Face the music
C.A.-In 1956, a young man from the south of the United States made a record called Heartbreak Hotel. The young man was Elvis Presley. Eight million people bought his record and it went straight to number one in the US charts. It was the first of many hits for Elvis and it was also one of the first modern pop records.
‘Pop’ is the popular music: music of the people. There has always been popular music, but pop was born around the time that Elvis began singing — more than fifty years ago. Pop songs are about girls and boys, going out, dancing, having a good time, being in love and being out of love. Pop is for the young. It is about growing up and about not growing up. It is about feeling different. Pop tells you it is OK to feel the way you do. Pop can be happy or sad. It can be strange, it can be fun, it can be dangerous. For the people who work in the pop business, it is usually about making money. For most people, it is about having a good time. Pop is for now. Most pop doesn’t mean very much. And yet, now and then, pop says something important in a beautiful way. There are some songs and sounds which speak to everyone.
Howard Goodall's Story of Music from the BBC
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