Rock Music in American Popular Culture III

More Rock 'n' Roll Resources

Frank Hoffmann, B Lee Cooper, Wayne S Haney

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317957591
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

Rock Music in American Popular Culture III: More Rock 'n'Roll Resources explores the fascinating world of rock music and examines how this medium functions as an expression of cultural and social identity. This nostalgic guide explores the meanings and messages behind some of the most popular rock 'n'roll songs that captured the American spirit, mirrored society, and reflected events in our history. Arranged by themes, Rock Music in American Popular Culture III examines a variety of social and cultural topics with related songs, such as:

• sex and censorship--"Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel and "Night Moves" by Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
• holiday songs--"Rockin'Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole
• death--"Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las and "The Unknown Soldier" by The Doors
• foolish behavior--"When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge and "What Kind of Fool" by Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
• jobs and the workplace--"Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police and "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley
• military involvements--"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the Andrews Sisters and "War" by Edwin Starr
• novelty recordings--"The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley and "Eat It" by Weird Al Yankovic
• letters and postal images--"P. S. I Love You" by The Beatles and "Return to Sender" by Elvis PreselyIn addition, a discography and a bibliography after each section give further examples of the themes and resources being discussed, as do extensive lists of print references at the end of the text.

Chapter 1

Child Performers

Brenda Lee, a Georgia-bom country artist who began her professional singing career at age six, charted two Top 100 national hits before her thirteenth birthday. Her most noted holiday-related song—“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”—was recorded for Decca records prior to her fourteenth birthday. Before Brenda Lee’s success, another thirteen-year-old youngster scored a No. 1 hit record with the Christmas novelty tune “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” Little Jimmy Boyd followed this hit-making 1952 debut with three Billboard-charted songs during the next six months: “Tell Me a Story,” “The Little Boy and the Old Man” (both duets with Frankie Laine), and “Dennis the Menace” (a duet with Rosemary Clooney). But even younger children have produced popular hit recordings. Seven-year-old Barry Gordon sang the 1955 holiday humor song “Nuttin’ for Christmas” and Jo Ann Morse, a youngster of the same age in 1962, produced a Kennedy-ribbing recording titled “My Daddy Is President.” Appearing with his father on the 1974 RCA recording “Daddy What If,” five-year-old Bobby Bare Jr. is undeniably one of the youngest hit makers ever. Finally, numerous recordings such as Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II),” Buzz Clifford’s “Baby Sittin’ Boogie,” and Tom Glazer’s “On Top of Spaghetti” have featured children’s choruses of wide-ranging ages.

The previous paragraph illustrates the roles of several young people as popular music performers. What is even more fascinating, though, is the variety of songs addressing children’s interests, images, perspectives, and youthful culture that have achieved Billboard Top 100 ranking since 1945. It is almost as though America’s postwar baby boom helped launch a new genre of kiddie-oriented records that have become long-term cultural staples. If the early rock era (1954–1964) marked the emergence of teenage control of the radio airwaves, the decade before and the years since have featured many paeans to those carefree preteens.

What kind of music has attracted youthful attention? What type of recordings will parents gladly purchase for their youngsters? After a rigorous review of the 1945 to 1985 Billboard Top 100 charts, the answers are obvious. Over the past four decades parents and children have been especially attracted to popular recordings featuring: (a) familiar animated characters (Alley Oop, Cinderella, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird, Snoopy, and Woody Woodpecker); (b) theme songs from Broadway shows, motion pictures, radio programs, and television series; (c) tunes with titles or lyrical content referring to toys, games, childhood chants, or slang terms; (d) references to major holidays, mythic characters, and comic situations (“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Purple People Eater,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” and “Peter Cottontail”); (e) depictions of family life (“Color Him Father,” “1432 Franklin Pike Circle Hero,” “Giddyup Go,” “Hello Mudduh, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp),” and “The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane”); (f) images from nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and other children’s literature (“The Children’s Marching Song,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “White Rabbit,” and “Little Red Riding Hood”); plus (g) a variety of general topics relating to education, food, and religion.

The following discography presents more than 120 Billboard-charted 45 rpm or 78 rpm records featuring children’s ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• About the Authors
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1. Child Performers
• Chapter 2. Christmas Songs
• Chapter 3. Death
• Chapter 4. Foolish Behavior
• Chapter 5. Honoring Excellence
• Chapter 6. Jobs and Workplaces
• Chapter 7. Novelty Recordings
• Chapter 8. Patriotism
• Chapter 9. Popular Music
• Chapter 10. Postal Images
• Chapter 11. Public Schools
• Chapter 12. Rock Songs
• Chapter 13. Scholarship
• Chapter 14. Social Commentary
• Chapter 15. Song Revivals
• Chapter 16. Tobacco
• Chapter 17. Western Images
• Bibliography
• Index