Motown: The Soul

This week in Visual Music, we will be taking a dive into the history of Motown. Everybody knows Motown is an informal name for Detroit, Michigan, but what is the meaning behind it? Detroit received this title because it is home to Motown records, one of the most influential and successful record labels of all time. They are responsible for the emergence of an entire era of music: SOUL.

Soul music came from a combination of gospel, R&B, and blues when it first became popular in the late 1950’s. Most classic soul features catchy rhythms and extemporaneous dancing. The music is fun and uplifting, and very infectious. Solomon Burke and Ben E. King were two of the first sensations of soul. Their songs, such as “Cry To Me” and “Stand By Me” topped charts everywhere, and resonated with people of all different races and religions. Aretha Franklin was one of the first and most recognized female voice in soul music. She is even crowned the “Queen of Soul” by many elites in the music industry and music lovers around the world. She achieved great commercial success in the late 60’s with hits such as “Respect,” and “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.” Other chart-topping stars such as Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye were also part of the same group. And the one thing every single one of these artists had in common, other than their similar style, was their record label. Motown Records.

Motown Records, founded in Detroit by Berry Gordy, opened the door for soul music in America and put it on the map. It first took its form as Tamla Records, and the first band to bring Gordy success was the Miracles, with lead singer Smokey Robinson. Smokey became the vice president of the company, and it became so much a part of his life that he even named his children after the studio and his partner, Tamla and Berry. The label moved on to grow into a full blown empire, with establishments spread out across the United States. They made stars out of hundreds of people, and, within a decade, put out 110 top 10 hits. Even still, Motown Records will go down in history for being one of the most successful labels of all time, and their legacy has inspired other artists to keep soul music alive.

Comment below on what I should write about next week, and let me know what your interests are! See you soon!

Country: The Evolution

Country music is America’s signature. Anyone from around the world would be quick to associate country music with the United States, and that’s because it has been around almost as long as jazz, and had perpetual popularity ever since it first emerged. Whether or not you prefer country to other genres, it is important to recognize the effects it has had on the mainstream music scene.

While jazz seemed to gravitate toward urban regions, country gained popularity at first in the rural regions of America. The first country music came out in the 1920s borrowing from Appalachian folk music and blues from the south. Early country used many of the same instruments used in folk and blues, including banjos, guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas. In the 1940s, country was officially separate from folk, and often referred to as “hillbilly music.” Later, in the 50s and 60s, country began to branch out, creating new subgenres, like rockabilly and bluegrass, and combining with other popular music to establish its prominent place in mainstream music.

Many musicians are famous for paving the road for country music. In the 1920s, fiddlers such as Fiddlin’ John Carson and A.C. Robertson rose to fame, along with singers including Samantha Bumgarner, Eva Davis, and Vernon Dalhart. Roy Acuff and Gene Autry were known as “singing cowboys” in the 1930s and 1940s, as country music made its way into Hollywood western films. At this time, there was a shift in instruments used in country, and drums were added to the mix, along with the emergence of bluegrass. 50’s country brought two of the most iconic artists to ever live into the light: Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Their music transcended genres, with country roots and blues and rock n roll, and everything in between. They were followed by countless more country stars, such as Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and finally Garth Brooks, who made country music a worldwide phenomenon.

Check back next Friday for the newest addition to visual music, and don’t hesitate to comment on what I should cover in the weeks to come.

Alternative Rock: The Connections

Cage The Elephant at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, NV

This week in Visual Music, we will be looking into alternative rock, which is my personal favorite genre. The magic of alt-rock is that it is so diverse, and so connected. So many different artists capture so many different sounds that all fit under the same category, so there is something for everyone.

Alt-rock’s roots are in classic rock and punk, but it branched out into a bunch of different subgenres, including grunge, britpop, and indie rock.

Alt-J at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA

Grunge music was established in the late 80’s to early 90’s, and completely shook the world’s perception of rock music. The most iconic grunge band was Nirvana, whose unique sound defied all the normalities of rock. They paired thought-provoking, controversial lyrics and clashing experimental chord progressions and rhythms with Kurt Cobain’s legendary voice to create a sound that no one had ever heard before. This gave rise to bands who achieved similar success, including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and more.

Britpop was a British movement to take over grunge music and join the global alt-rock scene. This new music was similar to grunge, and it swept billboard charts when it first came out, proving Britain had a prominent place in the rock industry. Some of the most noteworthy bands that came out of this era include: Blur, Oasis, The Verve, and Radiohead.

Indie rock was the most modern form of rock music, and has a mass appeal, but not in the same way grunge and britpop do. Although it borrowed sounds from both genres, indie rock is known for staying out of the mainstream light. However, that did not mean indie artists went unrecognized. Indie music developed its own vast following that was separate from most popular music. Some of the pioneers for this genre were Beck, PJ Harvey, and Alanis Morissette.

Cage the Elephant playing The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, NV

Over the years, these main alt-rock subgenres have split apart, and created plenty more branches of alternative music. Let me know who your favorite bands/artists are in the comments below!

Nothing But Thieves at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA

Jazz: The Roaring 20’s

Jazz music is one of the most diverse and influential music genres around. The most impressive aspect of jazz music is how it evolved throughout the twentieth century. Jazz music was the era-defining voice of the 1900’s. Though there are various subgenres of jazz, in this post, I will be talking specifically about 1920’s prohibition era, also known as the “jazz age”.

Jazz music of the roaring twenties originated from Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans. With African folk roots and some European influence, jazz evoked a colorful and unique feeling in people. This style of music first emerged with African-American musicians during a time of racism and social stigma. Therefore, it took a while for it to catch on to the rest of America. But the contagious swing and syncopation of jazz was just too hard to ignore, and it quickly took off once it was recognized.

In the twenties, jazz was considered smooth and hip, and this was mainly due to its association with prohibition. In an attempt to better the economy and the corruption and crime in America, Protestant conservatives issued a ban on all alcoholic beverages, cutting off trade and shutting down alcohol manufacturers nationwide. Of course, this did not completely eradicate it. The roaring twenties was a time of rebellion, where flappers and gangsters challenged social norms through fashion and promiscuity. They established speakeasies in towns all over the country. Speakeasies were secretive underground bars where people would go to let loose and have a good time. In most speakeasies there were live jazz bands, and popular music and dances became part of flapper culture. Jazz music even had an influence on classical composers, and was just about the only mainstream music anyone was talking about at the time.

Some of  the most famous jazz artists to come out of the roaring twenties include: Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and Bix Beiderbecke, and many more. Their contributions to the colorful jazz age are considered timeless, and future artists have attempted to recreate their styles despite the ever changing and evolving mainstream music.

If you have any ideas on what genre I should cover next week, comment below!

Reggae first emerged as a mainstream genre of music in the early 1960’s. It first became popular in Jamaica, but borrowed musical styles from jazz, Jamaican ska, calypso, and rocksteady, which were derived from American R&B and doo-wop of the 1940s. Though it originated from such a familiar place, reggae music has one of the most unique sounds of any genre. Reggae is easily defined by its simple yet contagious groove. Played in common time, reggae relies on offbeat rhythms, commonly referred to as “skank”, which are emphasized by a small group of guitars, keyboards, drums, congas, and sometimes horns.

Most genres of music have at least several artists and pioneers that all hold equal recognition for the success of their genre. It is very rare that a single person gets all or most of the credit for the establishment of a major genre. Though there are plenty of artists who have helped pave the road for reggae music, such as Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, and Ken Boothe, there is only one king: Bob Marley. And reggae would not be where it is today had he not existed, His breakout popularity began when he formed a band with Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith called the Wailers. Their second album, “Burnin’” was their first major breakthrough, including the iconic song, “I Shot the Sheriff.” From then on, Bob Marley and the Wailers were headlining superstars, generating countless hits worldwide, and bringing reggae music into the mainstream world of music.

Since Bob Marley’s death, reggae has expanded and divided into multiple sub-genres, including roots reggae, dub, and lovers rock. Reggae is also thought of as “surfer music,” because of its tropical island feel and groove. The legacy lived on in artists such as Steel Pulse, Sublime, Iration, and Rebelution, to name just a few. Each of these artists have adopted their own styles, adding and subtracting from what was there to start. His sons Ziggy, Damian, and Stephen Marley also carried on his legacy, and now his grandchildren are even involved in making music. Bob Marley’s legacy is a perfect example of the power of music and how it can be shared with people of all kinds from all around the world.