Influential Cultural Movements and Figures in Music History

Posted on Apr 19, 2024 in Music

Acid Rock

  • Started in the 1960s
  • Form of psychedelic rock
  • Songs about LSD, drugs, and getting high
  • Featured long instrumental solos
  • Notable bands: Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Moby Grape

Beat Generation

  • Literary movement from the 1950s-1960s
  • Originated in New York
  • Embraced drugs, alternative sexuality, rejection of materialism, and non-conformity

Bebop

  • Form of jazz from 1940s NY
  • Developed by Charlie Parker
  • Emphasized technique and complex harmonies

Pat Boone

  • Born Charles Eugene Boone on June 1st, 1934
  • American singer, actor, and writer
  • Successful pop singer in the 1950s-1960s
  • Had 38 top 40 hits and appeared in over 12 Hollywood movies

CBGB’s

  • Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973 Manhattan, NY
  • Known for American punk and new wave bands
  • Closed in 2006

D*ck Clark

  • Born Richard Wagstaff Clark on November 30th, 1929
  • Hosted American Bandstand and The D*ck Clark Show
  • Annual New Year’s Eve show on December 31st

George Clinton

  • Born on July 22nd, 1941 in Kannapolis, North Carolina
  • Worked in a barbershop
  • Member of doo-wop group The Parliament

Cool Jazz

  • Response to bebop jazz
  • Early musician: Miles Davis in 1948
  • Popular among white musicians
  • Lennie Tristano was a key figure

Cotton Club

  • Opened in the 1920s
  • Speakeasy in Harlem with diverse entertainment
  • Hosted famous blues and jazz performers like Ethel Waters and Duke Ellington

Marcus Garvey

  • Born on August 17th, 1887 in Jamaica
  • Civil rights activist
  • Founded UNIA and ACL
  • Jamaica’s first national hero

Marvin Gaye

  • Born on April 2nd, 1939 in Washington D.C.
  • Singer, songwriter, and producer
  • Successful solo career and duet songs
  • Tragically shot by his father

Berry Gordy

  • Born on November 28th, 1929 in Detroit, Michigan
  • Founded Motown Records in 1959
  • Inducted into the Independent Music Hall of Fame
  • Sold his music company in 1988

Bill Grundy

  • Born on May 18th, 1923, died on February 9th, 1993
  • English television presenter
  • Former host of the Today show
  • Infamous for interview with the Sex Pistols

Haight-Ashbury

  • District in San Francisco popular with hippies in the 1960s
  • Known for bohemian influences and counterculture

Albert Hofmann

  • Swiss scientist
  • First to synthesize and study LSD
  • Died at age 102

Human Be-In

  • Music festival at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on Jan. 14, 1967
  • Precursor to the Summer of Love
  • Introduced the word ‘psychedelic’

Jerry Lee Lewis

  • Born on September 29, 1935
  • American rock n’ roll and country singer, songwriter, and pianist
  • Inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame

Timothy Leary

  • American psychologist and writer
  • Advocate for psychedelic drugs like LSD
  • Conducted experiments at Harvard University
  • Believed in therapeutic potential of LSD

Mods

  • Movement in the 1950s
  • Subtle fashion group compared to Rockers
  • Emphasized dressing well while working

Motown

  • Record company founded by Berry Gordy
  • Played a role in racial integration of popular music
  • Originally in Detroit, later relocated to LA

New Wave

  • Rock genre emerging in the 1970s alongside punk
  • Incorporated electronic and experimental music
  • Mainstream from late 1970s to mid 1980s

Notting Hill Race Riots

  • Racially-motivated riots in London during August-September 1958
  • Teddy boys attacking Jamaican immigrants in Notting Hill

The Ramones

  • American punk rock band formed in NYC in 1974
  • Credited as first punk rock group
  • Performed over 2,000 concerts

The Sex Pistols

  • English punk rock band formed in London in 1975
  • Initiated the punk movement in the UK
  • Managed by Malcolm McLaren

Sly and the Family Stone

  • American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco
  • Active from 1967 to 1983
  • Pioneers of soul, funk, and psychedelic music

Stock Aitken Waterman

  • English songwriting and record company
  • Produced dance music and hits
  • Members: Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, Pete Waterman

Swing

  • Jazz evolution in the 1930s
  • Developed by Benny Goodman and Count Basie
  • Orchestra music with little improvisation

Teddy Boys

  • 1950s subculture of working-class teenagers
  • Wore Edwardian suits to rebel against the establishment

Zoot Suit

  • Popular in 1940s black community
  • Symbol of rebellion during the Great Depression
  • Men’s suit with unique style