Under One Roof:
Independent Record Labels & the Proliferation of Rock & Roll
Aaron M. Hancox
This essay explores the important role of American independent record labels in the rock and roll explosion of the 1950s. While major record companies in the United States spread rock and roll around the world, it was independent producers and record labels that shaped and defined the music and culture in its most prolific era. Their proximity to their desired audience, their market specialization, their willingness to experiment with recording technology, and their self-sustaining infrastructure allowed independents to bypass the restrictions and hierarchies of majors and produce a brand new music. Fusing black and white cultures together, the innovation behind rock and roll was largely the result of pioneering producers like Sam Phillips at Sun records, and Norman Petty. Using experimental physicist Ursula Franklin's ideas of technology as practice and the holistic versus prescriptive dichotomy as discursive starting points, this paper examines how 'indies' fostered practices of sound production and dissemination that created the mould for others to use. Fifty years later, their impact on popular music and culture remains incalculable.
In The Real World of Technology, Ursula Franklin introduces the idea of technology as practice. She writes that in thinking of technology as a "way of doing something," a direct link is made with culture: "culture, after all, is a set of socially accepted and agreed upon practices and values" (15).[1] In so doing, Franklin establishes a dichotomy between what she calls holistic and prescriptive technologies. Holistic technologies are "normally associated with notions of craft," whereby the creator of a work oversees its completion from start to finish (Franklin 18-19). Prescriptive technologies, on the other hand, are just the opposite. Also referred to as the division of labour, prescriptive technologies are like production-line modes of production in that they involve highly specialized groups of workers who perform very specific steps in the completion of a product (Franklin 20). They are, therefore prescriptive because those involved have little input in the final work.
During the 1950s in America, independent record labels defined rock and roll music as a unique hybrid of black and white cultures. These small companies established a holistic approach to the production and dissemination of music that, with innovative technological practices, proved invaluable in the proliferation of rock and roll. Using Franklin's ideas of technology as practice and the holistic versus prescriptive dichotomy as discursive starting points, this paper will examine American independent record labels of the 1950s, and elucidate their integral role in the history of popular music and culture. Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee and independent producer Norman Petty will serve as the primary examples for the purposes of this paper.
The history of American independent record labels dates back to the 1920s when patents held on sound recording technologies entered the public domain. Before that point, the music industry had been controlled by a small group of companies, including RCA, Victor, and Edison. New record labels were forced, out of market necessity, to cater to the neglected spheres of the industry; the "race" market and other obscure or regional markets were targeted as to not compete directly with the majors. Independent labels were thus able to document an extraordinary amount of folk, rural blues, gospel, jazz, hillbilly and myriad indigenous styles of American music.
Independent record labels were on the commercial and artistic vanguard of popular music from the mid-1940s to the early 60s. The advent of cheap, good quality magnetic tape, the post-war abundance of shellac, and the booming economy in the late 40s allowed for a greater number of independents to start up. Even as the rock and roll movement became a commercial hotbed in the mid-50s, major labels were slow to respond to the trend. Rock and roll's latent sexuality, rebellious spirit, simple instrumentation and composition, and its basis in black culture rendered it lowbrow in the eyes of many. American conglomerates eventually adopted the musical and technological practices of rock and roll as developed by independents, albeit with strong resistance. It wasn't long before small labels were muscled out of the mainstream. Nevertheless, the acceptance of these practices in the early 60s signalled a paradigmatic shift in American history and socio-cultural consciousness.
The study of technology as practice shows that musical and cultural movements are often inseparable from technology. As rock and roll came to symbolize rebellion and tension between high and low culture, the practices of independent record labels were as sonically experimental as they were culturally. One of the early rock and roll styles, rockabilly, is a hybrid of country music and rhythm and blues. Rockabilly is a prime example of technology as practice because the style is in many ways a studio-dependent sound. The characteristic echo ("slapback" echo) heard on seminal songs like Elvis Presley's "That's All Right," Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire," and Carl Perkins' "Blue Suede Shoes," is a tape delay created by Sam Phillips at Sun Records in 1954. Slapback echo epitomized the rockabilly sound and, thus the 'Sun' sound through blending instruments together and emphasizing the wild vocal delivery. The means through which this effect was achieved are very primitive by today's technological standards:
By 1954 Phillips had upgraded his equipment and installed two Ampex 350 recorders: one console model and another mounted on a rack behind his head for the tape delay echo, or slapback," for which Sun became famous. By "bouncing" the signal from one machine to another, with a split-second lag between the two, he created his characteristic echo effect (Escott and Hawkins 15).
The classic echo, which was apparently created to mask the dead sound of the Sun studio, became the subject of frustration for engineers at RCA records in 1956, after the major label purchased Elvis Presley's contract from Sun in 1955. RCA's engineers actually telephoned Sam Phillips to ask for his help in recreating the echo that had become such an integral part of Elvis' sound (Morrison 69). Even after hearing Phillips' advice, RCA engineers were still unable to reproduce the classic echo faithfully. The co-option of the Sun sound is another example of how the practices of independents were appropriated by majors.
As a producer, Sam Phillips continually challenged existing trends and notions of what was traditionally considered pleasing to the ears. Not only did he experiment with distorted sounds, he introduced them into the mainstream as deliberate musical devices. The number one (according to Billboard magazine) rhythm and blues song "Rocket 88," is a striking example of this phenomenon. On route to Sun studios in March 1951, Ike Turner's band was set to record the seminal track featuring Jackie Brenston (the track is credited to "Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats") when the guitar amplifier fell off the roof of the car. When Turner's group setup in the studio, the amplifier was severely distorting due to a damaged speaker cone. Rather than hide the sonic imperfection, Phillips stuffed newspaper in the amplifier and mixed the guitar track up front (Escott and Hawkins 24). By emphasizing the muffled, distorted guitar, Phillips helped create the gritty rock and roll guitar sound that became commonplace in the 1960s with artists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. Phillips is also partly responsible for popularizing the 'bottom-heavy' sound of rock and roll. Working with B.B. King, Phillips recorded songs in which the bass, guitar and piano played in unison: "It was a bottom-heavy sound that challenged established precepts about of how recordings should be balanced" (Escott and Hawkins 12). The legendary B.B King track, "She's Dynamite" (recorded in 1951) illustrates this innovative approach to sound recording.
Independent producers who licensed their music to majors were permitted the same artistic license as their colleagues at smaller labels. The 1950s saw this new breed of producers gain prominence through their attention to fringe styles and emerging trends; since they did not work out of a centralized office, they were usually closer to the source of the music (Goldrosen 85). The independent producer maintained a holistic approach in the record making process: "Sometimes, the independent producer did everything from writing the songs to finding singers, financing the recordings, supervising the sessions and then leasing the tape to record companies" (Gillet 96). Norman Petty strongly characterized this type of producer. Working with Buddy Holly, Petty was also a manager, studio owner, engineer and arranger. While the degree to which he actually contributed to the song writing process has been the subject of some controversy, his artistic contribution to Holly's music was so profound that his name was often included in the songwriters' credits. The experimental studio techniques of Petty and Holly were extremely influential on future rock practitioners. When they recorded "Words of Love" in 1957, multi-track recording machines were not yet in use. Instead, Petty recorded Holly's overdubbed guitar and vocal lines "by playing the tape through again while performing new live sounds, and recording everything together on a second machine" (Goldrosen 85). This process proved to be time consuming as reaching a balance between instruments was accomplished through trial and error.
As already mentioned, the holistic role played by independent record producers was conducive to producing quality music that challenged existing values and aesthetics of sound recording. It was only by working in this context that artists like Buddy Holly were able to grow, experiment and develop their style. Owning his own studio gave Norman Petty and his recording artists an edge - they were able to work off the clock. He charged by the session instead of by the hour. Since he published the songs he recorded, Petty was financially remunerated if the songs succeeded. It was, therefore in his interest to take the time with artists to experiment and produce a high calibre product:
His theory, as he explains it now, was that a group would produce a better record if the group could take as long as it needed — and what Petty was most interested in was a record that would sell well enough to establish the song as a standard in his publishing catalogue. He was willing to take a loss on the studio (usually just a paper loss, since all that was involved was his own time) in exchange for the large returns on publishing royalties for the original record and later versions of the same song (Goldrosen 73).
At Sun Records, Sam Phillips had a similar creative approach to Norman Petty's in regards to studio rates and his willingness to take risks. Carl Perkins said of Phillips: "'He wanted his records to be different, and he tried anything... He didn't tell us how to play. The only thing he did was relax you. He didn't have a red light that came on. He didn't have a time period. Sometimes we'd go into Sun at two o'clock in the afternoon and come out at ten the next morning'" (qtd. in Morrison 38).
Other holistic elements of Sam Phillip's approach included creating a house band and publishing his performers' songs through his own firms. These last characteristics were actually pioneered by another small record company that produced both country and rhythm and blues crossover hits — King records in Cincinnati. Company head, Sydney Nathan made King one of the first record labels to found its own publishing companies and have a studio band, not to mention appointing black company executives and producing the same songs with black and white artists. Indeed, being a self-sustained nucleus allowed King, Sun and others full leverage to produce and distribute the music of their choice. "Under one roof, Nathan built a truly self-contained independent record company. The King plant had everything he needed, except the equipment to make shipping cartons. A singer could walk into King in the morning and leave that night with a new record in his hands" (Kennedy and McNutt 60). It was these holistic technologies and practices developed at places like King and Sun that allowed independents to bypass major labels and bring fringe music directly to wide audiences. The house band model would eventually become a standard at many record labels, including Motown and RCA's Nashville studio (Kennedy and McNutt 60). If it weren't for the ability of these companies to disseminate regional music styles and infiltrate the mainstream so potently, rock and roll would never have spread and major labels wouldn't have adopted it.
Without giving a detailed account of the economic hardships endured by independent record labels, it should be noted that they struggled financially to break even. Their survival was made possible due to low company overhead and the ability of their records to find audiences. Between 1920 and 1960, black record buyers, as well as rural, country and western fans (or "hillbillies") had few alternatives. Moreover, independents were usually near the source of a style and took advantage of their proximity in gauging what people liked and listened to. Unlike at major labels, the musical and cultural products of independents reflected the indigenous values of the average American. Craig Morrison highlights the holistic conditions under which theses operations unfurled:
"Regional markets developed, often centered on record labels. Independent record companies, known as indies, have some advantages over major labels: they are closer to their markets and therefore possibly more able to perceive what may attract the record-buying audience. They are more likely to be in touch with and take a chance on untried musicians or ones with only local fame. A disadvantage for small independents is that their limited capital and connections hamper distribution and promotion" (44).
While major record companies in the United States spread rock and roll around the world, it was independent producers and record labels that shaped and defined the music and culture in its most formative era. Their proximity to their desired audience, their market specialization, their willingness to experiment with recording technology, and their self-sustaining infrastructure allowed independents to bypass the restrictions and hierarchies of majors and produce a brand new music.
Other significant 'indie scenes' have come and gone throughout the years, perhaps most notably, the UK music scene in the late 70s and early 80s. Rough Trade Records and Factory Records were among the independent labels that provided a refreshing alternative to the soaring power ballads and thunderous arena rock of their day. Many quintessential punk, post-punk, and new wave groups emerged from this scene, including Joy Division and New Order, who owe much of their success to the creative nucleus of Manchester's Factory Records. Legendary in-house producer, Martin Hannett incorporated elements of dub music into the 'Factory sound' and emphasized a stark emptiness that contrasted the 'wall of sound' aesthetic of someone like Phil Spector. His unconventional production techniques included feeding drum sounds into washrooms, and taking apart every piece of a drum kit then putting it together again ("From Hero to Zero"). Coupled with company founder Tony Wilson's eagerness to sign local, working-class musicians, Hannett's production ethos sparked a musical revolution that spawned countless imitators on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ursula Franklin's notion of technology as practice provides a frame of reference to appreciate of the innovative work of American independent record labels of the 1950s and popular music at large. Of significance is the tradition of major labels and their prescriptive technologies appropriating the techniques of smaller producers. RCA and other majors stopped resisting the rock and roll machine and began producing their own stars by the end of the 1950s. Independents were no longer able to compete with larger labels and many were eventually bought out. Through holistic uses of technology and industry, 'indies' fostered practices of sound production and dissemination that created the mould for others to use. Fifty years later, their impact on popular music and culture remains incalculable.
Notes
[1] Here, Franklin and others theorists of mass communication, such as Paul Théberge, establish themselves in the tradition of French philosopher Michel Foucault. Foucault examines "technologies of the self" as "techniques" that encompass modes of production and methods of domination, which in turn help train workers and reshape their attitudes (18). In much the same way, Ursula Franklin likens technology to democracy as a complex matrix of organization, power relations, and modes of production in which we all exist (12). Théberge uses the term technology when discussing musical practices to include both the use of equipment and "the training and discipline of labour and the organization of means" (1).
References
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