CME Class 5 Exam

Phil Spector — Methods & Sound

  • Gold Star echo chambers: Used the studio’s chambers as a core “instrument” to get his trademark huge reverb; this space + his intent shaped the overall sound.

  • Total control philosophy: Kept tight control over every part; believed even if one instrument isn’t clearly heard, removing that player would subtly change the record’s feel.

  • Core session band (The Wrecking Crew): Regularly used top LA players—especially Hal Blaine (drums) and Carol Kaye (bass)—for precision and power.

  • Gear & format choices: Started on mono and 2-track; by late 1963 used a 4-track Scully. Added texture with specific instruments (e.g., Epiphone Emperor jazz guitar) drenched in echo.

Phil Spector — Key Works & Roles

  • “Be My Baby” (The Ronettes): Signature Wall of Sound single; tied to his early-’60s sessions (around the 1963 “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” period).

  • “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (The Righteous Brothers): Late-1964 session; classic Spector production.

  • “River Deep, Mountain High” (Ike & Tina Turner): Massive, layered production regarded as a major Spector statement.

  • The Beatles — Let It Be: Brought in to edit/remix “Get Back” session tapes into an album; embellished tracks like “Across the Universe” and “The Long and Winding Road” with large choir/orchestra.

  • George Harrison — All Things Must Pass: Produced the full triple-album; huge success. Key tracks include “My Sweet Lord” and “Wah Wah.”

Florence Greenberg's Scepter Records: Companies and Key Artists

Florence Greenberg — Companies

  • Tiara Records (1958): Her first label, started after deciding to enter the record business. She quickly sold Tiara and The Shirelles’ contract to Decca Records for $4,000, which gave her seed money for her next venture.

  • Scepter Records (1959): Founded in New York after regaining The Shirelles from Decca. Became her main company.

  • Wand Records (1961): Subsidiary of Scepter, originally for heavier R&B. Eventually, Scepter and Wand functioned almost the same, sharing staff and office space, and were used mainly to promote artists.

  • Retirement: Ran the companies until 1976, when she retired and sold them to Springboard International.

Key Artists and Songs under Scepter/Wand

  • The Shirelles

    • “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” → First #1 hit nationwide (1961), made both the group and label famous.

    • “Soldier Boy” → #1 in 1962.

    • “Dedicated to the One I Love” → Reissue hit, #3 on charts.

  • Dionne Warwick

    • “Don’t Make Me Over” → early hit, began long collaboration with Burt Bacharach & Hal David.

    • “I Say a Little Prayer” → #4 in 1968.

    • “(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls” → #2 in 1968.

    • 31 Top 40 hits total with Scepter.

  • B.J. Thomas

    • “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” → Won Academy Award & Grammy in 1970.

  • The Kingsmen

    • “Louie Louie” → Scepter/Wand’s best-selling record, reached #1.

  • Chuck Jackson

    • “I Don’t Want to Cry” → #5 on R&B charts; first artist signed to Wand.

  • The Isley Brothers

    • “Twist and Shout” → classic R&B hit released on Wand.

  • Maxine Brown

    • “Oh No Not My Baby” → biggest of her hits for Wand, #24 in 1964.

Importance of Florence Greenberg

  1. First woman to fully run a significant record label. Started as a housewife with no music background, but built and managed a successful independent company.

  2. Ownership & financing: Used her own funds from Tiara sale to launch Scepter. Partnered with Marvin Schlachter but kept primary control.

  3. Executive role: Personally handled promotion and A&R decisions (e.g., insisting on signing Dionne Warwick after hearing a demo). Her push helped The Shirelles outsell competitors.

  4. Success & longevity: Scepter/Wand lasted 17 years, producing multiple #1 hits (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” “Soldier Boy,” “Louie Louie”). Long-term anchors included Dionne Warwick and B.J. Thomas, who kept the label profitable into the 1970s.

  5. Legacy: When she retired in 1976, she left behind a label “fondly remembered” for launching major artists, sustaining a run of hits, and showing that an independent, woman-led label could compete with major record companies.

✅ Test-ready one-sentence answer:
Florence Greenberg founded Tiara, Scepter, and Wand Records, launching careers of The Shirelles, Dionne Warwick, B.J. Thomas, and others; as the first woman to fully own and operate a successful label (1959–1976), she proved that an independent company could produce multiple #1 hits and remain competitive for nearly two decades.

Gender, Authorship, and the Music Business (1950s–Present)

What Has Changed (Then vs. Now)

1. From Corporate Ownership to Creative Authorship

  • Florence Greenberg (1950s–70s):

    • First woman to fully own and run a major record company (Scepter & Wand Records).

    • Her struggle was executive and entrepreneurial: financing, promotion, managing operations, and keeping the label successful for nearly 20 years.

  • Contemporary artists (2000s–today):

    • Struggles are no longer about running companies, but about receiving proper creative and technical credit.

    • Grimes: frustrated at men insisting she needs outside producers, assuming she “can’t use technology.”

    • Solange Knowles: criticized being portrayed as just a “vocal muse” when she actually co-writes every song.

    • Björk: said it would be cowardly not to speak up about being denied credit; encourages women to show themselves at mixing desks to claim authority.

2. Increased Public Demands for Credit

  • Modern artists use platforms like social media to demand authorship recognition.

    • Solange: publicly called out the industry on Twitter for erasing her songwriting role.

    • Björk: spoke openly to support other women, urging visibility of female producers.

    • M.I.A.: encouraged by Björk’s advice to literally pose at mixing desks to prove technical involvement.

What Hasn’t Changed (Persistent Problems)

1. Questioning Authorship and Technical Competence

  • Björk (Vespertine): did 80% of the beats herself, but male collaborators got most of the credit.

  • Joni Mitchell (earlier era): complained that whichever man was in the room with her got credit for her ideas.

  • Solange: still framed as a “muse” instead of a songwriter/producer.

  • Taylor Swift: says women are forced to work harder to “prove” they create their own work, while men like Ed Sheeran are never questioned.

2. Persistent Stereotypes

  • Stereotypes in roles:

    • Man with guitar = songwriter.

    • Man at the console = producer/mastermind.

    • Woman in flashy clothes = pop star (passive, aesthetic).

  • These stereotypes are internalized even by women themselves:

    • Imogen Heap: admitted she assumed Taylor Swift didn’t write much of her own music until working with her.

    • Neko Case: confessed she often assumed a “dude did it” when hearing music.

3. Need for Constant Over-Proof

  • Women have to constantly re-prove their talent.

  • Björk: “Everything a guy says once, you have to say five times.”

Test-Ready Summary

In the 1950s–70s, Florence Greenberg’s success showed women could own and run major record companies, but the modern struggle has shifted to women artists fighting for recognition as true authors and producers. While women like Björk, Solange, Grimes, and Taylor Swift now speak out publicly to demand credit, stereotypes persist—female creativity and technical skill are still doubted, forcing women to constantly over-prove themselves in a way men are not.

Music Canon Analysis: Producers vs. Female Artists

A. NME’s “50 Greatest Producers Ever”

  • Purpose: To celebrate the producer’s role as essential but often overlooked.

  • Scope: Heavy focus on male producers who were pioneers of specific genres or signature sounds.

  • Notable Figures & Contributions:

    • George Clinton — created P-Funk through Parliament/Funkadelic.

    • DJ Shadow — advanced “sampladelica.”

    • RZA — shaped hip-hop with fluid, menacing style for Wu-Tang Clan.

    • Roy Thomas Baker — bold productions like Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

    • Trevor Horn — epitome of 1980s opulent pop production.

    • Steve Albini — uncompromising hard rock/punk/grunge sound.

    • Jerry Wexler — guided Aretha Franklin from gospel to soul; Atlantic Records co-head.

    • Jimmy Miller — iconic Rolling Stones albums.

  • Observation: List strongly reflects the male-dominated history of credited producers, reinforcing the association of technical and sonic innovation with men.

B. NPR’s “150 Greatest Albums Made by Women”

  • Purpose: A corrective intervention — meant to re-center women in the popular music canon (1964–present).

  • Themes: Authorship, creative control, resistance against gender expectations.

Examples from Album Blurbs:

  • The Roches (1979) (#150):

    • Producer Robert Fripp got credit for its “audio verité” sound, but the sisters’ own rehearsal style inspired it. Corrects male-over-crediting.

  • Alicia Keys — Songs In A Minor (2001) (#149):

    • Fought skepticism of her musicianship (“sit over there in the corner”); set up her own Queens studio.

    • Album went #1, proved her as a visionary composer.

  • The Breeders — Last Splash (1993) (#144):

    • Kim Deal finally got spotlight as songwriter after being overshadowed in Pixies.

    • Outsold Pixies albums, confirming her talent.

  • Other Examples:

    • Robyn — started Konichiwa Records to escape Jive, keep artistic control.

    • Terri Lyne Carrington — The Mosaic Project: collective of female jazz musicians, debunking stereotype that women “don’t care for solos.”

C. Comparison of Rankings

  1. NME (Producers):

    • Reinforces the historical exclusion of women from credited producer roles.

    • Highlights the stereotype of men as the “technical masterminds.”

    • Connects to the same challenges faced by Björk, Solange, and Grimes, who still must fight for recognition as producers/writers.

  2. NPR (Albums by Women):

    • Explicitly corrective; puts women’s creative authorship at the center.

    • Each album blurb emphasizes reclaiming credit and fighting stereotypes (e.g., Keys building her own studio, Kim Deal proving her talent, Robyn creating her own label).

  3. Inter-list Dynamic:

    • NME list = male-dominated, producer-centered canon.

    • NPR list = response, reframing history to show women as central creative forces.

    • Together they illustrate the gender imbalance: men historically framed as producers/architects, while women’s authorship had to be reasserted and defended.

✅ Test-ready summary sentence:
The NME list cements the producer role as male-dominated and technically authoritative, while the NPR list actively rewrites the canon to spotlight women’s authorship, control, and resistance, showing that female creativity has long been central but historically overlooked.

Turning the Tables: Reshaping the Popular Music Canon

Goal and Context

  • NPR’s Turning the Tables series was launched to rethink the popular music canon and democratize who gets celebrated.

  • Inspired by the cultural impulse to remix canonization (like Helvetica T-shirts listing “John & Paul & George & Ringo”), the series asserts that marginalized voices should be central in cultural conversations.

  • Explicit goal: to “free the music of women and others outside the straight-white-male paradigm from special categories” and put them at the center of musical history.

  • Previous seasons included lists like:

    • The 150 Greatest Albums Made by Women

    • The 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women+

Season 3 (2019) — “The Great Eight”

  • This season addressed the beginning of the story NPR was telling: who shaped American music at its roots.

  • With guidance from women scholars, archivists, and critics, NPR created its own metaphorical “Helvetica T-shirt” with the names of eight foundational women:

Bessie Smith, Maybelle Carter, Billie Holiday, Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Celia Cruz, Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

  • Genres represented: blues, jazz, country, gospel, salsa.

  • Significance: these women originated genres, crossed political/cultural barriers, and influenced generations of artists.

Examples of Influence

  • Bessie Smith — called the “Elvis” of her time; marked the birth of modern popular music.

  • Sister Rosetta Tharpe — revolutionized gospel with electric guitar, directly influencing early rock & roll pioneers.

  • Ella Fitzgerald — shaped vocal jazz across the 20th century.

  • Celia Cruz — most important innovator in salsa.

Why the Correction is Needed

  • Many of these women were underestimated by music institutions:

    • Sometimes included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but often through the “Early Influences” side category rather than the main stage.

    • Rarely recognized in the same instant, iconic way as male peers like Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis.

  • When remembered, they are often seen as faces or myths rather than complex creators making groundbreaking music.

  • Problem stems from rock & roll being treated as the mainframe for musical history — a genre historically framed as celebrating male rebellion and desire.

  • Women thrived in more fluid spaces (early blues, WWII ballrooms), where they were cultural connectors and inventors, but their contributions don’t fit the usual male-centered narrative.

Legacy of the Series

  • Turning the Tables acts like a “virtual Hall of Fame” for women in music.

  • It encourages audiences to engage deeply with these women’s stories and artistry, and to support a healthier “ecosystem” of music history that recognizes their central role.

✅ Test-ready one-sentence summary:
NPR’s Turning the Tables series reframes the music canon by centering marginalized voices; its third season honored eight women (Bessie Smith, Maybelle Carter, Billie Holiday, Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Celia Cruz, Sister Rosetta Tharpe) as foundational to American music, correcting historical neglect rooted in male-dominated narratives of rock and rebellion.