Changing of Pop Music - Research Paper Example

? Changing of Pop Music Insert Changing of Pop Music Introduction Pop music is the music, which has been derived from abbreviation of the word popular. The main concept of this genre of music was derived from rock and roll music and originated in early 1950s (Simpson & Weiner, 1989). Nowadays, the concept of popular music is said to be used in the definition of music, which is seen to be popular across all genres. For music to be called pop, there are some features which music must possess. These features include short-medium length. Chorus should be repeated uphold verse-chorus structure posses a sound which is melodic and have hooks which are catchy. Numerous changes have taken place over the years (Simpson & Weiner, 1989). One group that changed pop culture is The Beatles. How the Beatles changed pop music The Beatles came into limelight by changing the whole idea of pop music in the world. This was after they overwhelmed the world with their creativity in sound making, which showed their integrity with what was referred to as “fab four’s success” (Frith, et al, 1990). The group comprises of George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This new mix sound, which was developed by Beatles, was a mixture of rock and roll with black rhythm and blues. Their unique sound comprised of sounds, which were easy to sing along with the lyrics. Their music made youths be interested to listening to music again as they had influenced individuals in both America and Britain. They were the first British group to become successful and popular in America (Gillet, 1970). The popularity and revolutionizing of music by the Beatles was encouraged by their mainstreaming into success globally. Before they came into limelight, most musicians who were famous always sang solo and their bands were never given consideration. Some solo artists include Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis (Denisoff & William, 1986). However, their impact and success encouraged most solo groups to venture into music business. Therefore, before looking at some of the influences, it would be better if the paper looks at some important aspects behind the formation of the Beatles. The Beatles emerged from Liverpool and changed the lifestyle, music, clothing style and political attitude. They had energetic lyrics that were accompanied by funky beats, which had youths all over the world singing along to them (Frith, 2004). They did not only influence people into their new dress code and singing, as they were involved in political affairs by preaching peace while hallucinogenic of drugs. Moreover, they also borrowed the Indian mysticism of meditation to the society. Their lead singer John Lennon started singing when he was 17, and he had already started his own band in the name of Black Jacks. His band was comprised of members from his class who studied in Liverpool’s Quarry Bank Grammar School (Frith, et al, 1990). When they were representing their school, they were known as Quarry Men. Paul McCartney was introduced to the band in 1957 during a preparation of their performance in the church hall. He officially joined the band in October same year after auditioning. In 1958, the band changed their music from normal sniffle and jazz where they ventured into rock and roll. Their banjo player who decided to leave the band took this badly, and George Harrison took his part. The Quarry Men could not establish itself, and early 1959 witnessed their break up (Denisoff & William, 1986). The three managed to attain a contract of playing at Casbah Coffee Club found in Liverpool. Shortly, the club owner’s son called Pete Best who was a drummer joined them. They tried out some names before settling for The Beatles. In June 1962, the band went for an audition at Parlophone Records situated at Abbey Road Studios, which was owned by George Martins. He loved the band and their songs. However, he was not comfortable with Best who had already started to fall out with the group. Therefore, Ringo Starr had the opportunity of joining the band from another popular band from Liverpool. That is how Beatles was formed, and this led to revolutionizing of music and culture. Their fame came into limelight in late 1962 after their first single “Love Me Do”. They had started out as support performances during concerts (Hatch & Millward, 1987). However, in the year, 1963 “Beatle mania” hit the main stream, and they starred in Royal variety show where they were highly rated. The Americans had not yet embraced their music, and some adults were still skeptic about music. The song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was released in January 1964 in United States, and it was only three weeks in the chart before it was at number one spot. When Beatles stepped down in Kennedy International Airport on seventh February of the same year, thousands of fans greeted them, and it took 110 police officers to control them. Their greatest debut into the American market was encouraged by their appearance on television screens of America on February 9 of 1964 on Sunday (Frith, 2004). An estimated 73 million Americans saw this interview. In the same year, they received a lot of criticism, but they still managed to garner two Grammy awards. The Beatles later held top five slots on the Billboard list as they sold most of their singles worldwide. In April 1964, fourteen of the top one hundred songs on the Billboard were from Beatles. The other influence they brought into pop culture was popularizing of music videos. Their song “A Half Day’s Night’ was a full length film which made the group popular though it was short in black and white. This feature was released before they went on their second tour of United States. Their song “Help” was released later in more color and was found to be interesting compared to their first film. Later, they released to albums in two years “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” in the years 1965 and 1966 respectively (Hatch & Millward, 1987). The albums were unique since they were a combination of country-western, eastern, classical and soul, which were like a breakaway from usual rock and roll. The Beatles also had the opportunity of influencing the dress code of individuals in both America and Britain. Their code they had defined who they were and fitted their status. Their dressing had a theme of Mod and rocker in their fashion. After their dramatic twist of 1966 where they were deemed antichrists due to the remarks of John Lennon against Christianity and Jesus, they decided to have palettes that were brighter which were an inspiration from Indian garb (Gillet, 1970). Moving towards 1980s, they decided to maintain their facial hair, which depicted that they had grown from boys to men. This influenced the dressing style for most of pop music lovers as they kept long hair and started wearing clothes with bright colors. Conclusion The Beatles are referred as the greatest band group of all time. They took over the pop culture and changed it within a few years after their emergence. They were the first band to be popular which inspired many people venture into bands or groups since most pop musicians had solo performances. In accordance to Billboard charts, they were able to overwhelm the world by three songs in the top ten rating and twelve top songs in top one hundred rating. The pop group also managed to influence adults and youth at the same time since they had a combination of certain genres of music. Their popularity enabled them to influence the fashion industry since individuals wanted to look like them. References Denisoff R. & William L. (1986) Tarnished Gold: the Record Industry Revisited 3rd Ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Frith, S (2004) Popular Music: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies, Routledge. Frith, S. Straw W. & Street J, (1990) the Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock, Cambridge: Cambridge University. Gillet, C, (1970) the Sound of the City. The Rise of Rock and Roll, Outerbridge & Dienstfrey. Hatch D & Millward S. (1987) From Blues to Rock: an Analytical History of Pop Music Manchester: Manchester University. Simpson J. & Weiner E. (1989) Oxford English Dictionary Oxford: Oxford University. Read More