Lesson 4: The Beginning

The Beginning

Pop music has been influenced by many other genres. As we’ll examine the development and influence of music in later units, we’ll begin our look in the mid-twentieth century. Scholars cannot pinpoint an exact beginning for pop music or rock and roll. Instead, the shift to this new form of music was a gradual one. It drew heavily on the musical influences of the past, including the blues, and often continued to use the same instruments within the music. Indeed, pop music drew on the earlier sentimental ballads in the structure of the music. Gospel music helped to give pop music some of its vocal harmonies, while classical music contributed ideas of composition to the music.

Many of the technological changes occurring in the early and mid-twentieth century were integral for the development of pop music. In the 1940s, developments in microphone technology allowed singers to develop a more intimate style with their audience. Singers such as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra developed an almost conversational style of singing to their audience. Another technological advance that proved to have a large impact on music was the radio. As the radio became more widely used during the twentieth century, musicians started to produce music for the radio. Mass-produced music in the form of 45 rpm records (and later with 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, and CDs) also put more music into the hands of individuals, who were able to buy their favorite music and play it at their leisure.

By the 1950s and 1960s, television and the advent of portable transistor radios were also influencing the development of pop music. Whereas the composer and publisher were the most important elements in the past, now songs were linked to musicians in new ways. Their music was not only heard on the radio, but the public also watched live performances on television of popular acts. This meant that pop music stars had to cultivate and use a personal image on the radio and television that would help them sell their albums. Today, this may seem fairly commonplace among pop stars (as we’ve seen with pop musicians from Madonna to Lady GaGa), but it was not always the case. These new advances also brought pop music to youth, who were now able to take music with them with the portable devices and emulate the styles, fashion, and personas of the pop stars that emerged.

Instruments were also affected by technological changes. One shift that is often noted as helping to develop rock in the 1950s was the use of the electric guitar. New styles of drumming were also present, although many groups continued to use the instruments and musical styles popular in the 1940s. Another of the differences in pop music from earlier music was the written score. While most classical music and earlier forms of music were composed and written down before performances, the newer forms of music, including early R&B, country, and blues were typically improvised and performed, before being written down later. By the mid-twentieth century, performances had started to replace the composition as the important creative act. One reason for this was the changes in technology that began to impact music in the twentieth century.

Rock and Roll

Pop music grew out of the rock and roll genre of music, which began in the 1950s. Some scholars date rock’s beginning to June 1955, when the song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley reached number one on Billboard’s charts. The popularity of the song was due, at least in part, to its adoption as an anthem of rebellion for the youth at the time. Other scholars argue that the beginnings of rock and roll happened as white teenagers began to listen and dance to rhythm and blues types of music, which had previously been popular among black teenagers. Whatever the causes, rock and roll began to emerge.

Some of the early rock and roll music came from country singers adopting and adapting aspects of rhythm and blues. This included artists like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Other artists were already popular rhythm and blues artists before beginning to adapt new inflections in their music which were more rock and roll. These artists included Fats Domino and Roy Brown. Early rock and roll encouraged the idea that the music crossed racial and ethnic lines, pointing out the similarities between white and black artists, while distinguishing them from artists in other genres such as country or the blues.

Perhaps the most popular and influential singer in rock and roll’s early days was Elvis Presley. Although Presley was talented musically, it was perhaps his charisma and presence that rocketed him to stardom and popularity. Some scholars have also pointed out that Presley, as a white singer who played music adopted from rhythm and blues, was more commercially mainstream in a society where race was still a large factor.

The appeal of rock and pop to teenagers came at a time of transition. Before WWII, there was not a large separation between childhood and adulthood. After the war, however, the adolescent stage of life became more pronounced. Young adults were attending high schools in growing numbers and adult responsibilities were postponed for a few more years. Teens were no longer viewed as adults, but they were also not viewed as children. As the group negotiated this new terrain, they used music as the anthem of protest and as a way of trying to understand this new stage. Their music helped to define the group, separating its concerns and realities from those of adults and children. Record companies increasingly also began to market to teenagers, sometimes manipulating the images of artists to make them more interesting to teens.

Another development in the 1950s that would encourage the growth of both rock and pop music was the origin of music charts. During the 1940s and 1950s, individual songs (or singles) were tracked according to their sales, the number of times they were played on the radio, and their jukebox plays. In November 1955, Billboard published “The Top 100” for the first time. This chart was later renamed “The Hot 100” and it provided a way for not only the music industry, but also individuals to see what music was popular each week.