• Hard Rock fused with prog, pop, metal, opera, vaudeville, etc.
• Huge sound onstage and in studio: multiple overdubs, especially elaborate background vocals and layered guitars
• Charismatic, campy lead singer Freddy Mercury died of AIDS in 1992
• "We Are the Champions/We Will Rock you" is the anthem at many sporting events
• *Members: Freddie Mercury (vocals), John Deacon (bass), Roger Taylor (drums), Brian May (guitar)

By Queen

• Signature song from 1975 A Night at the Opera album
• Complicated structure (shifts in style from piano ballad to pseudo-opera to hard rock and back)
• Sense of humor/kitsch permeates throughout
• Became a hit again in 1991 after appearance in film Wayne's World

By Aerosmith

• This song is from 1975 Toys in the Attic album
• Considered by man to be the greatest American rock band
• Influenced by Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, R&B
• In 1986, this song was rerecorded with rappers Run-D.M.C. and became a hit again
• Members: Joey Kramer (drums), Steven Tyler (vocals), Tom Hamilton (bass), Brad Whitford (guitar), Joe Perry (guitar)

• Unprecedented amounts of money were being generated by rock musicians
  • Reflected in extravagant touring/lifestyles (jet planes, limos, entourages drugs, etc.)
  • Music industry and technology were catching up (merchandising, marketing, PA systems, etc.)
• Shows became more theatrical, stage production more elaborate
• In the age before MTV live showes were more essential part of bands' careers

• Examples of women being degraded, or sexually liberated feminist role models?
• During this era, some groupies became famous in their own right
• GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously)
  • Recorded an album with Frank Zappa
  • Pamela DeBarres, most famous member, has become a well-known author
  • Plaster casters

• Hard rock which emphasized visual spectacle/theatrical aspects
• Advocated sexual freedom, including androgynous stage personae and sometimes open bisexuality
• Generally lacked interest in social/political issues
• Important artists: David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Kiss

By David Bowie

• This song from the Young Americans album was his first #1 hit in the U.S.
• Quintessential "glam" artist, but has had a varied and diverse career, including film acting
• Ziggy Stardust--androgynous alter-ego. Image influenced by Japanese kabuki and avant-garde theater
• This song co-written by John Lennon and Carlos Alomar

By Alice Cooper

• Grew up in Detroit
• One of the first rock artists to deliberately set out to shock people
• Theatrical stage shows included guillotines, snakes, chickens, baby dolls, etc.
• Signed to first record deal by Frank Zappa

By Kiss

• Influenced by the New York Dolls
• Highly influential over-the-top live shows; pyro, explosions, "ego ramps," high wire flying, fake blood, etc.
• Simmons is marketing and merchandising genius
• Rock as theater/entertainment, not art
• *Members: Gene Simmons (bass), Paul Stanley (vocals/guitar), Ace Frehley (guitar), Peter Criss (drums)

• Fused country rock with blues and soul
• Returned rock to its southern R&B roots
• Projected outlaw-style Southern pride which resonated in post-Civil Rights era
• Important artists: Allman Bros., Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels

By the Allman Brothers

• Influenced by jazz and blues: improvisation a central part of their sound
• Slide guitar genius Duane died in a motorcycle accident in 1971; Oakley died a year later the same way
• Still tour and draw large crowds every year
• Live album At the Fillmore East is a classic
• 12 bar blues form
• *Members: Berry Oakley (bass/vocals), Jaimoe (drums), Butch Trucks (drums), Duane Allman (guitar), Greg Allman (vocals/organ), Dickey Betts (guitar/vocals)

By Lynyrd Skynyrd

• Signature 3-sound guitar
• Blues-rock influence
• Detailed, composed parts for instrumentalists; no improvisation
• 1977 plane crash killed Van Zandt, Gaines, and Gaines' sister Cassie (a background singer)
• Like Allmans, still draw large crowds on tour
  • Rossington is the only original member in the band
  • Live shows have always been central to their career
• *Members: Lean Wilkeson (bass), Allen Collins (guitar), Artimus Pyle (drums), Gary Rossington (guitar), Steve Gaines (guitar), Ronnie Van Zandt (vocals), Billy Powell (piano)

• Rock radio formatted catered to specific demographics (oldies, AOR [Album-Oriented Rock], R&B, Top 40, easy listening)
• Consolidation of power by recording industry
• Rock became big business
  
  • Arena tours
  • Multi-platinum sales
  • Non music-oriented corporations began buying record companies when they saw how much money could be made
• Punk rockers eventually rebelled against what they perceived to be bloated, stale

By Fleetwood Mac

• Late 60s version of the band (before Nicks and Buckingham) featured British blues guitarist Peter Green
• Evolved into a polished rock/pop band
• Phenomenal commercial success (Rumors album is one of the biggest-selling albums of all time)
• *Members: Mick Fleetwood (drums), John McVie (bass), Stevie Nicks (vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (guitar/vocals), Christine McVie (keys/vocals)

By Peter Frampton

• Was in British band Humble Pie early in career
• Special effect on this song: talk box
• One of the biggest "arena rock" stars of the '70s
• This double album was biggest-selling live recording ever at the time

By Elton John

• This song was from early in his career, before later excesses he became notorious for
  • Outrageous performances, glasses, costumes, etc.
  • Drug and alcohol problems (like many 70s rock stars)
• Prolific songwriter
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is perhaps his greatest album; this is from 1971 Madman Across the Water album
• Collaborates with Bernie Taupin, lyric writer

By Pink Floyd

• Roots in the '60s London blues-rock scene (name taken from two bluesmen)
• Moved into psychedelia and progressive rock styles
• Experimented with electronic sounds, concept albums
• The Wall was #1 in late 1979 and early 1980
• Creative leader Syd Barrett left band in 1968, replaced by David Gilmour
• *Members: Rick Wright (keyboards), Syd Barrett (guitar/vocals), Roger Waters (bass/vocals), Nick Mason (drums)

"What's Going On"

By Marvin Gaye

• Successful R&B career in the '60s on Motown
  • Duets with Tammi Terrell are especially notable
• This 1971 song and album mark an artistic departure
  • Gaye produced himself
  • Suite of songs organized around central character who is returning from Vietnam
  • Took on subjects like war and poverty that were typically avoided by Motown
  • Berry Gordy initially didn't want to release it

By Stevie Wonder

• Big success as a teen on Motown
• In 1971, renegotiated his contract with Motown at age 21
  • Gained complete creative control
  • His greatest artistic achievements came in this initial period of autonomy
• Clavinet: keyboard which plays famous hook in this song
• This song is from Talking Book album

By Sly and the Family Stone

• Sly Stone--leader
• Integrated racially and gender-wise
• Combined funk and psychedelic rock
• Larry Graham--innovative bassist
• Stone, Graham, and Stone's sister Rosie all sang lead vocals
• This song from the album Stand! went to #1

By The Jackson Five

• Last great act to emerge on Motown
• Michael became lead singer at age 6
• First group in history to have first four singles hit #1
• Giant crossover success--even became a Saturday morning cartoon show

• Named after discotheques, dance clubs where the music was played
• Began in underground scene in NYC (especially hispanic, black, and gay clubs)
• Experience is DJ/dance floor-oriented; typically no bands onstage
• Studio 54 was the most famous of the '70s disco clubs
• Foundation for Euro-dance, techno, and rave trends that followed

By Donna Summer

• The "Queen of Disco" began as a powerful gospel singer
• Song begins as a ballad, breaks into quintessential disco
• "Four on the Floor" kick drum pattern (all four beats in each measure played)
• Elaborate string and horn arrangements

By The Bee Gees

• This comeback hit marked second phase of career (were also successful '60s "blue eyed soul" group)
• Robin and Maurice are twins; younger brother Andy became teen idol in the '70s
• From 1977 film Saturday Night Fever double LP soundtrack (film starred John Travolta)
• Biggest selling albm ever until Michael Jackson's Thriller
• Helped bring disco to Middle America

• Jamaican musicians in the '60s influenced by Black Power movement in the U.S.
• Reggae grew out of the more uptempo Jamaican musical genre ska
• Rastafarian religion is at the core of this music
• Reggae and ska inspiured many punk and new wave musicians
• Jamaican dub mixes were also an important part of early hip-hop history

By Bob Marley and the Wailers

• Signed to Island Records in 1972; first Jamaican reggae band to have international success
• Wrote songs about spirituality and the struggles of poor Jamaicans
• Listen for piano playing "offbeats"--typical Jamaican sound
• The Wailers still tour (Peter Tash and Bunny Wailer were in the early version)

By Lou Reed

• Leader (with John Cale) of Velvet Underground
  • Seminal proto-punk band inspired by the Beats
  • Part of Andy Warhol's Factory scene
• Long and diverse career as a solo artist
• This song is from the 1973 album Transformer
  • Listen for doo wop influence
  • Produced by David Bowie
  • Reed's first pop hit

• Originated in NYC's Bowery district
  • Literary-minded avant-garde musicians like Patti Smith and Richard Hell helped define the sound, look, and aesthetic
  • CBGB's--club at the center of the scene
• An aesthetic as much as a musical style
  • Rebellion against veirtually all previous styles of rock music, but especially "corporate rock"
  • Rebellion against society/belief in anarchy
  • "DIY [do it yourself]" attitude
  • Ripped clothing signaled rejection of rock star clothes/attitude
• Minimalistic, aggressive, angry musical style
  • Belief that anyone should be able to play; virtuosity was unimportant

By The Ramones

• Considered by most to be the first punk rock band
• All band members took the last name Ramone [*members: Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy]
• Modeled look after '50s greasers like Gene Vincent (black leather jackets, t-shirts, jeans)
• Were less interested in art and politics (than others like Patti Smith and the Talking Heads
• Fast, short, raw, catchy, energetic songs

By The Sex Pistols

• First major British Punk band
• Represent working class anger at dismal economic conditions
• Violent live shows sometimes included Sid's self-mutilation
• Influenced by Iggy and the Stooges, Ramones
• Put together by clothing store owner Malcom McLaren
• Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols is their one album
• This song's release coincided with the Queen's Jubilee celebration
• Only together for 18 months
• *Members: Johnny Rotten (vocals), Sid Vicious (bass), Steve Jones (guitar), Paul Cook (drums)

By The Clash

• British punk band
  • Involved with social causes like Rock Against Racism
• More musical sophistication than some punk bands
  • Reggae and rockabilly influence
  • Great songwriting
• This song is from the classic London Calling album
• *Members: Joe Stummer, vocals/guitar

Elvis Costello--"Alison"

Talking Heads--"Burning Down the House"

The Cars--"Just What I Needed"

By Elvis Costello

• Pictured in slide with his band, The Attractions
• Helped usher in New Wave (punk attitude with more musical sophistication, cleaner image)
• Brilliant songwriting

By Talking Heads

• Part of avant-garde CBGB's scene
• One of the earliest New Wave bands
• First four albums produced by Brian Eno (formerly of Roxy Music)
• Experimentation with electronic sounds and technology, including keyboards
• *Members: David Byrne (vocals)

By The Cars

• Combined punk, new wave, and pop
• Ric Ocasek, singer/guitarist/creative leader
• Most commercially successful of the late 70s/early 80s new wave bands
• Made music videos which became MTV staples

• In the early '80s, Americans began buying VCRs and video games in large numbers
• Portable cassette players and boom boxes gained popularity
• New synthesizer, drum loop technology changed the sound of pop music
• CDs were introduced
  • Originally a windfall for the music business as music fans re-purchased their vinyl collections

By Michael Jackson

• From the album Thriller
  • Biggest-selling album of all time
  • Produced by Quincy Jones
  • Breakthrough video production
• Use of drum machines, synths
• One of the first black ("black" hahah) artists to get airplay on MTV
• Arguably the most successful and influential entertainer of all time

• Cable television arrived late 70s/early 80s in most American homes
• Music Television launched August 1, 1981
• First video: "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles
• Targeted young audiences and initially played very few black artists
• By the end of the 1980s, arguably replaced radio as the most important trendsetter in rock music

By Madonna

• Trendsetter for '80s dance music (outgrowth of '70s disco and R&B)
• This song was her first #1 song and album
• Like Jackson, exploited new video medium
• Brilliant control of her new image
  • Particularly "good girl" vs. "bad girl" dichotomy, demonstrated here [in slide photo]
  • Pastiche style through career

• The PMRC (Parental Music Resource Center) was a group of senators' wives led by Tipper Gore
• Believed that the music industry should submit to a rating system for content of recordings
• 1985 Senate hearings included testimony by Frank Zappa, Dee Snider (of Twisted Sister), and John Denver, who argued that musicians' First Amendment rights were being violated

By Prince

• This song from the classic Purple Rain album
• Brilliant performance (guitarist, singer, dancer, keyboardist, drummer, etc)
• Sexually suggestive songs/performance
• MTV staple in 1980s
• Subject of much controversy and targeted by PMRC

• "The Boss" was born in Freehold, NJ
• Signed by John Hammond (Columbia A&R)
  • First two albums didn't sell well
  • Fan base grew steadily over time
• Rooted in '60s idealism and music, unlike many other '80s stars
• Legendary live performances

By Bruce Springsteen

• Lyrics deal with working-class hopes and frustrations
• E Street Band--backup band
• Signature horn section sound (R&B influence)
• This album released in 1975; pop stardom arrived in 1984 with Born in the U.S.A. album
• AABA structure

• 1985 "We are the World" benefit for U.S.A. For Africa
• Band Aid and Live Aid--> both organized by Bob Geldof (of Boomtown Rats) for famine relief in Africa
• Paul Simon's Graceland album and Artists United Against Apartheid (run by Little Steven) raised awareness about horrors of South African Apartheid

By The Go-Go's

• Next generation of girl groups, but they played their own instruments
• One of the first successful all-female bands that weren't controlled by male managers and produces
• Fused New Wave and Pop (were part of the late '70s California punk scene)
• Lead singer Belinda Carlisle also had a successful solo career
• Success in England first

By Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine

• Born in Havana, Cuba, but grew up in Miami
• Fused Latin and pop
• The Miami Sound Machine started as a wedding band and built Hispanic following first
• Keyboardist/husband Emilio Estefan was the creative leader
• Predated '90s Latin pop explosion by a decade

By Milli Vanilli

• Dance-pop duo
  • Combination of hip-hop and Euro-dance styles
• "Rob and Fab" became the first artists ever stripped of a Grammy
• Models who lip synched to tracks recorded by studio musicians
• This song sold 7 million copies in the U.S. alone
• Became scapegoats for a technique that was fairly common

By Ozzy Osbourne

• Fired from Black Sabbath, released first solo album Blizzard of Ozz in 1980
• This song and controversial "Suicide Solution" are from that album
• Great showman, outrageous live shows
• Recent successes of Ozzfest and MTV reality show
• Accused in 1986 of encouraging suicide

By AC/DC

• Pure, visceral, minimalist hard rock
• Led by brothers Malcolm (rhythm guitar) and Angus (lead guitar) Young
• Their sister suggested Angus wear his school uniform onstage--became band's visual trademark
• Original lead singer Bon Scott died in 1980; replaced by Brian Johnson

By Cheap Trick

• Power pop band
• Fused pop, hard rock, funk, absurdist sensibility
• Melodic, beautifully-crafted songwriting
• From 1979 live At Budokan album
• *Members: Robin Zander (vocals), Tom Peterson (bass), Rick Nielson (guitars), Bun E. Carlos (drums)

Los Angeles

[in terms of '80s hard rock and metal]

• Center of '80s hard rock (aka "hair band") scene, especially the clubs around Sunset Strip
• Many LA bands sold multi-platinum during this time (Motley Crue, Poison, Guns 'N' Roses, Ratt, Van Halen)
• Album sales spurred by MTV airplay
• Visual image borrowed elements from '70s glam (men wearing makeup, long hair, tight pants, etc.)
• Generally decadent, non-politcally-motivated music scene

By Van Halen

• Van Halen brothers
  • Raised in the Netherlands, moved to California
  • Sons of a jazz musician
  • Clasically trained
• Virtuosic Eddie pioneered use of new guitar-playing techniques, i.e. "tapping" (playing with both hands on the neck of the guitar)
• This song from 1984 album marked a change on their sound (use of synthesizer) and transition to superstardom
• *Members: Alex Van Halen (drums), Michael Anthony (bass), David Lee Roth (vocals), Eddie Van Halen (guitar)

By Guns 'N' Roses

• Less polished than most hard rock bands at the time
• Brought back raw, sleazy, gritty, blues-influenced rock and roll
• This song from the influential 1987 Appetite for Destruction album (both went to #1 with the help of MTV, almost a year after initial release)
• The rise of grunge in early '90s speeded the end of this kind of music
• *Members: Axl Rose (vocals), Duff McKeagan (bass), Izzy Stradlin (guitar), Steven Adler (drums), Slash (guitar)

NWBHM

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• "The New Wave of British Heavy Metal"
• Musical movement in the late '70s/early '80s
• Inspired by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but harder, faster, and louder
• Led by Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and others

By Judas Priest

• Influential, true British "heavy metal" (this term gets misapplied quite often)
• Laid groundwork for speed and death metal in the '80s
• This song from 1982 Screaming for Vengeance album
• Leather and chains image (no spandex or makeup)
• *Members: Rob Halford (vocals)

By Def Leppard

• British band that fused pop and metal
• One of the first "metal" videos played on MTV
• Name spelling inspired by Led Zeppelin
• Produced by legendary Robert "Mutt" Lange
• This song from 1983 album Pyromania, which sold 6 million records
• Drummer Rick Allen lost left arm in 1984 car crash but continued to play in the band
• *Members: Joe Elliot (vocals)

By Journey

• Not metal--quintessential AOR band (album-oriented rock)
• Based in San Francisco area
• Started as jazz-rock fusion band before Perry joined
• Guitarist Neir Schon was in Santana at age 15
• Unusual structure: chorus appears once, at the end
• *Members: Steve Perry, vocals