[78-L] name that era

[Don Cox]

On 29/04/2014, Mark Bardenwerper wrote:

> On 4/28/2014 12:15 PM, Joe Scott wrote:
>> Most popular tunes of the year per Billboard: 1955 Perez Prado
>> "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" 1957 Elvis Presley "All Shook
>> Up" (numbers two through four by Pat Boone, Diamonds, Tab Hunter)
>> 1959 Johnny Horton "The Battle Of New Orleans" 1961 Bobby Lewis
>> "Tossin' And Turnin'" 1963 Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs "Sugar
>> Shack" 1965 Sam The Sham And The Pharoahs "Wooly Bully" 1967 Lulu "To
>> Sir With Love" (numbers two through four by Box Tops, Bobby Gentry,
>> Association; Beatles "Penny Lane" was number fifty-five) 1969 Archies
>> "Sugar Sugar" 1971 Three Dog Night "Joy To The World" 1973 Tony
>> Orlando and Dawn "Tie A Yellow Ribbon..." 1975 Captain and Tenille
>> "Love Will Keep Us Together" 1977 Rod Stewart "Tonight's The Night"
>> (numbers two through four by Andy Gibb, Emotions, Streisand) We can
>> listen to Jerry Lee Lewis and Led Zeppelin now as much as we want if
>> we want, but... In Billboard's four top 100 listings of 1956 through
>> 1959, Elvis Presley had a total of 19 tunes (some of them slow
>> ballads -- btw the formula going on with "Love Me Tender," "I Want
>> You I Need You I Love You" and "Loving You" was no more interesting
>> than Pat Boone, was it?), Chuck Berry had 4, Little Richard had 3,
>> Carl Perkins had 1, Eddie Cochran had 1. They were popular, but not
>> representative of how most music of the era sounded.
>> 
> The danger of naming an era now is that we are listening to music with
> ears that have been irrevocably tainted by music gone after.
> 
> All our opinion on older music is affected by this.
> 
> How does one listen to old music with a scientist's ear? Who among us 
> has a scientist's ear?
> 
You might start by widening the range. The world doesn't end at the
borders of the USA.

Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox at enterprise.net