Berry
Street
Blues
Unit 1 Mixtape
“Crazy”
Patsy Cline
Background of the song:
•
Written and release in 1961
•
#85 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of
All Time
•
Writer: Willie Nelson - this song launched his career as a
performer and songwriter
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: country, with a crossover of mainstream pop
•
Form: AABA
•
Timbre: this song has some background noise because
of the quality of recordings at that time
•
Unique instrumentation: complex melody
How the song is representative to its style:
•
This song crossed over multiple charts which was very
popular at the time and has characteristics of different
genres.
Chosen by: Whitney Truax
“Hoochie Coochie Man”
Muddy Waters
Background of the song:
•
Written and recorded in 1954
•
References hoodoo folk magic elements and makes
novel use of a stop-time musical arrangement
•
Writer: Willie Dixon
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: Rhythm and Blues
•
Form: 12-bar blues
•
Timbre: with the stop-time, the song sounds a little choppy with his raspy voice but in a good way for that era
•
Unique instrumentation: stop time in the first half of the
progression
How the song is representative to its style:
•
Song is very music based with a lead male solo and the
120bar blues pattern
Chosen by: Jeff Gladney
“Pretty Blue Eyes”
Steve Law
“Great Balls of Fire”
Jerry Lee Lewis
Background of the song:
• Released in 1959
• Reached #9 on Billboard’s Top 100 in early 1960
• Writers: Teddy Randazzo and Bobby Weinstein
Background of the song:
•
Recorded October 8, 1957 and released November 11,1957
•
Song derives from a southern expression referring to the
manifestation of the Holy Spirit
•
Writers: Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer
Musical characteristics:
• Genre: Mainstream pop with elements of country
• Form: AABA
• Timbre: warm, pleasing, and emotes a felling of
want or desire with anticipation
• Unique instrumentation: Solo singer and guitarist,
gospel chorus during refrain
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: Rock/Rockabilly
•
Form: AABA
•
Unique instrumentation: strong presence of the piano as an
accompaniment
•
Timbre: sharp, as emphasized by the strong vocals accompanied by strong musical accents
How the song is representative to its style:
• Has a prominent solo singer and guitar that evolved
into rock from earlier big band elements
How the song is representative to its style:
•
Expresses the late 50’s as rock and roll was in its prime
•
Originally TPA song
•
Emphasis on the lead singer as the main star
Chosen by: Allie Strehle
Chosen by: Jean-Paul DuBos
“Jailhouse Rock”
Elvis Presley
“Who Do You Love”
Bo Diddley
Background of the song:
•
Recorded and released in 1957
•
#1 on the pop charts for seven weeks, as well as R&B and
country charts
•
Writers: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stroller
Background of the song:
•
Written and recorded in 1956
•
#133 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All
Time
•
Writer: Bo Diddley
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: Rock/Rockabilly
•
Form: simple-verse
•
Timbre: fun and upbeat
•
Unique Instrumentation: only five instruments were used in
the song (piano, guitar, saxophone, trombone and drums)
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: Rock and Roll
•
Form: contrasting verse- chorus
•
Timbre: snappy and contemplative as shown through the
repetitive vocals ans strong instrumentation
•
Unique Instrumentation: centered around one chord with a
guitar
How the song is representative to its style:
•
Represents Rockabilly not inly by reaching a number one
spot on the pop chart, but also as well as country and charts
overseas
•
Use of electric guitars and double bass represent the Rockabilly style
Chosen by: Georgia Goldberg
How the song is representative to its style:
•
Shows the overlap between R&B and rock and roll
•
Often considered to be either genres, showing the more
upbeat tempo of rock and roll with the instrumentation that
is seen in R&B
Chosen by: Lyrik Shreiner
“Just Walkin’ In the Rain”
Johnnie Ray
Background of the song:
•
Written in 1952
•
Recorded originally by the Prisonaires for Sun Records in
1953
•
This version: covered in 1956
•
#2 on the Billboard’s Top 100
•
Writers: Johnny Bragg and Robert Riley
Musical characteristics:
•
Genre: Country/ Mainstream pop
•
Form: AABA
•
Timbre:
•
Unique Instrumentation: features a whistler and backup male
vocals along with the guitar and lead male solo
How the song is representative to its style:
•
Use of guitar and raspy voice of the singer
•
Borrowed elements of mainstream pop with a male solo as
lead vocal
Chosen by: Izzy Tran
Liner Notes
Berry Street Blues
As a band, we had a collective list of songs
and narrowed it down to the songs chosen
because of similar instrumentation and timber.
We chose songs that we think best represent
this era. These songs show the development of
how music progressed through the years and
potentially overlap in one way or another.
The order of the songs represent the
soundtrack of someone’s day. They start the
day a little slow and mellow then eventually
build energy to get going throughout the day
and finally wind down their day.
1. “Crazy” - Patsy Cline
2. “Hoochie Coochie Man” - Muddy Waters
3. “Pretty Blue Eyes” - Steve Lawrence
4. “Great Balls of Fire” - Jerry Lee Lewis
5. “Jailhouse Rock” - Elvis Presley
6. “Who Do You Love” - Bo Diddley
7. “Just Walkin’ In the Rain” - Johnnie Ray