Welcome back. Rock and roll also is a showcase of technology. And we talk about music a great deal, but what about the role of technology? Technology made music more salient, more slick, more professional, sexier too. Not just instruments, but recording techniques and production techniques. And also, don't forget the visual elements. Album covers, music videos, concerts with elaborate lighting, all of these things utilize technology. So, not only do we talk about music in this class, we talk about technology as well. Rock and roll, and the music industry have come a long way since the invention of the phonograph and the radio. These revolutionary breakthroughs in the 20s, 30s, 40s were really the catalyst for the birth of rock and roll in the 1950s. And we all know, one instrument is largely responsible for the birth of rock and roll. And that of course, is the electric guitar. It's synonymous with Rock and Roll and it's invention was the key to rocks birth. Well, a key to rocks birth. You see, an electric guitar could produce the right sound at the right volume to match the sounds produced by horns saxophones trumpets and such. Before they were electrified, guitars were not loud enough to complement, let alone compete, with horns. And, of course, the three basic instruments of rock and roll then became guitar, bass, and drums. But it's really the solid body electric guitar, that's the instrument that defines rock and roll more than any other. Two men were largely responsible for this technology. One was Les Paul, the other was Leo Fender. They, working independently, invented the solid body electric guitar. Les Paul went on to team up with the Gibson Company to create his signature electric guitar model, called of course the Les Paul. It was the first electric guitar to be mass produced. Leo Fender created his own company to mass produce his guitar, which played louder than Les Paul's version did. One of Les Paul's most famous disciples by the way is Jimmy Page and don't forget Slash. Les Paul also came up with another stunning, major development as well. He was nicknamed the tinker by the way, for his experimental nature. He and his wife, Mary Ford, invented multi track recording. Basically, instead of having ten guitar players and ten singers all playing at the same time, Paul figured out how to do that with one guitar player and one singer. Dubbing layer, dubbing and recording layer upon layer. Enabled separate recordings from multiple sources, to be merged to create one cohesive sound. Not long after these inventions came, another one that allowed rock and roll to flourish. In May 1954, Texas Instruments introduced the transistor radio. And that led to the first truly portable radio and eventually to a radio that could actually operate on battery power. Now at first, as with all new inventions, these radio's weren't cheap. They cost about $50 in 1954, which in 2013 money would be $425. But by 1957, Sony had marketed a pocket sized transistor radio for $25. And the price fell rapidly after that. By the mid-1960s, transistor radios could be had for a few dollars. Kids soon found ways to acquire these radios. Creating what music historian Robert Palmer called the secret audience in his book, Dancing in the Street. The secret audience, Palmer wrote, was teenagers gathering after school, cruising in their cars or lying awake under the bed clothes, deep in the night. Their ears pressed to tiny little transistor radios. So, the electric guitar, multitrack recording, those were the key to the birth of rock and roll, or a key to the birth of rock and roll. But they were certainly no more important than that third invention, the portable radio. This invention, and this is important, this invention gave kids the chance to seek out the forbidden. They could seek out something other than, how much is that doggie in the window? They could seek out the opposite of their parents music. The invention of the portable radio made it all the more possible for young white teens to enjoy the new tunes that were being served up by local disc jockey. Tunes filled with howling electric guitar licks and suggestive lyrics. And for many white teens, rock and roll began as a forbidden pleasure. It was something consumed without the knowledge or consent of their parents, their teachers or their clergymen. Black pop, what they were hearing on the radio, was in comparison to the other music they'd had, raunchy, unrestrained, suggestive, sexy, and very very exciting. For the first time, urban white kids could listen to black music whenever they wanted. Or at least to black inspired music.
