Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jayfalvey/7654012284/ Permission: CC BY-ND 2.0
Introduction
The 1970s. After the raw excitement and revolution of the 1960s, the 1970s feels a bit like a hangover. Everything was “more,” as Campbell points out, but nothing was as fresh. The Beatles broke up in 1970. The Vietnam War waged on, and Americans were tired and angry about the senseless deaths resulting from it. Watergate eroded any remaining confidence in government. Drug use, credited for creating good vibes and spurring artistic innovation in the 1960s, had lost its sheen. The darker side of drug use would hit home in the early 1970s with the deaths by overdose of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison of The Doors, and Gram Parsons of The Byrds. As the decade progressed, Keith Moon of The Who, Sid Vicious of Sex Pistols, and Elvis Presley, among many others, would succumb to drug overdoses. As far as the music being made, artists like Elton John curbed innovation to increase sales; touring and stadium shows took the place of thoughtful concept albums and on stage spontaneity; spectacle replaced substance (see: KISS). Album-Oriented Radio (AOR) emphasized commercialism and record sales over art.
But great things still came out of the 1970s. The revolution and liberalism of the 1960s led to the Women’s Rights Movement and the Environmental Movement gaining momentum. Innovation was still happening in music, but in a context where rock was established and accepted – the teenagers of the 1950s and 1960s were grown and ready to settle down. The Who brought synthesizers to the forefront of rock and led the stadium tour trend that we still experience today. Led Zeppelin combined intense emotional power with technical virtuosity, helping solidify the early beginnings of heavy metal. Stevie Wonder, The O’Jays, and Sly and the Family Stone, among others, carried the torch lit by Berry Gordy Jr’s Motown success, and took black pop and funk in new directions. Reggae came to America and planted the seeds that would grow into rap and hip-hop. Carole King and Joni Mitchell brought female singer-songwriters to the forefront, David Bowie brought androgeny and alternate personas to the conversation, and disco created musical spaces for gays – particularly gay men – that had not been visible to the mainstream before. Punk emerged as a new form of revolution, reacting against musical form as much as it featured politically or socially critical lyrics, while New Wave emerged as a more complex, often more electronic, thinking person’s pop. And in Canada, the introduction of CanCon laws would create a separate, viable music industry in the country in a very short amount of time.
For a brief overview of some of the top music (commercially and/or most influential), spend some time with this clip from Mojo (a UK-based music magazine). Don’t worry too much about the rankings, or what was or was not included – it gives you a slice of the music of the time.
Now that we have explored most of the important styles necessary (jazz, blues, country, folk, Latin sounds, Motown, R&B, and rock and roll) we can start to really talk about influences. Consider these questions as you read through your textbook (not to be answered directly right now, but to fuel your bigger picture thinking): What aspects of blues music does Led Zeppelin borrow, and how do they use these sounds to innovate? In your listening, can you hear the connections drawing a line from Motown, through the Philadelphia sound, to disco? Comparing Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan, can you define where she is influenced by the folk sound of the 1960s, and what innovations she brings to the table, particularly in her album Blue? How were Steely Dan influenced by bebop and the writing of the Beat Generation? Adding three more extremely influential styles to our toolkit, what new sounds do reggae, funk, and punk have that we have not heard prior to this module? And after you have read and watched your supplementary learning materials, consider these questions: Did CanCon legislation bring any new influences or sounds to North American music? Do you feel CanCon was necessary? Does it continue to be necessary? Does the lecture from Michael McGerr (and the articles in the learning materials) change how you view the 1960s and 1970s (or even today’s) music industry and how the canon has been shaped? These types of questions may appear on your final.
Learning Objectives
When you have finished this module, you should be able to do the following:
- Explain the influences of commerce and technology on the music of the 1970s.
- Explain how artists challenged traditional gender performance in the 1970s.
- Describe the influences of Funk and Reggae.
- Explain the development of Punk, its influence and evolution.
- Explain the influences that created a culture of popular music in Canada.
- Explain how the rise of 2nd Wave Feminism challenged the rhetoric of counter-culture rock.
- Differentiate the key genres.
- Identify the key artists and their unique contributions to their genre.
- Define all terminology
Module Instructions
- Read and watch the Module 8: Learning Material.
- Please read Campbell units 13 and 14 (pages 234-277).
- As you read your textbook, visit the Module 8: Music page to listen to the musical examples.
- Post a response to one of the challenges if you plan to blog as part of your course assignments (see syllabus for details).
- Join the blog discussions if they interest you.
- Once you have completed your module work for the week, please go into the Blackboard course tools and complete the weekly quiz prior to the quiz deadline (see syllabus for details).
Key Terms, Concepts, and People
- CanCon
- MAPL
- AOR: Elton John
- The Who
- Heavy Metal: Led Zeppelin
- Stevie Wonder
- The Philadelphia Sound: The O’Jays
- Singer-Songwriters: Joni Mitchell
- Glam Rock: David Bowie
- Studio Recording & Steely Dan
- Funk: Sly and the Family Stone, George Clinton, Earth, Wind & Fire
- Reggae: Jimmy Cliff & Bob Marley
- Disco: Donna Summer & The Village People
- Punk: The Sex Pistols & The Clash
- New Wave: The Talking Heads