The history of popular music is a rich tapestry, in this assignment, I shall be taking a chronological approach at detailing all the different types of popular music for the 50’s to the 90’s. I will choosing 10 artists over the 5 decades and go over each decade’s artists and why they were influential, whilst also comparing and contrasting between the decades.
The 50’s
Ther 1950’s is where popular music started out in the musical evolution, an evolution from the ‘Crooner sound’ of the 40’s which was basically male vocals accompanied by orchestra or big band. It was in this decade that it became less about big band acts and Jazz bands, but more about songs that appealed to a much bigger audience in the mainstream. Artists such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard, the two I will talk about for this decade.
Elvis
Elvis, or better known as “The King” was an american musician and most notable for boosting the success of the Rock’n’Roll genre. Because it was so new at the time, people took one listen to his voice and guitar and loved it. His posture also helped his fame because of the sexual nature of his movements on stage. It was his movements, his clothing and his attitude when performing that gave single handedly gave him success in the mid 50’s, this was because all the women wanted him and all the men wanted to BE him. He didn’t have any competition when it came to other musicians, but there were some other very popular musicians around.
Little Richard
Little Richard was another popular character back in the 50’s, but for much different reasons than Elvis. His whole genre was soul and blues, this became very popular because it was very much a black community standard however Little Richard brought it into the white community and it caught on. Little Richard was a church based person and his lyrical content wasn’t anywhere near as absurd or pointless as some of Elvis’, however they both had a very distinct vocal style of loud and aggressive singing.
The 60’s
The 60’s was more about bands rather than single artists with bands around them. Among them were some big hitters in the musical world, this would include The Beatles and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Technically still a band). These two artists, although very different, had a major effect on the 60’s and also onward, but I will just be talking about the two for this decade.
The Beatles
The Beatles were a 4 piece english band from Liverpool. Their first release was a major success because of a few reasons, their look was an integral part of their success because of how smart they looked. This made them look audience friendly and gave different types of people a reason to listen to the also audience friendly music they were writing about relationships and life. The Beatles had a different kind of weapon though, not only was their look notable, they had two more things. They had the Lennon McCartney duo harmony singing and the fact that Paul McCartney was left handed and made the band look more symmetrical. They created “Beatlemania” and took England and the world by storm
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
This group fronted by Jimi Hendrix was an English-American rock band. This is a particular case of being messy was considered a good thing, Jimi’s style in this band was very harsh and fuzzy which was unique because his riffs were very notable for the time. It was around this time that psychedelic drugs were being used in bulk around the country and with this bands music being heavily influenced by drugs like LSD, it struck a chord with the masses. This is the complete opposite to The Beatles because of the raunchy lyricism and the guitar solos and stage antics. If mothers wanted to listen to The Beatles, they definitely wouldn’t want to listen to Jimi Hendrix.
The 70’s
The 70’s saw a very big increase in new genres: Disco, NWOBHM, Punk, glam and progressive rock. With bands like King Crimson, Yes and Genesis, they were paving the way for the Prog genre with extensively long songs with difficult chord progressions and lengthy guitar and keyboard (and every other instrument for that matter) solos.
Yes
Yes were a Progressive rock band in the 70’s that along with Genesis and King Crimson popularised prog into what it is today. Yes were purely based around fantasy with their lyricism and with the instrumentation, it really fit with the themes because the songs really make you feel as though you’re in the landscapes that they sing about. That was their appeal to a niche audience, however they were influential in that sense, they were one of the big three in the prog movement.
Stevie Wonder
Stevie wonder was the most popular R&B singer songwriter of the decade and yet again, appealed to the black community with his soul sounding music at times. But it was again a case of the white community adopting him and also realising the merit behind his work. Also his sight ailment made him somewhat of a commodity and ironically a ‘Wonder’. He released songs like “Superstition” and “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” to critical acclaim worldwide.
The 80’s
Many singers were coming back into the fray with the bands at this point in time. People like Madonna and Michael Jackson reigning supreme in the pop music world. However there was a thrash movement appearing with bands like Metallica and Anthrax bringing metal to a faster new world. Music in the coming decades was about to become more of a culture thing between different people, with some not liking others based on their musical tastes. Metallica was one of these bands.
Metallica
Metallica started off in the early roots of thrash and as one of it’s creators. They wanted to go against the social norms of regular pop music and play fast guitar riffs with face melting solos. They became popular at the time because of the intensity of the music. They released “Kill em’ All” and they were the fastest in the game at the time along with Megadeth when they released “Killing is my Business… and Business is good”. They were influential because of their stage antics with beer and the rebellion in their lyrics (mainly about drinking and living life on the edge). There was a stigma back then of glam metal being a really
Michael Jackson
Michael started off his humble beginning in The Jackson 5 as a young boy. The great success of that group gained him worldwide commercial fame though. Soon enough he was singing his own material. The apex of his fame was when Thriller was released in 1982. Everyone knew Michael Jackson, but when he released Thriller, he was a worldwide phenomenon. He had many things about him that were recognizable, such as the moonwalk, glove and his ‘Crotch grab, high voice’ move. All of this became his brand and was distributed worldwide.
The 90’s
The 90’s saw another movement become popular stemming from the late 80’s. This movement was evolved from punk but slowed down, it was called Grunge. The main antagonist of this was Nirvana with their heavy riffs and shouted, harsh vocals. On the other end of the spectrum, a band called The Red Hot Chili Peppers were reaching their apex of fame with the release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991.
Nirvana
Nirvana were a 4 piece Grunge band, that came out of nowhere with their first album and then released their seminal album “Nevermind” with the help of Sound City studio. Songs like “Smells like Teen Spirit” and “Lithium” put them on the map in the musical world. Again, with Nirvana there was a stigma attached to them about if you liked them or not. They had a mass following of people who had no one to listen to or look up to, then Nirvana come along with their anti political messages and their mental illness messages and gained a cult following of teenagers who had a lack of direction. When Kurt died, they say that the grunge movement died with him, only serving to prove that Nirvana were definitely influential.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were a 4 piece American Rock band that dropped their highly successful album “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” in 1991, same year as Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, yet this was a funk based band with a completely different message and stage persona. They were more fun loving and about fantasy. When Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released, they were known by way more people because of the commercial spread of songs like “Suck my Kiss” and “Give it Away”. Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary was also their main weapon in this band race because of his technique behind the bass and his presence on stage. These days, they are still staying relevant with evolutions in their sound with albums like “I’m with You” that keep original elements of funk but also adding modernised guitar sounds with effects.
2000’s
The decade of the 2000’s was the year of Nu-Metal. Bands like Disturbed, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit. These types of bands became popular because of their lyrical content appealing to teenagers feeling angry or oppressed. Not only that, but girl and boy bands were emerging such as S-Club 7 and Girls Allowed. These commercialised groups are formed by companies and then made into walking, talking merchandising products.
Linkin Park
Linkin Park were one of the first popular Nu-Metal bands to appear in the early to mid 2000’s with releases such as “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora”. The gained commercial success with songs like “Numb” and “One Step Closer”. They mixed heavy distorted guitars with rapping and turntables for a mixed genre feel and this was an influential move for bands at the time or in the future (Deftones). They also had Chester Bennington on vocals with his multi range voice of clean vocals and harsh screams, this gve them the edge over most Nu-Metal bands at the time because not a lot had both worlds at their disposal. As they progressed throughout the 2000’s, the became more and more accessible to the masses and way more radio friendly.
S-Club 7
S-Club 7 were an English pop group created by the former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller. It was a mix of men and women to keep things gender balanced and have something in it to appeal to everyone as the company that ‘owned’ them would have wanted something that would sell quickly to all audiences. They had hit singles such as “Reach” and “Natural” which quickly spread all over the radio and with their catchy hooks and the well sung vocals. The reason they got so popular though is much akin to the reason One Direction got popular. They appeal to the masses of teenagers and because of the amount of marketing that is sunk into these groups, they get spread so quickly that it’s almost shoved down people’s throats. But, it is an effective method of getting your act famous; and it worked.
In conclusion, there are a plethora of artists throughout the decades that received fame and fortune for how great they were as musicians or however they were marketed as a final product. It shows that if a band has enough of a personality, then they can leave an everlasting effect on the community (Hendrix setting guitar on fire). There will come a time in the future when music will change in a massive way yet again and it will yet again shake music’s foundations.
Mark Kirby 