POPULAR MUSIC

 Music appealing to the popular

taste, including rock and pop and
also soul, reggae, rap, and dance
music.
 History Before the nineteenth century, folk music
was most common musical form for all classes of
people, with the exception of religious music.
After that folk tradition declined as people moved
from the countryside to the cities Music making
still popular at home – also brass bands and music
hall Regional music began to disappear as London
became centre of musical activity
 Influence of America 1920s
Traditional jazz and ragtime music
arrived from USA Dances
accompanied this music played at
British hotels and restaurants as well
as broadcast by the BBC
 Rise of popular music
 Gramophones and records were expensive
and popular music mainly adult pastime
 New technology – production costs fell,
radios became smaller – Sony transistor
radios in 1955.
 Lots more radio stations – top twenty singles
charts began
 American lead in popular culture
 America – Free, consumer culture, following from
full employment and affluent teenagers.
 Independence expressed in clothes, music and
heroes
 Political tension between American and Russia –
youth felt contemptuous of world created by
parents.
 Music style rock ‘n’ roll arose to express this.
 British rock ‘n’ roll fans called ‘New Edwardians’
or ‘Teddy Boys’.
 The Teds disliked conformity, austerity and
authority (ideology).
 Media says them as a threat to society – their
tastes in music, clothes and behaviour was a
challenge to dominant ideology
 Singers of time – Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Buddy
Holly. British singers Cliff Richard, Adam Faith,
Marty Wilde 
 Skiffle Emerged in 1950s – an acoustic style of
music – amplified music and electrical
instruments still rare
 Fast, rhythmical music – not much expertise
required.
 Origins were black and American like rock’
n’roll.
 By 1958 this form dying out.
 The Beatles
 Started off as skiffle band called The Quarrymen
 Short, attractive songs about everyday life, using
popular slang in lyrics
 Later music more sophisticated – pioneered
concept album
 Broke up in 1970
 British Rhythm Blues
 Black American music very attractive to British
musicians
 Principal British exponent, Alexis Korner. Others
included Kinks,Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac,
Rolling Stones.
 Rolling Stones style contrasted with Beatles –
wild, sexy and bohemian
 Wore long hair and exotic clothes. 
 The Rolling Stones
 Made no effort to be polite. Rejected
traditional means of achieving commercial
success – hard work and sacrifice.
 Shocked older generation but appealed to
younger audience
 Since ’70s spectacular concerts in sports
stadiums central part of career.
 Colourful private lives, problems with drugs
begin cult of pop stars 
 Mods
 Soul and Jamaican ska popular in America when
Beatles and Stones popular in Britain.
 Strong beat, perfect for dancing – popular in clubs
 New clothing fashion developed – continental suit,
short hair and parkas and for girls mini skirt, short
straight hair and thick make up.
 Consumerism central to mod style – possession to have
was Vespa or Lambretta scooter. 
 Rockers
 In opposition to Mods – confrontations in Brighton
particularly. Film ‘Quadrophenia’ shows this.
 Rockers more traditionally working class –
motorcyles, leather jackets, denim jeans and long hair.
 The Who – band – smashed up guitars – famous song
‘My Generation’ about not being able to communicate
with older generation.
 Soul and Reggae
 Late 1960s black dance music from Jamaica and
USA grew in popularity.
 Artists – Bob Marley, Peter Tosh. Songs reflected
Rastafarian beliefs and supported poor and
underprivileged
 Ironically ska and reggae grew popular with violent
subculture called ‘skinheads’ known for racism –
attacked blacks, Asians, hippies and gays. 
 Progressive music
 Mid 1960s popular music changed – musicians wanted to
write longer songs and experiment with musical sounds
 Beatles, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Genesis particularly
known for this sort of music know as ‘concept albums’.
 These bands popular with hippies who rejected conventional
ideas and lifestyles – experimented with alternative ways of
living based on peace and love – communes etc.
 Progressive music continued
 Folk music also appealed to hippies as
alternative to commercial modern rock.
 In USA Bob Dylan and Joan Baez combined
political protest with folk music
 British groups included Fairport Convention,
Steeleye Span. However, never appealed to a
mass audience. 
 1970s Combined elements of folk music and
electric pop.
 Early exponents Marc Bolan and David
Bowie. Wore glitter and make up.
 Poetic vocals expressing hedonism and
sexuality
 Theatrical style became know as ‘glam rock’ 
 Rebellion in 1970s
 Reaction to big bands such as Pink Floyd, Led
Zeppelin, Genesis etc as seen as very commercial
and ‘safe’.
 Punk arrived – D.I.Y feel to these bands – energy,
enthusiasm.
 Deepening social and economic crisis with high
unemployment, young people felt ignored.
 Malcolm Maclaren created The Sex Pistols.
 the Sex Pistols
 Designed to attract attention – wore leather jackets, torn
clothing, safety pins, swastikas, zips, chains and studs
with spiked, dyed hair – connotations of eccentricity
and perversion
 Music was loud, primal and hostile. Simple guitar solos,
repeated chords, distorted sound and abrupt endings.
 Notorious behaviour – swearing, vomiting, drug taking
and assaults
 Songs included ‘Anarchy in the UK’ and ‘God Save the
Queen’ 
 Punk -Other punk bands in mid to late 70s
included The Damned, The Clash, The Jam, The
Stranglers and The Buzzocks.
 Most groups were male – some had female
singers – Siouxie and the Banshees, X-Ray Spex.
 One all-girl band – The Slits. Not openly feminist
but had intimidating stage presence and changed
traditional views of women in pop as just
background vocalists. 
 Record Industry
 Small independent record companies began to spring up.
 Supported music that commercial mainstream would not
 As punk declined reggae music grew – expressed
symbolic challenge to politics of Conservative
government and right wing racism Several mixed race
bands grew up in early 1980s – The Specials, UB40, The
Beat, Selecter. Expressed left wing ideas.
 Club and Street Mix
 In mid ’70s popular dance music by Bee Gees.
Traditional dance music started to sound uniform and
anonymous
 New technology gave ability to produce clean,hard,
repetitive drum beats ideal for dancing – Donna Summer.
 In Britain, in 1980s Gary Numan, Heaven 17, Spandau
Ballet, Human League used synthesisers and tapes to
make futuristic pop and dance music 
 America and Britain in the ’80s In America ‘rap’
came up from streets of New York and Chicago –
performers shouted lyrics over music often taken
from other records.
 Technique known as ‘scratching’ was incorporated,
followed later by ‘sampling’.
 House music established in Britain during mid to
late 80s – gospel style vocals, heavy bass and drums
 Acid House evolved around Ibiza and non-stop
dancing en mass. 
 Acid House and Rave
 Clothing was baggy, dungarees, beach wear
 Techno music – intense, hypnotic and ear splitting
 Dance music dominated up to early ’90s
 Raves became popular – government tried to stop
them – dancing became a political act.
 Growing interest in Asian dance music 
 Theoretical perspectives
 Feminist – how are women represented in the pop music industry, what
jobs do they do, how are they represented in lyrics, in videos. What sort
of ideology does this express?
 Marxist – how is class represented in different genres of music, in
different eras? How is class represented in music industry? What kind
of ideology in lyrics would reflect class views of society?
 Post-colonialist – how are different ethnic groups represented in lyrics,
in bands and genres, in management?
 Postmodernist – how are different cultures, genres and eras combined
within popular music and pop videos?
THANK YOU ^_^ &
GODBLESS <3