In module 9 of the class we had a look into the new developments of country music. We heard from Country artists that changed the way we listen to country artists such as Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Alabama, and Dolly Parton. These artists influenced the way that we listened to Country music. It pulled it us out of the rural country and into a more urban country era. This included the artist Taylor Swift. Now, I am a country fan. I love the long ballads like Blake Shelton’s “Who are You when I’m not Looking” and Jason Aldean’s “You make it Easy” to the fast-paced pop country like Brad Paisley’s “Online” and Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl Shake It for Me”. I could listen to it all day, and when I saw Taylor Swift as the last artist in the Country section of the textbook I was so disappointed. I understand that Taylor Swift has made an impact on country music and brought a pop aspect into the chords and rhythms of country music, but I feel there are many artists who have shifted to the same pop like aspects but still stayed country. I know Taylor Swift was a country artist before her new albums, but her song “You Belong with Me” is not a country song to me. She had many great ones such as “Our Song” that I think has a stronger impact of showing how she brought pop into country. It showcases still synthesizer as an instrument and the quick punk rock beat. We also see the similarity in it being music for teens in that is about love. With all of this we still here the country in her song, the twang in her voice and the story is more relatable to living in the country. I think that the chapter needed a song more like “Our Song” to show the direction that country music is going.

So, in saying all of this and showing you the song I believe the chapter should have ended with it still leaves me with who would I think should be put into the textbook. As probably noted I am going to stay in the realm of country music and would have to pick an artist whom I believe has also added in popular music aspects to his music but has also kept it country and would pick Luke Bryan.

Image Retrieved from: http://www.tykellyandchuck.com/2018/02/05/luke-bryan-freaks-out-after-shooting-a-deer/

Luke Bryan wanted to move to Nashville from a young age but never had the chance to do it due to a car accident that claimed the life of his brother in 1995. He decided he had to stay home with the family and enrolled in college instead. But in 2007 he still had a dream to pursue and his father convinced him he had to go. Bryan moved to Nashville and began writing and recording music. His first song to hit the Billboard Hot Country would be “All my Friends Say” in that same year (Thefamouspeople). He has since had 6 albums that have been released all of which have had songs that have hit the Billboard Hot Country list. Bryan had great success on his 5^th album ‘Kill the Lights’ which “debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, as well as Top Country Albums, where it ranked at No. 1 for eight weeks. It is his fourth album to sell more than 1 million copies” (EBSCO, Para.50). Luke Bryan is currently on the Billboard Greatest of All time Country Artists at number 49 (Billboard). Among many artists who have all shaped country music to what it is today, Bryan has been an influence to the music industry. He is what country music is a leader in where country music will go.

In Luke Bryan’s album “Crash My Party” he once again had great success where the album “notched a whopping five No. 1 singles of Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart” (Biography, Para.7). Two of his number one singles from this album show the diversity of Bryan as a singer. I would like to talk a little about both. “Drink a Beer” was a song that has been rumored to be written about all the tragedy that has happened throughout Luke Bryan’s life. He lost a sister, then a brother and then a brother-in-law. The song is real, it is life through the lenses of someone who is hurting and you can feel it in his music. He gives us the country feel with the twang in his voice and the instrumentation through the beginning of the song. There are the classic country instruments such as acoustic guitar, the electric guitar and the fiddle. Instead of a heavy drum set, Bryan pulls from Reggae music using a bongo drum and tambourine as his percussion instruments. Bryan’s song has a larger harmony than that of the typical three chord country music. But he brings it all back to the country style with his verse/chorus with a bridge delivery.

On the same album we get another no.1 hit but with a completely different feel. “Play it Again” takes us back into a love story about a boy trying to impress a girl by learning her favorite song and playing it on his guitar. It goes to country music when he throws in metaphors for being in a country like “talking over the speakers in the back of that truck” and “we were sitting out under the stars”. These phrases give us (or at least I think they do) of sitting out in the middle of nowhere in a pick-up truck listening to country. His voice once again adds a twang that makes the song feel country. We also do hear the country instruments such as electric guitar, drums and banjo. But he adds the synthesizers to this song showing progression to a more country pop. Bryan also carries his words over the melody throughout the course of the song. The electric guitar also gives us more of a rock feel then it does a country feel. It carries an upbeat rock rhythm over the country beat of the song. It also carries syncopations throughout the song which the use of is growing in country music.

I think Luke Bryan is an example of what Country is now, but he is also in his own way progressing Country music and should be a candidate for being put in an updated version of the textbook. He is taking country to new heist consistently having tracks that are hitting the Billboards. I suggest that Michael Campbell will have to look into him.

 

Extra: I thought it was also noteworthy that Luke Bryan is currently on the Billboard Hot Country list this week. He is at number 10 with “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”. Hope you enjoy.

 

Works Cited:

Billboard. 2018. Billboard Hot Country. Retrieved from: https://www.billboard.com/charts/country-songs

Billboard. 2018. Billboard Greatest of All Time Country Artists. Retrieved from: https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-country-artists

Biography. 2018. Luke Bryan Biography. Retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/people/luke-bryan

EBSOhost. 2016. The Masters of Music Row. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cyber.usask.ca/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d0a4ca46-1a27-4b5c-9dc6-2d7d52eea2fc%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=117133842&db=a9h

EBSCOhost. 2014. Cross Country. Retrieved from: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.cyber.usask.ca/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=46acd8ba-f661-4562-ada3-b3065d687922%40sessionmgr4007&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=97721669&db=a9h

Thefamouspeople. Luke Bryan Biography. Retrieved from: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/luke-bryan-14631.php

Image Retrieved from: http://www.tykellyandchuck.com/2018/02/05/luke-bryan-freaks-out-after-shooting-a-deer/

Youtube

Luke Bryan (2013, December 16). Luke Bryan – Drink a Beer. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM5aW83L_DE

Luke Bryan (2014, April 4) Luke Bryan – Play it Again. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALV-QtDFpSw

Luke Bryan (2018, July 25) Luke Bryan – Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c08Oz8AovU

Taylor Swift (2009, July 16) Taylor Swift – Our Song. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb2stN7kH28

To understand The Payola Scandal we first must understand what Payola is. Payola is the act of paying disc jockeys in order to gain more air time on the radio. It was a widely known practice through the 1950’s when rock and roll was becoming more popular for teenagers. It was not illegal then to take Payola, but it was illegal to take commercial bribery. (Marie H., 1:46, Video Attached Below). Payola became illegal in the early 1960’s and disc jockeys suddenly become criminals for doing something they had always done.  Many claim that Payola was the only way that rock and roll music would ever be on the radio while others believed something different, “several witnesses testified that payola existed long before rock-and-roll” (Sernoe, Pg.139).

Many people did not like Alan Freed’s music taste. He played many songs that came from Black singing groups and played Rock and Roll songs which parents and adults did not enjoy. When others in the music industry found out about Payola people came from far and wide admitting they had paid Freed to play their music. With so many people pointing fingers at him an investigation by Congress began. Once Freed began to be investigated may other disc jockeys began to be investigated as well, the other most known investigation being into Dick Clark. As many of these disc jockeys did not see they were doing anything wrong they admitted to every bribe they had taken and were dismissed with a slap on the wrist. Freed would not admit to any wrong doings and with evidence against him was charged with commercial bribery. The charges that were laid was such a downfall in the music industry that it essentially was the downfall to Rock and Roll music.

I found a short video on Alan Freed and how Payola played out in the 1950s and 1960s:

Of course, the two major players in the Payola scandal (as stated above) were Alan Freed and Dick Clark. Dick Clark admitted to all his wrong doings. Showed every cent of money he had taken and walked away with a small fine. There were many other charged in the scandal (I can not seem to find an exact number) that all admitted to what they had done and were left with the same outcome as Dick Clark, just a small fine. I believe that because it was such a common practice, although somewhat illegal, the courts had a hard time convicting them. It was more a warning to give to all the disc jockeys as well as other jockeys in the United States that this is now illegal and if caught after all these hearings there will be trouble.

I found a second video of Dick Clark speaking about the Payola Scandal, what it is and some of his thoughts on the Scandal. I found it interesting as you can see as he is speaking how he truly felt that there was nothing wrong with making a little extra money to play a record. But also, his feelings that he never dud take any money. It was the disc jockeys underneath him that were paid but like he said it was normal (at 1:16 in the video). Attached the video here:

Payola does still exist today it just has to be more open. “The act of exchanging cash or promotional consideration for airplay is not actually illegal in and of itself in the United States. Such exchanges are legal as long as they are done openly, providing some manner of public corresponding explanation of the character of the relationship between the parties involved” (Fairchild, Pg.1). It only becomes illegal if it is done secretly without anyone knowing. I believe that this is saying that instead of being paid directly, the record labels give radio stations some kind of compensation. Helping the radio station promote themselves (by donating money) or running a contest for the radio station to get their name out to the public.  It could just be a gift for the radio company making the record labels song become big, something that is still a pay off but is not necessarily giving them money to play their music. As long as it is in the public eye and there is a valid reason for the money then it is okay.

I have a hard time deciding if payola is a good or bad thing. I think there is pros and cons to having it. It is good as it gets new music on the radio. As many suggested, rock and roll may have never made it on the radio if it was not being paid for. So, if it is the only way that a record label can get a new song on the radio that sounds different than anything before it then maybe it is not such a bad thing. But, it is also quite unfair for a label to pay as one company may have much more money than another. If one company continuously pays a radio station to play their songs and another record label wants to do the same but cannot pay as much then it becomes unfair. Especially if the company that is paying less is getting more listeners and people that are enjoying their music more. I do feel if there was just a mix of all the record labels without any payola that would probably be the best.

Although, I also feel in the world we live in today and the future we will see that. With the rise of XM radio a consumer can pick any type of music they like. If they like country they pick the country station on the XM radio, if they like coffee house they pick the coffee house station. In that sense record labels will only have to promote themselves to those specific stations rather than to a large station that plays all popular music. I believe XM radio is becoming more and more popular and it could abolish payola in the future.

 

Lindsy

Works Cited

Fairchild, Charles. 2012. Alan Freed still casts a long shadow: the persistence of payola and the ambiguous value of music. Retrieved from: http://journals.sagepub.com.cyber.usask.ca/doi/pdf/10.1177/0163443711433667

Histoy.com. 2009. The Payola Scandal Heats Up. Retrieved From: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-payola-scandal-heats-up

Sernoe, James Lawrence. 2000. ‘It’s the same old song’: A History of Legal Challenges to Rock-and-Roll and Black Music. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.cyber.usask.ca/docview/304631095?pq-origsite=primo

Youtube

FoundationINTERVIEWS. (2012, Apr. 26). Dick Clark discusses the Payola Scandal – EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG. Retrieved From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oOe3jkXR-w

H., Marie. (2013, Feb.26). Alan Freed Payola Scandal

. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGycBSVu7xo

Paul Anka was a Canadian singer/songwriter who was born in Ottawa in 1941. Anka’s career as a singer started at a very young age with his firs hit “Diana” being a huge hit when he was only 16 years old. Anka knew how to give the people the music they wanted and became a star because of it.

Listening to Anka’s music I had heard the songs Diana and also Put Your Head on my Shoulder. I knew I wanted to discuss one of these two songs. Hence my look into Paul Anka’s – Put Your Head on My Shoulder.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvxagNIBVLU

Anka’s performance draws strongly on performers of his time such as Nat ‘King’ Cole and Frank Sinatra. One of the most recognizable similarities was the role that solo artists played. In this time era single artists were more prominent and there was a rising of members leaving bands to become solo artists (i.e. Cole leaving his trio). Additionally, like these singers, Anka delivers his song very personally. As listeners, we do not just hear the song, but we feel the song and we relate to it. We can hear that he is swooning a woman and wanting her to love him as much as he loves her. The song becomes about the words more than it does the melody that is played behind Anka’s voice. Because his voice becomes the most important part of the song he can incorporate stop time vocals on the some of his words. We hear it just before the words “Baby”, “show me” and “maybe”.

The musical influence continues as we begin to really listen to the song. It is a smooth ballad that has a strong jazz influence. We hear the influence in the four-beat rhythm that is known to jazz songs. The melody of the music just really softly swings. We hear the jazz rhythm and the syncopations in the drum in the background music. The melody that we can hear holds long lines and the drum through the bridge of the song has a strong backbeat. All things that were popularized by singers such as Nat Cole. Like Sinatra, Anka flows over the pulse of the music making the song very much his own. The texture becomes sultry and appealing to the teens of that era.

Many singers of this time have a distinctive sound and when you hear them you know who it is. As Anka is not played very much (or I am not listening to the right stations to hear him) I do not hear his music. But I do believe he puts out a different tone and he would be a singer that I would recognize in the future if I were to hear a different song made by him.

Paul Anka differs from other crooners of his era as he was not only a singer but a songwriter as well. He wrote many songs that became popular fast as he always knew what the music market was looking for. Some of the hits that Anka wrote include, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore for Buddy Holly and the theme for Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show…[and] Tom Jones’ bestselling record She’s a Lady, Donny Osmond’s cover of Puppy Love, Barbra Streisand’s Jubilation, and the English lyrics to the song My Way, which was made famous by Frank Sinatra and is one of the most memorable songs in modern music history” (CSHF, 2008). Anka had some hits from his own singing but had a lot of hits when it came to his songwriting. Here are some examples of the songs he wrote:

It Doesn’t Matter Anymore – Buddy Holly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygBo9Fmq5l4

My Way – Frank Sinatra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljrFQyE1hAg

The two songs show just how much he could change his style of writing to fit the wants of a society that had changing tastes. With It Doesn’t Matter Anymore we get a little Rock but a little Rhythm and Blues. We hear a string section that has strong interludes and a quick tempo. Which was popular music at that time. But his writing becomes more melodic and about Frank Sinatra’s voice in the ballad My Way. “Anka has always been ahead of the curve, anticipating changes in pop culture and absorbing new musical styles with ease” (CSHF, 2008)

Anka continues even now to write and play music. He has a knack for knowing how to change a song to make it new. He released an album of cover songs in 2007 entitled Classic Songs: My Way. The album sold many copies as the songs were popular hits such as “Mr. Brightside” and “Time after Time. He refurbishes songs to give them a new look. Anka was interviewed by the CSHF and he said this”’When you are a musician or a songwriter you dissect everything you hear,’ Anka has said. ‘A good song is a good song. And they usually can be done several ways.’” This is why Anka’s writing is so powerful.

Not only does the above show how he is different then other crooners but I also think it shows his significance to popular music. He continued to write in the style that was wanted at that time and had an ear for popular music. He consistently can play and write music that wants to be heard and can reach billboard status. His music also does not just get stuck in North America but spreads across oceans to hit charts in other countries such as England. He is a role model to look up to for Canadians, he was a boy from Ottawa that started working in his father’s restaurant that had big dreams (Biography, 2017).

Anka now is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, holds the title Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters in France, has received the Order of Canada, and has a star on not only Hollywood’s walk of Fame, but also on Canada’s walk of Fame. Inspiring.

I did not know much about Anka before beginning this blog so much of what I found out was interesting. But I was surprised by not what I read but what I heard. I found it surprising that he could take so many songs from different genres and give them such a different feel. I always forget how much I love jazz music that really swings until I hear it. Anka has an album entitled Rock Swings and I know every song on it but one, but I had never heard any of Paul Anka’s cover songs. I found myself listening to them throughout writing my blog. I enjoyed them a lot (I do not think I will listen to Van Halen’s Jump over Anka’s version ever again). He is so intuitive in his writing of music. The song is still the song I remember but just in a swing jazz melody. It was very fun and intriguing.

Just a taste of his covers, I think every Canadian should hear this. I love it.

Paul Anka – Jump (Cover from Van Halen)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlMq8DImlTI

Lindsy

Works Cited

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. 2008. Paul Anka. Retrieved From: http://www.cshf.ca/songwriter/paul-anka/

Gillet, Frank. 2013. Anka’s Away!. Retrieved from: http://go.galegroup.com.cyber.usask.ca/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA346138957&v=2.1&u=usaskmain&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

Nygaard King, Betty. 2010. Paul Anka. Retrieved From: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-anka-emc/

Unknown. 2017. Paul Anka Biography. Retrieved from: https://www.biography.com/people/paul-anka-3424

Unknown. 2011. Paul Anka Biography. Retrieved from: http://paulanka.com/biography/

 

All Songs were found on Youtube.ca

Hey everyone,

My name is Lindsy and I am working towards a degree in Psychology. I am taking Music as an elective course but am excited none the less. I played piano for over ten years and had won some awards as a child but no longer play. I wish I would have carried into adulthood with me. I am looking forward to learning about different music!

Thanks, Lindsy