I believe that it was a combination of both Sam Phillips and the artists that came to him that contributed to the creation of rock n roll. Sam Phillips provided for the recording of the sound in a manner that paved the road that was then and now known as rock n roll. His recording style and ideas for recording introduced distortion to the current genre of blues and jazz. Both blues and jazz are still regarded as the predecessor to modern day rock n roll as in what it was back in the late 70's and to the mid 90's.
The artists on the other hand provided for the traffic on the road. The road is there but no one knew too much about it to travel on it. Sam Phillip's influence on these artists helped them experiment with the sound and give birth to rock n roll. The potential of rock n roll was always there but artists during the 50's were so used to what they knew that they were slightly afraid to dive into an unknown area. With effort both Phillips and the artists in an equal effort contributed into the creation of rock n roll.
In my opinion, I believe both of them equally contributed to the success of Rock n' Roll at that time. There cannot be one without the other. Both sides need to equally contribute in order for the main goal to be accomplished. In It Still Moves, Petrusich explains Phillips' journey as one of Rock n' Roll's many contributors and states, "Sam Phillips began recording local musicians almost immediately," (34). This shows Phillips' passion for bringing young talent into the music business and eventually getting them into the spotlight. This way, Sam was able to scout for energetic musicians, who had lots of potential, and turning them into Rock n' Roll legends. One way I can relate this to modern times is the partnership of producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. Dr. Dre paved the way for a lot of rappers currently in the music business. Like Phillips, Dre also believed young, upcoming artists had a lot of potential. Eminem and Dre have worked on numerous albums together and have had plenty of success along the way.
As important it is for producers to contribute to the actual music, the artists obviously are the other half of the reason that people want to listen to. For example, Elvis Presly , the King of Rock n' Roll, was accidentally discovered when he went into Phillips' Sun Studio and recorded two songs for his mother's birthday. Eventually, Phillips' secretary played back Presly's recording to him, who decided to record Presly's first song a year later. It was the voice of Presly itself that seemed appeasing to Phillips and his secretary. Presly's voice just had that spark that Phillips found energizing, and ultimately, Elvis became a legend because of that discovery and his voice. Again, this can be related to the partnership Eminem and Dr. Dre began about thirteen years ago, which they still have today. Eminem was discovered by having one of his songs played back for Dre, and they both worked on one of Eminem's first albums. Just like Presly in his time, Eminem is one of the most iconic rappers still popular today. It is a mutualism relationship in the music business. The artist has the vocal talents and the producer has the production skills.
Both Sam Phillips and the artists were essential to the development of rock n roll. They both relied on each other. It was Phillip's initial interest that made him want to record artists with a different sound and style that people were accustomed to. However it was the artists, such as Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis, that made songs popular and turned them into classics. It's the same with television shows or movies, it takes witty writers and great actors to make something successful. One does not necessarily contribute more because one would not work without the other.
In my opinion it was a joined effort. Sam Philips gave hope for the “race records” to come out. He was the first studio owner who allowed the African American artist to record their music and for it to be heard in radios. He helped blues music to come out of the shadow and become popular and for it to grow. He was responsible black and white music coming into one. As Petrusich states in Chapter 3, “Musically, Sam Phillips purposefully engineered the foundations of early rock ‘n’ roll and was responsible for more than just pressing the record button […] Phillips pushed for passion, sloppiness, and a certain lack of sophistication.” His experiments with sound are now shown in rock n roll.
The artists, however, made the sound of rock n roll know. What makes people listen to these songs is the artist’s personality and voice, the way they make the song sound. Elvis Presley was discovered through his voice, which is what made Marion Keisker so drawn to him. The "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats is credited by many to be the first rock n roll song that was put together by Ike Turner and his band. Sam Phillips was not the one that wrote the lyrics or the melody for the sound, it was the artist. Elvis was popular for his music because people loved him, the way he moved and the way made his voice sound. Artists are what makes any type of music come alive.
It was Sam Phillips who contributed more to "Rock n' Roll." The first one to start recording and spreading music created by anyone, not only the white artists, he paved the way for rock n' roll. By building experimental contraptions to improve the sound he allowed for new ways to express and create music. Without his strides to change, and improve musical sound, and his desire to get the records of black musician out into the world, there would be no rock n' roll music for musicians like Elvis Presley to perform.
Sam Philips not only tried to improve the sound, he tried to blend it, trying to find white artists who could "give the feel and true essence of a blues-type song, black blues especially"(pg 49) to spread the music to a wider population. Yes, the artists did help spread the rock n' roll theme however in my opinion they were the "tools" Sam Philips used to achieve his goals of spreading and modifying music.
I believe that it was a combination of both Sam Phillips and the artists that came to him that contributed to the creation of rock n roll. Sam Phillips provided for the recording of the sound in a manner that paved the road that was then and now known as rock n roll. His recording style and ideas for recording introduced distortion to the current genre of blues and jazz. Both blues and jazz are still regarded as the predecessor to modern day rock n roll as in what it was back in the late 70's and to the mid 90's.
ReplyDeleteThe artists on the other hand provided for the traffic on the road. The road is there but no one knew too much about it to travel on it. Sam Phillip's influence on these artists helped them experiment with the sound and give birth to rock n roll. The potential of rock n roll was always there but artists during the 50's were so used to what they knew that they were slightly afraid to dive into an unknown area. With effort both Phillips and the artists in an equal effort contributed into the creation of rock n roll.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe both of them equally contributed to the success of Rock n' Roll at that time. There cannot be one without the other. Both sides need to equally contribute in order for the main goal to be accomplished. In It Still Moves, Petrusich explains Phillips' journey as one of Rock n' Roll's many contributors and states, "Sam Phillips began recording local musicians almost immediately," (34). This shows Phillips' passion for bringing young talent into the music business and eventually getting them into the spotlight. This way, Sam was able to scout for energetic musicians, who had lots of potential, and turning them into Rock n' Roll legends. One way I can relate this to modern times is the partnership of producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. Dr. Dre paved the way for a lot of rappers currently in the music business. Like Phillips, Dre also believed young, upcoming artists had a lot of potential. Eminem and Dre have worked on numerous albums together and have had plenty of success along the way.
ReplyDeleteAs important it is for producers to contribute to the actual music, the artists obviously are the other half of the reason that people want to listen to. For example, Elvis Presly , the King of Rock n' Roll, was accidentally discovered when he went into Phillips' Sun Studio and recorded two songs for his mother's birthday. Eventually, Phillips' secretary played back Presly's recording to him, who decided to record Presly's first song a year later. It was the voice of Presly itself that seemed appeasing to Phillips and his secretary. Presly's voice just had that spark that Phillips found energizing, and ultimately, Elvis became a legend because of that discovery and his voice. Again, this can be related to the partnership Eminem and Dr. Dre began about thirteen years ago, which they still have today. Eminem was discovered by having one of his songs played back for Dre, and they both worked on one of Eminem's first albums. Just like Presly in his time, Eminem is one of the most iconic rappers still popular today. It is a mutualism relationship in the music business. The artist has the vocal talents and the producer has the production skills.
SR
Both Sam Phillips and the artists were essential to the development of rock n roll. They both relied on each other. It was Phillip's initial interest that made him want to record artists with a different sound and style that people were accustomed to. However it was the artists, such as Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis, that made songs popular and turned them into classics. It's the same with television shows or movies, it takes witty writers and great actors to make something successful. One does not necessarily contribute more because one would not work without the other.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it was a joined effort. Sam Philips gave hope for the “race records” to come out. He was the first studio owner who allowed the African American artist to record their music and for it to be heard in radios. He helped blues music to come out of the shadow and become popular and for it to grow. He was responsible black and white music coming into one. As Petrusich states in Chapter 3, “Musically, Sam Phillips purposefully engineered the foundations of early rock ‘n’ roll and was responsible for more than just pressing the record button […] Phillips pushed for passion, sloppiness, and a certain lack of sophistication.” His experiments with sound are now shown in rock n roll.
ReplyDeleteThe artists, however, made the sound of rock n roll know. What makes people listen to these songs is the artist’s personality and voice, the way they make the song sound. Elvis Presley was discovered through his voice, which is what made Marion Keisker so drawn to him. The "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats is credited by many to be the first rock n roll song that was put together by Ike Turner and his band. Sam Phillips was not the one that wrote the lyrics or the melody for the sound, it was the artist. Elvis was popular for his music because people loved him, the way he moved and the way made his voice sound. Artists are what makes any type of music come alive.
MF
It was Sam Phillips who contributed more to "Rock n' Roll." The first one to start recording and spreading music created by anyone, not only the white artists, he paved the way for rock n' roll. By building experimental contraptions to improve the sound he allowed for new ways to express and create music. Without his strides to change, and improve musical sound, and his desire to get the records of black musician out into the world, there would be no rock n' roll music for musicians like Elvis Presley to perform.
ReplyDeleteSam Philips not only tried to improve the sound, he tried to blend it, trying to find white artists who could "give the feel and true essence of a blues-type song, black blues especially"(pg 49) to spread the music to a wider population.
Yes, the artists did help spread the rock n' roll theme however in my opinion they were the "tools" Sam Philips used to achieve his goals of spreading and modifying music.
AS