Grantland's
Steven Hyden writes the winner's history of rock and roll, in four parts (so far), and charts the death of rock music as a major pop-cultural force in the 21st century by looking at some (not necessarily well-loved) bands that helped to transform it into a Big Business:
Led Zeppelin,
Kiss,
Bon Jovi,
Aerosmith (and coming up in the next installment, Metallica).
Rock isn't dead, by any means. But for better or worse, it ain't what it used to be.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken
on Jan 31, 2013 -
82 comments
The Rolling Stones rock Warhol's East Hampton Pad, Montauk 1975 -
Half way through the tour, Truman Capote met the group in Kansas City. In tow was his new best friend, Lee Radziwill. The mix of rock royalty and Fortunate Four Hundred did not work well. Jagger hated Capote’s mincing manners, and Capote called Mick – "…a scared little boy… about as sexy as a pissing toad." Stones guitarist Keith Richards welcomed the cultured Radziwill by banging on her hotel door that night, screaming "Princess Radish… C'mon you old tart, there’s a party going’ downstairs!"
posted by madamjujujive
on Sep 8, 2012 -
44 comments
On Halloween night 1992, a skinny, gravel-voiced man in a blue dress and horn-rim glasses took the stage at a tiny Atlanta dive bar/strip club along with his band, The Opal Foxx Quartet (which was not a four-piece; around a dozen people crowded the dark, low-ceilinged space).
This would be their final show, and it's a barn-burner.
[more inside]
posted by BoringPostcards
on Aug 17, 2012 -
20 comments
Before
hip-hop beefs, there were response records, also known as
answer songs, usually replies to well-known songs. There are a few key eras: blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s, including a number of responses to "
Work With Me, Annie" (1954), recorded by
Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, with answers including "
Annie had a Baby," and "
The Wallflower" by Etta James; and Big Mama Thornton's "
Hound Dog" (1953), with a quick response by
Louis Innis and Charlie Gore, made a mere week after the original was released, and
Rufus Thomas' "
Bear Cat" (1953),
Sun Records' first hit. Country, rock & roll, doo-wop and pop music picked up where the blues left off, with most activity in the 1950s to 60s. Two examples from this era are
"Are You Lonesome To-night" and "Who Put The Bomp," and responses to both. The most well known from the next decade was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "
Sweet Home Alabama" (1974), a response to Neil Young's "
Southern Man" (1970) and "
Alabama" (1972). Until the 2000s, no answer songs had charted as high as the original hits. That changed with
Frankee's "
F.U.R.B. (Fuck You Right Back)" (2004), a response to
Eamon's "
Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" (2003), which was the first answer song to reach number 1 in the UK. Six years later and across the pond, Katy Perry's "
California Gurls" was a response to "
Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z. It was the first answer song to reach No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100. More Responses inside.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Mar 31, 2012 -
53 comments
A lady, back in 1957, addressing the camera in an elegant evening gown, fit for some grand society ball, had this message for the oldsters: "Now, whatever you think of rock and roll, I think you have to keep a nice, open mind about what the young people go for." She then proceeded to announce Buddy Holly and the Crickets, who obligingly performed their hit
Peggy Sue for the ballroom dancers' pleasure and edification. That same Buddy Holly would've been quite the oldster himself, had he lived to see today, his 75th birthday. So, if you have a little time on your hands today, you might like to learn more about Buddy by viewing
The Real Buddy Holly Story 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9 and
10. Cause, hey, Buddy was not only one of the most unique and vital voices of the early days of rock'n'roll, but he wore the same glasses that every other hipster in Berlin is wearing
right now.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Sep 7, 2011 -
60 comments
It's not so often that a US Top 40 chart hit is a song whose origins can be traced back 300 years, and even less often that such a song would be sung in Spanish. So when
Ritchie Valens went into a studio and recorded
La Bamba 50 years ago this month, he carved himself what would become a special place in American pop music history. It was one of those cases of the B side becoming the hit, though: the A side was
Oh Donna, which showcased a sweeter, croonier side of Valens (singing in English), but was a somewhat unremarkable tune on its own. Here's a
live recording of La Bamba by Valens, who, of course, along with rock'n'roll legend Buddy Holly, lost his life in an airplane crash just as his career was blossoming. Almost 30 years after
La Bamba's original release,
a version by Valens' natural heirs Los Lobos became a hit once again. And, admittedly, I didn't make it through the entire clip, but it's perhaps worth noting, for the record, that a
Barack Obama-related version is available for your listening and viewing, er, pleasure?
[more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Oct 15, 2008 -
44 comments
This week I've been perseverating on Chuck Berry's great 1964 song "You Never Can Tell", so now you get to too! Unless you're over 50, you probably know it from the
Thurman/Travolta dance in
Pulp Fiction, but here are some other versions worthy of your attention:
[more inside]
posted by ubiquity
on Feb 10, 2008 -
14 comments
The Day the Music Died ...It was February 3, 1959 that Buddy Holley, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash. You need look no further to find one of the true
icons of rock and roll than
Buddy Holley. Originally scheduled to fly, Waylon Jennings gave his seat to an ailing Big Bopper. When Holly learned that Jennings wasn't going to fly, he said, "Well, I hope your old bus freezes up." Jennings responded, "Well, I hope your plane crashes." This friendly banter of friends would haunt Jennings for years. And can anyone really decipher Don McLeans' "
American Pie"?
More.
posted by Mack Twain
on Feb 3, 2003 -
23 comments
The King of the Jukebox who disturbed the status quo They called rock music
jump blues during the World War II era, and this
amazingly talented clown was its master, with over fifty Top 10 R&B hits --
eighteen reached #1 -- between 1942 and 1951. Chuck Berry identified with him
"more than any other artist." James Brown said,
"He was everything" and considered him one of the earliest rappers. A pioneer of
music video, the first black artist to
cross over from the "race" market to a white audience and a
central link between big bands and rock, he was a primary influence on
Bill Haley,
Ray Charles and B.B. King, who once said,
"I wanted to be like him." Rest in peace, Louis Jordan. [Dozens of one-minute song clips
here]
posted by mediareport
on Jul 10, 2002 -
11 comments
E Street Band guitarist and erstwhile
Sopranos star
Little Steven is launching a syndicated
radio show to be centered around garage rock of the '60's plus latter day punk as well according to this
story. Steve's own site includes some great
live reviews and excellent garage rock
links . I, for one, am really looking forward to hearing this show. Good luck, Steve.
posted by jonmc
on Apr 4, 2002 -
11 comments
The Perfect Rock 'n Roll Photo A photo of The Clash bassist Paul Simonon smashing his guitar on stage has been picked as the perfect rock 'n' roll photo of all time. It's a great picture, summing up violence, anger, frustration and an adandonment of common-sense. But do you agree?
posted by skinsuit
on Jan 23, 2002 -
46 comments
