1945-1964 era music analyzing - Essay Example

Listening to Ray Charles' What'd I Say is exhilarating to say the least. A music of this kind during the early years of the Rock & Roll era would really have jolted the audiences (either black or white) from their reserved senses. It is no surprise that this song received much attention and varied reception. "What'd I Say" was banned by many black and white radio stations because of, as one critic noted, "the dialogue between himself and his backing singers that started in church and ended up in the bedroom.

" (Evans, 111) The music mixes the Black Gospel and Rhythm and Blues sounds tied together by a suggestive lyrics and catchy beat using gospel element in a twelve bar structure (Stephens, 21-43). Even on this era, if the music and the lyrics were to be produced today, it would still be progressive in terms of pushing boundaries between profanity and art. The song gave me a deeper understanding on historical and current influences of the music I have accustomed to. From Soul music, to The Beatles, to the Rolling Stones, to Modern Rock, Ray Charles' song rippled and reverberated in their sound and songs.

It leads me to ponder and ask, how could one song produce this amount of influence and impact to the entirety of music? Regardless of the social conditions of the period, it has succeeded in delivering a universal message of humanity's primal rawness as suggested by the implicative lyrics and sophistication on the song's beat, rhythm, melody, and sound. The artistic genius behind the song is duly credited for being one the greatest songs of all time. What'd I Say's musical value does not rest on the controversy that it spurred nor on the impact and influence that it caused; these are mere testaments to the true worth and beauty of the piece.

The song does not try to impress me but rather it simply presents itself as it is – pure. Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston is claimed to be the first Rock & Roll song according to Phillips and some music critics. Its lyrics hails a new model of a car that the singer is very fond of. I find it very easy to listen to without so much thinking. It is song that actually makes me want to drive or clean my car. There is no indication of profanity in the song nor does it imply anything implicit. For me it is actually a very direct and no fuss song; to appreciate it, you just have to simply listen.

What this song brought to the world music however is not as simple as it seems. It has the first recorded sound distortion and introduction of the fuzz guitar sound. It paved the way for experimentation of the later songs to follow. Its success to the charts attests the growing interest of the audience to hear something new and out of the ordinary. I would have to agree that this is the pioneering song for the Rock & Roll genre to flourish. The doo-wop song Earth Angel by the Penguins has a very beautiful blending of voices with a very poetic and melancholic lyrics.

It heavily evokes a romantic feeling. It reminds of innocent and pure love for someone. There is no pretense of flattery, just honest adoration and admittance of love. It makes me believe how it was during their era to show their love so easily without any complications. I often hear old people say that during their time, love wasn't complicated; when you love someone, you just tell them and be with them. Living it easy indeed. The songs of this era were varied yet cohesive in a sense that it can easily be identified as belong to that time period.

The lyrics were uncomplicated and you enjoy the music as it is. It is the kind of music that makes you feel at ease and good about yourself. It is the kind of music that is meant to be enjoyed even if you understand the lyrics at times, yet the beat and melody never fails to set the right tone and the right vibe to the listeners. Maybe that is why we find it so easy to listen because it does not impose itself and it does not try to prove something; it sounds so natural yet so real much like struggle that the black minority were facing at that time in the social context.

There struggle for equality is real and the ideals that they were fighting for were natural. Something that should be explicit in itself without any complications and over thinking. I would like to contrast our present era to that era by using the musical scores in the film Avatar by James Cameron. It says a lot about the progress we have made using our technology in the production of our music. The quality of music we produce is already very different to the traditional and musical compositions that were made during the previous eras.

Experimentation with different rhythms, distortions, new instruments and combinations in musical composition has produced a lot of new and interesting sounds that has widen the breadth of music with different genres being incorporated in it. A lot of our songs nowadays have lyrics that have transcended the usual themes of cars, clothes, ordinary things, surfing, simple living etc. Instead, we have songs with lyrics that deliver universal and sometimes abstract messages when heard. Modern music has become very varied blurring typical music genres.

The lyrical themes come in vast varieties, from the simple to the abstract, from the erotic to the mundane, and sometimes gibberish. Often we find new words being added to our lexicon due to the creative inventiveness of our modern day artists. These modern day artists have come from different backgrounds as well, with different cultures, histories, ideologies, tastes, styles and oftentimes aptitude. Yet, all of these provide more options and more variety to the growing plethora of audiences with different taste for music.

We may not always agree on what sounds good or what sounds right but we always agree to disagree because we know each of us is different. A latent mutual bond of respect exists among us now even though it is not obvious. People of our era in this country has chosen to tolerate rather than discriminate. We have chosen to experiment, invent and create rather than censor, prevent, and hate. And it is due to the fact that we can choose, because we have right to do so. We have the rights that were fought by our predecessors and the rights that were earned by through our struggle as a people.

The world we live in today may not be the same as before. Yet, every day we continue to struggle. We continue to fight for what we deem is right. For what should be. For what is natural. Our circumstances and social conditions today may not be the same as during the Rock & Roll period but it does not mean our struggle has ended. Our social problems may not be the same with their era yet ours is just as real as it was to them. These are the struggles of our era. Our dream for a world of paradise or Utopia has led our modern culture to fantasize and create new worlds and ideas expressed in our art, our film, our literature, and in our music.

Music reflects the people's cultural rhythm and social dynamics – always needed to be heard. Always. Baby boomers era was the rise of the Elvis Presley and new music of rock and roll that began to catch attention of the American crowd that ended up in a state of frenzy. During this era, the teenagers started the rebellion against the mainstream music during those times. Critics saw this as a definite danger to the United States. This type of music was considered vulgar and immoral. The rock and roll music is considered to be the kind of music that is unacceptable and shocking.

They are considering the music to be aphrodisiac and will possibly encourage young Americans to sexual indulgence and perversion (rockmem.com, Baby Boomers of Rock and Roll). Even with the great criticism of the rock and roll music, it still made a huge impact to the western world. This era of the Baby Boomers is characterized by great racial problems. But the rock and roll music helped the people gained equality because of the rise of black artist to fame. For example, Chuck Berry is one of the famous rock and roll performers who served as an inspiration to young black children to follow their dreams and become successful.

This music was also a way for the children to make their own identity and voice. It was a way for them to express their likes and dislikes. The rock and roll music of the baby boomers era made a huge impact to the world. It caused both the blacks and whites to unite when they were divided by great racial problems (Aranda, n.d). Sources: Aranda, Carla. The Rock and Roll Era and its Effects of Teens, (n.d.). Web. July 12, 2011 Evans, Mike (2007). Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul, Omnibus Press "Fox confirms Horner on cameron's 'Avatar'".

http://web.archive.org/web/20071129050902/http://www.filmmusicweekly.com/issues/FM_Weekly_061907.pdf. Archived from on November 29, 2007. Web. January 25, 2010. Lucas, Ann (Fall 2007). "Alumni News" (PDF). UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Web. July 24, 2008. Stephens, Robert W. (Spring 1984). "Soul: A Historical Reconstruction of Continuity and Change in “Black Popular Music",The Black Perspective in Music, 12 (1), pp. 21–43. “The History of Rock and Roll”, Baby Boomers of Rock and Roll, RockMem. (2011). Web.

12 July 2011