Oh, Those Guys! The Rock Giants

Today I am going to do a running blog while class is going on, just to shake things up a bit. We are starting with the Chuckster, Chuck Berry, probably the best embodiment of rock n' roll that we have. Hey is a key player because he is the first creative force in rock n' roll aside from probably Buddy Holly. He was the first real singer songwriter. Chuck is famous for what Dr. McKeen calls verbal economy, or conveying lots of emotion and narrative in little space.

I see that lots of you are bringing computers now, hopefully this phenomenon doesn't make my blog obsolete.

Johnnie Johnson was Chuck Berry's piano player, and he deserves some of the credit for Chuck's music. Lots of his riffs were adapted to guitar by Chuck, but conceived by Johnson. Chuck set out on a quest for Chess records, sent by Muddy Waters, needless to say Muddy had some clout. After meeting Leonard Chess, he was instructed to "goose" up an old Bob Wills song Ida Red. He returned with Maybellene, which is one of rock n' roll's standards today. If you listen to it closely you can hear the country influence in the narrative lyrics, and the vocal delivery of old mountain songs like "Cumberland Gap," or Hank Williams' "Move it on Over," which you'll notice is the foundation for "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Hailey and his Comets.

Just listen to Maybellene, it fucking jumps. With some distortion it could even be a punk song, like an Elvis Costello Jam. Chuck disguised his social commentary with upbeat tempos and rhythmic, not abrasive guitar licks. Hard to believe he was trying to say so much through rock n' roll, that was a job for the pretentious folkie types. There is nothing cheesy or trite about the poetry of "Memphis"

Video...How sweaty is Chuck? Jesus Christ. It is impossible to see Bo Diddley's eyes. Chuck is a ladies man, gettin' action from the flight attendants. Bruce Springsteen is giddy when he talks about Chuck. That will give you an idea of the kind of figure he is.

The Three Founding Fathers...

Here's Little Richard! Had very sexual lyircs, there was not a lot of mystery to Little Richards songs. He recorded for Specialty Records which was lead by Art Rupe, who was also responsible for recording Sam Cooke in his early career with the Soul Stirrers, a Chicago-based gospel quartet. Rupe also saw Cooke into his pop career. Little Richard's music has the power of gospel and the ferocity of rock n' roll. When Little Richard stopped recording, I don't think we heard that gospel foundation until probably Otis Redding or Sam and Dave, but I could be wrong. Remember the struggle between the sacred and the profane with Little Richard.

"Long Tall Sally" gets me every time. Have you ever heard such a unique style? CCR pretty much stole the exact music and delivery for their song "Travelin' Band" John Fogerty pulls it off decently. Little Richard probably made the "stop" a staple in rock n roll with hits like "Ready Teddy." Now you hear it in all the time alt-rock and especially punk. Hard to believe Little Richard could influence punk but I'm sure it's true. Pat Boone sucks, that is all I have to say about him.

"Shout Bamalama" is a pretty evident copy by Otis of LR, but as we all know Otis developed his own style and became the embodiment of southern soul and maybe the best soul singer to ever live, at least his ballads were certainly the best.

Fats Domino, was another HUGE influence for the Beatles, at least John and Paul. They worship the ground he walks on. Fats was more of a low key presence, but he was an incredibly consistent artist. He is cajun drawl is certainly identifiable on his records, and much like Bo Diddley would do with guitar, he was a master of two-chord rhythms on piano. Many of his songs also followed the standard I-IV-V chord structure. I especially like "Fat Man" and his cover of "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"

"I walked 47 miles on barded wire...I use a cobra snake for a necktie"...Bo Diddley is one of the fore fathers of rock n' roll guitar. He is most noted for his style. EVERYONE! I'm talking EVERYONE has ripped off Bo Diddley. It is called the Bo Diddley beat, but it is mostly a two-chord, ba...buh-ba-ba...buh-ba-ba. That is the best way I can describe it phonetically. Also this is probably the original starting point for slap bass. There is a bit of slapping in the Bo-Diddley beat. All of your favorite bass players owe him respect. Being a guitarist and bassist myself I know I do. My favorite Diddley tune is "Before You Accuse Me." You may have heard Clapton's cover of this song on Unplugged.

Back to Sun Records...just as a reminder we will probably always come back to Sun Records in this class. Elvis released 10 songs on Sun Records until Col. Tom Parker, or as Dr. McKeen calls him, Satan, stole Elvis away and made him into a huge pop figure, but definitely had Elvis by the balls artistically. Elvis was the first major rock act to go to a major label, RCA. Sam Phillips is kind of like the foster parent of rock n' roll. He took care of many important artists until they left to other, more permanent homes.

The Million Dollar Quartet...Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash...not as great as it may sound. This would be the blueprint for many disappointing supergroups to follow...Blind Faith, The Traveling Wilburys, and the mother of them all, Velvet Revolver (I just puked).

Carl Perkins is the first person to have a number one record on the R&B charts, Country charts, and Pop charts. This of course, was "Blue Suede Shoes." Carl, like Diddley is often overlooked and under appreciated by the majority of rock n' roll listeners.

Of course most people say they hate country music, but they love johnny Cash! This is what happens when people make movies. Johnny Cash...well I am sure you guys have all seen "Walk The Line" so I needn't say more. Haha. Just know he became famous at Sun Records, he did lots of concept albums, and he once gave Bob Dylan his guitar which is an old country tradition. He loved Dylan.

Jerry Lee Lewis-king of white trash. Furious piano player. Played until his fingers bled. Great rock n' roller. Read the story about him in the book. Also got his start at Sun. I kind of think of him as the white version of Little Richard. His traditional country material is pretty fantastic also, if you are interested "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Fool Out Of Me)" and "She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me)" and "To Make Love Sweeter For You" should get you started.

Roy Orbison is "The Voice." Bob Dylan said in "Chronicles" that hearing Roy Orbison on the radio on a lazy day in NYC changed his life, and made him re-think about what music was supposed to be. Roy was never as much of a rockabilly force as his Sun cousins, he was popular as a ballad singer. His voice was soft, yet operatic. I think that was his true calling anyway because he is one of the saddest motherfuckers alive. Him and Ian Curtis are in a battle for most troubled and depressing artists of all time. Maybe you can throw in Elliott Smith or Robert Smith too. He is probably most famous for "Pretty Woman" but his highlight songs are "Crying," "Only The Lonely," "Dream Baby" and "Blue Bayou." He had a resurgence in the late 80's when for a brief moment, there was a commercial want for rockabilly throwbacks. "You Got It" I believe was a #1 hit. He also was a member of The Traveling Wilburys.

Alright, this post is horribly long. I will post the survey and my listening recommendations for this week later tonight. Please, I hope you all are reading this, and if not the survey will help me decide if I need to keep devoting time to this thing. But I am doing it for you guys and because I naively believe you guys give a shit about what I have to say about music. If you want to listen to my band, I am going to post the links to some youtube videos of our show a couple weeks back. Missing is a song we wrote about the Jena 6 called "White Tree" and a cover of Albert King's "Born Under A Bad Sign," but what is there should give you an idea of what we do.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zMYhX6xbQXE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0t-6pUeVdY8&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NsEQxyGq9hA
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QnnkJcGbD84
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NgwSTBWz-OY
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zMYhX6xbQXE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QSVilAOVXkU

Also, here is a video from a gig I did at this coffee house in Orlando, it's a song by Ray Lamontagne called "Jolene."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iuJVOFfvdNE&watch_response

Rock n' roll is here to stay!