The role and function of technology in American popular music: 1945-1964.

Abstract

Generally, artists wishing to communicate with the public have two options: to make something (the creative arts) or to do something (the performance arts). But in the recording arts objects are made, and they are also a matter of performance; so they do not fall strictly into either the creative or performance traditions. Instead they form a new tradition: The Artistic-Technological tradition. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between technology and popular music in the Artistic-Technological tradition between 1945 and 1964. In the first of four chapters, from 1945-1950, the evolutionary changes in recording--from the 78 RPM record to the LP, 45 RPM and tape recorder--are examined. The second chapter, from 1950 to 1957, shows that the different production values of Rhythm & Blues, Country & Western and Mainstream popular music coalesced into a new production value: Rock'n'Roll. Chapter three, from 1953 to 1964, examines the parallel development of high fidelity and stereophonic recording and playback equipment. Chapter four, 1956 to 1964, shows how the production values of popular music changed because of the advent of stereophonic technology. From this examination three conclusions are drawn. First, although technology, in and of itself, appears neutral, how it is used gives it creative power within the popular music industry. Second, when a specific technology is employed in the production of popular music, it tends to conventionalize the aural quality of the recorded music. This conventionalized sound often drives the popular music industry for given periods of time. Third, recording technology offers extraordinary opportunities to those who use it. Ironically, the impact of these opportunities is often more closely connected to those that are missed rather than acted upon.