Classical Rock and Popular Prophecy

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the contention that pop music is tomorrow's classical music within the context of rock/classical music collaborations since the early 1950s. The paper makes the point that pop is as certainly the classical music of tomorrow as classical music is the spirit of rock today.

From the Paper:

"Long before the official birth of Rock and Roll, the incorporation of old classics into a new sound was a common practice among trendsetters and musical rebels alike. Classical music is certainly not the only genre of music to be reinvented in meaning and sound, but the choice of Classical pieces is a popular one because of the impact on listeners. Classical pieces are almost universally recognized as familiar to an audience, whether they are able to make a distinct identification of the piece, or if it is simply a vague sense of deja vu influenced by the historical music. "Thus even the early days of ragtime and vaudeville produced their own variations on the classics, though we have few recordings. From the 1920s through the 1940s, James Price Johnson, Jelly Roll Morton, and Fats Waller 'jazzed up' the classics, alongside the Big Band versions of Paul Whiteman, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Les Brown... Many composers of Broadway shows also appropriated classical melodies." (Duxberry, "Nexus...") Pre-Rock Classical interpretations did not stir nearly the amount of controversy that would be seen in later years. The fervent nature of Rock and the moral/political rebellion associated with the genre, perhaps coupled with the passionate dedication of Rock musicians that equals that of the greatest Classical virtuosos, has been fuel for the fires of disapproval."

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