Influential people in the history of the pop video
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was one of the most popular blues singer in the 1920s. She was even nicknamed "the empress of the blues." Bessie Smith stared in what is commonly argued to be the earliest pop video in 1929 of St Louis Blues. This recording is seen to be incredibly important as it is the most popular recorded version of the tune originally done by Louis Armstrong.
In short film of the song Bessie Smith sings St Louis Blues and is accompanied by Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and pianist James P. Johnson. There are lots of people in this video and there is a narrative framing the song. Is it filmed in black and white which shows us it has been filmed a long while ago. This clip was shown in cinema for 4 years helping the song become popular because people would always hear the song there. Music featuring in cinema was one of the most common ways that artists would spread there music so for this song to be in cinema for 4 years tells us that cinema was very important in sharing music to people as the wasn't many other ways to share music.
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby was one of the biggest stars in the world in the 1940s. He was a singer and an actor. Bing Crosby's warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists with leading record sales and radio ratings.
Bing Crosby's White Christmas was his most popular hit to date. It sold over 100 million copies around the world. The song was first introduced in 1941 on the radio and in 1942 it was included in the movie Holiday Inn. This shows that cinema was still important for artists to be able to share their music as there still wasn't that many ways to broadcast music. The increasing popularity of the radio also helped the increasing admiration of Bing Crosby's hit.
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was an American singer, actor, director and producer. He begin his career in the swing era as a singer. In 1946 he released his first album; The voice of Frank Sinatra. He was the original teenage pop idol, his music put forward a persona which audiences felt was compelling. In the film featuring Frank Sinatra we see him standing still in a formal suit. The focus is on him and his talent.
Elvis Presley
Born in 1935 was the king of rock and roll. Presley's first single heartbreak hotel became a number one hit in the US. He energised interpretations of songs and had sexually proactive performance style. This made him very popular as he was controversial. In contrast to Frank Sinatra, Elvis wore leather jackets and catsuits. He also played the guitar. The focus was on his performance as well as his talent. This shows how the presentation of music has developed overtime.
The Beatles and Top Of The Pops
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr formed the legendary band; The Beatles.
Top of the Pops was a British music television programme, made by the BBC it aired almost every week between January 1964 and July 2006. Top Of The Pops was very popular as it featured the best top 40 music acts and was the only programme to do this at the time. Top Of The Pops created innovation and competition between acts to out do each other. Producers were only allowed an finite amount of videos to air so this encourages labels and bands to show a good video so they could increase tier sales and audiences would be excited to see it next week on the show. By 2006 Top Of The Pops had been beaten by other music channels which provided audiences music whenever they liked, individuals no longer had to wait for Top Of The Pops to hear new music. The Beatles played two songs at the Top Of The Pops; Ticket To Ride and Yes It Is. In this performance we see that all the band members are wearing the same clothing. This shows that they are united and all the same. They are also standing with very little movement or any actual scenery and few instruments. This encourages the focus on their raw talent. We see each individual thus further representing their talent equally.
A Hard Days Night was the first film to include music. This presented The Beatles boys' as cheeky chaps and showed a lot more of their personality than their video of them just standing being rather boring at Top Of The Pops. The Beatles were portrayed as being amazed at the constant attention they received and showed that they wanted nothing other than peace and quiet; however they were forced to deal with screaming crowds. The film premiered at the pavilion Theatre in London on 6th July 1964 and the soundtrack was released 4 days later. It was demanded so highly that more than 1,600 prints were in circulation simultaneously. Now as well as television music could be advertised during film.
The Beatles produced one of the first ever pop video. It features many different shots. Firstly, we are shown close up of each band members face. This was most likely done to attract the attention of the many obsessive girls who loved The Beatles' boys. Then, we are shown a mid shot of the boys and their guitars. They are dressed formally in the middle of a greenery setting which is seemed to be very unusual. The mid shot is shown for a while so it gives the audience time to reflect on the scenery, instruments and clothing. Then the camera sweeps in from the left presenting a side angle of the two band members playing their guitars, slowly zooming into a close up, then zooms back out and in again. This is a very uncommon way to film, grabbing the audiences attention more so as they do not know what to expect next. Randomly, we are shown extreme close ups of all the band members wearing dark glasses and then taking them off so we are able to look directly into their eyes. This was done with the intention to captivate young girls hearts as they were being led to feel as though they were staring right into their favourite band members eye's.
MTV
MTV was launched in 1981. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggle's Video Killed
The Radio Star.
The song refers to the changes in music during the 1960s whereby the new generation would no longer appreciate past "radio stars." Relating to the concerns raised about mixed attitudes towards technological inventions which made making music no longer a raw talent rather photography, record production and audio recording. This video was advertised on Top Of The Pops and MTV. But it was critiqued for being too violent as they blew up a television. This video is known for marking the debut of MTV.
By the mid 1980s videos played the main role in the marketing of music. Some see MTV as the "golden era" of music videos, the success of a new art form. On the other hand, others see it as the death of the true musical artist as physical appeal became more popular than talent eg. Madonna.
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was one of the most popular blues singer in the 1920s. She was even nicknamed "the empress of the blues." Bessie Smith stared in what is commonly argued to be the earliest pop video in 1929 of St Louis Blues. This recording is seen to be incredibly important as it is the most popular recorded version of the tune originally done by Louis Armstrong.
In short film of the song Bessie Smith sings St Louis Blues and is accompanied by Fletcher Henderson's orchestra and pianist James P. Johnson. There are lots of people in this video and there is a narrative framing the song. Is it filmed in black and white which shows us it has been filmed a long while ago. This clip was shown in cinema for 4 years helping the song become popular because people would always hear the song there. Music featuring in cinema was one of the most common ways that artists would spread there music so for this song to be in cinema for 4 years tells us that cinema was very important in sharing music to people as the wasn't many other ways to share music.
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby was one of the biggest stars in the world in the 1940s. He was a singer and an actor. Bing Crosby's warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists with leading record sales and radio ratings.
Bing Crosby's White Christmas was his most popular hit to date. It sold over 100 million copies around the world. The song was first introduced in 1941 on the radio and in 1942 it was included in the movie Holiday Inn. This shows that cinema was still important for artists to be able to share their music as there still wasn't that many ways to broadcast music. The increasing popularity of the radio also helped the increasing admiration of Bing Crosby's hit.
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was an American singer, actor, director and producer. He begin his career in the swing era as a singer. In 1946 he released his first album; The voice of Frank Sinatra. He was the original teenage pop idol, his music put forward a persona which audiences felt was compelling. In the film featuring Frank Sinatra we see him standing still in a formal suit. The focus is on him and his talent.
Elvis Presley
Born in 1935 was the king of rock and roll. Presley's first single heartbreak hotel became a number one hit in the US. He energised interpretations of songs and had sexually proactive performance style. This made him very popular as he was controversial. In contrast to Frank Sinatra, Elvis wore leather jackets and catsuits. He also played the guitar. The focus was on his performance as well as his talent. This shows how the presentation of music has developed overtime.
The Beatles and Top Of The Pops
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr formed the legendary band; The Beatles.
Top of the Pops was a British music television programme, made by the BBC it aired almost every week between January 1964 and July 2006. Top Of The Pops was very popular as it featured the best top 40 music acts and was the only programme to do this at the time. Top Of The Pops created innovation and competition between acts to out do each other. Producers were only allowed an finite amount of videos to air so this encourages labels and bands to show a good video so they could increase tier sales and audiences would be excited to see it next week on the show. By 2006 Top Of The Pops had been beaten by other music channels which provided audiences music whenever they liked, individuals no longer had to wait for Top Of The Pops to hear new music. The Beatles played two songs at the Top Of The Pops; Ticket To Ride and Yes It Is. In this performance we see that all the band members are wearing the same clothing. This shows that they are united and all the same. They are also standing with very little movement or any actual scenery and few instruments. This encourages the focus on their raw talent. We see each individual thus further representing their talent equally.
A Hard Days Night was the first film to include music. This presented The Beatles boys' as cheeky chaps and showed a lot more of their personality than their video of them just standing being rather boring at Top Of The Pops. The Beatles were portrayed as being amazed at the constant attention they received and showed that they wanted nothing other than peace and quiet; however they were forced to deal with screaming crowds. The film premiered at the pavilion Theatre in London on 6th July 1964 and the soundtrack was released 4 days later. It was demanded so highly that more than 1,600 prints were in circulation simultaneously. Now as well as television music could be advertised during film.
The Beatles produced one of the first ever pop video. It features many different shots. Firstly, we are shown close up of each band members face. This was most likely done to attract the attention of the many obsessive girls who loved The Beatles' boys. Then, we are shown a mid shot of the boys and their guitars. They are dressed formally in the middle of a greenery setting which is seemed to be very unusual. The mid shot is shown for a while so it gives the audience time to reflect on the scenery, instruments and clothing. Then the camera sweeps in from the left presenting a side angle of the two band members playing their guitars, slowly zooming into a close up, then zooms back out and in again. This is a very uncommon way to film, grabbing the audiences attention more so as they do not know what to expect next. Randomly, we are shown extreme close ups of all the band members wearing dark glasses and then taking them off so we are able to look directly into their eyes. This was done with the intention to captivate young girls hearts as they were being led to feel as though they were staring right into their favourite band members eye's.
MTV
MTV was launched in 1981. The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggle's Video Killed
The Radio Star.
The song refers to the changes in music during the 1960s whereby the new generation would no longer appreciate past "radio stars." Relating to the concerns raised about mixed attitudes towards technological inventions which made making music no longer a raw talent rather photography, record production and audio recording. This video was advertised on Top Of The Pops and MTV. But it was critiqued for being too violent as they blew up a television. This video is known for marking the debut of MTV.
By the mid 1980s videos played the main role in the marketing of music. Some see MTV as the "golden era" of music videos, the success of a new art form. On the other hand, others see it as the death of the true musical artist as physical appeal became more popular than talent eg. Madonna.
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