Jerry Lee Lewis’ mother once said, “Well, you and Elvis are pretty good, but you're no Chuck Berry.” Chuck Berry is considered to be the true king of Rock and Roll. By using Boogie-Woogie piano patterns to change them into electric guitar, Berry invented a particular style with his electrifying guitar that has become the guide for rock and roll guitar and music as well. He was not only a good guitarist, but a memorable singer, that blended melodic hooks, distinctive patterns in his rhythm and used meaningful lyrics that have made many people call first great poet of rock. Berry’s influence on Rock and Roll not only impacted the way how it would sound, but also how it was perceived by all races.
Chuck Berry’s revolutionary sound was not completely new material though. He was heavily influenced by blues musicians, especially Muddy Waters who introduced him to Chess Records where he later recorded Maybellene, which became a number one on R&B charts, and number five on pop. He was also influenced by country musicians that he had heard on the radio transforming two sounds and blending them into one. Extending beyond the usually black audience from R&B in the area of rock oriented audience; his music achieved a much bigger appeal to more people. Using guitar tricks and parts of blues singers style, Berry designed a form that many had wanted to quickly copy from.
Chuck Berry said, “I made records for people who would buy them. No color, no ethnic, no political-- I don’t want that, never did.” This describes how he felt about racism very well. As a child, Berry grew up in a small town in Missouri that was extremely segregated. He recalled the time when he first saw a white man, at the age of five, was when there was a house that had ca...
... middle of paper ...
... the young hip teenagers. Not to mention is previous track record with the law.
Berry went to jail twice. Once, right after he had dropped out of school when he was 17, for robbery. The other was a much more serious offense. In 1963, he was convicted under the Mann Act of illegally transporting an underage woman across state lines for “immoral reasons.” This ended him in jail for two years. Not only did this event impact the way that people viewed him, but it also stopped him from recording many songs; halting his career to a stop. Of course he did write songs while he was there, and a few were popular ones, none were as good as his old ones. It also did not benefit Berry that right when he was being convicted, Elvis Presley was just discharged from the army. This meant that for two years Berry had no musical input while Elvis was becoming more famous each month.
Segregation and discrimination in America was a serious social issue that affected the lifestyle of African-Americans in the 1960’s and the civil rights movement was a social movement that had an aim of ending racial inequalities. As a result of the segregation between these two cultures, there was a lot of rising racial tension which consequently led to the culmination of race riots. The social issues at that time played a significant part in Gordy’s success in the production of Motown as he wanted to produce the “sound of young America” regardless of one’s colour or race and to take this sound to wider audiences including Baby Boomers. “Motown was about music for all people- white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers…I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone…” (Gordy, 2011). According to Boyce (2008), the image and sound of Motown was all about the promotion of “cross over” music without the involvement of politics, but Gordy ended up showing some support for the civil rights movement as he recorded and distributed Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘The Great March to Freedom’ speech in 1963, later founding a Black Forum
There have been many bigshot artists that have gone down in music history over the years. One man in particular, however, will forever be known all over the world for his famous works and amazing stage performances. This man is none other than the one and only Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix altered the style of rock and roll during the late 60’s early 70’s and is widely considered one of the most influential guitar players amongst the music world to this day.
Donny Hathaway gave a new meaning to soul music that brought along dedicated fans. Although he did not experience massive fame in his shortened lifespan, he did find a unique voice that others seemed to be drawn to. His deep and raspy vocals were not the only thing that drew the attention of an audience, but his unique way of making a song his own that was enticing to onlookers. Although his music was produced and performed in the 70s, elements of his work are seen in many artists today. Donny Hathaway and his talent have been an influence on other musicians in the genre, including fellow singer-songwriter and pianist, John Legend.
Like Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” In the 1950’s the South was heavily racially segregated. Elvis Presley unintentionally put himself in the position to become a valuable instrument in the battle against segregation. “Without casting himself as a fighter for racial equality, Elvis became a subversive standard bearer for cultural desegregation at a time when the codified racism of the South was under increasing pressure.” How did an uneducated white hillbilly from the south influence both black and white teenagers against segregation? It was quite simple, for Elvis Presley had a unique talent of combining traditional black music; such as the blues and jazz, with the traditional white music; like country and white gospel. This unique style of blending different types of music, gave Elvis the edge on the musical racial barriers America was facing; and open the path for both sides to enjoy the music together and therefore desegregated.
Back in 1951, a young blues guitarist named Riley King had his first hit song titled "3 O’clock Blues.'' The song was so great, promoters whisked the young man from his Memphis, Tennessee home to the big top of New York City, where he shortened his stage name from Beale Street Blues Boy to "B.B.''
Examples mostly point to how Berry Gordy manipulated the way things were put out there and how they would favorable to a big audience. The way he told the black artists to do their hair and makeup can be looked at as making them white instead embracing their color. Also when he put records out the pictures were never of the artists always symbols. The reason he did this was so the people could not judge the album before even listening to it. Like everyone says “never judge a book by its cover”, that never truly stayed true for everyone. But by doing this the artist never got recognized by bigger corporations and never got the credit for what they did. Gordy’s style was different from most and some if not most artist really struggled in understanding why he did not use their face or made them look like white people. They were often really offended by it and as were the white people. So there was a push and pull with the people. A give and take with the music, but ultimately the artist sacrificed the fame and fortune to come together for a greater cause and change the country needed. Also later the artists were recognized and appreciated.
Berry Gordy's "Motown" impact culture through the practice of multiculturalism, which is the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society. Motown's music was aimed to address to the widest listening public, as along with Gordy's passion to control the direction of the music, "the Motown sound embodies the promise of the movement even to the present day: a music that brought black and white together through song (Schloss, Joseph G et al. 2012)." Thus, people see the convert messages passed from song's lyrics and people start to become aware of the discrimination and prejudice people of color faced in everyday life. For example, ""You Can't Hurry Love" is a song about the importance of waiting. Formally, the song keeps us guessing-waiting for clarification of the functional relationships among the different sections" (Schloss, Joseph G et al. 2012). The "wait" is symbolized as the civil rights, which people of color were fighting for. Hence, it also directly states Civil Rights Movement is a part of African Americans' culture. Another way, Berry Gordy's "Motown" impact culture is the definition of Rock 'N' Roll and race. As introduced by Schloss, Joseph G et al., "At this point, you may be wondering why Motown-an African American owned record label that featured African American music
Jimi is today acknowledged as a musical intellectual. He is highly recognized for his precision and speed while playing his music. He did not care what kind of feedback he got whether it was negative or positive, all Jimi wanted to do was play his music the way he wanted. He created his music as one of the melodic elements and people went crazy for him and his ability to play, sing and dance all at the same time. As a rock singer and guitarist, Jim Hendrix won several awards for being a major contribution to rock music during his time. It is widely agreed that he was among one of the most influential musicians in the history of rock music. As the star of the rock music during his time, Jimi did not just play music but improved the image of rock music as well. While it is the dream of every artist to make a contribution throughout his or her work and performances, not all of them were successfully able to make their dreams to come true. Through Jimi’s singing and performances, he is today acknowledged for the impact that he had on the rock music we now have today. Some of his major contributions to rock music are that he improved the styles that were used to play a guitar by flipping the music upside down as well as
Although he later denied that he ever said it, Sam Phillips-the man who discovered Elvis Presley-is reputed to have said, “if I could find a white man who had the Negro sound the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars” (Decurtis 78). Certain radio stations would not play the work of black artists in the segregated America of the 1950s. But, nevertheless, rock ‘n’ roll was an art form created by African-Americans. Little Richard, whose songs “Tutti Fruitti” and “Long Tall Sally” became hits only after white-bread versions were made by Pat Boone, said, “It started out as rhythm and blues” (Decurtis 78).
Berry Gordy played a significant role in the 1960’s African American shift into the American Music Industry through the establishment of the highly recognised company and genre “Motown”. As the Founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy introduced to the American Music Industry some of the biggest artists of all time take the stage and within a decade created the “Black Pop” genre, which was listened to and purchased from a segregated audience. The business changed the way record labels would polish, nurture and distribute their artist, having an impact on the number of jobs that were introduced into the Music Industry, dealing and consulting with marketing, artist development, choreography, stylists and costume designers. With Berry Gordy’s all
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
Mainstream music in the 21st century is known to blend many different genres. Chuck Berry has influenced such genres as rhythm and blues (R&B), country, and today’s pop music. He realized at a young age he had to play more than just “black” music as a black artist. He had to appeal to whites since most Americans in the 1950s were white.
Rock 'n' roll came from a type of music called rhythm and blues (R&B), which consisted of doo-wop and gospel music. It was popular mostly in the south during the 40’s but it soon grew to urban cities. It was Les Paul’s invention of the electric guitar in 1952 that added a new sound and made rhythm and blues into the rock 'n' roll we all know and love today. Most of the artists from R&B were African American, and in their song they would reference sexual matters. So together it gave a bad connotation towards the music and their race, therefore both were never fully accepted in the north. The term “rock” was slang mostly used by African Americans meaning a form of music that was easily danced to. Meanwhile “roll” was usually a euphemism for sex, such as “a roll in the hay”. It was Alan Freed who first popularized the term “rock and roll” for this gen...
He was arrested for aggravated assault, and charged with shooting two off duty police officers in Atlanta in 1993, but the charges were later dropped (bomp). He was also accused of beating a limousine driver in Los Angeles and found guilty of threatening a fellow rapper with a baseball bat in Michigan. He was then found guilty of sexual abuse in 1994 and was serving up to 4 12 years in prison (bomp).
After 1949 the evolution of R&B began. In the 1950’s rhythm and blues somewhat developed into Rock and Roll. Little Richard, along with others, was one of the pioneers of R&B, he became one of the recording artist for RCA records. Working with talented but unknown R&B musician...