"All Over the World": The Geography of Rock, Jazz and More

Description

In recent years, music historian Paul Groom has visited cities, towns, districts, and streets, buildings and cellars to discover the roots of the blues, rock & roll and related musical trends. His travels have taken him to, Memphis, Tenn.: Hamburg, Germany; Hawthorne, Calif.; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Central Avenue in Los Angeles; Abbey Road in London; La Caverne de la Huchette in Paris; Clarksdale, Miss.; West 70th Street in New York; S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Il; W. Rampart Street in New Orleans; Tupelo, Miss, Grand Boulevard in Detroit; Cleveland; Liverpool, England; the 9th Ward of New Orleans, 9137 S. Figueroa in Los Angeles--and more.

Each place oozes music history, color, excitement, the people and personalities, the wit and sadness, the combination of genres, talents, even cultures, as well as, from time to time, human tragedy.

Over two sessions, Paul will develop the stories from each place and highlight the links between them, how musicians adapted to new and creative developments which then become new industry standards. The presentations combine music, maps, musicians, narratives and memories!

Facilitator

Paul Groom was born in Liverpool and remembers a world prior to the Beatles. He accompanied the rise of “Skiffle” (A sort of influential British “do it yourself” music), its subsequent decline and the rise of Rock & Roll, courtesy of Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles and other American artists. In more recent years his interest has been drawn to the “roots” of Rock & Roll where he has journeyed to the Mississippi Delta, listened, read and watched assiduously, in audio, print and film, discovering the wealth of American music that paved the way for Rock. He also watched, as a teenager, the British Invasion of the USA led by the Beatles bringing a new diversity to American music.

The Beatles phenomenal success and unprecedented effect on popular music was a cultural tidal wave in both the UK and the USA that allowed many others such as the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Herman’s Hermits, the Who to follow in their footsteps. Paul lived in the same “village”, went to the same High school, Sunday school, and lived similar experiences to the Beatles everyday lives. The British Invasion was primarily, but not totally musical and the effects on fashion, film, theater and TV will also be discussed.