Radio Music Essay

Music, I can say, has played an important role to the lives of every human. It has been a source of inspiration and leisure on past times. When you celebrate, music never gets lost and when you need to be calmed, music is also relaxing. As the years pass, along with it are the changes in trend. Characteristics of radio music by then are different of the radio music we have today. Several genres of music flourished from 1950s to 1960s. The birth of Rock and Roll is also dated back significantly in the 1950s. Right now, there is a question asked whether or not people would still listen to the radio despite of the latest gadgets for music are on hand. Listening to the radios are threatened by the latest technology including iPods and mp3 players. Aside from the radio, music is also presented by music channels in the television where music videos are accompanying the song. Radio is the major source of entertainment for the Americans having almost every household own at least one radio. 93% of the Americans owned a radio during that time. It was in the year 1954 that a rock and roll song landed the hit charts. Rock and Roll was a product of several genres including indigenous American jazz, rhythm and blues, swing, and the gospel style. Its roots trace back to the black culture of that moment (Faculty). Another music that was played on the radios is called â€Å"covers† (Faculty). Covering Family Name 2 takes place when a person or a group records again a song that was already recorded by another individual or group. This term’s roots dates back in the year 1966 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Songs back then that were originally sung by black artists were being asked to be covered by white artists. There were a lot of advantages that a â€Å"cover† has. First, they can outsell the original version due to having greater resources and second, the quality of the sound is much better than that of the original version. Rock and Roll had more specific genres which include Rock-a-Billy, Doo Wop, and the â€Å"West Coast† sound. â€Å"Rockabilly† was a mixture of rhythm and blues and country music. The â€Å"Doo Wop sound† traces its origins in the urban North. It has been fondly called and described as 1950s’ â€Å"street corner† music. Under Doo Wop are the characteristics of using â€Å"nonsense syllables† as background rhythm, having emphasis on its harmony, and a different range of voices or parts. Came 1960s and a new kind of rock and roll emerged called â€Å"California Sound. † California is the place where it first started. Rock and roll’s decline happened in the later part of 1950s since companies started to promote â€Å"teen idols. † The themes of their songs are mostly about love (Faculty). Some of the famous and promising artists during this time are the following: Dean Martin, Patti Page, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley- Don’t Be Cruel, Jailhouse Rock and many others, Arthur â€Å"Big Boy† Crudup, â€Å"Big Mama† Thornton, Hank Williams, Sr. , Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Every Brothers- Bye Bye Love, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson, The Marcels- Blue Moon, The Diamonds, Little Eva- Locomotion, The Shirelles- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? , Neil Sedaka- Breaking Up is Hard to Do, and Paul Anka with his song Diana (Faculty). Family Name 3 At the present, since whatever the trend in America is being adopted by other countries, there are 17 formats that are now playing and being listened to. Ranking from the first, the following are Country, News/ talk/ information, Adult Contemporary, Pop Contemporary Hit Radio, Classic Rock, Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio, Urban Contemporary, Urban Adult Contemporary, Oldies, Hot Adult Contemporary, Mexican Regional, Contemporary Christian, All Sports, Alternative, Classic Hits, Classical, and Talk/ Personality (Radio Today). From Rock and Roll, it can be seen from the above information that the taste of music listeners have shifted to many other kinds. In my own observation, today’s folks are getting more acquainted with music that have lively danceable beats but not necessarily with high notes. A lot of the radio stations would play Pop, R&B and Hiphop. The young is the targeted market of these radio stations. Leading artists of today include Beyonce Knowles, Neyo, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Akon, Taylor Swift and many others who have hit the charts just like those mentioned artists in the year 1950s and 1960s. Works Cited â€Å"Cover. † Online Etymology Dictionary. 5 May 2009. < http://www. etymonline. com/index. php? l=c&p=28/> â€Å"The Rise of Rock ‘n Roll. † Faculty. 5 May 2009. < http://faculty. smu. edu/dsimon/Change-Music. html/> â€Å"Radio Today. † Arbitron. 5 May 2009. < http://www. arbitron. com/downloads/radiotoday07. pdf/>