Jersey Shore sound

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Jersey Shore sound was a genre of rock and roll popularized at the Jersey Shore on the Atlantic Ocean coast of New Jersey, that went by a variety of names or, more often, was defined by its artists. A synthesis of pre-Beatles rock and roll and pre-Motown Rhythm and Blues, the genre enjoyed a vogue from roughly the late 1960s through the mid-1980s.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The Jersey Shore sound evolved from the mixing of pre-Beatles rock and roll, Rhythm and Blues, and the urban culture of the Mid-Atlantic states, especially Philadelphia, Maryland, Rhode Island, New York, and, of course, New Jersey. The form has a strong Italian-American influence, inasmuch as many of the form's key precursors and artists, from Frankie Valli through Bruce Springsteen, are of Italian ancestry and urban background.

Starting in the late 1990's, the Italian-American link would double back on itself, as Jersey Shore fixture Steven Van Zandt became a star on the organized crime television show The Sopranos, which itself made frequent references to the Jersey Shore sound, notwithstanding the later appearance of Frankie Valli himself as an embattled mob captain. In interviews, Van Zandt would say "growing up, everybody knew some of those guys," and on the 1999 E Street Re-United Tour Springsteen himself would introduce Van Zandt as "the star of the Sopranooos tel-ee-vision show" while the latter played the theme from The Godfather on guitar.

[edit] Characteristics

Jersey Shore music shared two thematic elements with its contemporary (and in many respects related) genres of Heartland rock and Roots rock: a focus on the daily lives of people (in this case, those living in the stereotypically industrial society of Northern and Central Jersey), and a sense of being the underdog (a theme in the genre from The Four Seasons' "Rag Doll", "Walk Like a Man", and "Big Man in Town" through Bruce Springsteen's "Darkness on the Edge of Town"). The New Jersey sound has also been heavily influenced by Italian accordion music. In the example of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band there are 3 accordion players: Danny Federici, Nils Lofgren, and Roy Bittan. All three practiced accordion in its classical form and played in their younger years. This music has carried onto the stage and became an integral part of the music that shaped the NJ sound. Many piano and keyboard parts have a distinct sound of a call and answer reaction to the lyrics sung. Piano, Hammond organ, and glockenspiel emphasize the melody lines. This combination is distinctly a New Jersey sound; some say that it is an extension of the calliope sounds heard on the carousels located on Jersey Shore boardwalks. Many New Jersey horn sections have used similar phrasing that the keyboards play. This is evident with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes sound. There has been influence from Van Morrison in terms of some song structure and with keyboard parts as well.

There were other characteristics, however, that distinguished the "Jersey Shore" sound from its related genres:

  • Danceable - In contrast with Heartland rock, Jersey Shore music lent itself to dancing.
  • Instrumentation - Jersey Shore music tended to borrow more keyboard, brass, and horn-based arrangements from its R&B roots than did its related genres. Many bands incorporated horns as a part of the band (rather than sideman attachments), from Clarence Clemons' saxophone in the E Street Band to the full brass and horns sections of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
  • Romanticism - the genre exhibited a broad streak of romanticism, adding outsized emotion to relationships, personal struggles, and life in general.

[edit] Artists

[edit] Precursors

  • Stax Records - The raw, horn-heavy, danceable soul of Stax/Volt records contrasted with the more heavily produced soul of Motown, and was a key precursor to the Jersey Shore sound.
  • The Four Seasons - This North Jersey-based pop group, mostly Italian American in ancestry, was among the biggest American bands in pre-Beatles rock and roll. The Four Seasons established a number of the themes that would become associated with the Jersey Shore genre: the biggie-sized romanticism of "Big Man in Town", the "Bum...bum chik" beat of "Dawn" (recapped in countless other Jersey bands' songs, from
  • Gary U.S. Bonds - Most famous for his 1962 hit "Quarter To Three" (one of seven top-40 hits between 1960 and 1962), Bonds laid down one of the key precepts of the genre: it was fundamentally party music.
  • Blues and soul music - White soul singers like Van Morrison were key influences.

[edit] Major Artists

  • Bruce Springsteen - While Springsteen and the E Street Band did more than anyone to popularize the genre, Jersey Shore rock is an influence on all of his studio albums, rather than a motif. The elements of the genre appear as accents on songs like "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (from Born to Run), "Racing In The Streets" (from Darkness on the Edge of Town) and "Incident on 57th Street" (from The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle) among many others, mixed heavily with bits and pieces of Van Morrison and Bob Dylan early in his career, and evolving more into Heartland rock later on. But it was in his live performances (captured on innumerable bootlegs and on his Live/1975-85 album), as well as on songs and albums he wrote for other artists ("This Little Girl" by Gary U.S. Bonds, Hearts of Stone by Southside Johnny) that he let his Jersey Shore roots show most frequently.
  • The Drifters - Though not exclusively Jersey Shore sound by any means, the Drifters performed Jersey Shore sound music on their hit song, "Under the Boardwalk."
  • Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes - Immensely popular in the Mid-Atlantic States and in their native New Jersey, the Jukes never really broke out of the region. Their seminal album was Hearts of Stone.
  • Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Although Van Zandt's solo career spanned five albums, only the first one - Men Without Women - recorded in a day with members of the Asbury Jukes, the E Street Band, The Young Rascals, and other Jersey shore bands, was a classic; Van Zandt's future efforts and live performances sans Springsteen failed to live up to the early promise in relation to the "Jersey Shore" sound, however, he produced a number of critically acclaimed albums in different styles. Classic Rock Magazine have rated his 1984 album "Voice of America" as being musically more viable than Paul Simon's classic "Graceland" album from the same year, as it creates new sounds and styles with African music instead of merely placing it in his own work. 1986's "Freedom-No Compromise" and 1989's "Revolution" were heavily influenced by dance music, whilst his final solo album, 1999's "Born Again Savage" was a masterful effort at his first love, Garage Rock.
  • Bon Jovi - although achieving fame through glam metal pop a decade later than the peak of the era, the band is still in the core tradition with evident R&B and heartland rock influences; at the time, they were termed a rediscovery or evolution of the Jersey sound, sometimes the "New" Jersey sound.

[edit] Lesser-known Artists

  • John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band - A long-time staple in Mid-Atlantic bars, Cafferty's band had a brief flash of national stardom with their soundtrack to the movie Eddie and the Cruisers. Their follow-up album, Tough All Over, also had two modest hit singles, the title cut and "C-I-T-Y."
  • Vinnie James - (Also see links below) - Raised on the streets of Newark, and the "inlet" ghetto of Atlantic City, New Jersey, his critically acclaimed RCA debut, "All American Boy," and his 2007 follow-up, "Songs for the Long Journey," are both written and produced in the classic Jersey Shore Sound. Vinnie James worked with Southside Johnny in pre-production on "All American Boy," and provided backing vocals in the studio with Little Steven and Jon Bon Jovi on Jon's first solo album. Vinnie James is the only African-American songwriter in this genre. His first band was called "Rumbletown" and was named after Pleasantville, New Jersey, a suburb of Atlantic City that was given the nickname "Rumbletown" by the news media, because of the intense race riots there in the mid-1970s.
  • Looking Glass - A frat-party band from Rutgers University, Looking Glass had one major hit, "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)," which gets much airplay on the statewide radio station NJ101.5.
  • Glen Burtnik - From the Jersey Shore, released a pair of records on A&M and then joined Styx. His songs have been covered by artists like Patty Smyth and Randy Travis. Also was part of Slaves of New Brunswick.
  • John Eddie - A very popular artist from the Jersey Shore who released albums on Columbia Records and Lost Highways.
  • Bobby Bandiera - A true Jersey Shore staple guitarist and singer.
  • Cats on a Smooth Surface - House band for The Stone Pony in the 1980s, featuring Glen Burtnik and Bobby Bandiera in its original lineup.
  • Garland Jeffreys
  • Joe Long - A true "Jersey Boy." Bass guitar and backup vocal for The Four Seasons.
  • Lance Larson [1]and his bands, The Spartans, Cahoots/Cold Blast & Steel, The Lord Gunner Group, Lance Larson and Heat - was one of the most popular unsigned acts on the East Coast in the 70's and 80's with opening acts including the Smithereens and Jon Bon Jovi and the Wild Ones. Larson's band toured with Sly and the Family Stone and David Johansen. As a composer, Larson rewrote music for Steve Earle's "Devil's Right Hand" and Jimmy Webb's "Still within the Sound of my Voice". Larson's version would be recorded by Steve Earle and Johnny Cash. Glenn Campbell recorded Larson's version of Jimmy Webb's song and in 1988. It would eventually reach number 5 on the US Country singles chart. Larson released two albums - To make a long story short produced by Garry Tallent of the E Street Band in the 1990's and Songs for the Soldier in 2008.
  • The Trinity - a power pop trio formed as a reaction to the Jersey Shore sound, were seen by some in the industry as America's answer to The Jam. They disbanded after touring North America with Lords of the New Church in 1983.
  • Cozy Morley - The essence of the Jersey Shore, was the original performer to sing the local classic "On The Way To Cape May" as well as many other notable songs.
  • Christopher James - Pop artist song writer creating and performing at the Jersey Shore.
  • Colie Brice - Former lead singer and guitarist for Phantom's Opera and Gemini, former guitarist for Brian Saint and the Sinners, currently the owner/operator of AERIA Records in Asbury Park, NJ, a prolific recording artist with over two hundred songs on iTunes and the guitarist for Geena and Dragster who were nominated for best rock band in the 2007 Asbury Park Music Awards.
  • The Hesh Inc. - Singer, songwriter, and keyboard player whose music and lyrics are very influenced by the classic Jersey Shore sound, particularly on his most recent release, Soul In Exile II: Jersey Shore Baby, on AERIA Records; nominated for Top Jersey Roots Act in the 2007 Asbury Music Awards.
  • The Tides (1967-Present) Staple at the Jersey Shore since the late 1960's.
  • Sensational Soul Cruisers- popular 11-man vocal harmony group under the tutelage of sax player Screamin' Steve Barlotta(Gary U.S. Bonds Musical Director 1987-98)While the group has been known as the Soul Cruisers since 1992, the rhythm section was known for many years prior to that, being the band behind Eddie Testa, as “Eddie and the Cruisers”.That band and its name inspired the somewhat popular (albeit entirely fictionally based) movie of the same name.Nominated for Top Jersey Roots Act in the 2005 Asbury Music Awards.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links