In 1958, record producer Mitch Miller vehemently criticized the state of Top 40 radio. He argued that DJs were pandering excessively to the tastes of teenagers and playing low-quality popular music. This criticism was aimed largely at rock and roll records produced by the low-budget, independent recording firms with whom he now found himself in competition. This chapter traces the development of the major-labels’ novel pop music production practices in the 1950s, specifically the use of overdubbing, unconventional arrangements, added reverb, and Foley effects. These techniques are compared with indie-label recording, which captured more populist genres with less expensive postproduction capabilities. Finally, the chapter traces the aesthetics of DIY (do-it-yourself) records made by amateur musicians-turned-radio-stars, and concludes with a discussion of the lasting effects of these 1950s pop music crosscurrents.
Notes towards a typology of the DIY institution: Identifying do-it-yourself places of popular music preservation
