MUS 354 Part 1 Facts Exam
When did the term "rhythm and blues" first appear as a billboard chart? -
correct answer ✔June 25, 1949; originally called "race records", then
"harlem hit parade", then back to "race records"; Jerry Wexler proposed the
term rhythm and blues in 1949.
The commercial growth of rhythm and blues during the decade following WWII
was a product of which four factors? - correct answer ✔-the economic and
social empowerment of African Americans
-a media revolution that introduced new recording formats and redefined the
role of radio
-the growing interest of whites in black music
-the crossover appeal of the music itself.
A central issue for African Americans after WWII - correct answer ✔equality;
racial, economic, and social
-in the war, often fought in segregated units
What did Harry Truman do in 1948? - correct answer ✔he signed an
executive order demanding an end to discrimination in the armed services;
moved the needle closer to integration
If WWI brought issues of equality to the fore, what gave the US reason to
respond to it? - correct answer ✔the postwar economic boom, the massive
,emigration of blacks from the rural South (to the N and W), US hypocrisy
regarding it's "defense of freedom", and the Cold War
two events that catalyzed the civil rights movement - correct answer ✔-
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which rescinded the "separate
but equal" policy sanctioned by the Court's 1896 decision in Plessy v.
Ferguson.
- In 1955, Montgomery, AL, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a
white person. When she was arrested and sent to jail, blacks in Montgomery
boycotted the municipal bus service for a year. Two years later, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
which advocated nonviolent protest modeled after that used by Mahatma
Gandhi in India.
how did R&B artists contribute to the civil rights movement in the postwar
years? - correct answer ✔indirectly; the appeal of their music heightened
awareness of black culture
-at the same time, R&B also benefited from the increased media attn. to U.S.
race relations
which two developments triggered a media revolution in the 1950s? - correct
answer ✔the emergence of commercial television and the development of
new record formats
-opened the door for R&B
what happened to the TV industry after WWII? - correct answer ✔it
mushroomed; In 1946, the industry only sold 6,000 television sets.
,-in 1949, sales topped 2 million sets.
-By the mid-fifties, television was a household staple, and the first color sets
were on the market.
-Television quickly took over radio's role as the primary source of all-purpose
entertainment.
what happened when TV took over radio's role as the primary source of
American entertainment? - correct answer ✔radio re-defined itself as a
medium, and began playing recorded music.
-most prominently played pop, but other stations offered alternatives, often
broadcast at odd times (i.e. late-night, early morning)
-Disc jockeys (DJs), a new breed of radio personality created by this
phenomenon, hosted these shows.
-Listeners tuned in for the DJ as well as the music.
-During these early years of radio programming, DJs chose their own music.
As rhythm and blues and rock and roll caught on, their ability to choose the
music that they played gave them enormous clout, which they abused on
occasion
What happened to record formats postwar? - correct answer ✔-Shellac 78s
had dominated the market; delivered about three minutes of popular music on
10-inch discs and about four minutes of classical music on 12-inch discs.
, -In 1948, Columbia Records began issuing long-playing (LP) records, that
revolved at 33 rpm. These were vinyl discs that held over half an hour of
music and didn't break when you dropped them.
-in 1949, RCA brought out the 7-inch 45 rpm single. This disc was also vinyl
and, despite its much smaller size, also held about three minutes of music.
-It took a while for these new formats to catch on because they required new
record players. However, by the mid-fifties, the new 45 rpm format had largely
replaced the 78.
-45s were directed at teens because of their convenience and durability
what is BMI? - correct answer ✔-Broadcast Music Incorporated
-a music licensing agency created in 1939 to collect fees on behalf of those
clients (blues and country musicians) not represented by ASCAP, the
licensing organization for pop songwriters and performers.
how did the development of BMI impact the music industry? - correct answer
✔-completed the infrastructure that allowed independent artists to come on to
the commercial scene
-indie industry grew in the late 40s and early 50s
-40s indie pioneer Leonard Chess sold his 45s from the trunk of his car
In the 40s and 50s, what was indie music? - correct answer ✔-country and
blues, mostly from black artists
