Rock Music in American Popular Culture: Rock ’n’ Roll Resources

391 Pages·1995·3.92 MB·English

by  Frank Hoffmann

Rock Music
in American Popular Culture
Rock ’n’Roll Resources
Rock Music
in American
Popular Culture
Rock 'n' Roll Resources
B. Lee Cooper,P hD
Wayne S. Haney, BME
I ~ ~~o~;~ : n~~~ p
New York london
() 1995 by The Huworth Press. Inc. All righlS rescrvt',L No purt of this work muy be reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any means. electronic or mechanical. including photocopying,
microfilm and recording, or by any infonn3lion storagea nd retrieval system.w ithout permission
in writing from the publisher.
First publishedb y
The ~Iawonh Press.I nc .. 10 Alice Street. Binghamton.N Y 13904-1580
This edition published2 012 by Routledge
Routledge Routledge
Taylor & FrancisG roup Taylor & FrancisG roup
711 Third Avenue 2 Park Square,M ilton Park
New York. NY 10017 Abingdon, axon OXI4 4RN
LibraQ' of Congress Cataloging-in· Publication Data
Cooper.B . Lee.
Rock music in American popularc ulture: rock 'n° roll resources/ l3. Lee Cooper, Wayne S.
Haney.
p. em.
Includesb ibliographical referencesa nd index.
ISBN 1-56024·861·0(a cid· free paper).
I. Rock music-UnitedS tales-Historya nd criticism. 2. United StaWs-Populaer uhurc-Histo-
ry-20th cemury. 3. Music and society. I. Haney. Wayne S. II. Title.
ML3534.C663 1994
781.66/0973·dc20 93·15554
Cll'
To the founders and sustainers
of the Popular Culture Movement
in the United States and throughout the world:
Ray B. Browne
Pat Browne
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
B. Lee Cooper, PhD, is Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs and Professor of History at The College of Great Falls in
Montana. His previous publications include Images of American
Society in Popular Music (1982), The Popular Music Handbook
(1984), The Literature of Rock II (1986) with Frank W. Hoffmann,
A Resource Guide to Themes in Contemporary American Song Lyr­
ics, 1950-1985 (1986), and Popular Music Perspectives: Ideas,
Themes, and Patterns in Contemporary Lyrics (1991).
Wayne S. Haney, BME, is vicar of Holy Cross Church in Weare,
New Hampshire. Formerly Associate Director of the Academic Re­
source Center at Olivet College, Father Haney is an organist and
computer specialist who has co-authored Response Recordings: An
Answer Song Discography, 1950-1990 (1990) and Rockabilly: A Bib­
liographic Resource Guide (1990) with B. Lee Cooper.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Baseball Songs 9
Baseball Popularity in the U.S. 9
Baseball Images in Popular Songs 10
Teaching with Baseball Themes 11
Conclusion 23
Chapter 2: Biographical Studies 27
Daryl Hall and John Oates 27
Ricky Nelson 30
Little Richard 37
Chapter 3: Bootleg Records 45
The Beatles 45
Elvis Presley 47
Chapter 4: Christmas Carols 51
Christmas Songs 51
Imitations of Yuletide Success 57
Images of Santa Claus 58
Non-Christmas Holiday Songs 59
Unusual Yuletide Characters 60
Social Commentary in Christmas Songs 61
Children’s Perspectives on Christmas 62
Yuletide Parody Tunes and Sequel Songs 63
Holiday Loneliness 64
Sexually Suggestive Yuletide Songs 65
Bizarre Humor in Christmas Songs 66
Resources for Teachers 67
Chapter 5: Commercial Catalogs 75
Down Home Music, Inc. 75
Chapter 6: Exported Recordings 79
Setting the Stage: 1943-1953 80
Hearing the Piper: 1954-1963 81
Reversing the Trend: 1964-1967 86
Conclusion 90
Chapter 7: Family Businesses 97
Michael Jackson 97
Motown 98
Chapter 8: Dance Crazes 103
Chapter 9: Food Images 107
Focal Point 108
Personal Desire 110
Social Setting 112
Symbol or Image 118
Nonsense Use 122
Conclusion 126
Chapter 10: Games and Music Trivia 129
Chapter 11: Hit Tunes 131
The Persuasions 131
Conclusion 146
Chapter 12: Imported Recordings 149
Teaching About Imperialism Through Imported Recordings 149
1950-1959: American Society Embraces Rhythm ’n’ Blues
and Rock ’n’ Roll as Its Popular-Music Culture 150
1950-1963: British Society Becomes a Receptive Site
for American Cultural Imperialism 150
1960-1964: Maximum American Domination Over
the British Popular-Music System 151
1962-1967: The Rise of The Beatles and The Rolling
Stones 152
1964-1967: The White U.S. Pot Calling the White
British Kettle Black 154
1967: The Worldwide Influence of The Beatles 155
1950-1967: Discographic Resources on American
and British Recordings 157
The CHUM Chart Book 158
Chapter 13: Journalists and Critics 163
Dave Marsh 163
Chapter 14: Mass Media 169
Motion Pictures 169
Television Shows 171
Radio Broadcasts 173
Print Media 174
Chapter 15: Memorabilia and Collectibles 187
Elvis Presley 187
Popular Culture Collections 188
Chapter 16: Nursery Rhymes 191
Jack the Giant Killer 195
Little Red Riding Hood 196
Mary’s Little Lamb 198
There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe 198
Conclusion 202
Chapter 17: Radio Broadcasters 205
Disc Jockeys 205
General Radio/Disc Jockey Studies 207
Individual Disc Jockeys 209
The Payol a Scandal, 1959-1960 215
Chapter 18: Record Charts 217
Fats Domino 217
Chapter 19: Rock ’n’ Roll Legends 231
Jerry Lee Lewis 231
Buddy Holly 251
Chapter 20: Sports Heroes 269
The Baseball Business and Public Cynicism 270
Imagery and Popular Nostalgia 275
Conclusion 276
Chapter 21: Symptoms, Illnesses, and Medical Imagery 287
Doctors 288
Symptoms and Illnesses 290
Medicine 292
Other Medical References 293
Observations and Conclusions 295
Chapter 22: Work Experiences 315
Bibliography 319
Index 375