Muscle Shoals Sound Studios was built, and used as a recording studio from 1969 till the mid-1980s. During its prime it had several phenomenal artists come to record, from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Percy Sledge, Art Garfunkel, and several other talented musicians. At its peak, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios was one of the most renowned recording studios in the nation. The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was a pivotal recording studio that helped artists from all over the globe, cultivate their sound. Genres from rhythm and blues to rock to pop were continuously being recorded in the 1960s and 70s.
Throughout the years, the name of Muscle Shoals has always been affiliated with the rival studio FAME to anyone who isn’t involved in the music recording industry. Today there is a sign on the side of Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals that says “Where it all started”. (Fuqua 5) The establishment of the Shoals recording industry can be credited to Rick Hall and his studio. (Fuqua 5) In 1969 four locally known artist known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section decided to leave their old recording studio that they had worked for called FAME Records, to open up their own recording studio. The group all started their careers with the illustrious house band at Rick Hall’s legendary FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals. They worked with numerous vocal talents: from the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter, Arthur Conley and Etta James. (http://www.alamhof.org/inductees/timeline/1995/muscle-shoals-rhythm-section/) Once they all decided to depart from the label, they brainstormed on how would they differentiate themselves from other studios and make a name for them...
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...influenced by many genres of music and wanted to cultivate a sound that was their own and like nothing else out there. Artist flocked to them to receive something that was completely different and to bring out put out the best recordings that were possible. The studio was influenced an array of artists who possessed individuality, a sound that differentiated them from other artists, and a will to try to experiment. The studio created a sound like no other studio and much different from the prominent studios from the north, west, and south. It was a studio that will leave a legacy of risk takers, who had a desire to produce a sound that would stand the test of time and influence many generations to come. Their production style mixed genres and may music boundary less. It influenced the sound of today’s music to not be boxed in or classified as just one type of genre.
What emerged after the explosion of rock and roll in the 1950s abandoned the roll and has now come to be known just as classic rock. This rock that was created following the decade of The King became a completely unique and different sound that changed the musical landscape and what was once a single, unified genre gave way for multitudes of variation in its sounds. These new sounds, that came mostly from abroad, had been notably influenced by the American rock of the 1950s, such as Elvis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. These pioneers of rock came to be the essential reason for the arrival of the British Invasion and other sounds that defined the decade of the 1960s.
This paper will be an updated version of my last paper which talked about a portion of Barry Gordy's background, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations and their start at Motown. How Motown was the first American music label owned by an African-American, the first music label to successfully market black artists to white mainstream audiences. How Motown was responsible for discovering, mentoring, and perfecting a lot of American popular music's most influential and successful artists and the best albums and artists and what new artists have entered Motown.
For almost 90 years, The Grand Ole Opry has withstood the test of time to become one of the tried and true traditions in country music. From the show's humble beginnings as an obscure radio program, to it's renowned place today as one of the premiere stages for music, The Grand Ole Opry has had an extremely colorful and interesting existence. Over the 88 years that have passed since the show's inception, The Grand Ole Opry has featured many talented performers. Those performers, along with social changes and economics, have all contributed to the growth and success of The Grand Ole Opry.
...leans style of music and influenced how big bands in the later eras would approach jazz. The compositions provided information on how to accurately notate improvisatory jazz music on paper and thus, laid the foundation for the next stage in the jazz timeline: the swing era.
The film Cadillac Records is a biopic that retells the story of a few major R&B artists during the 1950s and 1960s. The film mainly focuses on the characters Muddy Waters and the Leonard Chess. The film later includes other famous artists such as Chuck Berry, Etta James, and Little Walter. It also briefly shows Mick Jagger, from The Rolling Stones near the end of the film, and occasionally Howlin Wolf and Hubert Sumlin make an appearance.
Promoted by new, independently owned record labels and radio stations marketed to blacks, R&B also captured the imagination of young white audiences and led directly to the popularity of rock and roll. During the early 1950, more white teenagers started to become aware of R&B and also purchased the music, for example: forty percent of 1952 sales at Dolphins of Hollywood record shops came from the whites. In the early 1960s, British R&B developed it often brought African American service men stationed in Britain during the Cold war, or merchant seamen visiting ports such as London, Liverpool, New castle on Tyne and Belfast. The British R&B bands produced music which was very different in tone form that of African American artists, often with more emphasis on guitars and sometimes with great energy. In the 1980s a new style of R&B developed known as “Contemporary R&B”, It combines element of Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk, Pop and Dance. Soul music dominated the U.S R&B chart on the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U.S, Britain and elsewhere. By 1968, the soul music genre had begun to splinter, some soul artiste developed Funk music. By the early 1979s, soul music had been influenced by Psychedelic Rock and other genres leading to Psychedelic Soul. The
Motown records became the musical inspiration and essence of the Civil Rights Movement by proving Black Success.
The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African’s Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping.
According to Schloss, "Gordy had an uncanny ability to surround himself with first-rate musical talent in all areas of the record." His passion for control brought him a group of people, who are loyal to him and were talented, thus, his network was able to help Motown's music to become popular. In addition, Gordy's diverse audiences had shaped Motown's music into a form of rebellion, which was against the social norm that people of color speak up for their rights. Therefore, not only "his entire Motown organization had the ability to create a black music aimed right at the commercial mainstream that somehow never evoked the feeling, or provoked the charge, of having sold out (Schloss)," was also able to "give a definite African American slant to the pop-flavored songs that were characteristic of Motown (Schloss)." In result, "the sound of young America" was the work Gordy's "Motown" had contributed to the music industry.
Music and Art are two important factors in a society. They are apart of a neighborhood's History. They show how a community has lived, and what was important to the people and how they lived. The Art and Music during certain time periods can show how that community has grown and how it developed. There were many important artist and musician that played a big role in how Detroit, Michigan grew. They also had a big impact on the society of Detroit. Till this day those Artist and Musicians still have an impact on Detroit.
Record labels played a big role in bringing the black struggle to the mainstream through their artists music. In particular, two labels were the frontrunners for producing records that would continue to promote addressing the black struggle: Motown and Stax. Motown, a black-owned label, was seen as a more assimilationist and industrial record label that was successful in making hits that appealed to both black and white audiences, earning it the nickname of “Hitsville, U.S.A.” Stax, a white-owned label, was seen as being more representative of black self-reliance and an overall more authentic, black record label that appealed much more to the black audience, earning it the nickname of “Soulsville, U.S.A.” Despite their differences, both labels used their own style of music production and distribution to help surface the black struggle in very similar ways, and in turn they helped pave the way for black consciousness to emerge through soul music.
The years 1960-1969 were very impressionable years. With events that changed America , turning the innocence and hope of American people into violence and anger. The young nation of the 60s were the most influential of all ,with rioting about war or turning music into culture. This was a completely different america than it was years before . In a Music standpoint artists such as The Beatles , Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix were changing the way music was made . They were changing music into an artform , a way for people to express their feelings , beliefs and ideas. The Music of the 1960s evolved into an artform which lead the path for American music of today.
Back in the day, music is not readily available online at the tip of your fingertips. Fifty years ago, you would listen to the radio and that’s how you knew what records to buy. Radio stations in large music cities such as Los Angeles, New York or Nashville normally set the standard for the most popular music. New music emerges in their city, than gets released on their local radio stations, and the music becomes a smash hit. This is not the case for the small town radio station of CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. As television was drastically changing the radio industry, CKLW had to change to keep up. This change is what resulted into CKLW- The Big 8, a radio station that created new standards of radio hosting as well as rock and roll music. CKLW influenced not only music throughout North America but the entire music industry such as Bill Drake's "Boss Radio” technique, and how this station influenced its home city of Windsor, Ontario. CKLW evolved from a small city radio station to become “The Big 8” a huge nationwide music icon that was responsible for not only changing the music industry but changing the face of radio forever.
One would think his music would be heard among today’s teenagers and young adults. However, the current teenage generation and the generation before it idolizes bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, groups Chuck Berry directly influenced. Rolling Stones and The Beatles seem to be everywhere in 21st century culture. This is proof Chuck Berry has been not only instrumental but also highly underappreciated. To know Chuck Berry, one must know his early life, his influence, and the way he uses many different genres in his music.
“Rhythm and blues is a combination of soulful singing and a strong backbeat” (Cahoon, 2004). Rhythm and blues was created by and for African Americans between the ends of World War II. By 1946 the style of swing music started to fade away where early R&B artists started breaking away from using big bands and emphasizing using blues-style vocals and song structures. “Billboard magazine coined the term rhythm and blues to rename its’, “race records,” chart in 1949, reflecting changes in the social status, economic power, and musical tastes of African Americans” (Cahoon, 2004). Rhythm and blues was like a stepping stone for the popularity of Rock and Roll. There were several focal points for rhythm and blues music, but the main focal point for early R&B originated in Atlanta, Georgia. The first radio station to play rhythm and blues was in 1949. Even though the R&B late night show on WGST was a big hit in the African American community, it featured a white disc jockey named Zenas “Daddy” Sears. (Cahoon, 2004)