History of Pop Music

• A term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular”.

• The genre popular music originated in its modern form in the 1950s, deriving from rock and roll.

• The term "pop song" is first recorded as being used in 1926.

• According to Grove Music Online, the term "pop music" "originated in Britain in the mid-1950s as a description for rock and roll and the new youth music styles that it influenced.

• Chambers Dictionary mentions the contemporary usage of the term "pop art“.

• Since the late 1950s, however, pop has had the special meaning of non-classical music.

• Some of the most well known names in history such as; The Beatles, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, ABBA etc…

What is Pop Music?

• Early British popular music, in the sense of commercial music enjoyed by the people, can be seen to originate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the arrival of the broadside ballad as a result of the print revolution, which were sold cheaply and in great numbers until the nineteenth century. Further technological, economic and social changes led to new forms of music in the nineteenth century, including the brass band, which produced a popular and communal form of classical music. Similarly, the Music hall sprang up to cater for the entertainment of new urban societies, adapting existing forms of music to produce popular songs and acts. In the1930s, the influence of American Jazz led to the creation of British dance bands, who provided a social and popular music that began to dominate social occasions and the radio airwaves.

• Parlour music" was popular music performed in the parlours of middle class homes by amateur singers and pianists.

• Broadside ballads were arguably the first form of commercial popular music in Britain. They were a product of the development of cheap print from the sixteenth century

Early Pop Music

• Origins Of Pop Music. Pop music, which accounts for the majority of the music on todays charts, is an a genre which includes a mix of many different styles of music which vary from jazz to country; rock and roll to rap; be-bop to hip-hop.

• Sheet music was a big thing with pop music, as it is literally written song notes, which would get families together and then played on an instrument.

• Publishers of sheet music set up companies to meet the demand of those desiring their products, and would often scout out new composers and have their music made available in printed form for sale.

• When pianos gave way to the phonograph around the beginning of the 20th century, popular renditions of music followed with them. By the mid 1920s, a new music called jazz with a new peculiar rhythm. Later African derived art form music called "blues“, soon helped transform the music that was heard.

Origins of Pop Music

• The most significant feature of the pop music industry of the late18th and early 19th centuries was the extent of its focus on the commodity form of sheet music“.

• Pop music is generally described as very commercial friendly, marketable and memorable, with either vocals, lyrics, instruments, or a combination of all three creating catchy choruses or verses.

• The goal is to automatically create visual content in responses to the feature extracted from the music.

• To give a visually coherent representation of the sound.

Features of Pop Music.

• 1956: Elvis Presley emerges as one of the worlds first rock stars. With so many hit songs, he was referred to as the king of rock n roll. He is one of the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music.

• 1957: John Lennon meets Paul McCartney. In March 1957 John Lennon formed a skiffle group called The Quarrymen. McCartney met Lennon on 6 July 1957, and agreed to join the group a few days later.

• 1957: The first official Quarry Men performance. The first "official" public, albeit unsuccessful, performance by The Quarry Men - they failed to impress when they auditioned before the promoter Carroll Levis.

• Late 1950s: The English rock music group Beatles was formed. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr were the members of the group. Most lyrics and music were written by Lennon and McCartney. The decade 1960-70 was dominated by the Beatles.

• In 1958: Michael Jackson and Madonna were born, these are 2 of the most well people in the pop music industry.

The 50s!

• 1960: Pete Best joins the Beatles, The group invited Pete Best to become their drummer on 12 August 1960. Four days after hiring Best, the group left for Hamburg. The Beatles began a 48-night residency in Hamburg at Bruno Koschmiders Indra Club.

• 1961: American country singer Patsy Cline becomes a mainstream pop music hit. Cline was the first female vocalist who adapted to the change and became a successful pop singer.

• Ziggy Marley is born: David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born October 17,1968, Trenchtown, Jamaica) is a four-time Grammy-winning Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody makers.

The 60s!

• 1972: Michael Jacksons first solo hit "Ben" reaches No. 1"Ben" is a number-one hit song recorded by the teenager Michael Jackson for the Motown label in1972. The song, theme of a 1972 film of the same name, spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop chart. It also reached number-one on the Australian pop chart, spending eight weeks at the top spot.1974: Michael Jackson introduces "The Robot“.

• In 1974, during a performance on "Soul Train," Jackson introduced a dance called the robot.

• 1975-83: Popularity of disco and hip-hop lead to the popularity of pop. The movie Saturday Night Fever was released. Disco music gained popularity. Hip-hop emerged as a blend of rock, jazz, and soul with African drumming in the New York City. Nonstop music videos were released by MTV. Cats began its journey. The debut album of Madonna "Holiday" becomes a hit.

The 70s

• 1983: The red hot chilli peppers were formed.

• 1983: Michael Jackson popularizes the moonwalk. The moonwalk or back slide is a dance technique that presents the illusion that the dancer is stepping forward while actually moving backward.

• 1985: Michael Jackson releases "Thriller“. The video becomes a classic, and is still one of the most notable videos to date now.

• 1985: Britney Spears emerges as a star of the music world. At age 8, she made her musical television debut on Star Search. In 1999, about 1,319,193 copies of "...Baby One More Time" were sold in the first week after release.

• 1989: Taylor Allison Swift Is Born. Swift was born in the city of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

The 80s

• 1990s: Various famous groups made pop music more popular Grunge rock was formed in Seattle, Backstreet Boys and Blackstreet were formed, the movie "Titanic" and the song "My Heart Will Go On," became popular.

• 1992: Radiohead releases their first single, "Creep“.

• 1998: "Coldplay" formed. The band finally settled on the name "Coldplay" which was suggested by Tim Crompton, a local student who had been using the name for his group.

The 90s

• 2001: Keane releases second single "Wolf at the Door" "Wolf at the Door" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane and happened to be their second single release ever.

• 2002: Increased impact of television shows, Kelly Clarkson becomes the first American Idol.2003: Marshall Mathers, known as Eminem, rapper of the evergreen "The Slim Shady LP“ gained popularity. Eminem was a radio and video superstar.

• In 2003, he won an Oscar for the song "Lose Yourself," from "8 Mile". He was the first rapper to win an Oscar.

• 2009 June 25: American singer Michael Jackson died after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighbourhood in Los Angeles.

The 2000s

• The instruments used to produce pop music are guitar, bass, piano, drums, amplifiers, cymbals, electric organs, electric pianos, electric keyboard and polyphonic tape play back keyboard. Guitars are common in pop music.

• Types of guitars used in this type of music include bass guitars, acoustic guitars and electric guitars. Drums in pop music can be played by a drummer on a drum kit or they can be produced electronically by a computer.

• Computer drums have a more digital sound that can feel robotic and less natural than drums played by a person. Vocals are the leading force of pop music. Music is often structured to fit around the lyrics written by the vocalist.

• Types of vocals can include singing, screaming, rapping or spoken word.

• Wind instruments such as saxophones, trumpets and flutes help give pop music a realistic and full sound.

• Orchestral string instruments such as the violin, viola and cello are occasionally featured in pop music.

Instruments Used

• Creed has sold more records in the US than Jimi Hendrix.

• Led Zeppelin, REM, and Depeche Mode have never had a number one single, Rihanna has 10.

• Ke$has “Tik-Tok” sold more copies than ANY Beatles single.

• Flo Ridas “Low” has sold 8 million copies – the same as The Beatles “Hey Jude”.

• The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” is more popular than any Elvis or Simon & Garfunkel song.

• Celine Dions “Falling Into You” sold more copies than any Queen, Nirvana, or Bruce Springsteen record.• Katy Perry holds the same record as Michael Jackson for most number one singles from an album.

• The cast of “Glee” has had more songs chart than the Beatles.

Random facts of Pop Music