POP
THE 50'S
After World War II, there was a big expansion of popular music thanks to the contact among different countries, the advances of mass media and the economic development. Until the 50's music had racial categories in USA:
- White music: oriented to white consumers, focused on country and swing.
- Race music / race records: music oriented to black consumers, focused on blues, gospel, jazz, etc. During the 50’s the term "race music" was replaced by "rhythm and blues".
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Rock and roll: mixed black and white music such as rhythm & blues and country. It was a sociological phenomenon because young people with spending power looked for their own identity and the recording industry offered this style to rebel. It had a short life (1954-1958) due to deaths, legal issues, etc.
E.g. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis.
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High school: was addressed to young people, very sweet, on the first love.
E.g. Paul Anka, Neil Sedaka.
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Doo-wop: was featured by nonsense syllables sung in accompaniment.
E.g. The Five Satins.
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Surf: was born in California associated with this sport and its unworried way of life, focused on beaches, cars and girls. The characteristic sound of the guitar recalls the waves of the sea.
E.g. The Beach Boys, Dick Dale & The Del Tones.
Chuck Berry - Johnny B-Goode
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
Dick Dale & The Del Tones - Misirlou
THE 60'S
United States
Soul: was a means of expression of black population, with social critical topics, whose songs became hymns of its struggle and identity. It featured broken voices with a lot of feeling and brass accompaniment.
E.g. Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Supremes, The Jackson 5.
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Folk & protest song: searched for the roots of the real American music to denounce the imperfections of the "American Way of Life" and political scandals.
E.g. Joan Baez, Bob Dylan.
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Folk rock: was born in 1965, when Bob Dylan electrified his music. It represented the undergraduate hippy aspirations that defended the happiness of living and the new hopes.
E.g. The Mama's and The Papa's, The Byrds.
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Psychedelic rock: included experimentation and Indian classical influence to replicate the experiences of hallucinogenic drugs.
E.g. The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, who explored guitar effects such as wha-wha.
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Underground: was featured by a very simple music with dirty guitars, constant repetitions and recited lyrics.
E.g. The Velvet Underground.
Aretha Franklin - Respect
Bob Dylan - Blowing In The Wind
The Mama's & The Papa's - California Dreamin'
United Kingdom
Beat music: was born in Liverpool with accents in the first part of each bar, happy tempo and catchy chorus.
E.g. The Beatles, that became a social phenomenon (beatlemania).
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British rhythm and blues: retook blues in its pure state, featured by soul rhythm, distorted guitars, a riff that structures the song, broken voice, provocative attitude and critical lyrics.
E.g. The Rolling Stones, that started the "rock era" (not roll) with "Satisfaction".
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Mod: started among unemployed young people of industrial outskirts with energetic rhythm, vocal ugliness, amplified sound and lyrics with a violent and critical tone.
E.g. The Kinks, The Who, that created the opera-rock with “Quadrophenia” and “Tommy”.
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Progressive rock: mixed jazz, folk and classical music influences in long songs with virtuoso improvisations, unusual effects with guitars and synthesizers, ambitious staging with lights, projections and smoke.
E.g. Pink Floyd.
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Hard rock: was featured by thundering drums, saturated guitars with baroque picking and rough voices.
E.g. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple.
The Beatles - Yellow Submarine
The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song
THE 70'S
Glam: was featured by brief and simple songs, androgyny, theatricality, flamboyant clothes and makeup.
E.g. T-Rex, David Bowie, The Sweet.
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Heavy metal: was featured by powerful drums, repetitive guitar riffs, virtuoso solos, shouted voices and sinister satanic staging.
E.g. Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, AC/DC.
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Reggae: was born in Jamaica, along with the Rastafari movement, featured by skank rhythm, offbeat accents and lyrics about political issues and cannabis.
E.g. Bob Marley.
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Electronic music: was featured by the experimentation with technology, noise and classic avant-garde music.
E.g. Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre.
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Funk: mixed soul and rhythm & blues influences with syncopated rhythm, lack of melody and energetic riffs.
E.g. James Brown.
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Disco: was a social phenomenon that mixed people from different origins, social classes and sexual trends on the dance floor. It was featured by the intensification of the basses and drums.
E.g. Gloria Gaynor, Village People, Bee Gees.
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AOR (Adult Oriented Rock) / Soft rock: appeared in the mid-70’s, it was high quality rock with a big acceptance among the public. It was criticized for being too commercial and promoted by discographies and mass media.
E.g. Supertramp, Dire Straits.
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Punk: brief movement against the system with violent and simple performances, critical, insolent and radical attitudes. Its dance was the pogo, in which the dancers jump frantically, that evolved into both mosh and slam in which dancers run, jump and slam into each other.
E.g. The Sex Pistols, The Ramones.
David Bowie - Life On Mars
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Kraftwerk - The Robots
Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
The Sex Pistols - Anarchy In The UK
THE 80'S
New wave: was featured by clean guitars, synthesizers, new percussion instruments: claves, congas…; and original lyrics about love, fun, ecology. E.g. The Police, Talking Heads.
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Synth-pop / techno-pop: was based on the use samplers, electronic keyboards and drum machines in a natural way without the intention of experimenting.
E.g. Eurythmics, Depeche Mode. -
Guitar pop: joined guitar sound and the influence of Irish and Scottish folk.
E.g. U2, The Smiths.
Mainstream: was a commercial style enjoyed by parents and their children.
E.g. Madonna, Tina Turner.
Electrofunk: mixed funk and electronic music influences with synthesizers, drum machines and disco.
E.g. Michael Jackson, Prince.
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Madonna - Express Yourself
Michael Jackson - Beat It
THE 90'S
New American rock: rediscovered the richness of traditional folk, psychedelic rock and country.
E.g. R.E.M.
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Hardcore: derived from punk with a very fast tempo and aggressive lyrics.
E.g. Black Flag.
Noise: used the distortion as rule until creating a climax chaos and noise.
E.g. Sonic Youth.
Grunge: mixed hard rock with punk, expressing the anguish and existential depression of the X Generation.
E.g. Nirvana, Pearl Jam.
Brit pop: was featured by simple songs with catchy melodies and clean guitars.
E.g. Oasis, Blur, Radiohead.
Hip hop: was born in the late 70’s in the suburbs of the Bronx in New York. It expresses by graphic arts (graffiti), dance (breakdance), music (disc jockey or DJ) and the message (master of ceremonies or MC).
E.g. Sugarhill Gang, Public Enemy, N.W.A., 2Pack.
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
Radiohead - Creep
N.W.A. - Fuck Tha Police
SPAIN
The 50's
The entrance of new cultural and social trends in Spain was very difficult due to the civil war and the dictatorship.
Radio stations broadcasted Spanish song (Concha Piquer) and Latin music (Los Panchos). In the late 50’s, the American influence came through Hollywood films and military bases, whose radio stations broadcasted rock & roll. Bands such as Dúo Dinámico emerged with a Paul Anka style.
The 60's
Popular music had a big expansion due to the economic development and some opening.
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Pop: during the first golden age of Spanish pop (1964-1968) many bands emerged. E.g. Los Brincos, Los Canarios, Fórmula V. Some of them had international repercussion such as Los Bravos and Miguel Ríos. Trends such as folk-rock, soul or psychedelic music didn’t find acceptance in Spain, starting the decline of the bands.
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Nova cançó & protest song dealt with committed issues. E.g. Serrat, Mª del Mar Bonet, Paco Ibáñez.
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Melodic song emerged after the success of “La la la” by Massiel in Eurovision. E.g. Marisol, Raphael.
The 70's
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Melodic song was very successful. E.g. Nino Bravo, Julio Iglesias, Camilo Sesto.
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Urban rock paved the way to the heavy of the 80’s. E.g. Burning, Coz, Topo, Ñu.
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Andalusian rock mixed progressive rock with Spanish rhythms. E.g. Triana, Medina Azahara.
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New flamenco combined flamenco with other musical styles such as jazz, rock... and it was criticized by flamenco purists. E.g. Paco de Lucía, Camarón, Las Grecas.
The 80's
During this decade there was an opening of Spain to the foreign.
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La movida was a cultural movement that comprised music, literature, film… and many other art forms. Music was influenced by punk and new wave. It was born in Madrid and later followed in other cities, such as Barcelona and Vigo. E.g. Alaska, Radio Futura, Siniestro Total.
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Urban rock & heavy metal were featured by noisy guitars and rough voices. E.g. Obús, Barón Rojo, Leño (Madrid), Barricada, Kortatu, Eskorbuto (Basque Country); Héroes del silencio (Zaragoza).
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New flamenco added new influences such as jazz, blues and Latin music. E.g. Pata Negra, Ketama.
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Main songwriters were Luis Eduardo Aute and Joaquín Sabina.
The 90's
The diversity of styles and the consumption of Spanish music increases.
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Songwriters: Rosana, Pedro Guerra, Alejandro Sanz.
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New pop: Amaral, Los Piratas, El canto del loco, Pereza, Sidonie, Astrud.
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Indie: Los Planetas, Sexy Sadie, Dover.
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Heavy metal: Platero y Tú, Reincidentes, Extremoduro, Mago de Oz.
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Hip hop: Solo los Solo, 7 notas 7 colores, SFDK, Mala Rodríguez.
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New flamenco: La Barbería del Sur, Niña Pastori.
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Fusion: Radio Tarifa, Manu Chao, Kepa Junkera, Amparanoia, Ojos de Brujo.
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The fusion of Celtic music with pop: Milladoiro, Hevia, Carlos Núñez, Luar na Lubre.
Dúo Dinámico - Oh Carol
(50s)
Los Bravos - Bring A Little Lovin'
(60s)
Marisol - Corazón contento
(60s)
Camarón - La leyenda del tiempo
(70s)
Radio Futura - Escuela de calor
(80s)
Manu Chao - Clandestino
(90s)