Question Description
Following the turmoil, idealism, and disappointment of the 1960s, the decade of the 1970s saw American society fragmenting into an array of divergent sub-groups. This was true in rock as well, and the industry responded to this trend by developing
- formatting-programming and marketing specific music for specific groups.
- 2)increasingly explicit lyrics
- 3)AOR, album-oriented rock
Sly and the Family Stone combined the horn instrumentation of a soul band with the improvisational style (and occasional drug references) of the psychedelic rockers to form a style called
- Psychedelic soul
- Post Motown
- Heavy Metal
Southern rock was initiated by the Allman Brothers Band, a strong blues-oriented sound led by brothers
- Gregg and Duane Allman
- Elvis and Enos Allman
- Elton and Bernie Allman
After a long time paying his dues, Bruce Springsteen achieved superstar status in the 1980s. His greatest commercial success came in 1984 with his number 1 album
- Born in the USA
- Born to Run
- Nebraska
Each of these female rock singers rose to star status in the late 1970s and early 1980s except
- Pat Benatar
- Grace Slick
- Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
As rock lyrics have become increasingly explicit in dealing with themes of drugs, sex, violent rebellion, satanism, and suicide, groups integrating such lyrics have tried to communicate their concerns to the industry and to Congress.
- Parents Against Obscenity
- The League of Women
- The Parent’s Music Resource Center
Carole King’s second album became a monster hit, no. 1 for 15 weeks and on the charts for 304 weeks. The album was
- You’ve Got a Friend.
- Wrap Around Joy.
- Tapestry
This group performed at Woodstock and was characterized by complex 4-part harmonies and acoustic guitar accompaniment.
- Sly and the Family Stone
- Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
- the Hollies
The folk music tradition continued into the 1990s with artists such as this singer/songwriter, whose introspective songs (e.g., “Fast Car”) were surprisingly successful commercially.
- Sheryl Crow.
- Jewel
- Tracy Chapman
One of the most successful country rock acts of the 1990s was the Dixie Chicks from Lubbock, Texas. Their debut album was Thank Heaven for Dale Evans, but their greatest success was in their 1998 number 1 album
- Shut Up and Sing
- Fly
- Wide Open Spaces.
On August 1, 1981, an all-rock music channel on cable television debuted, called
- BET-Black Entertainment Television
- VH1-Video Hits 1
- MTV-Music Television
Just as the 7-inch, 45 RPM single record had been the main form of selling recorded rock in the 1950s, to be replaced by the 12-inch 33 RPM LP in the 1960s and 1970s, to be replaced by cassette tapes in the 1980s, the 1990s initiated the rise of a new form of media for the distribution of music:
- 8-track audio tape.
- laser disc.
- the CD-compact disc
This disco artist released her song “Love to Love You Baby,” in a standard 4-minute version for radio and in another 12-inch version that ran 17 minutes for disco DJs
- Gloria Gaynor
- Barbara Streisand
- Donna Summer
Madonna has been a major star since 1984’s “Like a Virgin.” In addition to her skills as a dance music vocalist, she relies on
- her image as a prominent female sex icon of the 1980s and 1990s.
- her songwriting abilities
- her subtle ballad singing.
Dance music groups were popular in the 1990s. While many of these were boy bands like New Kids on the Block or *NSYNC, the foremost girl group of that era was the British group
- Salt-n-Pepa
- the Spice Girls.
- the Supremes
Underground, all-night psychedelic dance parties called “raves” featured music that combined the dance beat of disco with the high energy of punk, and a heavy reliance on synthesizers, MIDI, samplers, and tape loops. This form of dance music became known as
- cumbia
- techno
- neo-disco.
By 2004, sales of single-song recordings began to be marketed mainly through
- bulk discount chains such as Costco or BJ’s.
- online retailers, providing legal downloads of copy-protected MP3 files or similar digital formats.
- illegal, but free, internet downloads
Rap emerged from a social phenomenon that occurred during the late 1970s in New York City. Spontaneous block parties would brew up, led by DJs who brought a pair of turntables, amplifiers, and speakers to any park or other site with electricity. By sampling records and sounds and providing a fast, hip patter of improvised talk over the music, lead a dance party. In addition to the music, two other phenomena constituted common elements of this emerging hip-hop culture:
- virtuosic guitar and drum solos.
- graffiti and break dancing.
- use of psychedelic drugs and the destruction of the equipment when the party was ending
Best-selling gangsta rappers include all the following except
- Ice T
- Snoop Doggy Dogg
- MC Hammer
Although rap and hip-hop are unquestionably a part of the African American community, a number of successful white rappers have emerged. Of these, the most successful is
- the Beastie Boys
- Eminem
- Vanilla Ice
New Jack Swing was a merging of a hip-hop beat, light rap, and traditional R&B vocals, first introduced by
- Teddy Riley.
- Jay Z
- Ludacris.