What's That Sound? • W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.
Brill Building was two things
Actual location where professional songwriters created songs for their publisher-employers
A term for a particular set of business practices during this time
Aldon Publishing is one of the most prominent and successful publishing companies of the early 1960s
Run by Al Nevins and Don Kirschner
The office had many small rooms with a piano for songwriters who worked all day there
Songwriter teams had a job: write new pop songs
Carole King and Gerry Goffin
Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann
Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield
Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
Songwriters competed to see who got the next cut
A song would be assigned to a group or artist to record the song
Professional producer and session musicians put the recording together
Song was then released by any one of several different record labels
This was a way to organize and mass-produce pop music records
Singers were not as important as they had been earlier and were replaceable
Emphasis was on the songwriter, producer, and musicians who recorded the music
No more temperamental songwriters
Television paralleled the trends in radio
Major labels dominated the music played on network TV and network radio
More conservative mainstream pop was preferred by more conservative advertisers
Directed at more conservative middle-class tastes
Independent record labels built affiliations with local radio and local TV
Newer styles were presented on these programs
Rhythm and blues, country and western, and, of course, rock and roll
Popular local disk-jockeys were hired to appear on local TV shows dedicated to these styles of music
Shows featured dancing, comedy, short films
There were dozens of these local shows on the air during the 1950s
Bandstand was originally a radio show hosted by Bob Horn on WFIL AM in Philadelphia
He was asked to convert it to television in 1952
Emphasis on dancing
Horn was replaced by Dick Clark in 1956
The show became very popular and was picked up by ABC and broadcast nationally in 1957
Bandstand becomes American Bandstand
Within a month it was the top rated daytime television show in America
Continued to be produced in Philadelphia
Dick Clark given an unusual amount of freedom to pick songs he wanted on the show
Clark presented a balanced amount of black and white performers
This helped soothe racial tensions in a unique way by approaching it from the young person's viewpoint
American Bandstand remained on the air until well after the appearance of MTV in the 1980s
The dancing
"So Long (It's Been Good to Know Ya)" (1951)
"On Top of Old Smoky" (1951)
Folk music and the artists singing it addressed issues that concerned less fortunate members of society
They openly advocated social change toward what was considered left-wing political ideals
They came under fire during McCarthy era anti-communist investigations
Weavers were blacklisted because of their affiliations with the American Communist Party
During the 1950s folk music withdrew from political causes
It became popular with college-age audience
Folk artists returned to political idealism centered on the civil rights movement
Folk music had a noncommercial sound and character
It was music for regular people, performed by regular people
Performers seemed to represent the masses
It was not pretentious
The Kingston Trio became one of the most successful acts in popular music
Named after the Jamaican city because of Americans' fascination with calypso music
Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds
Recorded a traditional folk song called "Tom Dula"
Renamed it "Tom Dooley" (1959)
This success moved the folk music revival into the pop mainstream
Polished three-part harmony and scripted spoken introduction
They were pleasant to listen to and fit easily into the pop mainstream tastes
From 1958 to 1965 the Kingston Trio had ten top 40 pop hits recorded by major label Capitol Records
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone" 1962)
"Reverend Mr. Black" (1963)
Their first album in 1958 lasted for 195 weeks on the charts
The split in the folk music world
Two factions became clear in the early 1960s
Traditional folk music and the roots from which it sprang
Polished commercial-oriented folk groups aligned with the pop mainstream
The Kingston Trio represented the latter, more commercial side due to the high sales numbers
Other groups followed their style with clean, precise vocal arrangements and well played accompaniment
The Highwaymen: "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" (1961)
The Rooftop Singers: "Walk Right In" (1963)
The New Christy Minstrels:  "Green Green" (1963)
These groups were considered too pop mainstream for folk music purists
Purists claimed that folk music had to remain simple and rustic to maintain its integrity
Folk singers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan belonged to this purist group
Peter, Paul, and Mary were assembled in 1961 to be a folk group that would appeal to the pop mainstream
Peter Yarrow
Organize and coordinate the various professionals involved in making the record
This applied to situations where the artist was within the mainstream pop area
Early rock and roll artists and rhythm and blues artists came in self-contained
Little or no need for any additional arranging or organizing of the recording
Artists who wrote their own material (Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly) had a lot of control of the song
As the music business executives assumed more power, producers became specialists
They handled the details of the recording process
They, not the artist, had the responsibility for how the record turned out
During the 1950s the sound was meant to be that of a documentation of a live performance
Producers began to put their individuality into the process by including their own tastes into the record
They drew from their own experiences with music styles
They incorporated outside elements into the process, like theater and classical music ideas
Leiber and Stoller were the first important production team
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller began as songwriting partners for rhythm and blues songs
They were extremely influential on other songwriters and songwriting teams
Carole King and Gerry Goffin
Shadow Morton
Phil Spector
The new approach became to see what could be created inside the recording studio
This approach became the new way to create music by using the studio as a workbench
This became the way the Beach Boys worked
Even more important, the Beatles
Then, pretty much everyone after that
Early Leiber and Stoller success came on the west coast rhythm and blues scene as songwriters
Charles Brown: "Hard Times" (r7, 1952)
Big Mama Thornton: "Hound Dog" (r1, 1953)
The Robins: "Smokin' Joe's Cafe" (r10, 1955)
Wanting more control over the recording process, they formed Spark Records in 1953 in Los Angeles
They often said, "We don't write songs, we write records"
This removed pressure (or opportunity) for artists to go beyond realizing the plan in mind
Leiber and Stoller usually knew what the record would sound like before they started
Leiber and Stoller pack up and move to New York's Atlantic Records
They had three rhythm and blues hits with the Robins in Los Angeles
Atlantic offered them producer positions
They retained independent status
Allowed to work with artists on other labels if they wanted to
A unique situation for that time
In 1956, Elvis Presley covered their song "Hound Dog" and it reached number one,
Other songs written for Presley included "Jailhouse Rock" (1957)
"Don't Be Cruel" (1958)
They worked with Atlantic throughout the 1950s with several Atlantic artists
The Coasters (formerly the Robins with two of four members replaced to go to New York)
The Coasters songs were musical "playlets" that often told a humorous story
These were inspired by Broadway and radio plays
The very first one, "Riot in Cell Block #9" inspired by a radio show called Gangbusters
"Yakety Yak" (1958) and "Charlie Brown" (1959) poked fun at teen situations
Leiber and Stoller were remarkable: they captured the essence of and wrote about black life and culture
They were white. They say they thought they were black but it turned out that they were wrong.
Some Leiber and Stoller story songs
"Smokin' Joe's Cafe"
Lyrics are in an AABA formal pattern
Two verses develop the storyAA
The singer is sitting in Smokin' Joe's Cafe
A sexy woman sits next to him and starts to flirt very suggestively
Patrons warn of her jealous boyfriend
A bridge brings the action to a climaxB
Joe comes out from the kitchen with a knife and orders the singer to finish the meal and get out
A return of the verse serves as an epilogueA
The singer is never going there again
"Down in Mexico"
Same form as "Smokin' Joe's Cafe"
First two verses describe a bar in Mexico
The bridge (B) describes a sexy dancer entering the bar and doing a "dance I never saw before"
Music appropriate for a stripper is used for this section, emphasizing conga drums
The last verse advises the listener to visit the bar
Leiber and. Stoller use Mexican sounding nylon-string guitars and percussion for authenticity
This topic was acceptable in the rhythm and blues market but not for pop audiences
"Little Egypt (Ying Yang)" (r16, p24, 1961)
Similar scenario as "Down in Mexico" but set in a carnival with a belly dancer
She wears "nothing but a button and a bow" and does "the hootchie-kootchie real slow"
The twist is that in the end of the song, it turns out that she retired to marry the singer
Tape manipulation is used to portray their children singing, sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks
The catch is that this immoral woman has cleaned up and joined the middle-class family ethic
A clear representation of what the music industry was doing at this timecleaning up the music
Leiber and Stoller also wrote songs with a social commentary viewpoint
The song "What About Us" (r17, p47, 1959) is a thinly veiled comment on racial inequality
In "Run Red Run" (r29, p36 1960) a man teaches a monkey how to play poker
The monkey figures out that his owner is cheating
He chases the man with a gun, robs him at gunpoint, and leaves with his suit and belongings
On the surface it's a comedy but the message is about exploitation of blacks in American culture
Stoller had formal music training
Arrangements were often composed in advance
Many of the saxophone solos were written out
They developed close friendships with the Coasters, allowing them to change aspects of songs
In the Drifters song "There Goes My Baby" an orchestra is used as one of the accompaniment tracks
A forerunner to subsequent productions that combined classical elements with rhythm and blues
Such musical arrangements were later referred to as "sweet soul"
The Leiber and Stoller influence on girl-group songwriter-producers
First notable example is the song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" (1960) by the Shirelles
Written and produced by Carole King and Gerry Goffin for Aldon Music
Lyrics about teenage girls having to decide whether or not to engage in sexual intimacy
Well-crafted, sensitive lyrics and orchestral accompaniment went over well with the public
At Aldon Music songwriting teams made demonstration records of their songs called demos
Neil Sedaka and Howie Greenfield
Carole King and Gerry Goffin
Quality was such that the demos were released as singles
The success of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" spawned more black teenage female vocal groups
Chantels
The Drifters' "There Goes My Baby"a prototype for a new, softer black pop: sweet soul
Lead singer was Ben E. King
Clearly influenced by Sam Cooke
Sweet soul's roots in gospel music
Ray Charles set a gospel tune to secular lyrics in "I Got a Woman" (1954)
Charles also used pop and country and western stylistic influences in his songs
"Georgia in My Mind" (1960)
"Hit the Road Jack" (1961)
"I Can't Stop Loving You" (1962)
"I Got a Woman" inspired record labels to look for gospel artists to turn into rhythm and blues artists
Sam Cooke sang in a light pop style with noticeable elements of black music
Cooke sang with the Soul Stirrers gospel group before he started singing pop music
Clear tenor voice
"Be True to Your School" (1963)
"Fun, Fun, Fun" (1964)
"I Get Around" (1964) the B-side, "Don't Worry Baby," went to # 24
They felt a strong sense of competition with the Beatles (distributed in the U.S. by Capitol records)
Early songs relied on straightforward rock and roll melodies, guitar sounds, and chord progressions
Their strong point was exceptional vocal abilities and talent for blending their voices
"Surfin' U.S.A." is clearly a reworked version of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen"
Clever vocal parts include the falsetto hook, "Everybody's gone surfin'"
Backup vocals are "ooh" and multi-voiced harmonization of "inside, outside, USA"
Portable electronic organ soloactually chords with a top voice implying a melody
Guitar solo mimics Chuck Berry blues-based solos
The melody is Berry's direct from "Sweet Little Sixteen"
Ballads demonstrate impressive compositional skill and performance techniques
"Surfer Girl"
"In My Room"
An important aspect of their records: Brian Wilson demanded to be the producer early in their career
He was influenced by Phil Spector's production sound
He emphasized innovation in these efforts
Early records were simply big sounding records
Beginning in 1965 and 1966 he began incorporating impressive new ideas into the records
Jan and Dean (Jan Berry and Dean Torrance)
Close friends with the Beach Boys
Series of hits during the early 1960s
"Little Old Lady from Pasadena,"
"Surf City" (1963) co-written by Brian Wilson
"Honolulu Lulu" (1963),
"Ride the Wild Surf" (1964)
Instrumental Surf MusicDick Dale and the Del-Tones
Dale is most closely associated with the term instrumental surf music
Made it clear that surfing was the most important part of his life
Boasted that he would finish surfing, dry off, and step on stage
Technique of rapid flutter picking on a string and running from high to low on the neck
Dale claimed that was his way of recreating the sound of waves crashing around him
One of his best-known songs was "Misirlou" (1962)
Trademark rapid tremolo picking on the guitar
A tune that had been a Greek pop standard in the 1940s
Quick tempo with a rock rhythmic feel
"Let's Go Tripping" #60 in 1961
Two months before the Beach Boys' release of "Surfin'"
Other important instrumental surf music artists:
Chantays "Pipeline" (1963)