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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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According to the author, what did ragtime contribute to African American musical tradition and culture?
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melodic and harmonic complexities of instrumental music
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How does the classic blues differ from older blues styles?
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Classic blues usually has a female singer and uses a piano as the main instrument instead of the guitar. "Classic blues took on a certain sense of professionalism"
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what is the irony of the cake walk?
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the dance was orig. black making fun of the whites, irony was that whites thought it was making fun of the blacks
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what is the impact of early Negro minstrel companies?
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1st black, professional entertainment
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How was the classic blues the "clearly definable step" by the Negro back into the mainstream of American society?
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first "black" music to be mainstream entertainment
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what is significant or indicated by the lyrics?
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lyrics just had such a “broad human meaning” and caught the attention of white America
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Who does the author describe as "the link" between the less polished and the smoother theatrical blues?
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ma rainey
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what was the TOBA?
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Theatre owners Booking Agency
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what was recorded first, classis or country blues?
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classic
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what were the gender differences in blues music, and why?
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The classic blues were sung by women and country blues were sung by men. This was because the men traveled more whereas the women stayed in 1 location.
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who is Ahmet Ertegun?
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producer for Ruth Brown
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What were Ahmet Ertegun's activites at Atlantic?
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picked out songs that were radio friendly, and the "big hits"
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What style music did ruth brown want to sing?
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Ruth Brown wanted to sing a style that fused elements of blues, jazz and pop into a smooth “uptown” rhythm and blues. She wanted to tell stories in songs, to explore emotions, to the lush sounds of velvety string accompaniments she’d always conjured up when dreaming of recording.
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How does Brown describe the Billboard chart compilation process?
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“And the reason so few discs by black artists crossed over to Billboard’s mainstream chart was simple: it was compiled from white- owned radio station playlists featuring music by white artists, with our lists confined to catering to blacks (85).”
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What issues did Brown have with Georgia Gibbs and Patti Page?
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they were white women that duplicated her records, note for note
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What advantages did Gibbs and Page they have over Ruth Brown?
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Georga Gibbs and Patti Page were able to sing Ruth Browns songs on national television and places that she didn’t have access due to her race.
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Early in the article Ray Charles mentions Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. What label were they associated with?
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Atlantic Records
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What was Charles' relationship with them like, with regard to choice of songs? With producers in general?
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one of freedom. They would send him things that they wanted him to look at and when Charles didn’t like them; it only encouraged him to write more of his own music. At Atlantic studios they gave him a lot of room and allowed him to record anything that he wanted.
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Charles describes singing like Nat King Cold as calculating on his part, and "not effortless." What 2 (or 3) styles of music were more natural to Charles? Explain the issues surrounding that. How did Charles feel about the controversy?
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- blues, gospel and spiritual
-he decided to switch the lyrics of gospel songs around a bit to make them more secular. he was receiving letters accusing him of bastardizing God’s work. Many saw his music as sacreligious. This didn’t bother Charles because he always felt that the blues and gospel were close and that they should be brought together |
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How does Charles distinguish his music from rock 'n' roll?
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his music is more "adult" and serious, it was difficult for teens to relate
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How did the song "What'd I Say" come about?
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Ray Charles completely improvised the song at the end of a gig when the band needed to fill up time
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Who are the major diskers or "Big Four"?
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decca,columbia, capitol, victor
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Why are they having trouble cracking the R&B formula?
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couldn't recognize a potential 'hit'
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What is their solution to cracking the R&B formula?
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they wait for the indie labels to have popular songs and they cover them
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How are they affected by "the kids'" taste?
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the kids not only are going for the R&B tunes and beat, but they are going for the original interpretations as well
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What are the undercurrents around words like "authentic" (paragraph 3) and "legitimate" (last paragraph)? __A Warning to the Music Business__:
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when used in reference to the authentic quality of the indies music, is implying that even though the major record companies are stealing their music and getting the credit for it, it is still not what the kids want to listen to.
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What troubles the author about lyrics in R&B?
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that the lyrics are refrencing sex
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What does he fear will be the result of these lyrics in R&B?
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The author fears the result will be delinquent teens, as they already struggle with rebellious teenagers without this music.
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What does he propose to do?
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that it is the mass media’s responsibility to do something about what they expose the public to. and that record companies have a 'self-examination'
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does the author support this argument over lyrics in R&B?
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The author gives examples of what he feels should be done to monitor the lyrics being put out there through mass media; however his reasoning is inaccurate and not well supported.
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What sort of strategies did Chuck Berry use to attract a broad, and also racially mixed audience?
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-universal lyrics
-mixed song styles -changed his voice to appeal broader audiences |
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What was the reaction from the audience when Chuck Berry sang country and western?
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at first the audience was confused and laughing at this "black-hillbilly"- but eventually they liked it and would request songs
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What seems to be Chuck Berry's prime focus when writing lyrics?
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He focuses to identify with teens, so he writes of his own high-school experiences
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25. Comparing each of the four excerpts, what characterizes the mainstream press’s presentation of early rock ‘n’ roll?
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TIME, LIFE, NEWSWEEK, NY Times all referenced connections between rock ‘n’ roll and sex, violence, and juvenile deliquency and as a "communicable disease"
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