Looking back to the 50s and 60s music scene, there are many experimental artists that broke the mold, took rock music and melded it into something new and amazing; these artists went on to produce many albums that redefined the sound of rock and would influence the sound of many bands throughout the following decades right up to modern day music.
Elvis Presley introduced a raunchiness to his performance that both shocked the establishment and re-invigorated a staid pop scene, exciting a whole new generation of music lovers. With his blues style, he managed to cross over genres into what once was a predominantly black sound – he became one of the first artists to experiment with different forms of music, and began to break down the boundaries of established conventions.
Miles Davies introduced us to a new Jazz that brought in a more subtle sound and implemented the trumpet in a new and invigorating way – it bought Jazz into the limelight and influenced a broader range of musicians, again pushing the boundaries of cross-genre music, and making it more acceptable for artists to cross over into unknown territories by blending differing styles.
As we entered the angst ridden 60s, with political commentary, profound social lyrics and often a drug induced anger, we found a whole new generation of pioneers who weren’t afraid to experiment with rock music, and challenge those in power not only to accept their music, but also accept the underlying themes and opinions.
As CSN, James Taylor and perhaps most importantly Bob Dylan began to pen lyrics that spoke more of peace and love, and were inspired by conflicts that they felt the US had no right to be in, we saw rock music become far more powerful and relevant, and it became a influential tool not only for a younger, more aware generation, but for the next generation of musician who grew up listening to this music.
Jimi Hendrix, with his sublime guitar playing more akin to love making changed the way the instrument was used forever – with symbolism, power and sheer skill he revolutionized the sound that could be made with this humble instrument.
Strangely, as the Beatles popularity waned and Beatlemania calmed down, they began to write more experimental music with deeper meanings and profound undertones – gone were the poppy songs, and the drug induced, psychedelic sound began to emerge, more raw and powerful than any other super band before them – as they brought in different
genres, ranging from r&b to Indian music, they began to show the power of music, and the way in which it could be used to entertain while educating people.
Perhaps because of the diversity of The Beatles we began to see many different sounds emerge; Led Zeppelin led the revolution with their deep mystical sound that had undertones of sexual intensity and blended this with pure power and aggression – Pink Floyd entered the mix, starting off with psychedelic undertones, and ending up producing a surreal sound that is thought provoking.
Others took the influences of The Beatles and Dylan and produced a more raw, angst ridden sound that formed the basis of Punk. Patti Smith broke down the barriers in New York with her intensely personal sound, and over the pond The Clash infused their punk music with political commentary that is still relevant today.
Slowly over the decades this mixture of eclectic sound, anger, harmony and sexual intensity has changed and adapted to the modern generation, but you can still here the dulcet jazz of Miles Davies, the heavy rock riffs of Zeppelin, or the melodies and harmonies of The Beatles in most modern music.
Modern rock simply wouldn’t be the same without these bands, and bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, whose experimentation and ability to challenge the norm (of music and society) led to a freedom that allowed music to develop beyond the safeness it had been cocooned in for many years.
With the 70s and 80s super bands like The Who and The Rolling Stones, you knew that rock and roll was hear to stay – the helped make rock music mainstream, and even today are relevant. They took the best of the 50s and 60s music and really helped music tell the story of the angst of the young, their fears and tri bulations.
Without some of the albums that influenced a whole generation, we simply would be listening to a different sound today. For some of the albums that had the biggest influence on rock click here.
