Review of Major PointsFinal Exam:

Tuesday, December 10 at 7pm

Influences

• Vocal– Frankie Lymon

• 1950’s doo wop singer, rose to fame as a child prodigy and didn’t transition easily into adult stardom

– Jackie Wilson• “Mr. Entertainment”• Known for his wide vocal range and flashy showmanship

• Dance– Fred Astaire

• Combined several styles of dance in his cinematic choreography– James Brown

• Used his physicality as an expression of his musicality• Would often conduct or direct his band using dance moves, rather than

relying on vocal cues

Crossover and Genre

• Crossover: is a blanket term that is used in the music industry to describe genres/styles that appeal to various groups of people.

• Pre-WWII Pop Music:– Jazz– American musical theater and movie songbook– Blues– Country and Western

• Post-War Pop Music a.k.a. “Rock ‘n’ Roll– Rhythm and Blues: Gospel-style singing with blues structures and an up-

tempo backbeat– Rockabilly: Combination of country singing style with blues structures

and an up-tempo backbeat– Doo Wop: voice-based version of R&B that featured minimal

instrumental accompaniment, utilizing nonsense syllables to fill in the more rhythmic parts.

Genre

• Blues– Lyric structure is closely tied to speech vernacular instead of using

complicated poetic device– Plaintive melody structured around the call and response format of

church music, and the singing style is more like crying or moaning– Simple rhythmic structure, which supports the text and vocals

• Soul– Singing is more rooted in Gospel music, “secular testifying”– Allows for more improvisation and melodies that explore wider pitch

range• Bubblegum Soul

– Used melodic structures from soul, song formats from blues – Pop singing: Stripped the vocal lines of excessive vibrato and

improvisation– Doo-Wop elements in the vocal harmonies

Genre

• Disco– Dance-based genre that popularized cultural subversion– Musically rooted in funk, soul and latin

• Melodic bass line• Long musical interludes played by string instruments (violin, viola)• Horns are used as accents (trumpets, trombones)• Percussion: cow bell, shakers, congas• Vocals: based in soul and gospel, really virtuosic, lots of improvisation

• Funk– De-emphasized vocal melody, and brings the rhythm section (drums,

bass) to the foreground– Short musical sections that are repeated (vamped), leaving room for

percussive singing style– Scratch guitar– Syncopated bass lines

Genre

• New Jack Swing– R&B genre popularized by Teddy Riley in the mid-1980s through

the mid-1990s– R&B chord progressions and vocals and Gospel-style vocal

interjections– Hip Hop beats using a drum machine and sampler, instead of a

standard backing band (drums/bass/keyboard/guitar)– At least 1 rapped verse– Sped up tempo in comparison to slow R&B love song standard– Cultural movement that went beyond music into the worlds of

film, television, comedy, dance and fashion• Industrial

– Rock movement in the mid-1990s that uses electronically-produced factory sounds as the rhythm track

The Jackson 5’s Producers• Mr. Keith

– Produced their demo recordings for Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana– 1968: “Big Boy” and “We Don’t Have to be Over 21 (to Fall in Love)

• Bobby Taylor– First producer hired to work with the Jackson 5 once they signed with Motown

in 1969– Worked with them in Detroit– Recorded the boys singing old R&B/Soul standards– The only song produced by Bobby Taylor to make it on their debut record was

“Who’s Lovin’ You”• The Corporation

– Produced the group in Los Angeles for Motown in 1969– Headed by Berry Gordy, The Corporation sought to clean out the old style by

making them more pop-oriented– Included songwriters, vocal arrangers and coaches, and Berry Gordy, as

executive producer

The Jacksons’ Producers

• Gamble and Huff– Lead producers for Epic Records– Worked with the boys on 2 albums, including the

single “Enjoy Yourself”• The Jacksons

– The boys began writing more material and eventually began producing their own records

– Explored more disco and pop in their sound, wanted it to be youthful

– “Blame it on the Boogie” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)

1980’s Production Team

• Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), We Are the World (1985), Bad (1988)

• Quincy Jones – Trumpeter and arranger for Dizzy Gillespie in the 1940s/50s– Arranged and produced albums for Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald,

Sarah Vaughan and pop singer, Lesley Gore– Prolific film score composer (The Austin Powers theme might be

the most recognizable)• Bruce Swedien

– Sound engineer– Worked closely with Quincy Jones on getting the right sound for

all of his records

1990s Producers: Old Meets New

• Teddy Riley: – Dangerous (1991), some work on Blood on the Dance

Floor (1997) and Invincible (2001)– Pioneer of New Jack Swing, a musical and cultural

movement that fused elements of hip hop and R&B to provide an edgier, sexier sound

• Bill Bottrell– Co-producer on Bad, executive produced the second

half of Dangerous (1991) and work on HIStory (1995) and Blood on the Dance Floor (1997)

Mid-1990s – 2000s Producers

• Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis– Did for pop music what Teddy Riley did for R&B– They fused hip hop beats into pop songs, making it more

edgy– Worked extensively with Janet Jackson and were brought

in to work on “Scream,” HIStory (1995)• Rodney Jerkins

– Protégé of Teddy Riley, worked in R&B and Pop beginning in the mid-1990s

– Produced much of Invincible (2001)– Mixes live instruments combined with synthesized drum

beats and samples

Other Producers

• Babyface– “You Are My Life” on Invincible (2001)

• R. Kelly– “You Are Not Alone” on HIStory (1995)– “Cry” on Invincible (2001)

• will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, Ne-Yo and Akon– Worked on unreleased tracks with Michael

Jackson throughout the 2000s

Motown• Berry Gordy

– Founded record label in Detroit, MI, 1960– Created a family-style work environment– Interested in releasing music that had major crossover appeal

• Fordism– Assembly-line style of business in which ALL parts of production were housed

under one roof– Artist Development

• Media training, choreography and image– Songwriting and Production

• KISS Principle• Holland-Dozier-Holland

– Recording Studios/The Snake Pit• The Funk Brothers

– The House Band for Motown, each member came from the world of jazz, the blues and R&B– Played on every single to be released

– Quality Control/Distribution/Management• Friday evaluation meetings with Billie Jean Brown and Berry Gordy

The Jackson 5 @ Motown

• Auditioned with James Brown’s “I’ve Got the Feeling”

• Moved to LA after Gordy didn’t like what they were recording in Detroit with Bobby Taylor– Lived in Gordy and Diana Ross’s homes while their

parents began plans to move out West• 4 #1 hits

– I Want You Back (1969)– ABC (1970)– The Love You Save (1970)– I’ll Be There (1970

CBS/Epic/Sony Records

• Based in Philadelphia and headed by producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff

• Wooed the Jackson 5 away from Motown promising them more creative control

• Lucrative signing deal: 20% royalties paid per record sold• Changed the name to The Jacksons

– Jermaine stayed behind at Motown, married Berry Gordy’s daughter, and tried his hand at a solo career

– Randy joined the group• Not an initial success with Epic until 1978’s self-produced

album, Destiny– “Blame it on the Boogie”– “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)

1980s Going Solo and Building Iconography

• Wanted a sound that was nothing like what he had cultivated with his family

• Music written mostly by him but included work by veteran songwriters– Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney

• Interested in crafting albums on which every song was a hit– No filler tracks

• Wanted to create music videos that elevated the songs, and used techniques found in major films– Worked with major directors

• Used this imagery from the videos in his live performance, building a language of gestures and costumes that would forever be associated with him

Side Projects• The Wiz

– His first major acting role as The Scarecrow– Among the first mainstream films to feature an all-black cast– Modernized version of The Wizard of Oz– Based in American Musical Theater, but mixing R&B and Soul into the newly-constructed soundtrack– Functioned to reclaim and debunk hurtful stereotypes about African Americans by positioning these

caricatures as villains• We Are the World

– Collaborated with Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie to put together a charity single that would benefit the famine relief efforts in Africa

– Got the biggest stars in the music business together to record• Songwriter for other stars

– Wrote music for his sister, Rebbie, as well as Diana Ross– Sang the chorus on Rockwell’s hit “Somebody’s Watchin’ Me”

• Captain EO– 3-D motion ride for Disney Theme Parks– Space adventure story in which Michael must save the world’s children from an oppressive dictator– Part Muppets adventure, part long-form Michael Jackson music video– Directed by Francis Ford Copolla

Collaborators• Paul McCartney

– Guitar player and member of The Beatles– Wrote “Girlfriend” for Off the Wall– Sang with MJ on “The Girl is Mine” on Thriller– Wrote “Say Say Say” for the pair of them to sing on his 1983 album, Pipes of Peace

• Eddie Van Halen– Recorded the guitar part for “Beat It” for free– Star of his rock band, Van Halen

• Siedah Garrett– Singer-songwriter who penned “Man in the Mirror” and sang the duet part on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving

You”• Slash

– Hugely popular guitar player of Guns ‘N’ Roses– Played the guitar parts on “Give In to Me,” and “Morphine”

• Janet Jackson– Baby sister and pop superstar in her own right– Recorded and co-wrote their 1995 mega-hit, “Scream”

• Heavy D– Early 1990s rapper, who provided a rap verse on “Jam”

Personal Life

• Girlfriends– Tatum O’Neal and Brooke Shields

• Pepsi fire – plastic surgery/pill addiction– health

• Tabloid darling– 1980s: some stories were planted by him– 1990s: the tabloid tone shifted to negativity

• Marriages– Lisa Marie Presley and Deborah Rowe

• Fatherhood– Late 1990s: Prince, Paris and Blanket

Review On Your Own

• Listening– ALL of the examples played during lectures– Song titles– The album on which they appeared– The key personnel: songwriters, producers, performers, etc.– What themes are explored on each album

• Music Videos– Directors’ names and what they’re known for– Choreographers’ names and the types of movement they brought to

Michael Jackson– What themes and visual tropes are explored

• How does he position himself against other characters on screen• Is there a transformation• Is he aggressive? Sexual? Sweet?

Good Luck!