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Stevie Wonder, one of the best to ever do it, is a pioneer of R&B, soul, gospel, funk, and jazz. He helped R&B get into the album era, and is the youngest solo artist ever to top the Billboard Hot 100, with "Fingertips Pt. 2" in 1963, at the age of 13.

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Something much more common in the 60's than today is the usage of publishing companies, run by record studios, to give several artists the same song. For example, "For Once in My Life", originally recorded in 1965 as a slow ballad, has been recorded ~20 times by various Motown artists, each slightly different.

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A big part of the fashion of the 60's and 70's were statement pieces, and wild combinations. Ruffled shirts, slick suits, flared pants, and many kaftan shirts ruled the Motown artists' fashion scene. It was flamboyant and expressive.

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The first million-selling recording artist for Berry Gordy and Motown Records was The Marvelettes with "Please Mr Postman" in 1961. The song had Gladys Horton on lead vocals and a featuring young Smokey Robinson, and the band behind them had Marvin Gaye on the drums. Talent was RIPPLING through this studio.

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Motown was made to support black artists in America, and as such it was inherently political during the 60's and 70's. They put out music about segregation and unrest, and released an album of MLK's address to the Freedom Rally held in Detroit.

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As the United States was part of the Cold War and the race for space, the hold of the futuristic and flashy took hold in the culture. Fashion was very interesting, with space-y outfits showcased in music videos, to bold colors and striking designs.

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Many male singers during the Motown era were especially talented lyric tenors, utilizing a very clean mix and nasal resonance. Stevie Wonder in particular has been known to belt up to an A#5, and his casual range is immense. Nasality, mix, and clear tone were used to understand the words being sung, and to be able to be heard above a band.

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Motown's greatest success on the charts was Lionel Richie's "Endless Love" with Diana Ross, which was Number 1 for 9 weeks in 1981. It spent over 5 months on the Hot 100.

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It seems that from the time of the '50s-'70s, Motown only got bigger and bigger. In 1969 alone, Marvin Gaye's single "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was Number 1 for over a month, Motown won its first Grammy, and the Jackson 5 were created. At one time, Motown had Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, the Commodores, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, and the Temptations. Holy shit.

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Motown was a decades-long, generations-long style, and as such, new Motown artists were inspired and utilized old Motown artists. Stevie Wonder in particular found inspiration from Smokey Robinson, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and specifically Marvin Gaye.

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Born in 1949, Billy Joel is the king of soft rock and piano rock, lending his hand to the folk rock movement of the late 70's with such albums as The Stranger and 52nd Street. Joel has made 33 Top 40 Hits in the U.S., 3 of which went number 1. He's won 6 out of the 23 Grammys he's been nominated for, and is inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Something incredible about the emergence of folk/rock in the 70's is its natural progression from Motown. While the music changed to be for the young people in America and began speaking on larger issues, the inspiration stayed strong. Joel himself states some of his biggest influences as Ray Charles and Otis Redding.

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If there was any singular event in the era of folk/rock that defined it, it was probably the Vietnam War. Much of the music created by folk artists was in response to this war, protesting and bashing the government who would do such a thing. Some artists who did get drafted were Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox, Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash.

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"Goodnight Saigon" was Billy Joel's response to the Vietnam war. The difference between this and other Vietnam-related songs was that "Goodnight Saigon" was written for the soldiers at war, to tell their experiences. He was asked by Vietnam soldiers to write a song about what they went through, and so this song is yet another example of the war influencing music, directly from those who were in it.

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Fashion was dictated by growing social acceptance in expression. For the first time in American history, women could choose their own styles. Much of the feminist style was something that frightened men, wearing pantsuits and 'male' professional attire. Men's fasion just continued to get brighter, emphasizing slim-fitting clothes and flared pants.

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Something's that very interesting to me at least is the emergence of non-chord tones, modular chord progressions, and non-diatonic modes that appear in folk rock. As folk rock is a product of both Celtic music and Appalachian country, the music it produced was typically non-diatonic (Dorian and Mixolydian), and interesting harmonically. A good example of this is in Vienna by Billy Joel where the verse moves around the circle of fifths for most of the time, and the verse and chorus rotate between a G minor and Eb major feel to represent mood.

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As a product of folk music and rock, the sound of folk rock is incredibly melodic and emphasizes the lyrics being sun, but utilizes some distinct vocal harmonies. With harmonies, the singers are typically straight-tone and not too flashy in their delivery.

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In the year that The Stranger released, the Billboard Top 100 was topped by Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)". The Top 100 was filled with some huge names, though, with three appearances by Fleetwood Mac, two by ABBA, two by Stevie Wonder, and others by Marvin Gaye, Hall & Oates, and Foreigner, just to name a few.

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As folk/rock is such a blend of other media, the male singer is a broad term in the genre, as opposed to the frequent tenoral range and style of Motown. Typically, however, high belts are required for folk rock music, as well as a strong falsetto for emotional usage. It depends much more on the subject of the song itself rather than the genre as a whole.

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It feels as though folk music is making a comeback in recent years. With the emergence of folk-inspired pop in the realm of Lizzy McAlpine and Noah Kahan, folk seems to rise around a time where young people feel ostricized and unable to live. Bob Dylan has become a larger name in the cultural zeitgeist again, as well as the other greats like Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Simon and Garfunkel. It feels as though there's a new breakout folk-inspired artist every 2 years now, which makes tonal sense.

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A British singer, pianist, and composer, Elton John has more than fifty top-40 hits, seven consecutive number-one albums, an EGOT holder, and a knight. Elton John made music influenced by classical, gospel, and original rock and roll from the '50s. He is an avid activist against the AIDS crisis, raising over $600 million to support HIV-related programs with the Elton John AIDS foundation.

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The rock and roll style of the '80s comes from a number of previous musical eras. Inspiration from '50s rock and rockabilly, the reliance on the four-person band (guitar, drums, bass, singer) popularized by the British Invasion, and the public's growing distaste for Motown and disco music, all led to the emergence of this vocal style.

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Throughout the '80s, music was influenced heavily by the emerging technology innovations happening in the world. The CD is introduced in 1982, leading to the temporary death of the vinyl and the increase of music's reach. Digital recordings became possible, allowing for the layering of several vocal tracks at once, synthesizer usage, and odd sound choices.

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Through the Reagan Administration, the AIDS Crisis, the Cold War and the rise of the Soviet Union, and more, music became a vehicle, once again, for social change and activism. Most notably is Live Aid in 1985, which was a multi-venue benefit concert used to raise relief funds for the 1983-1985 famine in Ethipia. It had an estimated audience of 1.9 billion people in 150 nations. Elton John specifically is notable for breaking the United Nations' cultural boycott on apartheid-era South Africa in 1983.

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As the emergence of record labels became a core part of the music industry, alternative rock, groups signed to independent record labals, used their unique position to experiement. Taking inspiration from the 60s, folk music, and punk, early alternative bands such as R.E.M. added even more flair and unique sound to the industry.

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Characterized by power, energy, and strength, the rock music of the 80s used distortion, driving rhythms, and catchy riffs to make their way onto the air waves. With the emergence of technology, synthesizers and electronic production increased, and there was a massive push to break against the norm. This deeply reflected the rebellion, dissatisfaction, and want for escape the world felt.

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More than any other industry, the music industry was affected immensely by the HIV/AIDS crisis. As the disease was described by the media as a "gay disease", and was seen to be an offense on the LGBTQ+ community, these people turned to music and art. Disco became a face of this community, prompting the anti-Disco side of America in response.

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In 1983, the year that Too Low for Zero released, the top song was "Every Breath You Take" by the Police. In the top 100, Michael Jackson appeared 5 times, Hall & Oates appeared 3, Billy Joel and David Bowie appeared twice, and there are several more appearances by the likes of Donna Summer, Duran Duran, Toto, Prince, Styx, Lionel Richie, and Journey.

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Everything the '70s did is out. The fashion of the '80s was a rejection of the materialistic culture and the hippie movement. There was a want to improve flexibility and power, especially in women's fashion, and bright colors became incredibly popular. Power dreassing, which was highlighting the confidence women began to have in their workplace, was an emulation of masculine appearances through fashion to appear more confident.

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The interesting thing that we begin to see as we continue moving forward chronologically, is the fact that many of the 80's rock legends are still alive today. Elton John, Sting, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, and even large bands such as Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, and Bon Jovi are still performing, making music, or touring. For example, Elton John's final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which ended last year, has become the second highest-grossing concert tour of all time.

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An American rock group that started in the early 2000's, Young the Giant has had many songs chart on both the US Alternative Songs chart and the Billboard Top 100. They are a longstanding relic of the early 2000's rock punk sound, still held by the band to a respect.

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Through the rise of the internet and social media, there was created a much different kind of celebrity, one that grew their worth through online culture. You no longer had to actually be a famous icon in a specific field to be famous, you could just be popular for your personality. Influencers are the latest in this trend, people who draw audiences in with their personality and lifestyle, but not much else.

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Exploded onto the scene by Kurt Cobain and Nirvana in the 90s, rock looked like the biggest thing going into the new milennium. The band style set up by the British invasion led to the inception of a wide variety in the genre. Nu Metal, Pop Punk, Post-Punk, and more mainstream rock like Foo Fighters and Gorillaz sprung out of the ground and led to a huge change in the music industry.

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Technology has had a bigger role in music production and distribution than ever before. The physical methods of buying songs (CDs, vinyls, etc.) are in the past. Everything is streaming, everything is on the internet. You no longer need to record your song in one take with all the instruments at once, you can splice together all your best takes to get the best possible version. Instruments can be fully synthesized, pitches can be corrected. It's become a very different, very perfected, industry.

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Back in the 2000's and 2010's, an artist's chorus might be considered very catchy. Maybe it was considered catchy enough to be put on commercials, for a lot of business. Maybe 10 or 12. People get sick of that song playing all over the place, and the song goes back to being an ear worm. Now, with TikTok, a 15 second clip of a song can be deemed catchy, and be used for thousands and THOUSANDS of videos until it's beaten down into an annoying audio clip. Artists might chase these 15 seconds of fame now, in hopes that their songs will be popular because of it. Artists look for the 15 seconds of streamability on their songs, even less now than the whole chorus of older days.

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Rock concerts have always been an expression of the artist, especially through their outfits. Looking at artists like Elton John or Michael Jackson, their outfits are iconic and elaborate. For the more real, grounded, and personal stories of punk rock in the 2000's, many artists just wore street clothes onto the stage, creating relatable personas that translated to their audiences.

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The year that Cough Syrup was released, the top song was Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". Katy Perry is on the Top 100 4 times, as well as Bruno Mars. Rihanna was on the list a staggering 5 times, and Lil Wayne was featured the most with 6.

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To me, rock of this time seemed incredibly personal and real. Each song seemed like an extension of the artist's own life, rather than a separate message they wanted to tell. Particularly with the Foo Fighters, with their most recent album being dedicated to their late drummer Taylor Hawkins. Grohl also wrote "Friend of a Friend" about Kurt Cobain after he had just joined Nirvana.

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Grit! Many singers had unique vocal pathologies to give them a grittier, dirtier sound to go with the vibe they were creating with their music. They utilized mic techniques to induce yelling and screaming in their songs, and the dirty sound was definitely in.

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Music nowadays, especially that of rock, has a tendency to be very simple, musically speaking. The chord changes are nothing fancy, and the instrumentation is usually similar to other songs in the style. I don't think this is a detriment, as now the focus is on the front man vocal stylings, as well as the lyrics themselves, but it does strip away a core foundation of musical expression in my eyes.

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Most of country music can be traced back to 17th century European and African immigrants to America, bringing their folktale and instruments with them. In the Appalachian Mountains, this expanded into Appalachian hillbilly music. In Louisiana, the French and African experience create Cajun music. To the west, the idealism of the cowboy and westward expansion created the western style country-cowboy music.

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An American singer-songwriter, Denver has appeared on the country music charts, the Billboard Hot 100, and more, with 12 gold albums and four platinum albums to his name. John found success through his breakout single "Take Me Home, Country Roads". In 1974 and 1975, John had four No. 1 songs ("Sunshine on My Shoulders", "Annie's Song", "I'm Sorry", and "Thank God I'm A Country Boy"). John Denver was one of the greatest country and folk artists to do it in the '70s.

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The first commercial country recordings come from 1922. The Victor and Okeh recording companies recorded Eck Robertson, a fiddler, performing "Arkansas Traveler" and "Sallie Gooden". This was only the first, but the recording of the genre brought it widespread appeal through the West and South.

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The 'cowboy' image began in the Spanish tradition, and was a man who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. As English-speaking settlers expanded westward, it began to merge English and Spanish traditions. Cowboys began to develop a personal culture of their own, with ideas of chivalry, respect, and artistry. Soon, the lives of cowboys were romanticized by the American people, and were combined with ideas of the gunslinger and the outlaw.

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This song was written about Denver's wife at the time, Annie Martell Denver. John wrote this in July of 1973 on a ski lift, after feeling immersed in the beauty of everything around him and thinking about his wife

The first time John wrote it, Milt Okun had told him it had the same melody as Tchaaikovsky's Fifth. So, John changed the song in an hour.

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Country today has become something of a country-pop mesh. There's been a large influence of rock, pop, and hip-hop on the state of country music today, creating a more electronic, danceable, and stadium-like atmosphere.

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In the 80's, many country groups in Southern California began to merge their sound with punk and alternative rock to begin the "cowpunk" genre. This inclues groups like the Long Ryders and Lone Justice. This style sounds like a mixture of alternative Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Woody Guthrie tbh.

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Many have criticized modern country music for its lack of substance in lyrics, degradation of women, to its seemingly poltical overbearance. To be honest, every genre has these issues. People will listen to what they want to listen to, and if someone loves Florida Georgia Line, let them. It's not for me, but to discredit all the wonderful country music artists out there right now making gorgeous music is a disservice to the genre.

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In the year that "Annie's Song" released, which itself placed #25, the Billboard Hot 100 was a massive mix of artists. Barbra Streisand had the number one song, and the list featured the Jackson 5, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Paul McCartney, Olivia Newton-John, Stevie Wonder, Chicago, and more.

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As someone who's never been to a country concert, I've done some serious research on what I would wear to such an event, and how my wardrboe might fit. I would need a pair of brown boots, which I do have. Then, some fitted jeans (Score!), a snapback hat, and then I'm left with a choice. I can either wear a buttoned-up flannel, a henley t-shirt, or a henley t-shirt inside of an unbuttoned flannel. Decisions, decisions...

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My personal favorite artist of all time, Jacob Collier is a Grammy-award winning singer, instrumentalist, producer, and altogether musical genius. His music is deeply intelligent and emotionally real, and he writes songs that best elaborate how he thinks. His music is an extension of himself and his personality, and I think that's why I gravitate to him so strongly.

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To me, this song is about your love for music. It echoes the idea that music can be an escape and an extra love that only you know about and appreciate. In the way the song is structured, you're inviting someone else to join you in that very special place, in a way that is deeply personal and sentimental. There will always be a place to go, and that's in your own hideaway.

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I think we're experiencing a resurgence in the importance of lyricism in modern music. I feel like more artists are emphasizing writing lyrics that mean something deeper than surface value, and can be interpreted in multiple ways. I think the 'poetic' genre is making a larger return in recent years, with the emergence of folk artists like Noah Kahan and Lizzy McAlpine, as well as the value listeners place on the storytelling of Hozier and some of Harry Styles' recent tracks.

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One of the best poetic songs ever written, in my opinion, comes from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, for which it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics in reference to his childhood in the south, but the song is deeply referential to the ideas of wanderlust and romance with the life around you. It's one of the beautiful examples of a song meaning many things to many people, and it's why it has stayed such a mainstay song in the cultural zeitgeist to this day.

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The allure of much of the poetic music that we hear, when sung in a testerone-influenced voice, is the falsetto register that it's sung in. I think this comes from the intentional disregarding of the 'masculine' ideas of male singers and testerone-influenced voices, and it places a more emotional, private, and vulnerable sound in the artist's hand. It's a great way to communicate the feelings of solitaire, vulnerability, and emotional release.

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Another reason I adore this style of music is when the artist is able and willing to utilize the music to tell the emotion that the lyrics are. I'm in the opinion that poetic music works most effectively when it is avant-garde, unorthodox, and interesting chordally. While this is something that obviously one like Jacob Collier strives in, it's very pleasant to hear in an artist like Noah Kahan, or in the amazing sounds of Jeff Buckley and Alanis Morissette. When the sound is able to convey the same feelings as the lyrics, that's success.

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I think there's an inherent connection between this style of music and musical theatre, from a pure writing standpoint. There are incredible uses of metaphors and imagery, and in many instances, what is being sung in the song is not actually what is meant to be heard. I see something very similar in the lyrics of Sondheim and R&H to the poetic genre, because both styles are written intelligently and with attention to what is being said.

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Time for me to gush about another Jacob Collier song. In his recent song, "Little Blue", featuring the incomparable Brandi Carlile, the lyrics talk about the idea of Little Blue, what it is, and what it does for the singer. Most of the song are describing the things that Little Blue can be to someone, in a similar vein to "Hideaway". I think this really shows what poetic can be about, the many ideas that one thing can mean to different people. Everyone's Little Blue is different and wholly unique, but is something that everyone knows and has experienced.

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Arguably the greatest song in this genre, "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is a masterclass in writing. Released by Jeff Buckley in 1994, the song is the essence of what a poetic lyric can be. With flowering metaphors, incredible imagery, and a falsettoy-high and flowy vocal quality from Buckley, the tune is very much the idea of what this genre strives to be.

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What Happens When A Poetic Artist Writes a Musical?

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What Happens When A Poetic Artist Writes a Musical?

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Hadestown. Hadestown happens. Anais Mitchell is wonderful and incredibly intelligent, and all of her excellent songwriting qualities come through in the Broadway smash hit Hadestown, which just celebrated it's 5th year on Broadway! This musical is PEAK poetic. With flowery lyrics, a HEAVY use on symbolism and imagery, and a story that means several things and references various aspects of life and modern-day events, the musical tackles all of the essence of this poetic unit with poise, class, and respect for both being a musical and being a work of art that represents the artists involved.