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The 1950s was a big time for pop music and is widely known as the birth of rock and roll. After the end of WWII in 1945, the popularity of bebop and blues music gained significant popularity while swing music fell into decline. Classic pop(cp) also became a very popular style which dominated the early-mid 1950s. Cp was a vocal driven genre of music which introduced string sections and orchestral arrangements with lots of emphasis on vocal performance. The emphasis of the vocal melody made it sweet and easy to listen to. Towards the end of the mid 1950s, many pop musicians began to take more influence from jazz and blues music. This eventually gave birth to the rock and roll we know today.
Two artists who made a huge impact in pushing rock and roll into popularity were Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Bill Haley is most popular for his release of the song ‘Rock around the clock’(RatC) in 1954 which became the first number 1 single of rock and roll. The song is widely known as ‘an anthem for rebellious teenagers’. This was a crucial moment for teenagers at the time because before the 1950s, the term teenager was scarcely used anywhere and children would be expected to act like adults from the age they turned 14. It was an abrupt change from childhood to adulthood which was forced upon children all over the country. The release of RatC was used, in a way, as a declaration of independence for teenagers across America during the time of the evolution of pop music into rock and roll.
As well as Bill Haley, Elvis Presley had a huge impact on the world of pop music and its progression to rock and roll. Elvis’ performance on the Ed Sullivan TV show in 1956 gained rock and roll significant popularity. One of the songs he played on the night was one of his top hits, ‘Hound dog’ which he released earlier on in 1956. A similar song with the same name was released by Big Mama Thornton (BMT). BMT was a black music artist who specialised in blues music and released her song ‘hound dog’ 4 years prior in 1952. As well as a big time for pop music, the 1950s were also a time of racial segregation throughout America and because of this, BMT was not given the recognition she deserved.
1950s composition and production
1950s composition and production
1950s Rock and Roll compositional techniques
1950s Rock and Roll compositional techniques
12 bar blues
12 bar blues
The 12 bar blues is possibly the most common chord progression and very often associated with 50s music. This chord progression uses the primary chords I, IV and V which, being major chords, create a quite happy and upbeat sounding tune. Alternative names for these chords are: I - primary, IV - subdominant and V - dominant. There is a blues scale which is often played over this progression, usually played by a bass as a bassline or improvised by a melody instrument or the singer.
An example of a 12 bar blues bassline, which uses an additional note at the top of the arpeggio from the blues scale
The 12 bar blues chord progression in C, with the primary chord being C, the subdominant being F and the dominant being G
The classic blues scale in C
Catchy melodies
Catchy melodies
Many songs of the 50s, particularly those constructed on the basis of the 12 bar blues, often have a quite quick and simple repetitive tune, which is usually happy and upbeat. The lyrics of these songs are also similarly simple and repetitive, which helps it to get stuck in the listeners' heads and for them to remember and enjoy the song. This may in turn help the song to gain popularity with a wider audience. One of Elvis Presley's most popular hits, 'Hound Dog', is a great example of the simple, repetitive lyrical and melodic patterns that are very commonly used in 12 bar blues songs.
1950s Rock and Roll production techniques
1950s Rock and Roll production techniques
Live recording
Live recording
In the 1950s, many songs would have had to be recorded live, due to a lack of sufficient recording equipment at the time. Many recording setups involved having a single microphone in the middle of the room, which would effectively pick up everything that is being played in the room through a single input. 'The signal from the microphone was sent to a stylus positioned on a turntable, on which a wax disc was placed. When the speakers, singers or musicians were ready, an engineer dropped the stylus onto the spinning disc and cued the performers. They literally “cut a track” into the disc to make the master recording' [source]. Limitations of this setup are that no form of editing/dubbing was available, and so the finished track was almost like a live performance. Pros of this is that it gives the track a more natural feel.
Distorted guitar sound
Distorted guitar sound
The early ways of attaining distortion in the 1950s involved turning up guitar amplifiers' volume or gain beyond its designed limits. This or even minor damage to the amplifier would cause it to create a rougher, dirtier tone which is widely known as distortion. Even earlier uses of distortion were discovered by amplifiers being accidentally damaged and creating this new tone.
Notable Producers/musicians
Notable Producers/musicians
Les Paul
Les Paul
Les Paul was a famous jazz guitarist and inventor born on June 9th, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Paul dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri and by 1934, was maintaining a 'dual music persona' playing Jazz as Les Paul and country under the name 'Rhubarb Red'. Ever since he was twelve years old, Paul had been experimenting with many guitar designs over the years, and continued to do so after deciding that he was not satisfied with the available electric guitars at the time. In 1941, he had managed to build one of the first solid body electric guitars, designed by himself, and in the early 1950s was signed on by the Gibson Guitar Company, through which he was able to promote his his guitar model, the 'Les Paul' model, obviously named after himself. This is how he became one of the most important figures involved in the technological evolution of music and more specifically, the development of the solid-body electric guitar.
Technology used in the 1950s Rock and Roll recordings
Technology used in the 1950s Rock and Roll recordings
Limiters and compressors
Limiters and compressors
In the 1950s, leading into the 60s, limiters and compressors became more sophisticated, gaining additional features such as ratio, gain and attack and release times.
A 'fairchild 670 tube compressor', designed by Rein Narma in the early 1950s. 'They were originally developed for cutting records, ensuring consistent levels in vinyl mastering' [source].
The 'RCA BA-6A limiter' is used in recording to 'prevents over-cutting of the recording disc on heavy passages of music or speech' [source]. This, in turn, helps to improve the signal to noise ratio, making it very popular to use in recording studios and broadcasting stations.
Amplifiers
Amplifiers
As you can probably imagine, the earliest models of guitar amps had very simple tone control and treble adjustment and quite limited controls. Before the mid-1950s, many amplifiers had a low power of 15 watts or even less in some cases which resulted in worse quality (low) bass and high treble output.
The 1953 'fender deluxe' amplifier (to the right) is a classic example of an early amplifier model. It looks as simple as it is to operate, and definitely reflects the simplicity and limitations of technology of the time.
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