LESSON 2: THE BIRTH OF ROCK (1955-1959)

It all started with the Bill Haley and the Comet's song Rock Around the Clock, featured in the 1955 Glenn Ford movie Blackboard Jungle. Many music historians credit this song, in this movie, as the start of Rock and Roll music. And I credit this song with sparking my interest in Rock music, as well.



As a kid I heard the song almost daily when it played in the opening credits of the TV show Happy Days, which I watched in syndication.  I even had a T-shirt that said "I'm the Fonz." Now, for a bit of trivia.  Rock Around the Clock was actually only used during the first two seasons of the show, and it was later replaced by the song Happy Days for remaining seven seasons.

Aside from the actual music, the kids were especially interested to learn about the day the music died, when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper were all killed in a plane crash. I've put the film The Buddy Holly Story in our Netflix queue so the kids can learn more about what happened that night.

So far the Summer School of Rock has been a success.  I even heard my six-year-old son singing Chuck Berry's song Maybellene in his room the other day. But his favorite song on the playlist is Yakety Yak by The Coasters.


Just like the early days of Rock, the Lesson 2 playlist contains a nice mix of R&B and Rockabilly: Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc.

LESSON 2 PLAYLIST:
Billy Haley & The Comets - Rock Around the Clock
Joe Turner - Shake Rattle and Roll
Little Richard - Tutti Fruitti
Chuck Berry - Maybellene
Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Elvis Presley - Hound Dog
Little Richard - Long Tall Sally
Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
Bobby Darin - Splish Splash
Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues
Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly
Louis Prima - Jump, Jive, An' Wail
Johnny Otis - Willie and the Hand Jive
The Coasters - Yakety Yak
Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops
Buddy Holly & The Crickets - That'll Be the Day
Richie Valens - La Bamba
The Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace
Gene Vincent - Be-Bop-A-Lula
Ray Charles - What'd I Say
The Isley Brothers - Shout
Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids - At The Hop
The Silhouettes - Get A Job
The Champs - Tequila

LESSON 1: BEFORE ROCK

The Summer School of Rock is now officially in session!

When you think about it, we live in a pretty incredible time as far as music is concerned.  With Sirus Radio, iTunes, YouTube, etc.,  music is everywhere. But less than 100 years ago music was harder to come by. Your only choice for music was live music – which you either played yourself or you went out to hear somewhere. But gradually the ability to listen to music evolved.  Radios became common, then record players, followed by television, with shows like American Bandstand. 

With the first lesson for the school of rock I wanted to let the kids listen to music that existed in America before 1955, which in my opinion is the year Rock & Roll started.

Before you can understand Rock & Roll it is important to look at the music from the 20s, 30s and 40s. Contained within these three decades you’ll find all of the ingredients that were brewing in American music. Jazz, swing, blues, country, show tunes, etc., all of these types of music eventually melted into Rock.

I’ve picked a sampling of some of my favorite songs from this 30 year period, from Al Jolson to Hank Williams. With this music there are a lot of things to discuss with the kids.  Like, why did Al Jolson sing in blackface?  Did Robert Johnson sell his soul to the devil? And who is Paul Robeson? 


I'll tell you who Paul Robeson is - he might be the most talented American a lot of people have never heard of. He could act, sing, play football and he graduated from Columbia Law School. He had an amazing life - if you don't know much about him you should Google him.  

For some added knowledge, I've put the movie The Glenn Miller Story, starring Jimmy Stewart, on the top of our Netflix queue. It's one of my favorite classic movies, which might explain why there are three Glenn Miller songs on my playlist.

Here is the complete playlist, which is available on iTunes.

LESSON 1 PLAYLIST

Al Jolson - Swanee

Paul Robeson - Ol Man River                  

Fats Waller - Ain’t Misbehavin

Duke Ellington - Take The A Train

Glenn Miller - In The Mood

Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade

Louis Armstrong - I’m In The Mood For Love

Judy Garland - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Cole Porter - You’re The Top

Fred Astaire - Puttin’On the Ritz

Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher

Glenn Miller - Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Artie Shaw - Stardust

Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago

Ella Fitzgerald - One For My Baby

Bing Crosby - Swinging On a Star

Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Benny Goodman - In A Sentimental Mood

Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa

Vaugh Monroe - Riders In The Sky

Hank Williams - Long Gone Lonesome Blues

Jackie Brenston - Rocket 88

My Musical Uneducation

I want to make sure my kids receive a proper education in music. My mom and dad didn't really care about the arts, and as a kid they didn't expose me to a lot of music. However, they did expose me to a lot of second hand smoke. 

My mom and dad had a record collection, about 5 LPs in total, hidden in a large piece of wooden furniture which also contained a record player and speakers. These albums, which I now realize were probably their "getting it on" music, consisted of a couple of Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis records. A strange musical library for two people who were for the most part pretty racist. 

We also had an AM clock radio, with a dial that was permanently fixed on 1070 WIBC, which aside from local Indiana farm reports, played sad-ass 70s country music - with lyrics like you picked a fine time to leave me Lucile, sleeping single in a double bed, don't make my brown eyes blue, etc.

My earliest musical memory occurred when I was about four. My mom taught me the lyrics to the songs Rhinestone Cowboy and Tie a Yellow Ribbon and forced me to perform these numbers, using our coffee table as a stage, whenever guests visited our house. I've repressed this for many years and only after a lot therapy am I finally coming to understand how this impacted me.

I also have a vivid memory of my dad strongly forbidding me from watching the KISS made for TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park when it was on television in 1978, causing a major rift between us, with deep emotional scars that linger to this very day. A classic example of old age suppressing youth. Seriously, what would have happened if I watched that movie?  I probably would have ended up worshiping Satan, or something. 

As an only child I didn't have an older sibling to help influence my exposure to rock music. I did have two slightly older next door neighbors, Pat and Brian. Their dad died of a heart attack before I was born, and as a result they didn't have a strong male role model in their life and they ran wild around the neighborhood; sometimes I got to tag along. Pat and Brian were my own personal white-trash version of Ricky and Doughboy from Boyz in the Hood. While they were a valuable resource for learning about things like torturing insects and lighting various items on fire with a magnifying glass, they were pretty worthless when it came to music. 

The first record I ever bought was a 45 single by the Village People. I made my dad drive me to the local record store the day after I saw the Village People guest star on the Love Boat. I really wanted YMCA,  but the store was all sold out. Instead, I had to settle for Village People's lessor known single San Francisco You've Got Me, a tribute to gay sex in the city by the Bay.  An odd choice for a five-year-old kid, and incredibly ironic considering my very homophobic dad approved the purchase.  I felt so cool buying my first record - until my dad embarrassed me by asking the stoned teenager behind the counter if he thought the song was rated G, PG, or R. Thirty five years later I remember exactly what the kid told my dad, "PG... I guess?" But the correct rating for the song is R, maybe even NC-17, and I am sure the record store dude had a good laugh for pulling one over on the old square dad. 

But then something magical happened to me when I was in elementary school.  My world, which was was previously void of good music got shattered - shattered by the debut of MTV. As a result I was exposed to some great music, which had a profound impact on me later in life. For example, I credit MTV for planting the seed for my love of British culture. In the early days of MTV they played of a lot of British music - Madness, Duran Duran, Culture Club, and I know that subconsciously this most have been a big factor in my decision to move to England later in life. I want to make sure my kids receive an exposure to music of equal magnitude - who knows what seeds will be planted for them that will blossom later in life. 


With that said, the Summer School of Rock Starts on June 1st.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The syllabus for our 12-week course is directly inspired by the blackboard from the film School of Rock, which covers over 70 years of the evolution of rock music.

Each week we will focus on two or three sub-genres of rock and the artists most influential within these particular categories of music.

A playlist will be posted that corresponds with the weekly lesson, which can be downloaded from iTunes and played in your car - in lieu of Justin Bieber.

And who knows - we might even learn to play a couple of cool riffs. 

Take a look at the chart below to see what we are going to cover this summer.

ENROLLMENT: 
The class is intended as something parents can do with their kids this summer, but it is open to anyone who loves rock music. Sign up to follow this blog by entering your email in the box below, and you'll receive an email notification for each new lesson and playlist.