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In an effort to recognize the profound influence of African-American music and culture on Rock and Roll, scholars and educators sometimes fail to acknowledge that a wider set of influences inform the character of the music, no matter the magnitude of the African-American borrowings. Not to say that it’s easy to trace the many strands of influence that inform Rock and Roll, but the massive contributions from African-American Blues, Gospel, and R&B are not the end of the story. Jelly Roll Morton, in conversation with ethnomusicologist and song collector Alan Lomax in 1938, famously said that the New Orleans Jazz with which he was associated has a “Spanish tinge.” Morton was pointing to something in the music that was defining but less frequently discussed than other of the music’s characteristics. Morton described a New Orleans, the so-called “cradle of jazz,” that felt keenly the Latin influences that came through town, influences that played a major role not just in the development of Jazz, of course, but in the development of Rock and Roll.
As a kind of case study, the work of Doc Pomus, Brill Building writer (with Mort Shuman) of songs including the Drifters’ “Save the Last Dance for Me” and Elvis Presley’s “(Marie’s the Name) His Latest Flame,” reflects a Latin flavor entering Pop music. Growing up in a New York City, a place deeply affected by Latin dance crazes like the Tango and the Mambo, Pomus was touched by the grooves and rhythms of the Latin music. The percussion driving “Save the Last Dance for Me” tells the story of that New York City backdrop and how it affected the character of the music. Pomus was a man of his time and place. As a writer, he pulled from the world around him, which was certainly a mixed-race environment.
The lessons in this chapter, most coming in phase two of the project, will focus on a few such case studies, but they’ll also explore the lives and careers of a few artists who have helped to keep the Latin sound alive in Rock and Roll. Richie Valens, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Carlos Santana, and others will emerge as the protagonists of this often undertold story.
lesson:
Ritchie Valens
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Ritchie Valens (Elementary School Version)
How did Ritchie Valens meld traditional Mexican music and Rock and Roll?
lesson:
Latin Music and Puerto Rican Migration to New York City
What is the history behind Puerto Rican migration to New York City in the 1940s and 1950s, and how did Puerto Rican migration affect American Popular Music?
lesson:
1950s American Society and Conformity
How did the presence of Latin American artists challenge the image of 1950s American society seen in popular media?
lesson:
Brazilian Music and Culture in the United States
What is the influence of Brazilian music and culture in the United States?
Video
video:
La Bamba
In an effort to recognize the profound influence of African-American music and culture on Rock and Roll, scholars and educators sometimes fail to acknowledge that a wider set of influences inform the character of the music, no matter the magnitude of the African-American borrowings. Not to say that it's easy to trace the many strands of influence that inform Rock and Roll, but the massive contributions from African-American Blues, Gospel, and R&B are not the end of the story. Jelly Roll Morton, in conversation with ethnomusicologist and song collector Alan Lomax in 1938, famously said that the New Orleans Jazz with which he was associated has a "Spanish tinge." Morton was pointing to something in the music that was defining but less frequently discussed than other of the music's characteristics. Morton described a New Orleans, the so-called "cradle of jazz," that felt keenly the Latin influences that came through town, influences that played a major role not just in the development of Jazz, of course, but in the development of Rock and Roll. As a kind of case study, the work of Doc Pomus, Brill Building writer (with Mort Shuman) of songs including the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Elvis Presley's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," reflects a Latin flavor entering Pop music. Growing up in a New York City, a place deeply affected by Latin dance crazes like the Tango and the Mambo, Pomus was touched by the grooves and rhythms of the Latin music. The percussion driving "Save the Last Dance for Me" tells the story of that New York City backdrop and how it affected the character of the music. Pomus was a man of his time and place. As a writer, he pulled from the world around him, which was certainly a mixed-race environment. The lessons in this chapter, most coming in phase two of the project, will focus on a few such case studies, but they'll also explore the lives and careers of a few artists who have helped to keep the Latin sound alive in Rock and Roll. Richie Valens, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Carlos Santana, and others will emerge as the protagonists of this often undertold story.
video:
La Bamba
In an effort to recognize the profound influence of African-American music and culture on Rock and Roll, scholars and educators sometimes fail to acknowledge that a wider set of influences inform the character of the music, no matter the magnitude of the African-American borrowings. Not to say that it's easy to trace the many strands of influence that inform Rock and Roll, but the massive contributions from African-American Blues, Gospel, and R&B are not the end of the story. Jelly Roll Morton, in conversation with ethnomusicologist and song collector Alan Lomax in 1938, famously said that the New Orleans Jazz with which he was associated has a "Spanish tinge." Morton was pointing to something in the music that was defining but less frequently discussed than other of the music's characteristics. Morton described a New Orleans, the so-called "cradle of jazz," that felt keenly the Latin influences that came through town, influences that played a major role not just in the development of Jazz, of course, but in the development of Rock and Roll. As a kind of case study, the work of Doc Pomus, Brill Building writer (with Mort Shuman) of songs including the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Elvis Presley's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," reflects a Latin flavor entering Pop music. Growing up in a New York City, a place deeply affected by Latin dance crazes like the Tango and the Mambo, Pomus was touched by the grooves and rhythms of the Latin music. The percussion driving "Save the Last Dance for Me" tells the story of that New York City backdrop and how it affected the character of the music. Pomus was a man of his time and place. As a writer, he pulled from the world around him, which was certainly a mixed-race environment. The lessons in this chapter, most coming in phase two of the project, will focus on a few such case studies, but they'll also explore the lives and careers of a few artists who have helped to keep the Latin sound alive in Rock and Roll. Richie Valens, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Carlos Santana, and others will emerge as the protagonists of this often undertold story.
video:
Donna
In an effort to recognize the profound influence of African-American music and culture on Rock and Roll, scholars and educators sometimes fail to acknowledge that a wider set of influences inform the character of the music, no matter the magnitude of the African-American borrowings. Not to say that it's easy to trace the many strands of influence that inform Rock and Roll, but the massive contributions from African-American Blues, Gospel, and R&B are not the end of the story. Jelly Roll Morton, in conversation with ethnomusicologist and song collector Alan Lomax in 1938, famously said that the New Orleans Jazz with which he was associated has a "Spanish tinge." Morton was pointing to something in the music that was defining but less frequently discussed than other of the music's characteristics. Morton described a New Orleans, the so-called "cradle of jazz," that felt keenly the Latin influences that came through town, influences that played a major role not just in the development of Jazz, of course, but in the development of Rock and Roll. As a kind of case study, the work of Doc Pomus, Brill Building writer (with Mort Shuman) of songs including the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Elvis Presley's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," reflects a Latin flavor entering Pop music. Growing up in a New York City, a place deeply affected by Latin dance crazes like the Tango and the Mambo, Pomus was touched by the grooves and rhythms of the Latin music. The percussion driving "Save the Last Dance for Me" tells the story of that New York City backdrop and how it affected the character of the music. Pomus was a man of his time and place. As a writer, he pulled from the world around him, which was certainly a mixed-race environment. The lessons in this chapter, most coming in phase two of the project, will focus on a few such case studies, but they'll also explore the lives and careers of a few artists who have helped to keep the Latin sound alive in Rock and Roll. Richie Valens, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Carlos Santana, and others will emerge as the protagonists of this often undertold story.
video:
Winter Dance Tour
In an effort to recognize the profound influence of African-American music and culture on Rock and Roll, scholars and educators sometimes fail to acknowledge that a wider set of influences inform the character of the music, no matter the magnitude of the African-American borrowings. Not to say that it's easy to trace the many strands of influence that inform Rock and Roll, but the massive contributions from African-American Blues, Gospel, and R&B are not the end of the story. Jelly Roll Morton, in conversation with ethnomusicologist and song collector Alan Lomax in 1938, famously said that the New Orleans Jazz with which he was associated has a "Spanish tinge." Morton was pointing to something in the music that was defining but less frequently discussed than other of the music's characteristics. Morton described a New Orleans, the so-called "cradle of jazz," that felt keenly the Latin influences that came through town, influences that played a major role not just in the development of Jazz, of course, but in the development of Rock and Roll. As a kind of case study, the work of Doc Pomus, Brill Building writer (with Mort Shuman) of songs including the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" and Elvis Presley's "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," reflects a Latin flavor entering Pop music. Growing up in a New York City, a place deeply affected by Latin dance crazes like the Tango and the Mambo, Pomus was touched by the grooves and rhythms of the Latin music. The percussion driving "Save the Last Dance for Me" tells the story of that New York City backdrop and how it affected the character of the music. Pomus was a man of his time and place. As a writer, he pulled from the world around him, which was certainly a mixed-race environment. The lessons in this chapter, most coming in phase two of the project, will focus on a few such case studies, but they'll also explore the lives and careers of a few artists who have helped to keep the Latin sound alive in Rock and Roll. Richie Valens, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Carlos Santana, and others will emerge as the protagonists of this often undertold story.
Print Journalism
article:
Chicano Rock
ON 3 February 1959 Richard Valenzuela died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly whose final recordings foretold the Beatless sixties; a more pop than rock era for which Valens would have prescribed the remedy. He was a sixteen year old who passed for twenty-eight. A thick set, brutish greaser who carried on rockin' whilst, all around him, pretty boys like Fabian and Avalon ponced up the music. A look at the situation of the Mexican American – scarcely white by U.S. standards – belies America's devotion to freedom and democracy. From San Fernando, Valen's background typified the Mexican-American struggle...
article:
Ritchie Valens: The Young Singer Who Pioneered Chicano Rock
WHEN ROCK'N'ROLL first stopped calling itself rhythm and blues in the mid Fifties, it became a young man's game. Teenage performers like Ritchie Valens began to influence the course of popular music; his double-sided smash hit 'Donna'/'La Bamba' dominated the charts in December 1958. But, unlike rock'n'roll, Ritchie Valens did not survive to face the Sixties. Ritchie's is not the most famous name in rock'n'roll but he had as many or even more hits than some celebrated stars. In a remarkably short career – he was not yet 18 years old when he died – Valens made some excellent individually-styled...