Baroque pop was a musical movement in the 1960s that fused classical elements with pop and rock n’ roll songs. The Zombies, Burt Bacharach, the Kinks, and the Beach Boys were among the first bands to use the technique. The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album and Pocol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” single are two notable albums. Despite the adventurous and ornamental music, the lyrics of the songs are frequently mainstream rather than abstract, as in progressive rock.
To transform rock n roll and pop music into baroque pop, a variety of instruments have been added. Full orchestras, chamber music, and string quartets are examples, but single instruments can also be used. The harpsichord, cello, French horn, and oboe are among the other instruments used in baroque pop. More exotic instruments from around the world can be used in baroque pop as long as they depart from the traditional pop and rock arrangements of piano, drums, bass, and guitar.
The trend of embellishing basic rock arrangements began in the early 1960s, but peaked between the decline of psychedelic pop-rock and the rise of progressive or prog rock. While it drew on both classical and experimental influences, the form’s name is derived from the baroque art movement. The term “Baroque” refers to art, architecture, and music that added ornamentation to otherwise simple works. Claudio Monteverdi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schultz, and Antonio Vivaldi were among the composers represented.
George Martin, the Beatles’ “fifth member,” is largely responsible for the band’s baroque pop phase. Martin studied the oboe and piano in school and went on to work for the classical music department of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). On songs like “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby,” he assisted the band with early compositions and orchestral arrangements. They used the format on their “White Album” as well as the “Sgt. Pepper” album. George Harrison’s experiments with exotic instruments like the sitar contributed to the band’s baroque phase.
Burt Bacharach was one of the first proponents of baroque pop. Burt used the flugelhorn on songs like “Walk On By” in the early 1960s. He was a direct influence on the Beach Boys’ own baroque phase, which can be heard on their album “Surfer Girl.” While baroque pop initially faded with the rise of prog rock and punk, it resurfaced in the 1990s thanks to bands like REM and Kula Shaker, who brought back experimentation and ornamentation.