSHEET 9 & 10.pdf Download HIS:ROCK WORKSHEET 9 & 10.pdf
Background: As rock music moved into the late '60s and early '70s, other artists and styles emerged. There were also new geographical hot spots. Think about previous locations we have discussed: Memphis, Chicago, New York, Liverpool, London, Detroit, etc. We will now look at those new hot spots.
First off, one of the more interesting bands to emerge from that time, was called (believe it or not) The Band. I enjoy looking at artists' timelines and paths they took. The band's genesis begins in Arkansas, where, after gigging in various lineups, they hooked up with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins, and became known as The Hawks. Upon realizing that more money could be made in Canada, they relocated there. One by one, band members left, and were replaced (except for the drummer, Levon Helm) by Canadian musicians. Eventually, they broke from Ronnie Hawkins, moved to Woodstock, New York. That led to a connection with Bob Dylan, whom they backed up on tour. They then became known as a group themselves. The Band's music has often been described as "Americana." It was a blend of country, rock, folk, and songs that seemed to come from the past. I have thought that if rock and roll existed in the mid-19th century, it would look and sound like The Band. Here is a photo of the group. Don't they look like they were from a different time?
Before the group broke up, they did one more concert that was featured in a movie called The Last Waltz. Some have called it the greatest rock music movie ever. I tend to agree. Here is the trailer from that movie:
The Last Waltz - Trailer - (1978) - HQ
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Here is one of their songs, for our music journal, that represent that Americana sound:
67. Up On Cripple Creek
The Last Waltz (1978) - Up on Cripple Creek Scene (2/7) | Movieclips
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Psychedelia. How do you pronounce that word? Here's how (click on the speaker icon):
Psychedelic music is music and/or visual displays related to or inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as LSD.
Psychedelic music came into public awareness in 1967. The summer of 1967 became known as the "Summer of Love." A year earlier, the Beatles, recording the album Revolver, pushed the limits of studio experimentation, especially with the song "Tomorrow Never Knows." That song is often credited as the first psychedelic song. Here is a clip describing the way that song was recording;
And here is the recording:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHNbHn3i9S4
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Incidentally, many view that album Revolver as the greatest rock album ever made.
But is was the next album, Sgt. Pepper, that created a new focus on the album, as opposed to the single. In fact, many radio stations began broadcasting "album orientated rock," featuring longer recordings, and sometimes whole albums.
We have already talked about the way Brian Wilson and the Beatles influenced and challenged each other. When the Beatle albums Rubber Soul and Revolver was released, Brian felt challenged to match them with a masterpiece. As the work progressed, he felt pressure from different sources: the other band members, the record company, and his own internal mental struggles. He suffered a mental breakdown, and the album was shelved. Parts of the recordings were included on other albums. The album was to be called Smile, and became known as the most famous album not released.
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San Francisco
The most successful of the SF bands was Jefferson Airplane. They had the best of both worlds, in that they had an album-orientated appeal, and had Top 40 hits at the same time.
"White Rabbit" is a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band's second top-10 success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Some observers have compared "White Rabbit" to Ravel's Bolero, a symphonic piece featuring a repetitive pattern and a long crescendo. The character references are drawn from Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.
68. White Rabbit
Jefferson Airplane -White Rabbit-
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I was in a dressing room with the Jefferson Airplane in Texas, and witnessed their bass player, Jack Casady, get busted for inciting a riot. I stayed out of the way!
Singer Janis Joplin, from Port Arthur, TX, rose to fame in the late 1960s and was known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals. She died of an accidental drug overdose in 1970. Her band was called Big Brother and the Holding Company. Here is one of her hits, "Piece Of My Heart."
69. "Piece Of My Heart."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SL0oRcD7t0
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One of the most long lasting groups from SF was the Grateful Dead, founded by guitarist Jerry Garcia. I met Jerry Garcia once. He was sitting on a bale of hay! Grateful Dead fans were known to be rabid in their admiration of the band, and they were called "deadheads."
Not all psychedelic bands came from San Francisco. The Doors came from Los Angeles.
From wiki: " The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and voice along with his erratic stage persona, and the group was widely regarded as an important part of the era's counterculture."
The band's first hit, "Light My Fire," went to #1 on the charts in 1967, staying there for 3 weeks.
70. "Light My Fire"
Light My Fire (2017 Remaster)
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A year later, the song was a hit again, with an interesting cover by Jose Feliciano, this time going to #3 on the charts. A very different take:
Jose Feliciano - Light My Fire
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What do you think about that cover?
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Power Trios
Power Trios became a part of the music scene during this time. I sometimes tell my students that power trios were 3 people playing loud! One such trio was Cream, which featured the acclaimed guitarist Eric Clapton. Their first hit, "Sunshine Of Your Love."
71. "Sunshine Of Your Love."
Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love (HD)
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Jimi Hendrix is generally regarded as the most influential guitarist in rock music history. He is credited with controlling feedback. What is feedback? I'm glad you asked:
Guitar feedback happens when the sound coming from a guitar's amplifier causes the pickups and/or strings to vibrate sympathetically. The resulting signal is then returned to the amp, of course, reinforcing the original sound over and over again, until the whole buildup reaches the limits of the amp's output. Kind of a audible circular growing tornado. Here is an example of Jimi Hendrix' use of feedback:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53JpbrxM7O0
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Although most of Hendrix's hits were written by him, his cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" became a Top 20 Hit, received a Grammy award, and was ranked #47 in Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs of all time.
That funny percussion instrument you hear at the beginning? It's called a vibraslap. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihaH_EsYf7M
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72. All Along The Watchtower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmGFFJtkDXA
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Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix, all died within a year's time, at the same age, 27. This was soon called the "27 club."
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One of my all time favorite artists is Van Morrison. From Ireland, his music encompasses many styles: R&B, soul, blues, folk music, gospel, Celtic, and jazz. Just like how Ray Charles transcended styles, Van Morrison has both a rock classic ("Brown Eyed Girl"), and a jazz classic ("Moondance," a song I have played many times in various jazz lineups.).
Here is "Brown Eyed Girl," a rock classic about the singer reminiscing about an old girl friend:
73. Brown Eyed Girl
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl (Audio)
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If you want to look a little more at Van Morrison, here is his appearance in the movie, The Last Waltz, doing one of his songs, "Caravan." The buildup at the end is wonderful!
The Last Waltz - Van Morrison - Caravan
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Here is one of his more sublime songs, "Into The Mystic."
Into the Mystic | Van Morrison | Lyrics ☾☀
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Now, on to Worksheet 10.
WORKSHEET 10
There were other bands from San Francisco that were not psychedelic. There are some statistics in rock history that take us by surprise. Remember the record sales of Fats Domino? More records sold until the Beatles, except for Elvis. Similarly, this band from the Bay area is entrenched in the record books. They had a sound that I like to describe as "swamp rock." Basic, gruff, bluesy, sounding more like coming from the backwoods of Louisiana. During 1969 - 1971 this band had the most Top 40 hits: Creedence Clearwater Revival (often abbreviated as "CCR"). Here is a short look at the group:
Creedence Clearwater Revival Story
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Just as the Beach Boys could not have existed without Brian Wilson, CCR could not have existed without John Fogerty, who wrote, arranged, sang, and produced their hits. He has one of the great voices in rock music. As his brother Tom Fogerty once said, "I could sing, but John had a sound."
Their 1st Top 10 hit was "Proud Mary," which still remains a rock classic today.
74. Proud Mary
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary (Official Lyric Video)
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I love covers that vary wildly from the original. Check out this cover by Ike & Tina Turner. Holy Moly, it's showtime!
Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary | 1971
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Also from San Francisco, the group Santana introduced Latin instruments not generally associated with rock recordings at the time;
- Conga.
- Guiro.
- Maracas.
- Timbales.
- Claves
- Cowbell.
- Bongos.
Here is a short clip of some talented kids demonstrating some of those instruments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlDgRYKyQAE
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For your journal, here is Santana doing "Evil Ways," live at the Woodstock Festival:
75. Evil Ways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPauXWjY4T8
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Fun Fact: the singer and organist, Gregg Rolie went on to co-found a major supergroup, Journey.
One more group from San Francisco. Sly & The Family Stone, was a multi-racial band that emphasized funk music and positive thinking. I saw the group live, and believe me, everyone there was on their feet dancing! Here is one of their hits:
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Now the last rock style we will study in our course: Southern Rock. As the term suggests this is music from the southern United States, and had a strong emphasis on guitars (many of these groups had 2 lead guitars, playing counterpoint with each other) and vocals strong on Americana and where they came from. The Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd were all from the South.
Two major bands from the south during this time were Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers.
Lynyrd Skynyrd came from Jacksonville, Florida. The band, known for some humorous songs, famously named the band after their high school gym teacher! Here is the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd:
History of Lynyrd Skynyrd: Profile of 'Sweet Home Alabama' Band
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The group is noted for the most requested song, ever (mostly as a joke). "Play "Freebird!" is a request heard often, even today. The song "Sweet Home Alabama" is a rock classic. The lyrics include a reference to Muscle Shoals, Alabama (where they recorded this), and to Neil Young, who had recorded a song critical of the South. The group answered him in this song.
77. Sweet Home Alabama
Sweet Home Alabama Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Another great band from the South was the Allman Brothers, named after bothers Duane and Gregg Allman. The group, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, featured two guitarists and two drummers, and strongly linked to the state of Georgia. They were known as a great live act - in fact, their 1st album was a recording of a live performance., with lots of instrumental jamming. The song "Rambling Man," actually features the whole 2nd half of the song as a guitar jam, with 3 guitars, one playing a recurring riff, the second soloing, and a third playing slide guitar.
78. Ramblin' Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4DCp6cl2U
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That concludes your music journal entries! Study all the worksheets for the final.
Now, if you want to explore more, feel free:
Janis Joplin bio:
The life and music of Janis Joplin
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Jim Morrison documentary:
JIM MORRISON - Before They Were DEAD - BIOGRAPHY The Doors
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Eric Clapton bio:
Eric Clapton Biography: Life and Career of the 'Layla' Singer
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Jimi Hendrix bio:
Jimi Hendrix - Guitarist & Songwriter | Mini Bio | BIO
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Van Morrison bio:
Van Morrison Biography: Life and Career of the Singer-Songwriter
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A CBS look at John Fogerty (CCR):
John Fogerty on CBS 2005
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A favorite CCR of mine. John Fogerty, like Van Morrison and The Band, had an ability to take you back to a place and time with lyrics. Green River:
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River (Official Lyric Video)
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Sly & The Family Stone, live:
sly & the family live at kraft concert 1970
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Latin artist Tito Puente was a great earlier influence on the band Santana. The rhythm is irresistible. Here is one of his hits, "Ran Kan Kan."
A Southern Rock Band, the Charlie Daniels Band, had a major hit with "The Devil Went Down To Georgia." It tells quite a story!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2nQjbGG5cE
Links to an external site.
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