Performers in the Samba de Roda festival, a music and dance celebration in the Bahia region of Brazil.Mountain Chief recording on a phonograph for Frances Densmore, 1916.Sculptures on the Jagdish Temple, Udaipur of musicians, one of which plays an instrument similar to the Rudra veena.The Seikilos column with the Seikilos epitaph, dated to the 2nd-Century CE or later.The ‘80s was creating a pop-music culture like no other decade had before it, a culture that would carry through in the decades to come. The latter became the most successful female artist of the decade, with songs like “Like A Virgin”. Female pop powerhouses were also coming into play, like Whitney Houston and Madonna. His music, which pulled from pop, rock, funk, and so much more, coupled with his extravagant and flamboyant presence catapulted him into a spotlight never truly faded away.
Jackson was becoming the biggest pop star of the decade, followed closely by Prince, who had his own pop stardom to claim. And the artists who emerged in these years were revolutionary for pop-Michael Jackson’s Thrilleris still the best-selling album of all time. Suddenly, synthesizers and electronic sounds could be put into pop music, and as this kind of dance-pop developed, so did genres like techno. Meanwhile, Queen was venturing from their hard rock song into the arena rock and pop rock that was so popular on the radio at the time, and the Jackson 5 was becoming a pop phenomenon with their own hit singles, like “I Want You Back” and “ABC”.ĭigital recording became huge in the ‘80s, and the possibilities it offered allowed pop music to grow even more. “Bennie and the Jets” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” are regarded today as musical classics. Elton John, with his repertoire of diverse sounds ranging from pop ballads to arena rock songs, became one of the biggest pop stars of the time. But the biggest thing the ‘70s did for pop music came in the form of a pop-rock sound: this was the beginning of the era of the Jackson 5, Elton John, and Queen. Suddenly, the hooks and melodies of pop were intertwining with the twang and drawl of country music. At the same time, country pop was emerging, which stemmed from country artists’ attempts to reach a more mainstream audience. In their place came the subgenre of power pop, a mix of punk rock and pop, defined by bands like the Romantics, and Cheap Trick. Those subgenres of pop began towards the end of the ‘60s, but died out in the ’70s. Now, bands were introduced into the fray, and pop was splitting into sub-genres that included Bubblegum pop-defined by its upbeat sound and its direct aim at teen audiences-and Baroque pop, which blended pop and rock and baroque music together. Through all of this, the pop genre was forming into something not solely defined by the American solo-pop artists of the previous decade.
Their single, “Over and Over” was number one on American charts in 1965, beating out the Beatles. Other bands that took part in this invasion included the English pop rock group, The Dave Clark Five. The Beatles were among these acts, and their mix of beat, rock, and pop ballads immediately took over American pop charts. The British Invasion brought rock and pop music and bands to the U.S., where they became wildly popular. But the true driving force of pop in the ‘60s came from across the Atlantic, with Beatlemania and the British Invasion into the American charts. Pop was traveling, and picking up influences - from the beaches of California, bands like the Beach Boys were taking the harmonies from traditional pop songs and layering them with the “surf rock” rhythm that they became known for.
MUSIC THROUGH THE AGES PORTABLE
Through its beginning, pop had been characterized by its largely teen fan base, and in the ‘60s, when the portable radio was introduced, it became even easier for teens to take their tunes wherever they went. This decade was also one of celebration for Elvis Presley, who came around in 1953, and whose songs, like “Hound Dog” were some of the most loved of the time. He was combining country, blues, and folk music with the mainstream rock sounds that everyone was listening to, and the result was something that took the focus away from the large, sweeping orchestras of the previous decades, and placed it on the emotion of the music, evident in the sounds of artists like Johnnie Ray, Frankie Laine, and Guy Mitchell - all of whom worked with Mitch Miller. Miller worked at the most successful label of the time, Columbia Records, and he working with the label’s big artists to create a sound that was not confined to one simple genre. Rock was growing, and at the same time as it did, the beginning of true pop music was growing too, out of the creations of producer Mitch Miller. In the ’50s, the music of the previous decades-including swing music and crooning vocals-was being replaced.