
- An overview of black pop
- The breakdown of racial and cultural barriers in the 1950s
- Early rock and roll was controversial
- Not everyone wanted those barriers broken down
- The barriers were broken down by the younger generation
- Black pop blended elements of two radically different styles into pop
- Country and western music
- Black rhythm and blues
- The popularity factor of 1970s black pop
- 1970s black pop grew from 1960s black pop
- Motown and Stax artists and production teams
- James Brown
- Sly Stone from the San Francisco hippie scene
- Much music of black artists was not known to white listeners
- People involved with 1970s mainstream rock were mainly white
- Fans
- Musicians
- Producers
- Promoters
- Music business participants
- Black pop roots in the 1960s
- Sly and the Family Stone
- Sly and the Family Stone had an important influence on black pop at the end of the 1960s
- His music was important to many black musicians
- His music was a blend of funk with aspects of psychedelia
- Helped define black pop for white listeners in the early 1970s as well
- Band had a series of crossover hit singles
- "Dance to the Music" (p8 r9, 1968)
- "Everyday People" (p1 r1, 1969)
- "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (p1 r1, 1970)
- "Family Affair" (p1 r1, 1971)
- During the mid 1960s Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) was a disk-jockey and record producer
- In 1967 Sly and the Family Stone began playing in the Bay Area
- Bassist Larry Graham
- Drummer Gregg Errico
- Guitarist Freddie Stone
- Vocals and keyboards Sly Stone
- Vocals and keyboards (sister) Rose Stone Banks
- Trumpet Cynthia Robinson
- Sax Jerry Martini
- Became involved in the San Francisco psychedelic music scene
- Blended black and white music styles together
- Racially and sexually integrated band
- Early songs were upbeat dance-oriented songs
- Exemplified by "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"
- Repeating bass riff established "groove" (rhythmic feel)
- That bass riff is the key to the song's effectivenesstypical of Sly's music
- The band took on a more militant attitude beginning in 1971
- The album There's a Riot Goin' On (p1 r1)
- Focus on controversial issues
- Racial
- Political
- Last major commercial success for the group was the album Fresh (p7 r1, 1973)
- Contains the hit single "If You Want Me to Stay" (p12 r3)
- Epic Records had marketed the band as if they were a rock act
- Emphasized both singles and albums
- Significant airplay on white rock radio
- Black pop acts began focusing more attention on albums
- Black pop in the beginning of the 1970s
- Ohio Players (formerly the Ohio Untouchables)
- Not much success with releases during the 1960s
- 1973 hit single: "Funky Worm"
- Novelty song
- Number one on the rhythm and blues charts
- Number fifteen on the pop charts
- Several hit albums went number one on the rhythm and blues charts and did well on pop charts
- Skin Tight (1974)
- Fire (1975)
- Honey (1975)
- Contradiction (1976)
- Success peaked in 1975 with "Love Rollercoaster" (r1 p1)
- Kool and the Gang
- Began in Jersey City as a jazz-influenced band (originally called the Jazziacs) working with jazz greats
- Thelonious Monk
- Pharoah Sanders
- McCoy Tyner
- Modest success with singles on the rhythm and blues charts
- "Let the Music Take Your Mind" (r19, 1970)
- "Funky Man" (r16, 1970)
- Became an important crossover act in 1973 with the album Wild and Peaceful (r6 p33, 1973)
- Incorporated Sly Stone's pop funk concepts into the music
- Three important crossover hit singles:
- "Funky Stuff" (r5 p29)
- "Jungle Boogie" (r2 p4) and
- "Hollywood Swinging" (r1 p6)
- Kool and the Gang lasted well into the disco era in the late 1970s
- "Ladies' Night" (r1 p8, 1979)
- "Celebration" (r1 p1, 1980) both popular party band staples
- Both Kool and the Gang and Ohio players used Sly Stone's stylistic blending concepts
- Catchy vocal hooks
- Funky rhythmic grooves
- Tower of Power
- Oakland-based band known for hard-driving rhythms and strong horn section
- Often played on other artists' recordings
- Elton John
- Rolling Stones
- Rod Stewart
- Well known in the San Francisco hippie scene
- Racially integrated band
- Several moderately successful albums through the early 1970s
- Bump City (r16, 1972)
- Tower of Power (r11 p15, 1973)
- Back to Oakland (r13 p26, 1974)
- War
- From Los Angeles with musical roots in black music and Latino music
- Originally called the Nightriders, backing Deacon Jones (football player turned singer)
- Discovered by Animals former lead singer Eric Burton and two important friends
- Danish harmonica player Lee Oskar
- Producer Jerry Goldstein
- Burton recorded the album Burton Declares War (r47 p18, 1970) and left soon afterward
- The band went on to have more hits
- All Day Music (r6 p16, 1971)
- The World Is a Ghetto (r1 p1, 1973)
- The most commercially successful albumit contained crossover hit singles
- "The World Is a Ghetto" (r3 p7)
- "Cisco Kid" (r5 p2)
- Earth, Wind and Fire
- Formed by Maurice White in 1969
- Another long-lasting member was Philip Bailey
- Had several crossover hits during the 1970s
- A good example of their style was "Shining Star" (r1 p1, 1975)
- Hard-driving funk groove inspired by Sly and the Family Stone
- Sophisticated vocal harmonies and gritty solo singing
- Rhythmic horn shots
- Catchy chorus
- The Commodores
- Influenced by Sly and the Family Stone
- Hired by Motown to open for Jackson 5 concerts in 1971
- "Brick House" (r4 p5, 1977) is an early example of their roots in funk
- Ballads written by singer Lionel Ritchie yielded the greatest commercial success
- "Easy" (r1 p4, 1977)
- "Three Times a Lady" (r1 p1, 1978)
- Motown continues into the 1970s
- The Temptations
- The Temptations went through changes in 1968
- Lead singer David Ruffin was replaced by Dennis Edwards in 1968
- Producer Norman Whitfield collaborated with writer Barrett Strong
- Influenced by Sly and the Family Stone
- "Cloud Nine" (p6 r2, 1968) exemplifies that influence
- Whitfield moved toward the groove-oriented track as heard in Sly and the Family Stone records
- "I Can't Get Next to You" (r1 p1, 1969)
- "Psychedelic Shack" (p7 r2, 1970)
- "Ball of Confusion" (p3 r2, 1970)
- An exception was "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (r1 p1, 1971) : a gentle ballad
- Temptations moved toward more serious themes in the early 1970s "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" (p1 r5, 1972)
- Dramatic and atmospheric
- Focuses on problems within black urban life
- String arrangement by Paul Riser
- Whitfield's finest achievement as a producer
- Built over a single repeated bass line
- Almost seven minutes in length
- Whitfield was inspired by fellow Motown writer/producer/artist Marvin Gaye
- Marvin Gaye in the 1970s
- Gaye produced one of the first concept albums in black pop: What's Going On (p6 r 1, 1971)
- That album contained several crossover hit singles
- "What's Goin' On" (p2 r1, 1971)
- "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (p4 r1, 1971)
- "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (p9 r1, 1971)
- Addresses the problems of urban life
- Less confrontational
- Did not draw much funk orientation
- With this concept album approach Gaye infused the hippie aesthetic into Motown
- Gaye continued his success with middle-of-the-road hits throughout the 1970s
- "Let's Get It On" (p1 r1, 1973)
- "Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1" (with Diana Ross) (p1 r1, 1977)
- Stevie Wonder
- Fused the elements of late 1960s hippie aesthetic with early 1970s funk-groove dance music
- Gained total artistic control over his productions at Motown
- Wonder wrote, produced, and played most of the instruments on his records
- Used complex arrangements on his records
- Interesting blends of timbre
- Extensive use of synthesizers
- Lyrics that dealt with important social issues
- Wonder's albums came close to being concept albums
- Songs tended to be related through themes
- The album could be taken in as one complete entity
- Wonder's albums displayed a variety of musical styles and were commercial successes
- Talking Book (p3 r1, 1972)
- Innervisions (p4 r1, 1973)
- Fulfillingness' First Finale (p1 r1, 1974)
- Songs in the Key of Life (p1 r1, 1976)
- Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (p4 r4, 1979)
- "Livin' for the City" (p8 r1 1973) from Innervisions exemplifies these traits
- Story of a poor, young, black boy from the country
- Family saves up to send him to the city to make good
- He gets duped into carrying dope for a dealer
- He is arrested, convicted, and jailed
- Stevie Wonder received more radio airplay than any other black artist in the 1970s
- He incorporated into his songs elements found in progressive rock
- Sophisticated melodies, harmonies, and timbres
- Philosophical issues and topics relating to social issues
- The Jackson 5
- A group of brothers from Gary, Indiana
- Lead singer was a preteen Michael Jackson
- They had several hits during the first half of the 1970s
- "I Want You Back" (1969)
- "ABC" (1970)
- "The Love You Save" (1970)
- "I'll Be There" (1970)
- They placed over a dozen more hits on the charts before leaving Motown
- The Jacksons (Gordy kept the Jackson 5 name) continued their success on Epic Records
- Michael became one of the most successful artists in the history of popular music
- Rare Earth
- A white rock band from Detroit signed to Motown after it was relocated to Los Angeles
- "Get Ready" (p4 r20, 1970)
- Included on the album Get Ready (p 12)
- Second side of the album features a twenty-one-minute version of the title track
- The Philadelphia sound: Gamble and Huff
- The rise of independent producers
- Leiber and Stoller developed the idea of the independent record producer in the late 1950s
- They produced records for Atlantic as well as other labels
- Phil Spector followed in their footsteps
- Jerry Wexler produced exclusively for Atlantic and Stax artists distributed by Atlantic
- Leiber and Stoller ushered in a new era of freedom from producers
- Motown and Stax also developed a roster of independent producers
- Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff began as independent producers in the mid to late 1960s
- Initially producing rhythm and blues records for independent labels
- The Intruders: "(We'll Be) United" (r14, 1966) on the Gamble label
- Archie Bell: "I Can't Stop Dancin'" (1968) on Atlantic
- Wilson Pickett: "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" (1971) on Atlantic
- In the early 1970s CBS provided money to establish Philadelphia International
- Devoted specifically to their records
- Distributed through the CBS network
- The Gamble and Huff approach
- Referred to as the "Philadelphia Sound"
- Lyric vocals
- Driving rhythm
- Elegant string arrangements by Thom Bell and Bobby Martin
- In 1972 Philadelphia International began a series of hit releases
- Billy Paul "Me and Mrs. Jones," (p1 r1, 1972)
- Two consistently successful acts were Harold Melvyn and the Blue Notes and the O' Jays
- Harold Melvyn and the Blue Notes featured Teddy Pendergrass
- Hits often limited to the rhythm and blues charts
- The O' Jays' singles regularly crossed over to the pop charts
- The O' Jays' "Back Stabbers" (r1 p3, 1972) exemplifies the Gamble and Huff sound
- Dramatic solo piano opening
- Latin-flavored groove
- Overlaid with strings and brass
- Hook-oriented chorus
- Clear Motown influence
- The O' Jays song "Love Train" (p1 r1, 1973) was one of their most successful hits
- The Gamble and Huff house band was crucial to their success
- MFSB (Mother Father Sister Brother)
- They recorded the theme music for the TV show Soul Train
- "TSOP" stood for "the sound of Philadelphia"
- Thom Bell
- Thom Bell produced artists on a freelance basis
- The Spinners had been in Detroit the late 1950s
- They were signed to Motown during the 1960s
- "It's a Shame" (r4 p14, 1970)
- In 1972 they switched to Atlantic
- Bell produced a string of hit records while they were on Atlantic
- "I'll Be Around" (r1 p3, 1972)
- "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" (r1 p4, 1972)
- "They Just Can't Stop It (The Games People Play)" (r1 p5, 1975)
- "Rubberband Man" (r1 p2, 1976)
- Bell produced the Philadelphia-based Stylistics for Avco Records
- Wrote many Stylistics hits with lyricist Linda Creed
- "Betcha by Golly, Wow" (r2 p3, 1972)
- "You Make Me Feel Brand New" (r5 p2, 1974)
- Emphasis on upbeat themes and elegant string arrangements
- Isaac Hayes
- Part of the writing-production team at Stax records in the 1960s
- Wrote and produced hits with David Porter for Sam and Dave
- First solo album: Hot Buttered Soul (r1 p8, 1969)
- Had six more number one rhythm and blues albums in a row
- Wrote and recorded "The Theme from Shaft" (r2 p1, 1971), for the movie Shaft
- Film depicting black urban culture
- The first film of this type was titled Sweet Sweetback's Badass Song in 1970
- Films about black urban culture were called "Blaxploitation" films
- Hayes had a distinctive style
- Ultra-cool vocal delivery
- Part spoken and part sung
- The wah-wah guitar in this song became associated with 1970s black pop
- Curtis Mayfield
- Roots in 1960s rhythm and blues
- Former member of Chicago-based group the Impressions
- "It's All Right" (r1 p4, 1963)
- "We're a Winner" (r1 p14, 1968)
- Mayfield had a hit with his song "Freddy's Dead" (r2 p4, 1972)
- Influence of Hayes and Sly
- Smooth production of Philadelphia and Motown
- High tenor voice soars
- Wah-wah guitar and elegant strings
- Mayfield wrote and recorded "Superfly" (r5 p8, 1972) for the 1972 film Superfly
- Funk
- James Brown
- As with Sly Stone, Brown's funk was associated with black culture
- After the 1968 Martin Luther King assassination Brown promoted black pride
- Brown became one of the most important figures in black pop
- He also enjoyed some crossover success with white audiences
- Brown's hits continued into the first half of the 1970s
- "Get Up (I Feel like Being a) Sex Machine (Part 1)" (p15 r2, 1970)
- "Super Bad" (p13 r1, 1970)
- "Hot Pants" (p15 r1, 1971)
- Brown was a strong advocate against drug abuse
- "King Heroin" (p40 r6, 1972)
- "Public Enemy #1"
- Both songs delivered like a sermon rather than a song
- Brown's earlier work in the 1960s was a strong influence on many other black artists
- He refined his style in the 1970s
- Emphasis on the rhythmic groove
- Tight ensemble playing
- Flamboyant approach to live performance
- More emphasis on the rhythmic interlocking of guitar, bass, and drums
- Horns play an important role in these
- George Clinton
- George Clinton drew from accomplishments made by James Brown and Berry Gordy Jr.
- James Brown surrounded himself with first-rate musicians
- Berry Gordy proved that a black man could own his own record company
- Leader of the New Jersey-based group Parliaments
- Aspired to be the next Temptations or Four Tops
- Moved to Detroit
- Clinton began recording under the name Funkadelic on a different label
- Parliament was the more commercial of the two groups
- Parliament recorded on Casablanca Records
- Funkadelic recorded on Westbound records, then moved to Warner's
- Funkadelic was more experimental with diverse influences
- Psychedelic rock blended with soul
- Jimi Hendrix
- Sly Stone
- Miles Davis
- James Brown
- Alice Cooper
- Genesis
- Outrageous stage costumes and wild stage antics
- Parliament was signed to Casablanca in 1974
- They released the first of several successful albums
- Up for the Down Stroke (r17, 1974) was the first
- Mothership Connection (p13 r4, 1976) was the band's breakthrough record
- Contained the hit "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give up the Funk)" (p15 r5)
- Tour featured elaborate stage show that included a spaceship descending onto the stage
- Clinton played the character he called Dr. Funkenstein
- Clinton infused a comic-book quality into Parliament shows and albums
- Clinton drew on concepts present in white rock
- Concept albums
- Wit, irony, and humor
- Theater aspects of rock
- Clinton was also working with Funkadelic at this same timelate 1970s
- Funkadelic had success on the rhythm and blues charts
- "One Nation Under a Groove" went to number 1 it to (r1 p 16, 1978)
- "Uncle Jam Wants You" (r2 p18, 1979)
- Clinton was songwriting and producing on these records
- Extremely talented musicians were addedsome from James Brown's band
- Sax player Maceo Parker
- Bassist Bootsy Collins
- Clinton used his success to get record deals for members of his bands
- Clinton became one of the most influential black pop artists in the late 1970s
- Average White Band
- Got airplay on white rock radio
- From Scotland
- They had several hits through the last part of the 1970s
- First album, Average White Band, hit number one in the fall of 1974
- Single "Pick Up the Pieces" went to number one on the singles chart
- The album Cut the Cake (p4, 1975)
- The album Soul Searching (p8, 1976)
- Many white rock listeners were unaware of funk beyond what this band did
- Reggae
- Origins and Influences
- Originated in Jamaica
- Influential on later styles
- Jamaican music was present in music of the 1940s and 1950s
- Americans enjoyed calypso music in the 1950s
- Jamaicans were discovering American rhythm and blues at that same time
- Jamaican radio was modeled after conservative BBC format
- In the 1950s portable radios became more affordable
- Jamaicans began listening to American music broadcast from New Orleans
- American records were difficult to get
- Appearance of the "sound system man"
- An entrepreneur who played records through powerful amplifiers from the back of a truck
- He would play records for whoever wanted hear the music in local towns
- Competition drove these disk-jockeys to remove labels from records for anonymity
- They began to talk over the records as well as play the music
- Invented rhyming verses
- Rhyming was part of the competition factor
- Called "Toasting"
- This approach to performance was the origin of rap
- Evolution of Jamaican music
- During the 1960s New Orleans rhythm and blues died out
- The style had been exemplified by Fats Domino and Dr. Longhair
- Jamaicans created their own version of it called ska
- Ska was replaced by a style called "rock steady"
- Rock steady led to what is known as reggae
- Reggae rhythms were more syncopated than rhythm and blues rhythmic structures
- Bob Marley
- Most important of the reggae musicians in the 1970s
- Member of a 1960s vocal trio called the Wailers
- Peter Tosh
- Bunny Livingston
- Signed by Jamaican producer Lee "Scratch" Perry
- Recorded using backing band, the Upsetters
- Chris Blackwell established Island Records in the UK
- Released records recorded in Jamaica for the British market
- Substantial subculture of Jamaicans living in England
- Reggae in the UK during the early 1970s influenced many of the English musicians
- These musicians later ended up in punk and new-wave bands
- Blackwell signed the Wailers to Island
- First album, Catch a Fire, released in the spring of 1973
- Followed by Burnin' later in 1973
- "Get 'Up Stand Up'" appeared on Burnin'
- Representative example of Bob Marley's approach to reggae
- The track is built on a groove laid down by the bass and drums
- Emphasis on the upbeats
- Verse and chorus are built on similar but slightly different bass lines
- Group vocals on the chorus and solo vocals during the verses
- The focus in reggae is on the message of the lyrics
- These lyrics advocate political freedom
- Two important events brought reggae closer to the mainstream
- The independent film The Harder They Come
- The rise and fall of a fictional pop singer in Jamaica
- The movie became a popular cult attraction
- Soundtrack featured tracks by Jimmy Cliff (starring in the movie)
- Other Jamaican artists included Toots and the Maytals
- The second event: Eric Clapton covered Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff"
- The song had been on Burnin '
- Clapton's version topped the charts in the summer of 1974 (uk9, 1974)
- Clapton' s fans became interested in Marley's music
- Bob Marley became highly revered
- As a musician
- As a kind of cultural hero and fighter for political and social justice
- Marley developed cancer and passed away in 1981
- The parallel of reggae with 1950s rock and roll and electric blues
- American rock and roll and rhythm and blues went out of style
- British bands brought it back rearranged with a new sound
- British Invasion blues revival bands
- Beatles
- Rolling Stones
- New Orleans rhythm and blues and 1960s soul music also died out
- Those styles were transformed by Jamaicans
- Returned to the United States in the form of reggae
- Therefore reggae resembles black pop in its influences from earlier black styles
- The rise of disco
- Rock was for listening in the 1970s
- The hippie aesthetic dominated the overall approach to rock music
- Live bands were preferred to disk-jockeys in clubs and bars
- DJs considered a budget approach to entertainment
- Dancing was still a central element within black pop
- Clubs featuring DJs playing records all night appeared in the gay community
- Rock musicians avoided gay clubs
- Records provided an alternative to live music for gay clubs
- Songs from the disco scene began to hit the charts in the mid 1970s
- Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra scored with "Love's Theme" (r10 p1, 1974)
- Lush strings in the disco mix
- George McCrae's "Rock Your Baby" (r 1 p1, 1974)
- Van McCoy's "The Hustle" (r1 p1, 1975)
- Florida's KC and the Sunshine Band "That's the Way I Like It" (r1 p1, 1975)
- Disco songs had some elements in common
- Direct dance beat with a frequently repeated catchy hook
- Viewed as novelty tunes
- The breakthrough of disco into the mainstream
- The disco scene was the backdrop for the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever
- Starring John Travolta
- Soundtrack songs by the Bee Gees became disco staples
- "Stayin' Alive" (r4 p1, 1978)
- "Night Fever" (r8 p1, 1978)
- Major rock artists released disco-flavored tracks
- Rod Stewart ("Do You Think I'm Sexy")
- Rolling Stones ("Miss You")
- Even Kiss ("I Was Made for Loving You")
- There was a disco version of the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony!
- Extended disco mixes began selling in significant numbers
- Quincy Jones produced Michael Jackson's 1979 album Off The Wall
- The album contained "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (r1 p1, 1979)
- The beginning of a successful collaboration through the 1980s
- The return of the producers
- Disco returned the authority to producers
- During the 1970s musicians had gained control of the sound of their records
- Producers were present but it was a collaborative approach
- Brill Building or Motown models were used to make disco records
- Singers were not important
- Focus was on the song and its beat
- Producer Jacques Morali assembled the Village People's "YMCA" (r16 p2, 1978)
- Playful slant on life in the gay underground
- Heralding the YMCA as a place where young gay men can meet
- The Euro-disco style
- Munich-based producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte produced Donna Summer's hits
- "I Love to Love You Baby" (r3 p2, 1976)
- Flaunts sensual aspects of disco dancing
- Euro-disco artists used electronically generated beats
- Silver Convention
- Kraftwerk
- Why white rock fans hated disco:
- Rock fans were upset when disco emerged into the mainstream
- There are many theories as to why rock fans hated discoall with rational counter-arguments
- Origins of disco in the gay community
- Knowledge of its origins was not known until much later
- Post-Saturday Night Fever disco facilitated (heterosexuals) meeting at bars for quick one-night stands
- Rock had always been about promiscuity in one way or another
- Disco music was a result of racial misunderstanding
- White rock fans associated disco with black pop
- Black artists disliked disco tooparticularly George Clinton
- More feasible reasons for rock fans disliking disco include
- Disco was about dancing rather than listening
- Not concerned with important spiritual or social issues
- Disco was not about the specific artist
- Disco was about the beat often provided by a machine
- Rock fans rejected the anti-hippie aesthetic of disco