Blitzkrieg Bop

Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone and Tommy Ramone these are names of the members of one of probably the most influentail and energetic band formed in the USA in 20th century - Ramones. The band was found in 1974 in New York and theye were touring almost non-stop for 22 years.

The group is considered among with Sex Pistols(UK) to be the first band which played Punk Rock and defined the genre. They also have a big role in forming the final picture of Punk subculture in the United States. 

Although, the band didn't reach the comercial success(it wasn't their aim anyway) they were appreciated  by music critics and called one of the most important bands in the Rock music history. 

They have 26th place in the Rolling Stone Magazine list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and 17th in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".On March 18, 2002, the original four members and Tommy's replacement on drums, Marky Ramone, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Task:

List at least 3 bands which performed similar music in the 1970's.

It ain't nothin' but the BLUES

Blues is a music genre which originated by African Americans in the Deep South of the USA. Its coming out is dated around the e

nd of 19th century. The genre have its roots in African American work songs and European American folk-music.

Lyrics of Blues describes the emotions between men and women: passion, love,
jealousy, loneliness, betrayal. The artists sing also about getting over a hard luck, keeping one's chin up, however there are also motives of regret and helplessness. One of Blues' main assumptions is that the music should allow the artist to express him or herself through it and to allow the musician to feel the relief after hard times.

Most commonly used instruments in Blues music nowadays are guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and harmonica. However, the instruments which were used at first were more primitive. In the beginnings of Blues there were jew's-harp and bells.

Blues Artists

"Ma" Rainey (Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett)

B.B. King (Riley B. King)

Task

Which are main similarities and differences between Blues and Jazz?

The History of Jazz

Jazz is a music genre which originated from African American society in New Orleans between 19th and 20th century. Jazz was born due to the New Orleans tradition of celebration so called "The Melting Pot of Sound". The variety of music styles like opera, military marching bands, folk music, the blues, different types of church music, ragtime, echoes of traditional African drumming, and all of the dance styles were melted into a one new genre called jazz. What is interesting is that jazz musicians from those days invented our nowadays well-known drum set.

Jazz is characterized by swung and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. The most characteristic instruments are double bass, drums, guitar(typically electric guitar), piano, saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, trombone, vocals, vibraphone, Hammond organ, harmonica.

I will present you here some of the most influential Jazz artists in history:

Louis Armstrong

Duke Ellington Charlie Parker

Task: Can you find some more information about "The Melting Pot of Sound"?

Good Spell

The word "Gospel" originates from the words "good spell" not "god spell" as many people tend to believe. It is the genre of Christian music developed in 19th century. Gospel music usually has dominant vocals. Moreover, it is composed for various purposes e.g. aesthetic pleasure, ceremonial or even as an entertainment product for marketplace. The Gospel music has its roots in the black oral tradition and originates from African American religious experience. In fact the traces of this genre can be found even in 17th century. It utilizes a lot of repetitions, which at first was used to enable ones who couldn't read to participate in worship.

Probably the name "Gospel Song" was first officially introduced in 19th century in 1874 by Philip Bliss who realeased a songbook entitled "Gospel Songs. A Choice Collection of Hymns and Tunes." He introduced a new type of church music which was easier to grasp and easier to sing than the traditional church hymns and it served the needs of mass revivals in the great cities. 

The music itself in general is characterized by dominant vocals with strong use of harmony and referencing lyrics of Christian nature. There are several subgenres which include "contemporary gospel", "urban contemporary gospel(black gospel)", "southern gospel" and "modern gospel music". Some of them utilize choirs, use piano or Hammond organ, tambourines, drums, bass guitar and electric guitar.

Music in 18th century

The music of wealthy americans of 18th century was the Classical Music. People in U.S. were interested in this genre because of remembrance of their origin. The European Classical musicians were highly valued, they mostly listened to Bach, Beethoven and Haydn. The first classical concert in America took place in Boston in 1731 and was called "Live music on various instruments".

After about 30 years since the first Classical concert was held in Charlestown The Association of St. Cecilia was found which allowed to form the first full-time orchestra in U.S.A. The musicians were paid by rich patrons of the arts or by subscriptions which were enabling buyers to attend all concerts within one series.

What is interesting is the fact that one of The Founding Fathers i.e. Benjamin Franklin not only played on such instruments like guitar or harp but also he invented one called glass harmonica,which is shown above. Furthermore, it was such interesting instrument that even Mozart composed an adagio for glass harmonica.

William Billings is considered to be the foremost representative of early American choral music. He was born in Boston in 1746. His "New England Psalm-Singer" which was released in 1770 was the first collection of music entirely composed by an American. As a matter of fact Billings wasn't educated in musics and he was mostly self-trained. Unfortunately he died in poverty on September 26, 1800. Before he died he was married and had six children.