24 – AMERICAN ROCK AND POP OF THE SIXTIES

American RockThe basic difference between 1950's and 1960's pop recordings was the simple fact that the 1950's had been an era dominated by the solo artist, whereas the 1960's witnessed the total supremacy of "the rock group."

INSTRUMENTALS

The instrumental as a pop music force never regained the power it achieved in the big band era. Although rock and roll was an electric music form dependent on the sound of the guitar, the instrumental rock hit was somewhat of a rarity. However, during the 1955-1963 period, there emerged a minor trend for instrumentals.

These recordings all basically began as regional hits, gradually gaining national momentum. The formula often consisted of a theme built upon a repetitive riff, and sometimes as evident in The Tornadoes' "Telstar," electric gimmickry was the obvious attraction. On the odd occasion, Dixieland recordings (e.g. Kenny Ball's "Midnight In Moscow") or big band arrangements (e.g. Bert Kaempfert's "Wonderland By Night") managed to break through rock barriers and struggle up the chart. However, these were few and far between.

By 1963, the instrumental was almost extinct, dwarfed by the flood of new commercial music trends such as soul, Motown and The British Invasion. However, surf oriented instrumentals remained popular for a brief period, mainly on the West Coast.

In the mid to late 1960's, the occasional instrumental managed to squeeze onto the charts, usually in the form of a movie theme or the lush string-oriented recording usually of European origin.

KEYBOARD HITS

PEREZ PRADO

FERRANTE & TEICHER

BILL DOGGETT

BILL BLACK'S COMBO

DAVE "BABY" CORTEZ

ROGER WILLIAMS

SAX HITS

BILL JUSTIS

THE ROCKIN' REBELS

COZY COLE

BOOTS RANDOLPH

DRUM HITS

SANDY NELSON

THE SURFARIS

GUITAR HITS

LINK WRAY

SANTO & JOHNNY

DUANE EDDY

LONNIE MACK

PETE DRAKE

INSTRUMENTAL GROUPS

THE VENTURES

JOHNNY & THE HURRICANES

THE SHADOWS

THE CHAMPS

HERB ALPERT & THE TIJUANA BRASS

A SELECTED LISTING OF OTHER INSTRUMENTAL RECORDINGS

SURF MUSIC

For those of us who patiently spend much of the year battling snow, rain and fluctuating temperatures, America's West Coast conjures up visions of white sandy beaches, surfers with sun bleached hair and some of the world's most beautiful, scantily dressed women. During the late 1950's and early 1960's, an exciting new lifestyle and its accompanying rock music culture was being born.

California teens, basically an outdoor lot, became the envy of American youth when their activities were colourfully depicted in a series of teen oriented films based loosely around the surf culture. Several hit movies featured teen hearthrobs like Frankie Avalon, Annette, Sandra Dee and James Darren in hokey creampuff vehicles such as "Bikini Beach"(1964), "Muscle Beach"(1964) and "Beach Blanket Bingo"(1965). The success of these films helped promote some of the sounds indigenous to California.

The definitive California look consisted of bleached blond hairstyles, white levis, black & white pin striped shirts, sandals and of course the all important tan. Its commercial attraction was immediate.

Taking root around 1961, the so-called surf music style was pioneered by Jan & Dean and taken to international attention by The Beach Boys. It was basically a guitar oriented music featuring Chuck Berry riffs played at high speed and dominated by high pitched falsetto vocals.

The songs were generally sing-a-long style ditties executed in choirlike harmony vocals. Lyric content consisted of vivid descriptions of surfboards, woodies, hotrods, skateboarding and "hanging ten." The most common song topic was of course the glorification of the California girl.

Fast paced instrumental combos were the first to hit the charts, helping to promote energetic dances involving frenetic body gyrations. Dance fads like the frug, the swim and the wahtusi took the country by storm.

Surf music as a major force was short lived but the basic essentials of the California sound were born in the well defined vocal harmony style originated by Jan & Dean and The Beach Boys, setting a pattern for subsequent West Coast music genres.

SURF INSTRUMENTAL ARTISTS

DICK DALE & THE DEL-TONES

THE CHANTAYS

THE SURFARIS

THE TRASHMEN

THE MARKETTS

JACK NITZSCHE

THE PYRAMIDS

MAJOR SURF ARTISTS

JAN & DEAN

THE BEACH BOYS

THE RIP CHORDS

BRUCE & TERRY

THE RIVIERAS

RONNY & THE DAYTONAS

THE HONDELLS

ITALO-ROCK

During the late 1950's, when black vocal doo-wop groups were all the rage, several white groups, mostly of Italian background tackled the genre, fusing it with their own distinctive streetwise attitudes to pioneer what later would often be termed Italo-Rock. Several strong harmony groups emerged from the ghetto areas of Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, basically combining black R&B with the highly trained vocal styles inherited from parents weaned on classical music. Many were promoted heavily on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" in Philadelphia since a number of the groups were local acts and many of the teen regulars on the show were of Italian descent.

In its infancy, Italo-Rock was solely a vocal style but later in the 1960's, the groups became independent musical units featuring first rate singer/songwriter/musicians. As the 1960's progressed, much of the doo-wop flavour faded but the strong R&B/classical vocal mixture remained. All of the acts featured extraordinary harmony work and were fronted by some of the finest lead vocalists of the rock era.

THE CRESTS

DION & THE BELMONTS/DION

JAY & THE AMERICANS

FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS

RANDY & THE RAINBOWS

THE RASCALS

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

THE TWIST

Dec., 1961 - Chubby Checker stated: "One day, my lower half twisted one way and my upper half twisted the other......right to the rhythm of the song. I pretended I was putting out a cigarette with both feet."

In April of 1959, "The Twist," written and recorded by Hank Ballard went to #16 R&B, (July, 1960)#28 (note: The track had originally been the flip side of "Teardrops On Your Letter," later re-released after the success of Chubby Checker's version). However, the idea of a dance craze never caught on. Then in Aug., 1960, Chubby Checker's cover version of the song went to #1 and the twist dance craze swept the world. With his intense promotion of the dance, especially on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," Checker's career took off. Not since the Charleston in the 1920's, had there been such mass hysteria for a dance trend. Venues specializing in the dance sprang up all over the country, the most notable being Manhattan's Peppermint Lounge (West 45th Street), the home of the twist. Celebrities young and old were seen twisting the night away at the major hot spots. Even first lady Jackie Kennedy got into the act, making it fashionable to be a part of the scene.

The twist was actually a solo performance dance. A partner was not a requirement. Dancing cheek to cheek had ultimately become passé since most of the new dance trends like the frug, the wahtusi, the limbo, the pony, the swim and the mashed potato dictated that partners rarely if ever touch. Previously, when a new dance caught fire, it was generally restricted to the youth. Now, with the emergence of the twist, all age groups participated. Teens and their parents often shared the same dance floor. The twist craze anticipated the mass popularity of discotheques.

There was also a great amount of money to be made, not only from record sales and the new dance club scene but from the marketing of twist related products such as fringed twist dresses, twist jeans, hats, dolls etc.

HANK BALLARD & THE MIDNIGHTERS

CHUBBY CHECKER

JOEY DEE & THE STARLITERS

A SELECTED LISTING OF OTHER TWIST HITS

AU GO-GO

The idea of the discotheque was introduced to California by Elmer Valentine, the owner of a Los Angeles nightspot called P.J.'s. He had visited the famed Whiskey A Go-Go in Paris, France where patrons danced to unending recorded rock music. Valentine, a former Chicago policeman, had been so impressed with the French club scene that on Jan. 11, 1963, he opened The Whiskey A Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, mixing live and canned music. The house band was fronted by Johnny Rivers who became the first major star to emerge from the discotheque scene when he recorded a live album at the club. Within a year, over five thousand such venues sprang up all over the country.

The main attraction was non-stop music, flashing lights, go-go dancers, celebrities and an exciting party atmosphere. Elevated cages featured go-go girls clad in scanty fringed dresses, performing the latest dance trends. Several major club celebrities emerged from the scene such as Jordan Christopher and Cybil Burton who held court at Harlow's in New York City and French discotheque hostess Regine. Numerous kooky partygoers added colour to the atmosphere by creating a professional lifestyle which revolved around the club scene.

By the late 1960's, hard rock and psychedelia put an end to the success of canned dance music and the discotheques. Later in the 1970's, the genre resurfaced on a higher scale with the advent of disco.

JOHNNY RIVERS

TRINI LOPEZ

CHRIS MONTEZ

LEN BARRY

BOBBY FREEMAN

FOLK ROCK

Although The Byrds and several other artists had previously recorded what is now termed folk rock, July 25, 1965 seems to be the unanimous date pinpointed by musicologists as the birth of the genre. It was on that particular date that Bob Dylan, backed by The Paul Butterfield Blues Band performed an electric set at The Newport Folk Festival. He was booed by folk purists in the audience and several music critics cited the show an abomination.

Dylan's electric hit, "Like A Rolling Stone" was already dominating the charts and The Byrds had already hit #1 in May, 1965 with their folk rock version of his "Mr. Tambourine Man." So what was all the fuss about? Basically, folk connoisseurs were enraged that traditional style folk music had been tampered with. However, folk process has always involved the revision of melodies, general updating of the form and rehashing of lyrics to suit the time and occasion.

So what is folk rock? Simply put, it was the shift from acoustic to electric, giving folk music a more current sound and attitude. It combined traditional American folk music values with the urgency and excitement of rock. The predominant element was the distinctive sound of the twelve string guitar perfected by The Byrds (later influencing the "jangle pop" trend of the 1980's and 1990's). The influence of The Beatles and their admiration for both Dylan and The Byrds also contributed heavily to the inception of the genre. One critic cleverly stated that folk rock was The Byrds imitating Dylan imitating The Byrds.

Folk rock like folk music proper often projected specific social and political commentary, therefore it was much easier to get the messages and ideas across with modern high volume music as a vehicle. The new crop of electric folkies certainly did not abandon the grand old folk traditions of protest, especially during the onslaught of The Vietnam War.

A great majority of the folk rockers were inspired by Bob Dylan and his predecessors Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Pete Seeger. After Dylan defiantly went electric, in time practically all of his contemporaries followed suit.

Basically, the new style took root and flourished on the West Coast. The New York folk community contributed greatly, yet the West Coast scene adopted a much more relaxed, laid-back attitude. The coffee club circuit was once again the breeding ground for the new sounds. In the east, the two major centres were New York's Greenwich Village and Toronto's Yorkville. In fact, the Yorkville area of Toronto, Canada was a mecca for many pioneer folk and folk rock artists including Ian & Sylvia (probably one of folk rock's foremost pioneer acts), Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young. The major West Coast centres for new music were of course Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Many new fashion or should I say anti-fashion trends were born with the emergence of the folk rock music boom. The seeds of the West Coast hippie culture were beginning to blossom. Long hair on both sexes was an immediate requirement and bluejeans and sandals were the regulation uniform of the day. Girls began wearing floor length granny dresses and Jim McGuinn of The Byrds had started a fad for tiny wire framed glasses. The early folkies were in a sense the precursors of the flower children.

The music of Bob Dylan and The Byrds and their contemporaries, combined with the brash sounds of The Beatles and The British Invasion were the basis of the 1960's rock movement.

Folk rock surely didn't die with the 1960's, it expanded and gave birth to country rock, resurfacing in the 1970's in the music of a whole new crop of artists such as Poco and The Eagles, and later becoming the foundation for new country.

BOB DYLAN

THE ROOFTOP SINGERS

THE BYRDS

GRAM PARSONS

THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS

IAN & SYLVIA

THE BEAU BRUMMELS

SONNY & CHER

P. F. SLOAN

BARRY McGUIRE

WE FIVE

THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL

THE TURTLES

SIMON & GARFUNKEL

GORDON LIGHTFOOT

BOB LIND

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS

THE GRASS ROOTS

SPANKY & OUR GANG

THE YOUNGBLOODS

THE NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND

POZO-SECO SINGERS

GARAGE BANDS

The term, "garage band" is decidedly not as demeaning a classification as it might sound. It simply defines a primitive stripped-down, bare bones rock featuring simple chord structure and hard edge vocals with no nonsense lyrics and a distinct street attitude. It was and remains a highly intense, raunchy rock spiced with catchy repetitive lyrics - the less complicated the better. Here we witness proto-punk - the roots of 1970's punk rock music. Garage bands have continued to appear in one form or another throughout the rock era.

The mid 1960's was the breeding ground for this rough and tumble style, evolving simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic. Several seminal bands emerging during The British Invasion clearly defined the garage band genre. The influence of groups such as Them, The Troggs and the early period of The Rolling Stones and The Kinks can be heard in such 1990's bands as The Black Crowes, The Smashing Pumpkins and Ugly Kid Joe.

THE KINKS

THEM

THE TROGGS

THE BARBARIANS

THE STRANGELOVES

THE STANDELLS

LOVE

THE LEAVES

SYNDICATE OF SOUND

COUNT FIVE

THE MUSIC MACHINE

THE SEEDS

THE HUMAN BEINZ

THE POOR

ALSO SEE

PARTY ROCK

Party rock is a moniker generally applied to goodtime rock classics (often in the garage band category) featuring simple sing-along passages and catchy riffs. Basically, it is music to get drunk to. When a party is dying, these recordings are sure-fire pick-me-ups. A chorus or two of "Louie Louie" or "Wooly Bully" can usually create a party-hearty mood.

THE KINGSMEN

THE PREMIERS

CHRIS KENNER

CANNIBAL & THE HEADHUNTERS

SAM THE SHAM & THE PHAROAHS

? & THE MYSTERIANS

STEAM

POP/ROCK

Pop/Rock can only be differentiated from other rock forms by its accessibility and non abrasiveness. The artists were generally much more wholesome and less threatening to parents than the hard rockers. The music was directed at a wide range, white middle class market, insuring huge record sales.

Unlike the solo teen idols of the 1950's, the new hearthrobs were fronting commercial pop/rock groups. Many American bands being enamoured of The British Invasion artists adopted a British look and sound. One particular group called The Monkees was manufactured and groomed as the American counterpart of The Beatles. The Chartbusters from Washington, D. C. sounded so British that several disc jockeys claimed that it was The Beatles under an assumed name.

Styles varied from teen idols to balladeers, female vocalists, soft rockers and vocal groups - all invariably commercial.

NINO TEMPO & APRIL STEVENS

JIMMY GILMER & THE FIREBALLS

GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS

THE McCOYS

THE CASTAWAYS

PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS

THE MOJO MEN

B. J. THOMAS

THE OUTSIDERS

TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS

THE LEFT BANKE

THE FIVE AMERICANS

DINO, DESI & BILLY

NANCY SINATRA

GARY PUCKETT & THE UNION GAP

THE BOX TOPS

THE COWSILLS

AMERICAN ARTISTS WITH A BRITISH SOUND

THE CHARTBUSTERS

THE YOU KNOW WHO GROUP

THE KNICKERBOCKERS

THE MONKEES

A SELECTED LISTING OF OTHER 1960'S POP/ROCK RECORDINGS

BUBBLEGUM MUSIC

Bubblegum was a label attached to early commercial dance/pop recordings perfected for the most part by Buddah Records between 1967 and 1969. In fact, the expression itself was derived from Buddah's premier group, The 1910 Fruitgum Company whose music and rather adolescent lyrics appealed to the bubblegum chewing set. Early in 1966, Long Island studio innovators Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz released their first Super K Production, The Rare Breed's "Beg, Borrow And Steal" (later remade by The Ohio Express in 1967). Then, Kasenetz and Katz joined forces with Cameo Records vice president, Neil Bogart (later, the manager of Buddah Records). Late in 1967, K & K signed an exclusive production deal with Buddah which produced the debut release by The 1910 Fruitgum Company, "Simon Says."

The standard formula set in motion by the disc consisted of simplistic dance music dominated by regimented drum patterns. The songs featured adolescent lyrics, repetitive riffs and memorable melodies. The music was promoted through cutesy teenybopper groups who often had little to do with the recording of the material. It was a totally manufactured style. In retrospect, the saving grace was the sheer quality and charm of the recordings.

Outside the realm of Buddah, several teen stars such as Dino, Desi & Billy and The Cowsills also enjoyed popularity in a somewhat similar genre. Tommy James And The Shondells' recording of "I Think We're Alone Now" is thought by many to be the first true example of the bubblegum sound. Also, there were hit recordings by a non existent TV cartoon band called The Archies. All of these products however entertaining, were directed at a very young audience.

THE MUSIC EXPLOSION

THE LEMON PIPERS

THE 1910 FRUITGUM COMPANY

THE OHIO EXPRESS

KASENETZ-KATZ SINGING ORCHESTRAL CIRCUS

TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS

THE ARCHIES

JOEY LEVINE

A SELECTED LISTING OF OTHER BUBBLEGUM RECORDINGS

ALSO SEE

BIBLIOGRAPHY