Bubblegum music
Bubblegum | |
---|---|
Other names | Bubblegum pop |
Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | Late 1960s, United States[1] |
Derivative forms | |
Other topics | |
Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is
Producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz claimed credit for coining "bubblegum", saying that when they discussed their target audience, they decided it was "teenagers, the young kids. And at the time we used to be chewing bubblegum, and my partner and I used to look at it and laugh and say, 'Ah, this is like bubblegum music'."[3] The term was then popularized by their boss, Buddah Records label executive Neil Bogart. It became often used as a pejorative for pop music that is perceived to be disposable and contrived.[13]
Most bubblegum acts were
Definitions
Occasionally invoked as a pejorative,[3] the "bubblegum" descriptor has several different applications.[13] The 2001 book Bubblegum Music Is the Naked Truth rules out teen pop or boy bands as inherently bubblegum and defines the term as:
- "the classic bubblegum era from 1967–1972"
- "disposable pop music"
- "pop music contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens"
- "pop music produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers and using faceless singers"
- "pop music with that intangible, upbeat 'bubblegum' sound."[13]
The artists were typically singles acts, with songs commonly featuring sing-along choruses, seemingly childlike themes and a contrived innocence, occasionally combined with an undercurrent of sexual
There is debate concerning which artists fit the genre, especially for cases such as the Monkees.[3] In the opinion of music historian Bill Pitzonka: "The whole thing that really makes a record bubblegum is just an inherently contrived innocence that somehow transcends that. [...] It has to sound like they mean it."[3] Music critic David Smay argued that disco is merely bubblegum by another name and that since bubblegum is "dance music for pre-teen girls", the genre's scope must therefore include dance-pop and such associated figures as Stock Aitken Waterman and Kylie Minogue, but "Not all dance-pop is aimed at kids and shouldn't be presumed to be disposable anymore than bubblegum."[7]
Precursors
According to music historian Carl Caferelli, "You could conceivably think of virtually every cute novelty hit, from pre-rock ditties like "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window" to transcendent rock-era staples like "
Original commercial peak (1968–1972)
"American bubblegum pop was often like garage rock's bouncy little brother: lacking the moodiness and sex appeal, but you could see the shared DNA. British bubblegum was born out of the same talent glut of session musicians and songwriters and shared a sweet tooth, but it was quite different in approach, owing rock almost nothing and rarely placing much of a premium on kid energy."
—Tom Ewing, Freaky Trigger[5]
Bubblegum is generally traced to the success of the 1968 songs "
Robin Carmody of Freaky Trigger writes that British bubblegum from 1968 to 1972 was distinct from the "more worldly and sophisticated American equivalent" by being "simplistic, childish, over-excited, innocent, full of absolute certainties and safe knowledges", while noting that it "essentially bridged the gap between the poppier end of the mid-60s beat boom and glam rock".[6]
1970s hits and influence
Most bubblegum acts were
While some more confrontational music would become popular with kids – some of the more colourful rave anthems, for example – kids' music became synonymous with novelty tie-ins like Bob the Builder and Mr Blobby until the explosion in kids' music, fuelled by the cross-promotional opportunities offered by the multiplicity of kids' TV channels, led by the Wiggles and the Disney stable.[15]
Many musicians who grew up with the genre later incorporated bubblegum influences in their work.[17] Although it is rarely acknowledged by music critics, who typically dismissed the genre, bubblegum's simple song structures, upbeat tempos, and catchy hooks were carried into punk rock.[19] The Ramones were the most prominent of the bubblegum-influenced punk bands, adopting cartoon personae and later covering two bubblegum standards "Little Bit O' Soul" and "Indian Giver".[15] Pitzonka stated of bubblegum's legacy:
Bubblegum really did lay a deeper foundation than anybody's willing to give it credit for. Yes, it is responsible for
melodic metal comes out of that too. Bubblegum was based in melody; it was all about the song. It was all about getting the message across in two and a half minutes. [...] And it was the perfect antidote to everything that was going on [in the late 1960s].[3]
Bubblegum dance
The term "bubblegum dance" has sometimes been used to describe music. The 1971 Osmonds song "One Bad Apple" is an early example, modeled after the style of the Jackson 5.[20]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-051147-5. Archivedfrom the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4408-6377-6. Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Cafarelli, Carl (April 25, 1997). "An Informal History of Bubblegum Music". Goldmine #437. pp. 16–76. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ a b Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 3.
- ^ a b Ewing, Tom (September 27, 2006). "Edison Lighthouse - "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes"". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c Carmody, Robin (January 1, 2002). "The Cottage Industry of Moments". Freaky Trigger. p. 1. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
- ^ a b c Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 271.
- ^ "Glam Rock". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 248.
- ^ Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 246.
- ^ "Twee Pop". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Yalcinkaya, Gunseli (March 17, 2021). "Hyperpop is the new sound for a post-pandemic world". Dazed. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 1.
- ^ Bubblegum pop music guide
- ^ a b c d e Stanley, Bob (December 2, 2010). "Bubblegum pop: all the young dudes". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - January 20, 1969" (PDF).
- ^ a b n.a. (n.d.). "Pop/Rock » Pop/Rock » Bubblegum". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ Cooper & Smay 2001, p. 252.
- ^ Cooper & Smay 2001, pp. 27, 165, 246.
- ISBN 978-0306809231.
Sources
- Cooper, Kim; Smay, David, eds. (2001). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. ISBN 978-0-922915-69-9.