Music Blog Literature Review Sample

What lasting effect did losing Buddy Holly, Little Richard joining the ministry, Elvis joining the military and the personal problems of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis have on American Pop Culture?
All of the artists were the first line of rock and roll artists who broke through and onto the Pop charts. They all had similar roots in the South in country, blues and Rhythm and Blues. DJ’s across the South challenged traditional popular music of the time by playing these artists and their new brand of music. Their absences in the early 1960’s left a void in the music industry that allowed the British Invasion and the growth of Motown, who had their musical roots in the same soil (Friedman).

How did the British Invasion change the musical landscape of the late 50’s and early 60’s?

With the disappearance of the power players of rock and roll, the musical landscape was left with a void. Blues, country and rhythm and blues also had a tremendous influence on British musicians who grew up on these styles of music and emulated them. The Beatles took this musical influence and crafted a very new and different sound, their look was also novel. Other British Bands such as the Dave Clark Five and the Rolling Stones followed suit and broke onto the American music scene (“The British Invasion”).
How did Barry Gordy turn a small record label from Detroit, MI. into “Hitsville U.S.A.”?
Gordy was a music and marketing genius. He searched out and signed incredible singers and musicians from the ghettos and poor neighborhoods of Detroit based on their talent. He had composers that wrote songs that were catchy and mainstreamed enough to appeal to all audiences. He polished the performers up with the right clothes, makeup, etiquette classes and choreography. He and his team of writers provided music based in rhythm and blues and set them loose on America. The artists were appealing and the music catchy. America, both black and white, loved the music that Gordy produced (Holmes 14).

Works Cited

Friedman, Kinky. “Buddy Holly’s Texas.” Rolling Stone. 19 Apr. 1990. Web 31 Mar. 2015
Holmes, Marian Smith. “Who Could Resist the Kind of Music They Made at Hitsville?”
Smithsonian 25.7 (1994): On line. Web 6 Mar 2015
“The British Invasion.” Sam Houston State University. n.d. Web 31 Mar. 2015
<http://www.shsu.edu/lis_fwh/book/british_invasion/British%20Invasion2.htm>