The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader: Histories and Debates

625 Pages·2019·12.262 MB·English

by  David Brackett

TRACES THE EVOLUTION OF DIVERSE B DAVID E
STREAMS OF AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC RA BRACKETT HPOP,
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FROM THE 1920S TO THE PRESENT K
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“ I really appreciate the historical approach that David Brackett utilizes in The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader. I T
think that students get a different perspective by reading rock’s history ‘in the time’ written by people as T
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it occurred. Students enjoy this; it demonstrates that history is a process.” O
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—Edward Whitelock, Gordon State College K,
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“ The range of The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader is excellent. My students enjoy this book because the
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readings are manageable and engaging. The headnotes give enough context for students to be able
to make sense of the issues raised by the readings. This is the strongest primary source reader on H D
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popular music available.”

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—Gregory Weinstein, Davidson College O
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Featuring more than 100 readings from a wide range of ,
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sources and writers, The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader has
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established itself as the #1 reader for popular music studies. C
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NEW TO THIS EDITION AN READER
• A total of sixteen new selections from a variety of sources—including mainstream and specialized
magazines, newspapers, scholarly journals, and more—exposes students to different styles of writing D
and analysis
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• New essays covering the impact of technology and mass media address topics like streaming O
audio, the interconnectedness of social media, and the legal battles over file-sharing U
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• New articles on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Kim Gordon, Patti Smith, and “Riot Grrrls”
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will inspire class assignments and discussions of classic rock, punk, and 1990s feminist indie music
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• Critical overviews of the 1970s and 1980s by leading critics Lester Bangs and Robert Christgau A
provide students with essential recent historical context D
• New selections exploring today’s rap, hip-hop, and contemporary pop scenes include discussions E
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of the resurgence of political engagement in recent African American popular music (with features
on Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar) and an account of the meteoric rise in popularity of EDM
Visit www.oup.com/us/brackett for
student and instructor resources.
EF
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR ITIOURT
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David Brackett is Professor of Musicology at McGill University.
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ISBN 978-0-19-084358-8 FOURTH
90000 2 EDITION
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HISTORIES
9 780190 843588 1 AND DEBATES
Cover Design: T. Williams
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THE
POP
,
ROCK
,
AND
SOUL
READER
Histories and Debates
Fourth Edition
David Brackett
McGill University
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
bra43588_fm_i-xx i 05/24/19 04:12 PM
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Brackett, David.
Title: The pop, rock, and soul reader : histories and debates / David
Brackett.
Description: Fourth edition. | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2019017639 | ISBN 9780190843588 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Popular music—United States—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC ML3477 .B68 2019 | DDC 781.6409—dc23 LC record available
at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019017639
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
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Contents
Preface ...........................................................xiii
PART 1 Before 1950
1. Irving Berlin in Tin Pan Alley .......................................................1
Charles Hamm, “Irving Berlin and the Crucible of God” ...................2
2. Technology, the Dawn of Modern Popular Music, and the “King of Jazz” .........9
Paul Whiteman and Mary Margaret McBride, “On Wax,” ..................11
3. Big Band Swing Music: Race and Power in the Music Business ................14
Marvin Freedman, “Black Music’s on Top; White Jazz Stagnant” ...........15
Irving Kolodin, “The Dance Band Business: A Study in Black
and White” ........................................................17
4. Solo Pop Singers and New Forms of Fandom ....................................21
Martha Weinman Lear, “The Bobby Sox Have Wilted, but the Memory
Remains Fresh” ....................................................22
5. Hillbilly and Race Music ..........................................................25
Kyle Crichton, “Thar’s Gold in Them Hillbillies” ........................25
6. Blues People and the Classic Blues ..............................................30
LeRoi Jones, from Blues People: The Negro Experience in White America
and the Music that Developed from It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7. The Empress of the Blues ........................................................39
Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, from Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya: The Story of
Jazz as Told by the Men Who Made It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
8. At the Crossroads with Son House ...............................................43
Jerry Gilbert, “Son House (part 1): Living King of the Delta” ..............45
iii
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iv Contents
9. Jumpin’ the Blues with Louis Jordan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
DownBeat, “Bands Dug by the Beat: Louis Jordan” ......................48
Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of
Rhythm and Blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
10. On the Bandstand with Johnny Otis ..............................................52
Johnny Otis, from Upside Your Head! Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue .........52
11. The Producers Answer Back: The Emergence of the “Indie”
Record Company .................................................................54
Bill Simon, “Indies’ Surprise Survival: Small Labels’
Ingenuity and Skill Pay Off” .........................................55
Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years
of Rhythm and Blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
12. Country Music as Folk Music, Country Music as Novelty ........................60
Billboard, “American Folk Tunes: Cowboy and Hillbilly Tunes
and Tunesters” .....................................................61
Newsweek, “Corn of Plenty” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
PART 2 The 1950s
13. Country Music Approaches the Mainstream .....................................67
Rufus Jarman, “Country Music Goes to Town” ..........................68
14. Rhythm and Blues in the Early 1950s: B. B. King ................................70
Arnold Shaw, from Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years
of Rhythm and Blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15. “The House that Ruth Brown Built” ...............................................73
Ruth Brown (with Andrew Yule), from Miss Rhythm:
The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm and Blues Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
16. Ray Charles, or, When Saturday Night Mixed It Up with Sunday Morning .......78
Ray Charles and David Ritz, from Brother Ray: Ray Charles’
Own Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
17. Jerry Wexler: A Life in R&B .......................................................85
Jerry Wexler and David Ritz, from Rhythm and the Blues:
A Life in American Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
18. The Growing Threat of Rhythm and Blues ........................................90
Variety, “Top Names Now Singing the Blues as Newcomers
Roll on R&B Tide” ..................................................91
Variety, “A Warning to the Music Business” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
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Contents v
19. From Rhythm and Blues to Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Songs of Chuck Berry ............95
Norman Jopling, “Chuck Berry: Rock Lives!” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
20. Little Richard: Boldly Going Where No Man Had Gone Before ...................99
Charles White, from The Life and Times of Little Richard:
The Quasar of Rock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
21. Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Rockabilly .....................................105
Elizabeth Kaye, “Sam Phillips Interview” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
22. Rock ‘n’ Roll Meets the Popular Press ..........................................112
23. The Chicago Defender Defends Rock ‘n’ Roll ...................................114
Rob Roy, “Bias Against “Rock ‘n’ Roll” Latest Bombshell in Dixie” . . . . . . .115
24. The Music Industry Fight Against Rock ‘n’ Roll: Dick Clark’s
Teen-Pop Empire and the Payola Scandal ......................................117
Peter Bunzel, “Music Biz Goes Round and Round:
It Comes Out Clarkola” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
New York Age, “Mr . Clark and Colored Payola” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
PART 3 The 1960s
25. The Brill Building and the Girl Groups .......................................... 125
Charlotte Greig, from Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Girl Groups from the 50s On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
26. From Surf to Smile ..............................................................134
Richard Cromelin, “Interview with Brian Wilson” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
27. Urban Folk Revival ..............................................................138
Gene Bluestein, “Songs of the Silent Generation” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Time, “Folk Singing: Sybil with Guitar” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
28. Bringing It All Back Home: Dylan at Newport ...................................147
Irwin Silber, “Newport Folk Festival, 1965” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Paul Nelson, “Newport Folk Festival, 1965” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151
29. “For a Man to Be at Ease, He Must Not Tell All He Knows,
Nor Say All He Sees” .............................................................153
John Cohen and Happy Traum, “An Interview with Bob Dylan” . . . . . . . . . . .155
30. From R&B to Soul ................................................................163
Jerry Wexler and David Ritz, from Rhythm and the Blues:
A Life in American Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
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vi Contents
31. No Town Like Motown ...........................................................166
Harvey Kubernik, “Berry Gordy: A Conversation with Mr. Motown” ......168
32. The Godfather of Soul and the Beginnings of Funk .............................172
James Brown (with Bruce Tucker), from The Godfather of Soul ..............173
33. “The Blues Changes from Day to Day”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Jim Delehant, “Otis Redding Interview” ..............................183
34. Aretha Franklin Earns Respect ..................................................187
Phyl Garland, “Aretha Franklin—“Sister Soul”: Eclipsed Singer
Gains New Heights” ...............................................188
35. The Beatles, the “British Invasion,” and Cultural Respectability ............... 193
William Mann, “What Songs the Beatles Sang . . .” ......................194
Theodore Strongin, “Musicologically . . .” ..............................196
36. A Hard Day’s Night and Beatlemania ............................................198
Andrew Sarris, “Bravo Beatles!” ......................................198
Barbara Ehrenreich et al., “Beatlemania: Girls Just Want to Have Fun” .......201
37. Two Takes on Sergeant Pepper .................................................206
Tom Phillips, “Review of Sergeant Pepper:
The Album as Art Form” ...........................................208
Richard Goldstein, “I Blew My Cool through the New York Times” .........210
38. The British Art School Blues .....................................................213
Giorgio Gomelsky, “The Rolling Stones Stake a Claim
in the R&B Race” ..................................................216
39. The Stones versus the Beatles ..................................................220
Ellen Willis, “Records: Rock, Etc.—The Big Ones” ......................222
40. If You’re Goin’ to San Francisco . . . ............................................226
Ralph J. Gleason, “Dead Like Live Thunder” ...........................228
41. The Kozmic Blues of Janis Joplin ...............................................231
Nat Hentoff, “We Look at Our Parents and . . .” ........................232
42. Jimi Hendrix and the Electronic Guitar ..........................................236
Bob Dawbarn, “Second Dimension: Jimi Hendrix in Action” .............237
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Contents vii
43. Rock Meets the Avant-Garde: Frank Zappa .....................................240
Sally Kempton, “Zappa and the Mothers: Ugly Can Be Beautiful” . . . . . . . . .241
44. Festivals—The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly ...................................245
Mike Jahn, “Recollected in Tranquility: Woodstock” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
PART 4 THE 1970S
45. Where Did the Sixties Go? .......................................................253
Lester Bangs, “Of Pop and Pies and Fun” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255
46. The Sound of Autobiography: Singer-Songwriters, Carole King ................260
Robert Windeler, “Carole King: ‘You Can Get to Know
Me Through My Music’” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
47. Joni Mitchell: The Power of Insight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265
Penny Valentine, “Joni Mitchell: An Interview (part 1)” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266
48. Sly Stone: “The Myth of Staggerlee” .............................................269
Greil Marcus, from Mystery Train: Images of America
in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
49. Not-so-“little” Stevie Wonder ...................................................277
Chris Welch, “Stevie Wonder: ‘Hah—the boy is getting
MILITANT! You get back to ‘Fingertips’ now!’” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278
50. Parliament Drops the Bomb .....................................................281
W. A. Brower, “George Clinton: Ultimate Liberator
of Constipated Notions” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282
51. Heavy Metal Meets the Counterculture ..........................................288
John Mendelsohn, “Review of Led Zeppelin” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
Ed Kelleher, “Black Sabbath Don’t Scare Nobody” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
52. Led Zeppelin Speaks!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297
Dave Schulps, “The Crunge: Jimmy Page Gives a History Lesson” . . . . . . . .298
53. “I Have No Message Whatsoever” ...............................................305
Cameron Crowe, “David Bowie Interview” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
54. Rock Me Amadeus ...............................................................312
Tim Morse, from Yesstories: Yes in Their Own Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314
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viii Contents
55. The Global Phenomenon of Reggae .............................................318
Robert Hilburn, “Third-World Theme of Bob Marley” ...................319
56. Get On Up Disco ..................................................................323
Andrew Kopkind, “The Dialectic of Disco: Gay Music Goes Straight” ......325
57. Punk: The Sound of Criticism? ..................................................334
James Wolcott, “A Conservative Impulse in the New
Rock Underground” ...............................................336
58. The Punk Rimbaud ...............................................................340
Robin Katz, “Patti Smith: Poetry in Motion” ...........................341
59. Punk Crosses the Atlantic .......................................................346
Caroline Coon, “Rebels Against the System” ...........................347
60. Punk to New Wave? .............................................................352
Stephen Holden, “The B-52s’ American Graffiti” ........................354
PART 5 THE 1980S
61. A “Second British Invasion,” MTV, and Other Postmodernist Conundrums .....357
Robert Christgau, “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: the Music Biz on a Joyride” ....359
62. Thriller Begets the “King of Pop” ................................................369
Greg Tate, “I’m White! What’s Wrong with Michael Jackson” ............370
Daryl Easlea, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough: Bruce
Swedien Remembers the Times with Michael Jackson” .................374
63. Madonna and the Performance of Identity ......................................378
Camille Paglia, “Venus of the Radio Waves” ...........................379
64. Bruce Springsteen—Reborn in the USA ........................................383
Dave Marsh, “Little Egypt from Asbury Park–and
Bruce Springsteen Don’t Crawl on HisBelly, Neither” ..................384
Simon Frith, “The Real Thing—Bruce Springsteen” ....................387
65. R&B in the 1980s—To Cross Over or Not to Cross Over? ......................394
Nelson George, from The Death of Rhythm and Blues .....................395
66. Heavy Metal Thunders On! .......................................................401
J . D . Considine, “Purity and Power—Total, Unswerving Devotion to Heavy
Metal Form: Judas Priest and the Scorpions” ..........................402
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Contents ix
67. Metal in the Late Eighties: Glam or Thrash? ....................................405
Richard Gehr, “Metallica” ...........................................406
68. Parents Want to Know: Heavy Metal, the PMRC, and the Public
Debate over Decency ............................................................411
Record Labeling: Hearing before the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, United States Senate,
99th Congress, September 19, 1985 ...................................414
69. Postpunk Goes Indie .............................................................420
Al Flipside, “What Is This Thing Called Hardcore?” ....................421
70. Indie Brings the Noise ...........................................................424
Kim Gordon, “Boys Are Smelly: Sonic Youth Tour Diary, ’87” ...........425
71. Hip-Hop, Don’t Stop .............................................................430
Robert Ford, Jr ., “B-Beats Bombarding Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts
Something with Oldie R&B Disks” ..................................431
Robert Ford, Jr ., “Jive Talking N.Y. DJs Rapping Away in Black Discos” ....432
72. “The Music Is a Mirror” ..........................................................433
Harry Allen, “Hip Hop Madness: From Def Jams to Cold Lampin’,
Rap Is Our Music” ................................................436
Carol Cooper, “Girls Ain’t Nothin’ but Trouble” ........................440
73. Where Rap and Heavy Metal Converge ..........................................442
Jon Pareles, “There’s a New Sound in Pop Music: Bigotry” ...............443
PART 6 THE 1990S
74. Hip-Hop into the 1990s ..........................................................449
J . D . Considine, “Fear of a Rap Planet” ................................451
75. Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang ..........................................................457
Touré, “Snoop Dogg’s Gentle Hip-Hop Growl” ........................458
76. Keeping It a Little Too Real ......................................................462
Sam Gideon Anso and Charles Rappleye, “Rap Sheet” ....................463
Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, “Party Over” ....................................464
Natasha Stovall, “Town Criers” ......................................465
77. Women in Rap ...................................................................466
Christopher John Farley, “Hip-Hop Nation” ............................468
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