A
subset of
manufactured pop music that is aimed at a younger audience (and their
parents' wallets). A
phenomenon that is as old as the
Rock and Roll Age, but the term itself comes from the late
60s, the heyday of Kasanetz and Katz - when
rock was the
soundtrack of
revolution, K&K made rockish
pop for the pre-
teen siblings of the revolutionaries.
pre-bubble
Numerous 50s
teen idols were made and sold.
Elvis Presley was one, via the post-
Sun emphasis on ballads like "Love Me Tender". When
American Bandstand became the late-50s
US epicenter of
pop, many less-talented idols were manufactured near AB's
Philadelphia base (the show later moved to
Hollywood): e.g. Fabian, Frankie Avalon (of
Beach Party fame), etc. Later,
Phil Spector's
girl groups were a
NYC/
L.A. variant.
Kasanetz and Katz
Jerry Kasanetz and Jeff Katz. Mainly with Buddah Records, they came up with an
assembly line way to create hits for the young. The 1910 Fruitgum Company ("1, 2, 3 Red Light" was on early
Talking Heads set-lists),
The Archies, a host of "others" - one pool of musicians; at the craze's height, they went on tour.
Don Kirshner tried this approach - earlier and better - with
The Monkees and related items.
post-bubble
The Kasanetz/Katz "era" lasted from 1968 to 1969; many have since used their approach. The producers behind
The Partridge Family, for instance - the Partridges were a flesh-and-blood Archies, a
sitcom tie-in. The Scotti Brothers have worked this for decades, from Leif Garrett to
one-hit wonder pin-ups (and Weird Al).
Boston's Maurice Starr begat
New Edition and
New Kids on the Block from one blueprint. Then there were the mallrat queens
Tiffany and
Debbie Gibson, plus lesser princesses like Martika. Stock Aitken Waterman gave us
Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley, et al. Now we have the
Backstreet Boys and similar irritants. It ain't going away.