Lecture: Music History

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Note: following this music history course will lead to a Taijitu reconised qualification (TRQ in Music History)

Lecture One: Joe Strummer (The Clash)


Main Songs:
Give Em Enough Rope
London Calling
Sandinista
Combat Rock

Band Members of Clash:
Joe Strummer
Topper Headon
Mick Jones
Paul Simonon

Bernie Rhodes – Manager

John Graham Mellor was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1952, while his father was there working as a diplomat.
As front man, writer and motive force in ‘The Clash’, the most influential, expansive and enduring band to come out of the British 1976 punk rock explosion, Joe carved his legend in bold and graphic style.

Signed to CBS Records, the band recorded ‘The Clash in London’ and in 1977, Rolling Stone magazine called it the "definitive punk album". However, relationships with the record company were at times strained, which led to promotion problems and poor early sales in the US. Six albums and many hit singles later, The Clash broke up due to their own personal "clashes" within the group.

Strummer went on to contribute two songs to the soundtrack of ‘Sid and Nancy’ and popped up in the films ‘Walker’ and ‘Straight to Hell’. Having worked on a number of soundtracks, he released his first solo album, ‘Earthquake Weather’, in 1989. A quiet period in the 90s ended when he appeared on the Black Grape single ‘England's Irie’.

Strummer went on to release a further two solo albums in the late 1990s and it was while recording his fourth album that he suffered a heart attack and died, aged 50.

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Lecture Two: The Kinks

Kinks' Band Members:
Ray Davies – Songwriter/ Guitar
Dave Davies – Guitar
Mike Avory – Drums
Peter Quaife – Bass

From Muswell Hill North London
Started out as a skiffle band – using tea chest and broom for bass etc.
Skiffle was an early day version of punk, they just wanted to play music.
Signed to record label when they were teenagers, released two singles that didn’t do very well. 
Their first big hit was ‘You really got me’
Their sound was something new, because of Ray’s knackered amp the guitar was distorted, providing a heavier feel.
They were banned from the States for three years because of the Unions who insisted on them using more people (roadies etc) than they needed.
The songwriting became more introspective and more British, singing with an English accent.

Main Songs:
‘All Day and All of the Night’
‘Waterloo Sunset’
‘Sunny Afternoon’
‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’
‘Dead End Street’
‘Lola’ released in 1970, about an encounter with a transvestite, made the US top ten.  Nothing quite like it had been heard before.

The Kinks were a major influence on bands such as The Who, The Clash and Blur among others.

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Lecture Three: Elvis 1956

Elvis had his first gold record.  The demand was so great that the record company had to use other plants to press the record.

After a show Elvis went to Time Square in New York and had a walk around.  Even though he had so a million albums he was able to walk around without being recognised.  This was to be the last time that he could do this.

He had begun to receive a lot of fan mail.  His fans wanted to know all about him, so he told them that he didn’t drink or smoke.  That he wasn’t in love because he had not met the right girl, but he hoped to and he wanted to have a family.  He said the he sometimes felt lonesome even in a crowd.

Elvis wanted to be a film star, as he had always been fascinated by the film industry.  He wanted to be like James Dean.  He was offered a screen test for a film starring Burt Lancaster called Rainmaker.  Burt was a very big star at the time.  On the strength of this test he was offered and signed a seven-year contract for Paramount pictures.  He was offered a part in Rainmaker, but on the advice of the Colonel turned it down.  This was an early example of the the Colonel interfering and having a negative effect on Elvis’s career.  Burt was big star and this was a serious dramatic role, as a result Elvis then went on to star and series of creatively rubbish films.  They were very successful financially, but not for him dramatically.

After signing for Paramount Elvis, (on the advice of the Colonel) did a series of shows in Las Vegas.  These ‘bombed’.  Elvis’s music was not suited to the casinos that he was playing in customers.  This was his first major failure. It upset him very much.

After his unsuccessful Las Vegas shows he returned to LA on the 5th of June for a guest appearance on the Milton Bearle show.  Elvis chose to perform ‘Hounddawg’.  He performed the song very explicit, with a lot of pelvic thrusts.  Forty million people viewed the show and there was widespread condemnation of Elvis’s behaviour by conservative critics. 

A fortnight later Elvis performed the same song in top hat and tails to a Beagle dog in a top hat.  His creativity had been severely curtailed by the management.  He was very embarrassed as he performed the song.  It was a very good move in terms of pleasing the critics as now he was seen as apologetic for his behaviour.
From this time on artists began to realise that they should not be controlled or stifled by senior management.

The next day Elvis went into the studio to ‘cut’ the record of ‘houndawg’.  It took thirty takes until he was satisfied.  He then chose a record ‘Don’t be cruel’ and cut it in three takes. These would be his next two number ones’ both becoming gold records.

The Colonel signed Elvis into a merchandising deal for seventy-two products.  This made $22 million in six months.

He bought his mum and dad a new house with swimming pool.  He also bought matching pink and white Cadillac’s.  Ina year time Elvis would have to move his family to Graceland, as the family would need privacy from the fans.

During August Elvis play a show to 14,000 fans.  That night he promised the ‘real Elvis’ he was not constrained by industry figures. The shows were a big success the fans went wild.  He played series of gigs in Florida during August. A Jackson court judge passed a restraining order to stop him from making ‘offensive gyrations’.  So Elvis only waggled his little finger and still the crowds went wild.

After that series of gigs Elvis returned to Hollywood to start his film career.  He found that Paramount has inserted for songs into the film.  The director didn’t want Elvis to use his backing singers so he had to dump his band and use the trio that the studio gave him.  This resulted in the hit love me tender.

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Lecture Four: Elvis, The1968 Come-Back Special.

Due to Elvis’s film career he had slipped out of the spotlight.  By 1968 other bands like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles had eclipsed him, the music scene had moved on.  He was washed up with virtually no music career.

He did this comeback special in 1968 dressed in leather jacket and trousers.  The performance was amazing.  He was instantly catapulted back to stardom. 

It was a unique gig.  He just sat down and jammed with the band.  He didn’t even have a strap for his guitar.  He had a new rougher, toughened up, raw sound.

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Lecture Five: Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix was born Seattle to Al and Lucille 27/11/1942. He died of a probable overdose in London,17/09/1970.
He became an icon of protest against the Vietnam War.
His mother was an alcoholic; friends took him in when he was five days old. Came from a poor background, low level of racism in Seattle where social workers tried to take him away from his father and his mother died when he was 15.
He was lost in his own imagination – wizards, fantasy and also he learned to play along to cartoons.
Joined The Rocking Kings as bass player.
Arrested for being in a stolen car, so as an escape he joined 101st Airborne, discharged after he broke his ankle, having completed 26 jumps.
At the time whites where clinging to segregation in the Southern States.
Became a session guitarist for Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers (Twist and Shout) (Funk) and Little Richard, who thought he was too flamboyant!
Harlem (back ghetto) – The older blues players thought he’d gone too far.
Bob Dylan was his idol.
Moved to Greenwich Village – arty, shabby.  His music is accepted here.  Experimental.
Linda Keith (Keith Richards girlfriend) introduced him to Chas Chandler (The Animals) who brought him to England.

Once in England, his band were:
Mitch Mitchell – drums
Noel Redding – bass

First hit Hey Joe probably made it due to chart rigging and pirate radio was taking off and no doubt helped push their songs to the top of the charts.

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Lecture Six: Ray Charles The Genius of Soul

Influenced – Billy Preston, Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, Dr John.
Although Ray didn’t write ‘Georgia on my Mind’ it became his song.

Born Ray Charles Robinson in Albany, GA. September 23, 1930
1937 - Living in Greenville, FL, is stricken with glaucoma, which results in blindness.
October, 1937 - his mother sends him to St Augustines School for the Blind & Deaf where he studies composition, classical piano, organ, trumpet, alto sax and clarinet. There, he took refuge in music. His mother died when he was 14, his father died a year later.

Influences  at school:
Louis Jordan – influenced many black artists.
Count Bassie – Big Band
Muddy Waters – Chicago Blues.

In 1946 - Begins his professional career playing with local bands around Jacksonville, FL.
   
1948 - Moves to Seattle, WA and using the stage name R.C. Robinson, forms light jazz and blues combo The Maxim Trio.
Copied the styles of artists including, Nat ‘King’ Cole and Charles Brown.
Befriends 14 year old Quincy Jones – Produces and arranges for artists such as Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and Michael Jackson – Off The Wall, Thriller.
Co-founders of Atlantic Records, Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun (who also wrote ‘Mess Around’), buys his contract from Jack Lauderdale owner of Swingtime Records for $3,000.
Ray got into trouble with the church for mixing secular lyrics with church music.  The church said it was sacrilegious. 
1954 ‘I Got A Woman’ was a turning point in music (soul music).

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Lecture Seven: Punk - Sex Pistols

Band Line-Up
Johnny Rotten – Vocals
Glen Matlock – Bass
Steve Jones – Guitar
Paul Cook - Drums

Guests on Today, Bill Grundy show – last minute replacements for Queen in 1976. They where drunk, as was Bill Grundy on the show later the band swore on teatime TV.
1976 signed to EMI - £30,000 and following on they were seen as a major threat to society – Christian groups protested.

Were all about the 1970’s political and social problems, as reflected in their songs.

Dropped by EMI 1977.  Sign to A&M 1977, sacked by A&M the following day. Signed to Virgin - £90,000.
Release ‘God save the Queen’ originally titled ‘No Future’ changed title because of the Jubilee. And it was an attack on what Rotten called the deference to the Queen.

After a falling out between Glen and Rotten, Sid Vicious, replaced Glen on bass.

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LEcture Eight: Pink Floyd

Band Line-Up
Syd Barrett – Founder, guitarist.  Lyrics poetic, fantasy…
Richard Wright – keyboard, jazz influenced until he heard Sgt Peppers…
Nick Mason – drums
Roger Waters – bass, vocals.

Main Songs:
Space Rock
The UFO Club.
Arnold Layne – First single.

Sound:
Psychedelic, British sound.
Use of LSD.
Use of Eastern tones.

First album – Piper at the Gates of Dawn – 1967 EMI. (Recorded in studio 3 at Abbey Road studios next to The Beatles in studio 2, who were recording Sgt Peppers)

Sound Affects in Songs:
Bike – toy duck squeaks at the end.
Corporal Clegg – Taking the piss out of old soldiers and what they did during the war.  Teenagers were bored with references to the war.
Astronomy Domine – still played today.

They were a very visual band using – oil lamps etc.
Appeared on Tomorrows World and jammed to a lightshow.
Barrett left the band and became a recluse as he’d taken too many drugs.

sorry but what you said about Syd Barrett was wrong. he was put away in a mental institute for many years. roger waters felt responsible. hence the hit, "shine on you crazy diamond."

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Understand the career development of a music artist.[/u][/b] (Complete to earn qualification)

Assessment Requirements:
The learner can:
1.1   Identify the main historical events in the development of an artist, including:
•   Early career and influences;
•   Significant performances;
•   Significant recordings;
•   Image;
•   Popularity;
•   Current status of the artist.
1.2   Select two musical examples by the artist and identify why the pieces are representative of the artist’s work.


Grading Criteria

Grade Distinction – the student can produce an original, well-researched and informative project on a music artist.  This project features an informed musical analysis of two pieces of music as well as a detailed and perceptive assessment of the influence of the artist on themselves. Photographs are needed.

Grade Merit – the student can produce an effective, factually-accurate project on a music artist.  The project includes an effective musical analysis of two pieces of music as well as an assessment of the influence of the artist on themselves. Photographs are needed.

Grade Pass – the student can produce a competent project on a music artist. The project includes a basic musical analysis of two pieces of music as well as a basic assessment of the influence of the artist on themselves.

Grade Unclassifiable – The student is not yet able to produce a project on a musical artist at this level.  The project will probably need improved musical analysis of two pieces of music as well as an improved assessment of the influence of the artist on themselves.

Please ask question, can be any band - not just the ones listed below. Can just post the link or the whole photo.

[Algerianbania]

Professor. Here is my paper.

Deep Purple

Deep Purple is the greatest band of all time. Their notable albums were Machine Head, In Rock, and Fireball. They also released a live album, Made in Japan, which featured songs from these albums. The song Child in Time, is their greatest song, which starts quiet and and calm, and then builds up to a banshee like wail, until the climax of the greatest guitar solo of all time. No other information is necessary on this band.

[Khem]

sorry but what you said about Syd Barrett was wrong. he was put away in a mental institute for many years. roger waters felt responsible. hence the hit, "shine on you crazy diamond."

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Thank you for that and will mark your paper later  but the highest i can give you is a Pass as their is no photograph

[Cookiepie]

Katie turns in paper on Louis Armstrong. http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1180/5062-0002.jpg

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Katie turns in paper on Louis Armstrong. http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Mptv/1180/5062-0002.jpg

Sorry, wont let me see it - access denied!

[Templarios]

Professor. Here is my paper.

Deep Purple

No other information is necessary on this band.

Sure?