HISTORY OF ROCK

DAY 1

6th grade

Defined:A form of popular music that emerged in the United States in the late ‘40s and ‘50s. But rock and roll's roots can be tracked back centuries to drum beats in Africa and Celtic folk music in Europe. As people from these regions immigrated to America, they brought their music with them, and as they were exposed to each other's music, they began to incorporate different styles. The more immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the so-called "race" music, or rhythm & blues, and "hillbilly" music, or county & western of the ‘40s and ‘50s. Other significant influences include blues, jazz, gospel, boogie-woogie, folk and bluegrass.

(Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

Close your eyes and LISTEN

Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry

At its basic core rock is defined by its energy, its

driving beat, simple melodies, catchy hooks,

and above all. . . it’s ATTITUDE!

Rock and Roll: It’s just music, right?

Rock ObjectivesOBJECTIVE: Use a listening template to get comfortable talking about songs

OBJECTIVE: Use a timeline to understand the historical context in which a song was written

OBJECTIVE: Understand music as a visual culture; as a performance; as a literary form

OBJECTIVE: Understand that music is a portal into history; it is a part of culture that changes the world

Chuck Berry (1926- )Born 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri - such a segregated city that he didn’t see a white person until he was 3 years old. “

His mother attended college. His grandparents had been slaves. Attended a prestigious all-black high school. Started singing and playing guitar in high school.

In the 50s he met Chuck Berry, who persuaded him to talk with Chess Records. He recorded Maybellene (1955) - mix of rhythm and blues beat, country guitar licks and the flavor of Chicago blues and narrative storytelling.

Many music historians consider "Maybellene" the first true rock 'n' roll song.

Comparing Johnny B. Goode (early rock)

with other songs of the time on the Billboard Chart 1958

Look at the Billboard 1958 chart to see what songs were popular at the time of the one in question. For instance,  “Johnny B. Goode” was at No. 8 on the charts, with Sheb Wooley’s “The Purple People Eater” taking the No. 1 slot. Dean Martin, the Four Preps, and Nat King Cole also had songs in the Top 10. 

#1 Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley#2 All I Have to Do is Dream - Everly Brothers#8 Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry

Analysis of Chuck Berry’s - Johnny B.

Goode (1958)• Let’s start by analyzing the sounds we hear• Activity:  Pass out listening template• Listen to My Girl by The Temptations (1965)

and Return to Me by Dean Martin (1958) • Listen to Johnny B. Goode (1958) • Get into small groups/discuss/fill out

template for Johnny B. Goode• Listen for: instrumentation/vocals; mood;

tempo, lyrics; sounds like/genre

Chuck Berry. . . writer/musicianLet’s look at the songwriting, as well as the sounds.

Chuck Berry was a master storyteller. The story of Johnny is a rags to riches story. He uses a few words to say a lot. What happens to Johnny in the song?What literary images does Berry use here?How is the title used effectively?Does the writer ever talk about what kind of music Johnny plays?Is Johnny’s skin color ever mentioned?

Music in a historical contextLooking a timeline helps us to understand music in a historical context. To see music in the way it relates to the world at that time. What was going on in the world when Chuck Berry performed Johnny B. Goode in 1958?•pre-Civil Rights era: The 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregated public facilities in Alabama, was led by Martin Luther King Jr. and lasted for 381 days; Rosa Parks – 1955, etc.•Watch Roll Over Beethoven •National Guard called into Little Rock, Ark high school forcing them to integrate•The 1955-56 Montgomery Bus Boycott, a protest against segregated public facilities in Alabama, was led by Martin Luther King Jr. and lasted for 381 days•Berry was in the interesting position of being an African-American entertainer whose audience was significantly white.

Historical Context. . . Would it affect your music?

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional in the United States.In 1957 the governor of Arkansas ordered the National Guard to the high school to “preserve the peace” by turning away the black students who were attempting to integrate. More troops arrived (Wiki)

Rock and Roll Timeline – Music reacts!

Civil Rights timeline of the 1950s-1960sAre there musical trends or songs that reflect the history of your generation?

Historical Context. . .truthful irony

The same teenagers who were watching American Bandstand, which went national on ABC in 1957, were hearing directly from an African-American musician who recorded for a Chicago label, Chess, focused primarily on Blues and R&B. It was an instance of racial mixing through music, and this in the same general period when President Eisenhower was using the National Guard to oversee the integration of a public high school.

Q: Can you think of a current racial mixing example in music?

Muddy Waters Entry Tix to BluesHomework: go to the

Muddy Waters page and readShare your entry ticket questions answers tomorrow:

Entry ticket questions:1. Where did Muddy Waters grow up? What was his name before he became known as Muddy Waters?2. Muddy Waters writes: “Somebody once asked me what my blues meant. I answered him in one word -- ‘trouble.’” Describe what you think he means.3. If your family has ever moved, for what reasons did you move? If you have never moved, what are some reasons people move today? How does it feel to move?4. Discuss how a person’s life might change when he or she moves several hundred miles from their original home.