YES FOLKS, “THE END IS NIGH”(no, not the video game). The clichéd idiom of woeful doomsayers is the pessimistic prediction of impending Armageddon – the end of the world according to God’s final judgement enshrined in religious belief. Not here though. In this instance, I’m referring to the far less fatalistic but probably more imminent finale to the Gregorian calendar year of two thousand and twenty four (NB. The Gregorian calendar was established as a reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII). While ‘The End Is Nigh’ may also represent the rallying cry for the biblical apocalypse, that is not my intention or implication, just my peculiar sense of absurdity.
“This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper” – T.S. Eliot (1888‑1965)
2024 The End Is Nigh
You are probably tired of all the usual end‑of‑year retrospectives. For those few who aren’t weary of looking back, I am using the hackneyed ‘annual review’ as a convenient mechanism to conclude this particular 12 months of our collective existence. For the list‑o‑philes out there, this is probably the article for you.
Thus far, despite best endeavours, I have singularly failed to make sufficient time and space to work on the novel, ‘The Distortion Diaries’ announced in November 2024, so it looks like shorter articles will be the way of CRAVE Guitars’ regular output going into 2025.
So, without further ado, let’s take a swift look back at 2024 through the languid lenticular lens of CRAVE Guitars…
CRAVE Guitars Gear 2024 (0)
Sadly, and with great disappointment, there have been zero guitars, zero basses, zero effect pedals and zero amplifiers added or sold during 2024. Nothing. Nada. Rien. Nichts. Nulla. Zilch. Ma. Ning. Nihil. Sin. Nichto. Inga. To put it in the western euphemistic vernacular, f‑all ‘new’ old stuff. Sigh.
There have been three on‑going primary reasons for this:
Funds – As the author is on a low, fixed income and CRAVE Guitars is a non‑profit entity, there has simply been insufficient capital to invest in my preferred pastime
Space – CRAVE Guitars exists in an ordinary (small) family home, in which there is insufficient space to accommodate any more gear. The long-frustrating inability to convert the house’s dark damp cellar into a suitable CRAVE Guitars emporium is still on‑going and unlikely to change any time soon (see first reason!)
Competing priorities – In addition to a shortage of funds and space, some other things in life cannot be avoided and require priority attention. Such mundane obligations serve to divert precious funds and consume available space (see first two reasons!)
“Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff” – Frank Zappa (1940‑1993)
2024 was the first year since CRAVE Guitars was established in 2007 that there has been no change whatsoever to the ‘collection’. The assemblage of assorted artefacts, it seems, has reached an uneasy equilibrium. It is not my intention for this stagnant state of affairs to continue. Other things, therefore, must change in one, two or all three of the factors above before there is a substantial change to either the quantity or quality of CRAVE Guitars’ vintage gear. Don’t get me wrong, I would dearly love for the ‘collection’ to change and/or grow but, as political economists fail to understand, growth is finite.
After all is said and done, I have to declare that I am massively grateful and eternally thankful for what I have in CRAVE Guitars. It may be modest and humble but, with the dire state of the modern world, I am indeed lucky to be in this fortunate position. As ‘they’ say, things could be a whole lot worse.
“Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have” – Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama – c.480 400BCE)
Some of those that left the building in 2024 (20):
As with every year that passes, sadly, there has been a number of notable music artists that have thrown off the mortal coil. Here, in memoriam, are just a few souls that we lost this year:
4 January: David Soul, aged 80
11 January: Anne Nightingale (BBC radio and television presenter), aged 83
23 January: Melanie (Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk), aged 76
2 February: Wayne Kramer (MC5), aged 75
3 February: Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett (Bob Marley & The Wailers and The Upsetters), aged 77
17 March: Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel), aged 73
14 April: Dickey Betts (The Allman Brothers Band), aged 80
30 April: Duane Eddy, aged 86
7 May: Steve Albini (Shellac and record producer), aged 61
22 July: John Mayall (The Bluesbreakers), aged 90
5 September: Herbie Flowers, aged 86
5 September: Sergio Mendes, aged 83
28 September: Kris Kristofferson, aged 88
15 October: Tito Jackson (Jackson 5), aged 70
16 October: Liam Payne (One Direction), aged 31
25 October: Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), aged 84
21 October: Paul Di’Anno (Iron Maiden), aged 66
3 November: Quincy Jones, aged 91
14 November: Vic Flick, aged 87
15 December: Zakir Hussain, aged 73
“Even death is not to be feared by one who lived wisely” – Buddha
2024 album releases purchased (27):
After a prodigious injection of creativity during and immediately after the Covid pandemic, there seem to have been fewer ‘great’ albums to tempt one to part with one’s filthy lucre this last year. More mediocre musical material manifested. Over the last 12 months, there have been only a few new releases to add to the music library – just over one per fortnight. Sigh. As regularly mentioned through this platform, despite embracing music streaming, I still prefer to go ‘old skool’ and buy physical media (on CD, I no longer have vinyl). The 27 new releases purchased in 2024 were:
The Aristocrats – DUCK
Caribou – Honey
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Wild God
Cigarettes After Sex – X’s
Culture – Good Things (reissue)
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
The Cure – Songs Of A Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV (live)
Dreadzone – 9
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft
Fat Freddy’s Drop – Slo Mo
Floating Points – Cascade
Four Tet – Three
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
Jamie xx – In Waves
Jon Hopkins – Ritual
The Jesus And Mary Chain – Glasgow Eyes
Melts – Field Theory
Niney & The Observers – Tubby’s Want The Channel: Dubbing With The Observer 1976‑1978
Opeth – The Last Will And Testament
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry – King Perry
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & Youth – Spaceship To Mars
The Smile – Wall of Eyes
Linval Thompson – Ganja Man
Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
Various Artists – Jon Savage’s Ambient 90s
Various Artists – Niney The Observer Presents Jah Fire: The Observer 7″ Singles Collection 1976‑1977
Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
2024 Album Releases
The list above doesn’t include all the other pre‑2024 CDs added to the library over the last 12 months, which run into the several hundreds‑ish.
“If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it; that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die” – William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
2024 major gigs (2)
As with vintage guitar gear and creative new music, it’s also been a pretty moribund year for experiencing live music, with only two sizeable concerts attended, sadly. Thankfully, both concerts were terrific:
Even local pub band gigs have been sparse this year. The local ‘weekender’ event featured largely cover bands and artists dishing out popular hits from the past with little, if any, original material. This paralysing trend has been commented on before. While it is good that live music is out there, it is not so good that very little fresh, new material appears to be coming up from the grass roots.
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music” – Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)
KEEP MUSIC LIVE!
Various tangential observations about 2024
It is that time of year, with 2025 on the proximate horizon, to round up a few random things together into some sort of convenient (if incoherent) package.
The market prices of vintage guitars and gear has increased significantly over the last 12 months within the context of volatile operating environments across the globe. Many collectors are turning their sights to previously under‑the‑radar models as the economics of supply and demand inflate the so‑called ‘golden era’ vintage guitars beyond belief. The effect of such inflation is that it is putting many ‘cool and rare vintage electric guitars’ out of reach enthusiasts (like me!). Many emerging value‑for‑money vintage guitars that were previously just about affordable, no longer are. The relative shortage and price of vintage guitars presents a difficult challenge for the future of CRAVE Guitars. As a result, I won’t be proclaiming a prioritised list of gear to look for and acquire in 2025.
My aim for 2025 is to attract 50k visits on the web site. At the time of writing, there were 43k visits in 2024. To reach 50K, it will take nearly 150 visits pre day on average. That target doesn’t seem to challenging but, believe me, it is. With the fall off in visitor numbers to the web site (probably also due to the lack of gear turnover), I will need to pay a bit more attention to promotion and social media output, including on Bluesky Social. Currently, at the end of 2024, there is very little in the way of vintage guitar content on Bluesky, so CRAVE Guitars is kinda leading the way in that respect. Bring it!
Reflecting a seriously worrying trend with the economics of the music industry, we lost all 42 Sam Ash Music Stores in the US in May 2024. This loss is the tip of a worrying iceberg and signifies at best a stagnant musical equipment industry and, at worst, a shrinking one. The switch to Internet procurement provides some commercial compensation, although is that really the best way to purchase the gear musicians want and need?
In a similar vein, the owners of the famous Sam Goody entertainment chain announced that it will close its final music stores in 2025, after nearly 75 years of business (founded in 1951). Adios to both Sams.
Mirroring a trend of migrating from printing to virtual publishing, ‘Total Guitar’ magazine sadly met its physical demise in October 2024 after 30 years on the newsagents’ shelves.
Commercially successful bands also seem to be in decline judging by the number of single and album chart successes performed by ‘real’ bands being at a considerably lower level than that of solo artists. Streaming has also demonstrated that ‘the album’ now has less significance than curated playlists and popular single tracks. So… one conclusion that might be drawn from this is that serious music creativity might be under threat (although hasn’t it always been thus?).
Perhaps the comeback of physical media (see below) might reinvigorate greater interest in bands and albums. One band that released a successful studio album in 2024, thereby bucking the otherwise inevitable trend, gets CRAVE Guitars’ Album of the Month (and Year).
As an avid buyer of new and used physical music media, the author has noticed that the market for CDs seems to have experienced an upturn during the last year. According to some sources, 2024 is likely to be the second year in a row that CD sales have shown signs of a resurgence, following the example of vinyl. Coincidentally, according to some research, this turnaround may also be a sign that demand for music digital streaming may have peaked and digital downloads are definitely in decline. The almost‑trend of CD growth, assuming it continues, could potentially match the vinyl revival in demonstrating that music lovers appreciate and value the ownership of tangible media.
The indication is that the availability of second hand CDs has decreased slightly at the same time that the price of used CDs has increased – once again demonstrating the inevitable dynamics of economic supply and demand. Ultimately, though, the method of listening is less important than the fact that people are actually listening to more music in the post‑Covid, pre‑dystopian world.
On the subject of physical media, readers may know about my particular proclivity for reggae and especially dub reggae. I am now finding it quite hard to find and buy quality dub reggae CDs at a reasonable price. The diminishing returns effect means I’m beginning to get into rare and collectable dub reggae CDs, which is competing for finite funds that could be used on vintage guitars. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Final thoughts on the end of 2024: the future starts here
The world seems increasingly to be descending irretrievably towards society’s End of Times (see top of the article), driven by just a few maladjusted, misguided maniacal, malevolent, malignant, megalomaniacs, seemingly sanctioned by the compliant acquiescence of copious complicit citizens. Critical questioning seems to have been replaced by indolent, possibly ignorant, apathetic obeyance. Harmony, stability and security are fundamental imperatives for human survival and we seem conveniently to have forgotten this, or worse, not to care a jot. Why should I care; no‑one else seems to?
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” – Rhett Butler played by Clark Gable in the film ‘Gone with the Wind’ (1939)
Now, the thing is… I do care. War is repugnant and indefensible in the 21st Century. ALL countries need to STOP and reflect on the insanity of where we are heading. Fighting Is Utterly Futile. Fact!
“Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; that is the eternal rule” – Buddha
If we do not wake up soon to this pervasive and insidious threat, I fear it will be too late. The human extinction process has begun and appears to be irreversible without an urgent call to action to create a better civilisation and sustainable future. Peace has to be the first step to global co‑operation, which would then release the potential, ability and resources to tackle global issues in a truly united way.
“We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people” – John F. Kennedy (1917‑1963)
How to do that? My (vain) suggestion would be that the United Nations (UN) should be transformed into a potent force that is empowered to act in the interests of all species on our little planet. A strengthened UN could intervene to curtail existing conflicts and counteract new ones through diplomacy and negotiation, using force only as a last resort. The UN is ideally placed to do so but it needs to become much, much more than the impotent talking shop that it is now. It could, and perhaps should, become a genuine peace‑making and peace‑keeping force that is mandated by the collective of all non‑pariah states to supersede unilateral national interests and intercede where necessary for the long‑term sake of humanity as a whole. That, after all, was what the UN was set up to do post‑WWII.
If realised, the UN could also become an international rescue organisation to assist after natural disasters and an aid distribution organisation to help victims of misfortune. However, given that national interests will continue to overwhelm efforts towards collective agreements, sadly, I cannot see that happening, at least not in my lifetime.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too” – John F. Kennedy (1917‑1963)
Military conflict, though, is only for starters. We also need to guard against unrestrained population growth, catastrophic deforestation, critical food insecurity, irrevocable climate change, unbridled economic migration, uninhibited ideological extremism, perilous habitat erosion, acute ecological pollution of air land and water, and devastating social division. All are perilous global crises created by humans. Only humans can act together to resolve them. Only the ignorant can sit idly by and ignore them. No biggies then! Perhaps the end is nigher than we think after all.
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything” – Albert Einstein (1879‑1955)
I am, by nature a romantic optimist, almost to the point of hapless delusion. So, I guess we have to retain some sense of belief, purpose and positivity about the future in order to avoid cataclysm and improve our, and future generations’, chances of survival and salvation, starting in 2025.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope” – Martin Luther King Jr (1929‑1968)
I propose to you a simple but profound premise – Hope is based on progress resulting in a future that will be better than the past and the present. I don’t pray for a miracle. I pray that we become wise enough that we do not need miracles. Time will tell but will there be anyone around to listen? Apologies folks. Soap box over. Again.
“I Have a Dream…” – Martin Luther King Jr
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month (and Year)’
As we are at the end of the year, it only seems fair to select an album from this year’s new releases. Full disclosure here, on this occasion I am biased, as the band has been one of my go‑to favourite bands for nearly five decades.
The Cure – Songs of a Lost World (2024). After 16 long years since the flawed, ‘4:13 Dream’ (2008), The Cure released their 14th studio album, ‘Songs of a Lost World’ on 1 November on the Fiction record label. SoaLW was The Cure’s first album to reach number 1 in the UK album chart since, ‘Wish’ (1992) – a gap of 32 years! It is also their best since, ‘Disintegration’ (1989), up there with, ‘Bloodflowers’ (2000), ‘Pornography’ (1982) and, ‘Faith’ (1981). In its first week, SoaLW outsold all other chart albums in the top 5 combined, a rarity for a band album these days (see above). As it turns out, it is a rare thing and well worth waiting for.
Hyperbole like ‘triumphant’ and ‘monumental’ are regularly thrown about but rarely well‑deserved. SoaLW is high on atmosphere and represents a tremendously powerful achievement, ably showing that there is life in the old dogs yet. There is not much in the way of happy, catchy sing‑along commercial material but, thankfully, The Cure remain true to no‑one but themselves. It is a densely layered intricate and immersive ‘wall of sound’ best experienced in a single sitting; certainly not easily accessible for a casual listener. Rather than selling out to marketable popularism, the band has released a deeply personal and affecting collection of 8 tracks covering just 49 minutes. Robert Smith also took an unusual step in publically thanking everyone for their support and loyalty. SoaLW was also accompanied by live recording of the launch concert, ‘Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV’.
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World (2024)
At this stage in their career, The Cure didn’t have to release an album of such laboured, tortured quality. They could easily have phoned in a profitable release with little effort (see, ‘Wild Mood Swings’ (1996) and ‘The Cure’ (2004)). Such integrity and creativity is rare for a band that has been around for so long, admittedly not always consistently great. Thankfully, Robert Smith and his band have delivered an astonishing late‑career masterpiece (apologies for more hyperbole) that bucks the trend of 2020s popular music.
In other news, The Cure has been a hard‑working band, still touring for a large part of each year as well as fighting against the abhorrent avarice of ‘dynamic ticket pricing’, so that fans can get a fair deal. No wonder that The Cure were recipients of NME’s Godlike Genius Award in 2009 and inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. SoaLW took years in the making but it turned out to be a good end to 2024. See, I said I was biased.
“If I go back to how I was when I was a younger man, my plan was to keep doing this till I fall over, my idea of when I fell over wasn’t this old” – Robert Smith (1959-)
BELIEVE IN MUSIC!
Tailpiece
So, there you have it. Another calendar year comes to an end and passes into history. Gone, never to return. For those of us in existence today, it represents another year closer to us all attending that great gig in the sky. However, it’s probably best not to dwell on that particular inevitability.
It has been another full year of CRAVE Guitars articles. With the lack of productivity regarding gear acquisitions, monthly articles have tended to be less focused on old instruments, effects and amps that are the mainstay of CRAVE Guitars. However, this has provided an opportunity to explore other, more holistic, facets of vintage guitars, the wider music industry and cultural musicology.
With the need to make time and space for ‘The Distortion Diaries’ novel (first hinted at December 2023 and covered in more detail in October 2024), we’ll just have to wait and see what CRAVE Guitars articles will be like in 2025. Let us hope 2024+1 proves to be a positive year and that there will be plenty of interest to sustain attention.
Wishing y’all a Happy New Year and thanks for looking in. P.S. I hope you enjoyed the postponed (for now) End of Days! The end, it seems, might not be quite so nigh after all. Hopefully.
“I am here, alone, at the end of the world. I reach out and touch nothing” – Haruki Murakami (1949‑)
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. See ya next year. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “If nowhere actually exists, how can you possibly know when you are in the middle of it?”
WELCOME FAIR MUSIC‑MINDED PATRONS to the first CRAVE Guitars’ monthly article of the New Year. While we may be less than a full month into the year Two Thousand and Twenty Four of the Common Era, one hopes it is off to a good start despite global uncertainty (and insanity). Let us hope that those intent on geopolitical conflict come to their senses, unlikely as it may seem, rather than escalate tensions further. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be part of the doomsday generation. Scary.
“Bellum omnium contra omnes (the war of all against all)” – Thomas Hobbes (1588‑1679)
Getting back to the musical point, ask pretty much anyone with a slight interest in modern music culture, the question, “Who invented the first bass guitar?” and I’m sure a lot of people would say, “Leo Fender, of course”. Well yes… and no. In the world of vintage guitars, things are rarely quite as straightforward as one may at first think.
With the recent addition of CRAVE Basses to the CRAVE Guitars, Amps and Effects family, this month seems perfectly apt to take a quick look at how the electric bass guitar as we know it came into being and how it has become such an integral component of contemporary music.
Primarily as a guitarist, my dalliances with bass guitars up to now have, I admit, been spawned out of curiosity and exploration, rather than a serious preoccupation. Those dalliances, though, span well over four decades, so the bass encounter isn’t a single, short or recent ‘event’.
We do not start the story, as many might imagine in the 1950s. We’ll come back to that in a little while. Before we get there, though, we should go back quite a few years. Many, many years in fact, starting with the classical orchestral double bass, originating from the 15th Century or thereabouts. Then we’ll explore the modern‑day innovations starting in the 1920s and 1930s before the ‘big bang’ that really exploded in the 1950s and 1960s. Finally we’ll come up‑to‑date, with a look at the instruments, equipment, artists and sounds that have helped to shape the modern musical landscape. Finally, we’ll take a wee peak into the near future of bass instruments.
The fretless acoustic double bass
Before the solid body fretted electric bass guitar, popular music relied almost totally on the acoustic upright double bass for low frequency impact. The instrument’s origins date approximately to the 15th‑16th Century in Venice, Italy. Venetian musician, Silvestro Ganassi developed a ‘bass viola da gamba’ in 1542, widely regarded as the forerunner of today’s double bass. It wasn’t until around 1700, though, that the double bass became part of the opera orchestra. The double bass as we now know it is the largest and lowest‑pitched chordophone in the classical music orchestra.
As a quick recap, defined by the Hornbostel‑Sachs system of musical instrument classification, a chordophone is a musical instrument that makes sound from vibrating one or more taught strings by bowing, plucking or striking the strings. Examples of chordophone types include violins, guitars, and pianos respectively. The word chordophone stems from the Greek words for string (chordē) and sound (phonē).
For more on the historical origins of musical instrument classification (to provide a context for the development of the guitar), see CRAVE Guitars’ March 2018 article.
The traditional 4‑string double bass is usually played in one of two ways, either by rubbing the strings with a bow (arco) or by plucking the strings with fingers (pizzicato). Some modern double bass players, for instance in rock & roll and rockabilly, also use a distinctive ‘slap’ technique. This percussive sound derived from the ‘Bartók pizzicato’ (‘snap’ pizzicato) named after the Hungarian composer and pianist Béla Bartók.
Double Bass (courtesy of Roxanne Minnish)
Depending on the style of music, the double bass is also known by a number of other names, all of which refer to the same instrument. Some of these alternative monikers include bass, upright bass, string bass, acoustic bass, acoustic string bass, contrabass, contrabass viol, bass viol, bass violin, stand‑up bass, bull fiddle, doghouse bass and bass fiddle.
The traditional double bass is a large acoustic fretless instrument of the violin family that is played upright. The deep, resonant, woody tone of the double bass endows it with a very different sound when compared to the modern solid body fretted electric bass guitar. The tuning of the double bass is different from other members of the orchestral sting instruments, in that it is tuned in fourths (E‑A‑D‑G) rather than a violin’s fifths (G‑D‑A‑E). The double bass, then, is tuned the same as a modern bass guitar, an octave below the bottom four strings of a 6‑string guitar in standard tuning. This particular characteristic aided the bass’s transition from classical to modern day musical styles.
Originally, double basses were more likely to have three strings until four strings became commonplace by the 19th Century, by which time the standard format and construction of the double bass had become established. There are, however, 5 and 6 (or more) string variants and there are also various alternative tunings.
The double bass has been the mainstay of orchestral string sections and chamber music for several centuries in one form or another. It was predictable that, with the emergence and evolution of the major modern popular music genres, such as jazz, blues and country & western that the double bass would become the go‑to bass instrument, at least up until the 1960s when the solid body fretted electric bass guitar became predominant. However, the double bass hasn’t disappeared from contemporary music completely. Plenty of present‑day artists still use or revert back to the double bass for authenticity and/or effect.
The main drawback experienced by many players is that the double bass is a substantial piece of equipment. The full‑size double bass is almost 75 inches (190cm) tall, weighing in at c.20‑25lbs (9‑11½kg), without its hefty case. The scale length is set at around 42” (107cm), much longer than most modern bass guitars. Given these dimensions, the double bass is sizeable, cumbersome, unwieldy and plain heavy, making it far from the easiest of instruments to move around or play. There are smaller double basses including ¾, ½ and ¼ size, mainly aimed at younger players. Even so, the double bass not for the faint hearted, as the smallest ¼ size instrument is still over 61” (156cm) tall.
Another drawback is the double bass’s acoustic construction. Like the acoustic guitar, in the first half of the 20th Century, the acoustic double bass’s lack of volume made it hard to be heard in a jazz‑era big band mix unless there was some form of electrification through either a magnetic pickup or a microphone connected to an amplifier and, even then, acoustic instruments can be prone to feedback in high sound pressure level environments.
Traditional double basses are not only large but, because of their construction, they are also quite expensive, making them a major investment and therefore difficult for novices or younger players to access and learn.
Even so, despite its limitations, during the 20th Century the double bass became widely used in a diverse range of modern music genres, including jazz, blues, swing, rock & roll, rockabilly, country & western, bluegrass, folk, funk, reggae, metal, rock, pop, tango and visual media soundtracks.
Trivia: Believe it or not, there is an even larger bass, first built c.1850 by the French luthier Jean‑Baptiste Vuillaume (1798‑1875) in Paris. The octobass, as it is called, has three strings and is basically a larger version of the double bass tuned a further octave down. The octobass is a truly gargantuan beast, approximately 137” high (348cm).
The electric upright bass
To enable modern players to experience the spirit of the acoustic double bass in a more convenient and amplified form, there is the modern Electric Upright Bass (EUB), which is also played, as its name suggests, upright, like a traditional double bass.
EUBs allow for greater portability while retaining the playing style and general sound of its forebear. As the EUB doesn’t require the substantial acoustic resonating chamber of a double bass, they often feature a ‘skeleton’ body, making it much smaller, lighter and cheaper to produce. The minimal structure may have either a solid body or a small acoustic body.
A magnetic, piezo or condenser bass pickup provides the means to route the signal via a bass amplifier to loudspeakers. Like a double bass, the EUB’s strings can be bowed or plucked, although that is dependent on fingerboard and bridge radius. While evoking its acoustic origins, the structural and electric characteristics of the EUB endow it with a unique sound all of its own.
As the EUB’s construction isn’t bound by convention like its orchestral sibling, the flexible format allows for a range of scale lengths to be employed from around 30” (76cm), through 34” (86cm) like a long scale bass guitar to the full 42” (107cm) of a double bass, making it much more accessible to a range of players. Almost all EUB necks allow for a full two‑octave range and most but not all are fretless. Compared to the double bass or the electric bass guitar, the electric upright bass tends to be a modern, notable but relatively niche instrument. There are EUB models at all price points, making it easier for novices and experienced players alike.
The first production electric upright basses were developed independently in the mid‑1930s by Regal (Electrified Double Bass), Vega (Electric Bass Viol), Rickenbacker (Electro Bass‑Viol) and Audiovox (bull fiddle – see below). Gibson introduced their special order Electric Bass Guitar in 1938, which was still an upright fretless instrument with a hollow body and a magnetic pickup.
Manufacturers of electric upright basses include Framus, Ampeg, Warwick, Ibanez, Yamaha, Palatino, NS Design (Ned Steinberger), and Harley Benton.
Electric Upright Bass
The first solid‑body fretted electric bass guitar
As hinted at above, while Leo Fender was the major innovator associated with the solid‑body fretted electric bass guitar, he wasn’t the first. He was beaten to the starting post by at least some 15 years. Hardly a photo finish!
The first indication of the possible future of a bass guitar was in 1924 when the legendary Gibson designer, Lloyd Loar came up with a prototype electric bass. The Loar concept focused on the body, pickup and strings but with little additional detail. Loar’s radical design was rejected by Gibson management at the time. Loar left Gibson shortly thereafter in 1924, so his visionary ideas for an electric bass guitar went no further.
Nearly a decade later, around 1933, American musician and inventor Paul H. ‘Bud’ Tutmarc (1896‑1972), based in Seattle, Washington, began experimenting with reducing the size of the double bass to a more manageable instrument. Tutmarc originally devised an electrified fretless double bass‑style instrument described as an electric 4‑string upright ‘bull fiddle’, slightly smaller than a cello.
It’s worth a quick diversion to go back in time to take in an original report from the ‘Seattle Post‑Intelligencer’ newspaper, which published the story on 17 February 1935. The headline read, “Pity Him No More – New Type Bull Fiddle Devised.”
The article went on to state that, “People have always pitied the poor bass-fiddler… who has to lug his big bull-fiddle home through the dark streets after the theatre closes. But he doesn’t have to do it anymore. Because Paul Tutmarc, Seattle music teacher and KOMO radio artist, has invented an electric bull-fiddle. One you can carry under your arm. And it doesn’t even need a bow, either. You pluck a string – and out of the electric amplifier comes a rich, deep tone, sustained as if five or six bass violinists were bowing five or six bass‑violins with masterly artistry. The tone is sustained as long as you want it, too, without a bow.” The instrument described in the article was a cello‑like upright fretless instrument with an electromagnetic pickup.
Tutmarc was, however, about to do something far more radical. By 1935-1936, Tutmarc, had changed direction and developed the first solid body fretted electric bass guitar, pretty much recognisable in its modern form. It was this version of Tutmarc’s bass that was intended to be played horizontally, rather than upright, in a similar way to the modern bass guitar. The 1935 sales catalogue for Tutmarc’s company Audiovox featured his ‘Model 736 Bass Fiddle’, a solid‑bodied electric bass guitar with four strings, a fretted neck, with a 30½” (775mm) scale length, an ebony (or purpleheart) fingerboard with 16 frets, a black walnut body, a hidden single Tutmarc‑Stimpson horseshoe pickup below a mirror-steel faceplate, and a single volume control.
Tutmarc AudioVox Model 736
In addition, as an electric bass guitar would be pretty much useless without the means to amplify the sound, Audiovox also sold an accompanying ‘Model 936’ bass amplifier with 18 watts of power and a 12” Jensen Concert speaker.
Around 100 of the Model 736 Audiovox bass guitars were made in the mid‑1930s. However, there are only thought to be three Model 736 Tutmarc bass guitars still in existence today, making them remarkably rare. One belongs to the Experience Music Project (EMP), now known as The Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), a non‑profit enterprise founded by Microsoft co‑founder Paul Allen in 2000 and based in Seattle, Washington state, USA. In 2018, a 1936 Audiovox Model 736 bass guitar was reportedly sold by Tutmarc’s grandson on eBay for $23,850.
Sadly, for Tutmarc, the Audiovox 736 was not a commercial success. The price tag was high for the mid‑1930s, in a country still severely affected by The Great Depression (1929‑1939). The 736 bass fiddle originally cost $65 and the matching 936 bass amplifier cost $75, placing it well out of reach for many musicians. The high price and the radical concept didn’t attract enough musicians at the time and it wasn’t long before it was discontinued and was subsequently forlornly forgotten to history. Tutmarc’s company, Audiovox folded in 1950.
It can well be argued that Tutmarc was ahead of his time. Perhaps it is a case of supply looking for a demand that consumers didn’t know they needed. Maybe it was bad timing and/or bad luck. The Model 736 also arrived shortly before the outbreak of World War II when the guitar manufacturing industry was deemed ‘non‑essential’ and resources were diverted to the American war effort. Furthermore, a bass guitar didn’t seem to fit seamlessly into any of the prevailing musical styles at that time.
It is surprising, though, that such a significant innovation in guitar history isn’t more widely known about. Perhaps it is time, nay overdue, for Tutmarc’s milestone achievements to be deservedly recognised.
One company, Luthiery Laboratories, makes modern‑day replicas of the Audiovox 736, keeping the spirit of the original instrument alive.
The first commercially successful mass produced solid body fretted electric bass guitar
And so it was that the scene was set for someone else to step in and make the bass guitar ‘a thing’. That someone else was Clarence Leonidas Fender (1909‑1991). Unlike poor old Paul H. Tutmarc, you may just have heard of him.
“I wonder if I could make an electric bass” – Leo Fender (1909‑1991)
For more on the history and development of Fender guitars and musical equipment, see CRAVE Guitars’ August 2018 article for the context behind Fender solid body electric guitars.
Once the proverbial ball started rolling, the bass guitar had a phenomenal, transformative and relatively rapid impact on modern music that cannot be underestimated or understated. It is also very easy to take the electric bass guitar’s presence on stages, in studios and bedrooms all around the world for granted. Back in 1950, though, no‑one other than a select few in Fullerton, California had any idea of what was to come.
So… what are we actually talking about? The answer, after the lengthy preamble (apologies for keeping you on tenterhooks for so long), is the mighty Fender Precision Bass. Three little words. Game changing, era defining and well‑deserving of all the hyperbole attached to it over the past seven‑plus decades. So much has been written about the Precision that there is little need to dredge up the detail again, so what follows is a brief overview.
Leo Fender was working on a prototype back in 1950, bringing the world’s first commercially successful mass‑produced electric bass guitar to market in 1951. Fender designed the Precision Bass (often shortened these days to P‑Bass) to overcome the many drawbacks of the acoustic double bass alluded to earlier in this article. Even the name, Precision, referred to the fretted neck to enable musicians to play in tune far more precisely than on the double bass’s fretless neck. Conservative double bass players may well have looked at the Precision Bass in the same way that conservative guitarists looked at the Fender Telecaster, which had been introduced a year earlier in 1950. Consternation and indignation were probably natural initial reactions from the ‘old‑school’.
At its most basic, the Fender Precision Bass is a solid body, 4‑string bass guitar equipped with a single pickup and a one‑piece 20‑fret maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard. It all sounds so very straightforward and unremarkable nowadays doesn’t it?
The Precision Bass didn’t, however, appear fully formed. The original design of the Precision borrowed several design features from the Telecaster guitar, other than the double cutaway body. Initial models carried one single coil pickup, a slab body, large scratchplate and a Tele‑like headstock.
After Fender introduced the Stratocaster guitar in 1954, some of its design features were brought over to the Precision including a contoured body and a Strat‑like headstock. The original pickup was replaced with a single split coil hum cancelling staggered design and a sleeker redesigned scratchplate. It is this version of the Precision from 1957 that has stayed in production largely unchanged to the current day. There have been many, many variants with numerous changes in specification over the years, including a fretless version (ironically, given the origin and intention of the Precision’s name). 5‑string versions, 22‑fret necks, active electronics, multiple pickups, etc. followed.
The original pre‑1957 Precision design has been re-issued by Fender at times over the years, often called the Telecaster Bass to differentiate it from the post‑1957 Precision specification.
The popularity of the Fender Precision Bass grew significantly throughout the 1950s especially with rock & roll and country fraternities, as well as with session musicians. During the 1960s the solid body fretted electric bass guitar became dominant in most modern musical genres. During the early days, there wasn’t a great deal of choice in terms of alternatives to the Precision but that was to change later on.
1977 Fender Precision Fretless Bass
Fender capitalised on their supremacy by introducing the solid body fretted electric Fender Jazz Bass in 1960 (originally called the ‘Deluxe Model’). The svelte Fender Jazz Bass (often now shortened to J‑Bass) was designed to appeal to a different customer base. Like the offset bodied Fender Jazzmaster guitar, it was aimed squarely at the dyed‑in‑the‑wool jazz community. However, like the Jazzmaster, the Jazz Bass’s appeal spread far wider than jazz musicians. Like the Precision, the Jazz Bass has rightly become an iconic industry standard solid body electric bass guitar.
Throughout the years, both the Precision and Jazz Bass have featured sizeable chrome covers over the pickup and the bridge, despite these items limiting playing techniques such as palm muting the strings. As the covers are purely aesthetic, rather than functional components, it is fair to say that the vast majority of musicians removed these covers permanently.
Without doubt, the Fender Precision Bass and its younger sibling the Jazz Bass are icons of contemporary music and remain hugely popular today. Consumers can purchase genuine P‑Bass and J‑Bass models from the budget Fender‑owned offshore‑produced Squier brand, through Mexican and American‑made Fender models, to the high‑end Fender Custom Shop versions. Throughout the decades, the Precision and Jazz Bass models have oft been imitated and/or blatantly copied by other manufacturers, eager to cash in on Fender’s industry‑dominant status.
Understandably, over the years, the Precision and Jazz Bass have become highly collectable, especially the earliest models. The highest vintage market prices undoubtedly belong to the models from 1951 (Precision) and 1960 (Jazz Bass) to 1965, when Leo Fender sold his company to industry giant CBS. Fender equipment from this period is known as ‘pre‑CBS’.
For more information on the Fender Precision and Jazz Bass, just complete any Internet browser search and, alongside a great deal of drivel, there is a massive volume of fact and opinion available, often described in forensic detail.
1989 Fender Jazz Bass American Standard Longhorn
Evolution of the electric bass guitar
It is probably fair to say that, since 1951 and the introduction of the Fender Precision Bass, other brands were in the position of having to play catch up. In particular, Fender’s biggest competitor, Gibson, was wrong‑footed and they have never been able to compete on a level playing field. In 1953, Gibson released the EB‑1, which was a violin‑shaped solid mahogany body bass with a set neck. The EB‑1 didn’t catch on and was replaced by the semi‑acoustic ES‑335‑shaped EB‑2 in 1958, the SG‑shaped Gibson EB‑0 in 1959 and the EB‑3 (made famous by Jack Bruce of Cream) in 1961. While the semi‑acoustic EB‑2 proved popular, its Epiphone‑branded counterpart, the Epiphone Rivoli proved more successful. All these early Gibson basses used a shorter 30½” scale. In 1959, Gibson also released a hollow body EB‑6 6‑string bass.
Possibly Gibson’s best contender for an iconic bass guitar is the Gibson Thunderbird, originally introduced in 1963. The Thunderbird was based on Gibson’s Firebird guitar, designed by legendary American car designer Raymond Dietrich (1894‑1980). The Thunderbird was the first Gibson solid body bass to use the 34” scale made popular by Fender. Like the Firebird, the Thunderbird was redesigned in a simpler ‘non‑reverse’ form for 1966 and the original ‘reverse’ shape wasn’t reissued until the mid‑1970s. During the 1970s, Gibson also released the Ripper and Grabber basses but neither really captured bass players’ imaginations (or their precious dollars!). Later additions like the Gibson Triumph, Victory and RD basses didn’t fare much better as viable competition for Fender’s stalwarts. Epiphone have Thunderbird and EB basses in their line‑up alongside Epiphone‑specific basses such as the Newport and the Embassy.
Over at Danelectro in Neptune, New Jersey, Nathan Daniel launched the world’s first 6‑string bass, the UB‑2 in 1956 comprising a single cutaway semi‑hollow bass with a 30” scale, 24 frets and dual single coil pickups, earning its nickname the ‘Tic Tac bass’. In 1958, Danelectro replaced the UB‑2 with two new 6‑string bass models. The first was the Long Horn 4623 bass with a radical new lyre‑like design 24 frets, and a short 25” scale. The other was the Short Horn 3612 with stubby double cutaways, 29½”scale and only 15 frets. All Danelectro models substantially undercut the retail prices of both Fender and Gibson’s basses. The 6‑string models seemed to attract guitarists rather than bass players to their designs, providing a novel bridge between guitar and bass camps.
It should be noted at this point that older 6‑string basses are generally tuned an octave below a guitar in standard tuning, to E-E, while the baritone guitars that were appearing at the time were tuned either to B‑B or A‑A. On the other hand, modern 5‑string basses simply add a lower B string while modern 6‑string basses tend to add lower B and higher C strings compared to an equivalent 4‑string bass. Confused?
Meanwhile, back in the 1960s, Fender weren’t resting on their laurels. Following the popularity of the ‘student’ Mustang guitar, Fender introduced the short scale Mustang Bass in 1966. The Mustang Bass spawned two later variants, the Bronco Bass (introduced in 1967) and the Musicmaster Bass (introduced in 1971). Fender also released two esoteric ‘bass’ guitars, the Fender Bass V (introduced in 1965), which was the world’s first 5‑string bass guitar and the 6‑string Bass VI (introduced in 1961). The latter was strongly influenced by the Fender Jaguar guitar design. The Bass VI was Fender’s upmarket response to the Danelectro 6‑string bass introduced 5 years earlier. The Bass VI is unique in having 3 pickups, 6 lighter gauge strings, a short 30” scale, a floating bridge and a mechanical vibrato as used on the Jazzmaster/Jaguar guitars, as well as a removable string mute. To compete with the Gibson EB‑2 and Epiphone Rivoli thinline semi‑acoustic basses, Fender introduced the hollow Coronado Bass in 1966.
In addition, the ‘other’ Californian company, Rickenbacker, run by F.C. Hall at the time, also wasn’t going to be left on the side‑lines in the bass department. Rickenbacker had hired Roger Rossmeisl (1927‑1979) who designed the brand’s key guitars and the 4000 series basses. The Rickenbacker 4000 bass with its distinctive cresting wave body outline and thru‑neck construction was launched in 1957. Subsequent models were named 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, all being variants of the same basic instrument. There isn’t enough space to go into the specification differences here.
Rickenbacker 4001
A decade after Leo Fender left the company that still carries his name today, Music Man was formed in California and released Leo Fender’s vision for the next evolution of his era defining bass guitars. The Music Man Stingray Bass was released in 1976 with a single large bridge humbucker, distinctive 3+1 headstock, innovative on‑board active electronics and an integral string mute. While Music Man’s guitars never caught on at the time, the Stingray Bass has joined Fender and Rickenbacker as an iconic design for many bass musicians. The Stingray Bass was especially popular for funk slap‑style bass technique for the likes of Louis Johnson of the Brothers Johnson.
1978 Music Man Stingray Bass
There are a few other notable basses, such as the German Höfner ‘violin bass’, the 500/1, made famous by Paul McCartney of The Beatles. This model, introduced in 1955, with its carved solid spruce top and humbucking pickups, is often nicknamed the ‘Beatle Bass’. Beyond the Beatles connection, though, the 500/1 remains a relatively minor entry in the bass stakes, while the company’s only other notable entry being the Höfner Club and Verythin basses.
Another oddity to mention at this point is the Swedish Hagström H8, unique for being the world’s first mass‑produced 8‑string bass, with four pairs of strings on a short 30” scale. The H8 was only produced briefly from 1967‑1969.
Throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s a plethora of other companies jumped on the bandwagon, eager to make the most of the massive increase in demand as rock, pop and other genres proliferated. Many of the basses produced during this time were flagrant facsimiles of the best‑selling American brand models, often by Japanese companies (now termed ‘lawsuit‑era’ copies). Other companies like Warwick in Germany were making their own headway with their successful original‑design Thumb and Streamer basses.
Today (2024), Fender arguably still rules the roost with basses covering all bases (sic!) from budget to elite models. All other brands stand firmly in Fender’s enviable shadow. While Fender may dominate, there are now plenty of alternative options. There are some incredible bass guitars out there, some of which are listed later in this article for those that want to diverge from the predictable industry standard ‘Fender sound’. There are numerous ways to deviate from the common path, with different brands, string/pickup configurations, electronics, scale lengths, body construction, etc. The quality of budget instruments is vastly superior to anything available in the past and provides a strong basis (again, sic!) for players seeking to learn and develop their skills.
The acoustic bass guitar
While the solid body electric bass guitar finally took the world by storm from the 1950s and 1960s, the acoustic bass guitar has proved to be another modern, notable and niche instrument. The first (largely unsuccessful) attempts at acoustic bass guitars began to appear in the 1950s as a logical extension to its electric counterpart.
Historically, one of the earliest acoustic bass‑like instruments was the Mexican guitarrón, which has its roots in the 16th Century and is widely used in Mexican Mariachi bands. While looking similar to a guitar, these huge instruments were either 6‑string or 12‑string acoustic instruments, tuned in A‑D‑G‑C‑E‑A.
In 1972, Ernie Ball introduced the Earthwood acoustic bass guitar, stating that “…if there were electric bass guitars to go with electric guitars then you ought to have acoustic basses to go with acoustic guitars.” A simple yet ‘blindingly obvious’ observation, given the benefit of hindsight. Ernie Ball took a guitarrón, being the nearest thing to an existing acoustic bass guitar, and created a more practical instrument for guitar‑centric American consumers. The Earthwood was relatively short‑lived but the foundation of the acoustic bass guitar was established. American company Washburn took the concept and created more successful instruments that coincided neatly with MTV’s Unplugged concert series (1989‑1999). Interestingly, despite starting it all, Ernie Ball does not have an acoustic bass guitar available to buy at the time of writing.
Acoustic bass guitar construction is essentially similar to the steel‑strung flat top acoustic folk guitar, with a larger hollow wooden body and a longer scale neck. Most acoustic basses have four strings, tuned in the same way as an electric bass, E‑A‑D‑G, an octave below a standard guitar. The majority of acoustic basses have fretted fingerboards, although some are fretless.
Acoustic Bass Guitar
Like many modern day acoustic guitars, many acoustic bass models have pickups to enable them to be amplified for stage use or DI’d for recording purposes. Some instruments are thinline electric semi‑acoustic basses while others are full‑depth electro‑acoustic basses. These are designed primarily as acoustic basses with an on‑board pickup for additional amplification when needed.
Today, there are any number of acoustic bass guitars on the market for every level of player and every price point from many key manufacturers including, amongst others; Martin, Taylor, Guild, Fender, Takamine, Ovation, Tanglewood, Epiphone, Warwick, Epiphone, Washburn, Godin, ESP, Breedlove, Larivée, Framus, Hohner, Ozark, Dean, D’Angelico, Ibanez, Sigma, Alvarez and Cort.
Bass guitar amplification
In the early days of bass guitars, brands released bass amplifiers to accompany their instruments, often sold as a package (see Tutmarc’s Audiovox above, for example). Other brands like Rickenbacker did the same in the early days. The main difference between guitar amps and bass amps is that the latter are tuned specifically to reproduce bass frequencies accurately. A standard 4‑string bass guitar produces low frequencies in the range 41Hz to 100Hz with overtones extending up to 4‑5kHz (not dissimilar to an acoustic double bass in fact).
In terms of sound pressure levels, bass frequencies need more power to be heard by the human ear/brain at the same volume as higher frequencies, so bass amps tend to have higher power ratings than guitar amps. In the past, speakers for bass also tended to be larger with 12”, 15” or even 18” to shift the amount of air needed at lower frequencies. In contrast, guitar speakers tended to be 10”or 12”. Bass speaker cabinets, especially those with multiple speakers, normally had sealed or ported enclosures to increase volume. For all these reasons bass amplifiers and speaker cabinets tend to be different to their guitar equivalents.
Probably the most famous brand associated specifically for its bass amplification is the American company Ampeg, founded in 1946 and now under the ownership of Japanese giant, Yamaha. Ampeg started out attempting to amplify the acoustic double bass in 1949 by using a microphone/pickup in the instrument’s stand. The ‘Amplified Peg’ as it was called was then shortened to ‘Ampeg’ and the rest, as they say, is history. Their most famous range of amps was the 300W Ampeg SVT from 1969 and their bass combo amps, the B‑15 from 1960, as used by the likes of Motown session bass player James Jamerson.
It was no surprise that Fender, the leader in the world of bass guitars from the 1950s should also produce bass amps/cabs. Perhaps the most famous Fender bass amp was the Bassman from 1952 onwards, first introduced as a combo valve amp with a 15” speaker. The most desirable though, was the Dual Rectifier Bassman valve combo with 4×10” speakers. From 1960. Fender also released a ‘piggy back’ amp head and speaker cabinet design to cope with higher power levels and to provide flexibility. From 2000, Fender released a solid state version of the legendary Bassman amp. The original valve Bassman also became beloved by many guitar players for its tone, for instance by the late blues rock guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV).
Student bass players also needed a bass amp. So Fender introduced the Musicmaster Bass amplifier in 1970, as a companion to the Fender Musicmaster Bass guitar. The Musicmaster Bass combo amp was a very simple affair with one channel, 12W of power, volume and tone controls and a single 12″ Fender speaker. Like the Bassman, it has latterly been enjoying a bit of a revival as a budget vintage amp for guitarists. The Musicmaster Bass amp was discontinued in 1982 after the introduction of the Fender Studio Bass combo and Japanese Fender Sidekick Bass 30. Nowadays, the extensive Fender Rumble series has proved very popular with bass players.
Legendary British amplifier company Marshall was not going to be left behind. Marshall’s first 100‑watt bass head was the JTM 45/100 / JTM 45 Super 100 model. Another, also dating from the second half of the 1960s, is the JMP #1992 Super Bass 100 (100W) and JMP #1986 Bass (50W). Like the Fender Bassman, the Marshall Super Bass 100W also proved popular with guitarists. Bass players were also known to use the Marshall #1963 Super PA (50W) and Marshall #1968 Super PA (100W) amps.
Another legendary British amplifier company, VOX produced bass versions of its AC‑15 and AC‑30 combo amps. These were followed in 1963 by the VOX T‑60 and Foundation amps, the latter promoted by Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.
German acoustic amp company AER also produce a range of bass amps, particularly well‑suited to amplifying acoustic and electro‑acoustic bass guitars.
Bass guitarists turn out to be a little less conservative than their guitarist counterparts, especially when it comes to amplification and speaker cabinets. For instance there are plenty of modern‑day bass amps that use efficient solid state D‑class amplification (a type of amplifier that uses digital switching technology to amplify audio signals efficiently), with very high power ratings – 500W and 600W or more being not uncommon. Bass amps often also make wide use of sophisticated on‑board EQ. Speaker cabinet configurations also tend to be more versatile with reflex ports, horns, tweeters and combining multiple speaker types being common.
There are many other valve, solid state or hybrid bass amplifier manufacturers not mentioned above, including Trace Elliot, Ashdown Engineering, Mesa/Boogie, Peavey, Music Man, Hiwatt, Laney, Sound City, H/H, WEM, Hartke and Orange.
Bass guitar effects
Things have changed a great deal over the decades since 1951. In the early days of the solid body electric bass guitar, most players plugged straight into their amps without much in the way of tone augmentation.
By the 1970s and 1980s bass players had a paucity of effects specially designed for their instruments, so they generally adopted guitar effects with just a few bass‑specific pedals to choose from. Since the industry started to migrate to digital technology from the 1980s onwards, the major effect companies began to produce pedals designed primarily for use with bass guitars. Now, in the 2020s, there is plenty of choice with most of the big players in the effect industry now making bass‑specific effect pedals, including Electro‑Harmonix, MXR, BOSS, Ibanez, Fender, Laney and Ampeg.
In addition, from around the start of the new millennium, a number of manufacturers turned their ideas for integrated multi‑effect units into practical musicians’ tools that became popular for both guitar and bass, including BOSS, VOX, Zoom, Tech 21, Behringer and Valeton.
In 1998, Line 6 introduced a ground‑breaking innovation called the POD, which put many guitar effects, amps and cabinet emulations into a single portable unit. While the little red kidney shaped POD was initially directed at guitarists, the rack mounted Line 6 POD Pro models came in both guitar and bass versions. Since then, Line 6 and other manufacturers now combine guitar and bass amp/effect/cabinet emulations into a single unit. These units are constantly improving and are gradually replacing stage backlines with direct input (DI) into PAs/monitors, as well as into studio desks/DAWs. Along with the POD, Line 6, also now part of Yamaha, is still in the same business with their extensive Helix range.
Alternatives to the Line 6 POD and Helix units include the Axe-Fx III from Fractal Audio, which is a pro‑level amplification/effects processor suitable for both guitar and bass. Meanwhile, Kemper Amps took a slightly different route with their Profiler, which has all‑in‑one effects, amplifier and speaker cabinet profiles designed for both guitar and bass.
Just to finish off, there are numerous boutique effect pedal manufacturers that produce stomp boxes, often to very high degrees of quality, including brands such as Way Huge, TC Electronic, EarthQuaker Devices, Darkglass, Aguilar, Origin Effects, Free The Tone, Providence, Source Audio, Walrus Audio, ZVEX, Mooer Audio, Sansamp, Digitech, Eventide, Strymon, JHS, Keeley and Empress Effects.
Iconic (and other) bass guitars
The next sentence is likely to be highly provocative and intentionally so. While there are innumerable bass guitar models out there from 1951 to the current day, there are probably only four bass guitar models that can truly be called iconic (i.e. something that is widely considered to epitomize an era, culture, community or place). The four key instruments – none of which are based on guitar equivalents – that stand head and shoulders above the rest are:
Truly iconic bass guitars: Fender Precision Bass (1951‑date) Fender Jazz Bass (1960‑date) Rickenbacker 4000 series (1957‑date) Music Man Stingray Bass (1976‑date)
In addition, below are listed just a very few of the other great electric bass guitars manufactured from 1951 onwards. This is far from a comprehensive list and is intended only to be broadly indicative of the type.
Gibson bass guitars: Gibson EB series Gibson Thunderbird Gibson Explorer Bass Gibson Melody Maker Bass Gibson Grabber/Ripper/G3 Gibson RD series Gibson Triumph Gibson Victory Gibson 20/20 Bass
Epiphone bass guitars (not including Epiphone versions of Gibson basses): Epiphone Embassy Epiphone Newport Epiphone Rivoli Epiphone Viola
Other American brand bass guitars: Alembic Series 1/2 Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite Ampeg AEB-1 BC Rich Eagle BC Rich Mockingbird BC Rich Warlock Danelectro Longhorn 4623 Danelectro Shorthorn 3612 G&L JB2 G&L L1000/L2000 Gretsch 6071/6072 Gretsch G2220 Junior Jet Gretsch 5440 Electromatic Guild B-301/B-302 Guild Starfire Harmony H22 Harmony H27 Jackson JS Kramer 450-B/650-B Kramer DMZ Lakland Skyline Music Man Sabre Music Man Sterling National Val Pro Model 85 Ovation Magnum Peavey T-40 Peavey Millennium/Milestone PRS SE Kestrel/Kingfisher Schecter Omen Schecter Stilletto Silvertone 1440 series Steinberger Spirit XT Steinberger Synapse Supro Pocket Travis Bean TB2000 Washburn Taurus
European bass guitars: Burns Sonic Hagström H8 Höfner Club Höfner HCT-500/1 Höfner President Hohner B2 Hohner The Jack VOX Clubman VOX Cougar VOX Phantom 4 VOX Sidewinder VOX VBW Teardrop Bass Wal Mk1/Mk2 Warwick Thumb/Streamer/Infinity/Corvette Warwick Rockbass
Japanese bass guitars: Other than perhaps the Yamaha BB and TRBX series, and the Ibanez SR and TMB series, Japanese bass guitars do not have the same level of brand/model heritage when compared to those produced by American and European companies. There are, however, many Japanese basses produced by companies such as Ibanez, Tokai, Greco, Jedson, Westone, Teisco, ESP/LTD, Fernandes and Aria.
“Without the Fender bass, there’d be no rock n’ roll or no Motown. The electric guitar had been waiting ’round since 1939 for a nice partner to come along. It became an electric rhythm section, and that changed everything.” – Quincy Jones (1933‑)
Famous bass players
Below are listed seventy of the world’s most famous and influential bass players – alive and departed – including upright double bass and electric solid body bass guitar players. There are, of course, many, many more but this is an indicative list for those interested in exploring some of the music created by these diverse musicians (in alphabetical order):
Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett (Bob Marley & The Wailers) Walter Becker (Steely Dan) Andy Bell (Oasis) Bill Black (Elvis Presley) Jack Bruce (Cream) Cliff Burton (Metallica) Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) John Cale (Velvet Underground) Stanley Clarke (Return To Forever, solo) Adam Clayton (U2) Bootsy Collins (James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic) Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave) Billy Cox (Jimi Hendrix) John Deacon (Queen) Kim Deal (Pixies, Breeders) Willie Dixon Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie) Bernard Edwards (Chic) John Entwistle (The Who) Flea (a.k.a. Michael Peter Balzary – Red Hot Chili Peppers) Bruce Foxton (The Jam) Simon Gallup (The Cure) Roger Glover (Deep Purple) Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) Larry Graham (Sly & The Family Stone) Marshall Grant (Johnny Cash) Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) Dusty Hill (ZZ Top) Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order, The Light) Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) Jah Wobble (a.k.a. John Joseph Wardle) James Jamerson (session musician) Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) Carol Kaye (session musician) Lemmy Kilmister (Hawkwind, Motörhead) Mark King (Level 42) Alan Lancaster (Status Quo) Geddy Lee (Rush) Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel) Jenny Lee Lindberg (Warpaint) Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols) Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings, solo) Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) Marcus Miller (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, George Benson) Charles Mingus Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) Pino Palladino (session musician) Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report) Guy Pratt (Madonna, David Gilmour) Suzi Quatro Dee Dee Ramone (Ramones) Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix) Mike Rutherford (Genesis) Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie) Billy Sheehan (Steve Vai, David Lee Roth) Gene Simmons (KISS) Nikki Sixx (a.k.a. Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr. – Mötley Crüe) Chris Squire (Yes) Sting (a.k.a. Gordon Sumner – The Police) Danny Thompson (John Martyn) Thundercat (a.k.a. Stephen Lee Bruner) Robert Trujillo (Metallica) Sid Vicious (a.k.a. Simon John Ritchie – Sex Pistols) Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club) Tal Wilkenfeld (Jeff Beck, Prince) Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings)
“The gunk takes the funk” – James Jamerson (1936‑1983)
Bass in the (near) future
It is difficult for, and unfair of, me as a guitarist, to predict any sort of unified future for the bass guitar but I’ll give it a shot.
The traditional conservative brigade will still stick to tried and tested instruments and equipment. Musicians looking for something a bit different will probably want to experiment with the format, for instance number of strings, scale lengths, pickups and electronics. If anything there will be more radical and custom bass guitar designs from up‑market and boutique luthiers that diverge from the traditional archetype set by Fender over 70 years ago. Many additions to the form extend the flexibility of the core instrument, so it may be a case of further evolution, rather than revolution.
Bass amplification will continue to diverge from its simple valve origins and continue to embrace the digital realm, probably dispensing with backline amps/cabs altogether with signals being DI’d into desks/PA/monitors.
While bass players haven’t been particularly well served in the past for bass‑specific effect pedals, I anticipate that bass effects will achieve greater representation, including some out‑there effects not currently available to guitar players.
Bass guitar players have struggled to compete, with synthesisers dominating the world of modern electronica, dance and popular music. At least, for now (thankfully), the bass guitar remains essential to most guitar‑based music in a sort of symbiotic, co‑dependent relationship. As long as guitars keep going, so will bass, and vice versa. Bass players, being ever inventive individuals, will adapt and cultivate new ways to keep the instrument relevant, current and in the limelight for decades to come.
Technique‑wise, there will continue to be the traditional approaches towards walking bass lines, typically using the fundamental root/fifth styles that has been the general mainstay of modern music for decades. In contrast, there will be many more amazing virtuoso bass players who see the versatility and potential of the instrument in its own right.
So, other than tangible incremental progress around the margins, there is probably not a whole lot that will change profoundly in the near future. I may be wrong with that last sentence. In many ways, I hope so!
Interestingly, while the upright double bass continues to appear in modern music from time to time, the solid body fretted electric bass hasn’t really made any headway into the clique of conservative classical orchestral music, which still relies heavily on the traditional, some may say archaic, acoustic upright double bass.
Resources
Periodicals dedicated to bass guitar may be the best place to keep up‑to‑date with the technology and equipment associated with the instrument. Publications include Bass Musician Magazine, Bass Player Guitar Magazine, Bass Guitar Magazine, Bass Magazine, Bass Musician and Bass Gear Magazine.
Online resources include Music Radar, TalkBass.com, Basschat and No Treble. There are also many books on bass guitars and bass playing techniques, including the inevitable, ‘Bass Guitar For Dummies’.
As far as purchasing bass guitars, there are the large Internet sites, brick & mortar retailers and the usual online sites, Reverb.com and eBay. For vintage and rare bass guitars, there are outlets purely for basses including (in the UK) Andy Baxter Bass, The Bass Gallery, The Bass Centre, Vintage Bass Room and ClassicandcoolGuitars.
Some final thoughts
I certainly learnt a lot from researching and writing this article. At first sight, there may seem to be quite a bit of relevant information on the Internet. It is only when one starts to dig deeper and attempt to put something together that makes some form of sense that things rapidly become unclear. All of a sudden, much of the available information seems incomplete, contradictory, vague and/or outright erroneous. In the end, it comes down to evidence and corroboration but sorting the wheat from the chaff isn’t always easy. It seems that online information about vintage guitars is far more reliable than that about vintage basses. There are far too many poorly informed people who invent facts and present opinion as truth.
Despite my best attempts to piece things together, I may have fallen foul of the same issues raised above. However, I have tried very hard not to fill in gaps with assumptions and/or fiction. While I endeavour to be thorough and rigorous, my approach isn’t academic and I don’t have the time, funds or energy to provide the last word in scholarly fact. The contents herein should therefore probably not be relied upon too heavily. This article should, for that reason alone, be regarded as my best intention to balance fact with entertainment.
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” – Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama – c.480‑400BCE)
This is just the sort of article that would benefit greatly from images to illustrate and break up the narrative. Sadly as a (broke) not‑for‑profit entity, I cannot afford the costly copyright/royalties charged for the use of relevant images, so I have had to rely on very limited free/public domain resources or my own photographs. I apologise for the thousands of words used to describe what images could do in none. Once again, no AI was used in the research and writing of this tome – only my own hard work.
NB. Apologies to anyone disappointed by the wait for a cheap, clichéd joke at the expense of ‘the bass player’! T’ain’t gonna happen here. Love ‘the bass player’.
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’
Given that this month’s article focuses on the fascinating history of the bass guitar, it seems only fitting to select an album that demonstrates the virtuoso bass playing of one of the greatest bass guitarists of all time, Jaco Pastorius (1951‑1987) and his famous modified fretless Fender Jazz Bass.
Weather Report – Heavy Weather (1977) – The seventh and most commercially successful studio album by the American jazz fusion band. ‘Heavy Weather’ was the first album with Pastorius on full‑time bass duties. The smooth jazz funk production of the album, which was released at the peak of the punk rock movement in the US and UK, stood in stark contrast to the otherwise brutal sounds of the late 1970s. Given that it sold in huge numbers (and still does) is testament to the composition and musicianship on display. Initial sales were about 500,000 and total sales to‑date are over 1.06 million. Other Weather Report albums may be ‘better’ according to purists but this is the one I heard first and it has stuck with me over the years.
Weather Report – Heavy Weather (1977)
To me, this album hit me right between the eyes about what virtuoso bass playing can be like. There are many, many other artists and albums that could arguably take the acclaim, for instance Stanley Clarke’s successful solo album, ‘School Days’ (1976), but on this occasion, the late, great Jaco (& co.) takes the accolade, such as it is.
“I’m the greatest bass player in the world” – Jaco Pastorius (1951‑1987)
Tailpiece
Well, there you go. I think that most of us love a bit of decent low bass in our music. I hope y’all got something out of this fleeting exploration into the defining instruments, artists and music of the lower registers. I think the narrative works well as a complement to the launch of CRAVE Basses at the end of 2023, but that’s just my (obviously biased) opinion.
I hope you feel inclined to come back next month to see what’s currently fermenting in the CRAVE guitars’ secret brewery.
Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Mundanity is the devourer of lost dreams”
Welcome to the end of the 20th Century. Not actually, of course, that was 20 years ago now. I mean, in the ‘Story of Modern Music’, having covered almost 350 years so far, welcomes you to the very end of the century that really transformed mankind’s potential and bestowed opportunities hitherto unforeseen and unthought‑of, including musically.
If you would like to (re)visit any of the first eight chapters of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):
I did think of trying to compress the last three decades into a single article and then thought better of it on the grounds that doing so might diminish the impact of the period within the overall picture. So, just for now, the millennial years will have to wait. The result is that the 1990s will have its own dedicated article, although it will be a slightly more diminutive read compared to the previous five decades/articles.
The Story of Modern Music Part IX 1990-1999
It is quite tricky to pinpoint exactly what the ‘90s meant to music devotees. It seemed to depend where you lived, your age and, perhaps, what socio‑economic ‘class’ you belonged to. Whether it was grunge, alternative, Britpop or dance music that floated your boat, there was a new and exciting scene to associate with and belong to. The psychological attachment to a musical style was important to many, especially young people who were looking for some structure to life while the old order of social and political systems seemed to be disintegrating around them. Although not quite as disobedient and defiant as previous musical archetypes, there was still an underlying seething resentment of ‘the man’, which various groups saw as attempting to control their chosen form of exuberant self‑expression. In a sense, they were tapping into the anger of the marginalised.
With previous decades, it was notable that births of familiar artists outnumbered deaths, while the ‘90s saw that trend beginning to reverse. Many future artists that may well achieve sustained fame may have been born in the ‘90s but not yet discovered, while the stars of previous eras are getting, let’s be honest, a bit long in the tooth.
Similarly, it is becoming difficult to distinguish what definitive musical gems will rise from the seeming homogeneity of releases to become revered as ‘classic’ in years to come. Arguably, the 1990s marked the last vestiges of milestone singles and albums. From then on, listening habits began to change fundamentally and that, in turn, changed the way we regard significance, at least through the traditional lens of sales figures.
Historical Context 1990-1999
Some commentators called the 1990s as the ‘best decade’, although that clearly depended on your circumstances and point of view! The dawn of the 1990s experienced widespread international political restructuring, especially in Eastern Europe following the end of the Cold War and the fracturing of the communist Eastern Bloc. The 1990s also saw the growth in environmental consciousness based on dire scientific predictions about global warming and climate change. Ironically, scaremongering about ‘greenhouse gases’ led to an expansion of ‘green’ industries in developed countries. Similarly, many commentators observed signs of societal dysfunctionality, leading to prescient dystopian novels such as ‘Generation X’ by Douglas Coupland (1991), ‘Random Acts Of Senseless Violence’ by Jack Womack (1992), and ‘Prozac Nation’ by Elizabeth Wurtzel (1994). The wealth gap between the haves and have‑nots was striking; a morally unjustifiable trend that would only worsen from the 1990s onwards. The increase in the pace of technological change in post‑industrial countries fuelled the migration towards ‘digitocracies’ and resulted in manufacturing being outsourced to low‑cost developing countries on a massive scale. A period of unprecedented growth in the use of the Internet fuelled unsustainable speculation in the value of high‑tech companies, known broadly as the ‘dot‑com bubble’, a phenomenon that was bound to burst, which it ultimately did. Many companies that had become reliant on IT during the decade were fearful of the impact of Y2K on computer systems that were not prepared for the turn of the millennium.
Year
Global Events
1990
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of soviet communism, East and West Germany were reunited as the Federal Republic of Germany.
Political internee and equal rights campaigner, Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving 27 years. His return to freedom effectively marked the end of apartheid in South Africa.
The ground breaking American cult TV series Twin Peaks burst onto screens. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, and starring Kyle MacLachlan. It is considered a landmark in television drama.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, named after American astronomer Edwin Hubble, was launched into low Earth orbit. The telescope was designed to look into deep space.
The first Middle East Gulf War started after Iraq invaded and annexed neighbouring Kuwait. A U.S.‑led coalition of 35 countries responded with Operation Desert Storm resulting in a coalition victory.
1991
Communist rule of the soviet USSR ended, resulting in a break up into a number of separate countries. The dismantling of the communist state effectively ended the 45‑year old Cold War between Russia and America.
British computer scientist and engineer, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short summary of the World Wide Web project, effectively launching the Internet, initially to research institutions and then to the general public.
1992
The infamous Los Angeles riots took place after 4 LAPD officers were acquitted of using excessive force in the arrest of African-American Rodney King the previous year. The incident had been videotaped and broadcast widely on TV, sparking renewed civil rights activism.
Founded in 1918, Central European country Yugoslavia descended into bitter civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a devastating military conflict that lasted until 1995.
1993
Democrat politician Bill Clinton became the 42nd president of the U.S.A.
Another massive American cult TV series, The X-Files was first broadcast, created by Chris Carter and starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.
The European Union (EU) succeeded the European Economic Community (EEC) when 12 countries signed the Maastricht Treaty, signalling a process of closer political and economic union.
1994
The trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico came into effect.
Anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician Nelson Mandela was elected as president of South Africa. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) declared a cease fire in Northern Ireland, paving the way for de‑armament and the subsequent peace process.
The 38Km (23.5mile) Channel Tunnel rail link beneath the English Channel from Folkestone in England to Calais in France was opened for business.
1995
The phenomenally successful multi‑national online auction and e‑commerce website eBay was launched, founded by entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar and based in San Jose, California.
Former professional American footballer O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the double murder of former wife Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The criminal trial, held in Los Angeles, was widely broadcast on TV.
1996
Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell by using nuclear transfer in Scotland, UK. Dolly died in 2003 at the age of 6.
Heir to the British throne, Prince Charles was formally divorced from Diana, Princess of Wales in London.
1997
The British crown colony of Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty as a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China after 156 years of British rule.
Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France at the age of 36. Her lover, Egyptian socialite Dodi Fayed, was also killed in the crash, sparking many conspiracy theories.
Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and humanitarian missionary Mother Teresa died of a heart attack in Rome at the age of 87.
The Pacific Rim countries were hit by the major Asian Financial Crisis, starting in Thailand and spreading rapidly across east and southeast Asia, resulting in an international financial contagion that threatened a severe worldwide economic meltdown.
1998
The male virility drug Sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, became available for use in America. It was originally discovered by pharmaceutical company Pfizer as a treatment for heart‑related chest pain.
The Internet search engine Google Search was launched. It is the most widely used search engine on the World Wide Web, with over 90% market share in 2019, handling more than 5 billion searches per day.
Multinational technology giant, Apple Inc. launched the highly successful iMac computer.
The multilateral Good Friday Agreement was signed in Belfast by the Republic of Ireland and Britain as part of the on-going Northern Ireland peace process.
The first module of the International Space Station (ISS) was launched into low Earth orbit. The ISS has served as a multinational microgravity research laboratory.
1999
The Euro became the official single currency for the majority of European Union (EU) countries, known commonly as the Eurozone. The security of the Euro is overseen by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.
Politician, Vladimir Putin became President of Russian Federation, succeeding former president, Boris Yeltsin.
Musical Genre Development 1990-1999
The 1990s was a decade of sometimes dysfunctional music set against a background of major political change and social polarisation/alienation.
One phenomenon of the 1990s that isn’t genre‑specific but which built on the perennial success of pop music was the ‘boy band’ and its all‑girl equivalent. Artists included Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, *NSYNC, Take That, Westlife, All Saints, S Club 7, Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child. The record company ‘manufactured’ bands didn’t have it all their own way; solo pop music artists were also highly successful during the 1990s, including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore.
American heavy metal saw a resurgence including bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Pantera achieving massive popularity. Meanwhile, British heavy metal was also prospering with NWOBHM bands such as Def Leppard, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
Hip‑hop became increasingly divisive, inciting gang warfare, gun violence and drug use, fuelling rivalry between east and west coast artists, and resulting in a number of high profile deaths including Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
The English ‘Manchester movement’ (or ‘Madchester’ as it was often called) was strong in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. The scene centred on venues like the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, run by post‑punk band New Order and led by local bands such as Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and The Charlatans, although the latter were actually based in the west midlands. The music isn’t necessarily a genre per se, it was more of a loose social and cultural grouping that also encompassed fashion, art and media. The OTT craziness of the Manchester scene was faithfully represented in the film ’24 Hour Party People’, made in 2002, directed by Michael Winterbottom. Other artists associated with the vital hotpot based around the UK’s North West were The Verve, Inspiral Carpets and James, as well as Scottish band Primal Scream. The Manchester ‘baggy’ zeitgeist would be important in the growth of the drug‑fuelled rave scene later in the decade.
A fusing of genres led to the emergence of trip hop as a discrete genre that grew from its roots in Bristol, UK and was pioneered by artists like Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead, Morcheeba and Sneaker Pimps. Sometimes referred to as ‘downtempo’, it is typified by taking electronica, hip‑hop, house, funk, dub, soul and psychedelia and creating something altogether different and fresh. While its roots were clearly experimental and atmospheric, trip hop was influential in that it led to other popular mainstream forms that became subsumed in the electronic dance craze (see below) of the 1990s and early 2000s, including breakbeat, bigbeat, drum ‘n’ bass, IDM, dubstep and acid jazz. Like the Manchester movement, trip hop was very much a UK‑led genre, which had little mainstream success in the U.S.
Like punk before it, alternative rock and its counterpart, experimental noise rock, is a musical genre that railed against the major record corporations that ran the music business and the mainstream pop and rock products they marketed. Independent producers and record labels that existed outside the studio system were very much part of an active underground movement, particularly in America, and this is where a number of bands came to public attention at the start of the 1990s. Compared to the mainstream, alternative artists found it relatively difficult to garner wide audience appeal, so word of mouth, radio and record releases were the way that the message got out. The alternative moniker is more of an umbrella term relating to artists’ status in the system, rather than having definitive identifiable genre characteristics. Notable alternative artists include Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Jane’s Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins and Pixies. Before they signed to a major label, R.E.M. were seen as alternative and this started a broadening of the definition that included other major artists such as Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Radiohead and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The start of the new millennium saw other alternative rock artists emerge including The Strokes, Interpol and The Rapture, extending and ensuring alternative rock’s destiny into the 21st Century.
Grunge is a specific genre of music that developed in the Pacific North West of the United States and more specifically its epicentre in and around Seattle in Washington State. Like alternative/noise rock, grunge was an underground movement centred on an independent record label, in this case, Sub Pop records based in Seattle. Grunge is influenced by punk, metal and alternative styles resulting in something altogether different from all of them. Grunge is characterised by slow, raw arrangements and a distinctly distorted lo‑fi sound. Compositions often followed a quiet‑loud‑quiet structure. Lyrics tended to be downbeat, melancholic, anti‑consumerist and often depraved with a focus on cultural alienation and social isolation. While all of the following rejected the term ‘grunge’ as defining their music, especially after signing to major labels, the early pioneers of Seattle’s grunge scene included Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Alice In Chains. The core grunge scene had largely fizzled out and diversified by the end of the 20th Century. A revival of the grunge ethic evolved in the 2010s to include artists like Courtney Barnett, Wolf Alice and Yuck.
Britpop was essentially an upbeat and positive British reaction to the dark and depressing American grunge scene. The music and its cultural background (nicknamed ‘Cool Britannia’) lasted approximately from 1993‑1997 before fizzling out. The major bands of the Britpop period included the ‘big four’; Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede. Collectively they expanded popularity to include other artists such as Supergrass, Cast, The Lightning Seeds, Sleeper and Elastica. The so‑called ‘Battle of Britpop’ between Oasis and Blur around 1995 was a media‑fuelled highlight catching the public’s imagination at the time. Britpop was important for influencing many quintessentially British bands that came along for the ride including Coldplay, Travis, Feeder, Stereophonics, Elbow, Snow Patrol and Keane. Further influences included Kaiser Chiefs and Arctic Monkeys in the 2000s.
Dance music (in this context, Electronic Dance Music – EDM) was a phenomenon that had its roots in the late 1980s but exploded in the early 1990s and lasted well into the 2000s. Dance music comprises largely electronically produced progressive dance music intended for use at nightclubs, festivals and (often illegal) raves by DJs who mixed and re‑mixed heavy beats through loud PA systems to audience rapture. In fact, many record labels and DJs became far more celebrated than the musical artists they played in their DJ sets. The predominant sub‑genres of dance music include house, techno, trance, drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, although these only represent the tip of the dance sub‑genre iceberg. Dance beats generally comprise programmed synthesizers, samplers and drum machines to produce buoyant, insistent 4/4 dance rhythms. Dance music also became synonymous with recreational drug use such as ecstasy (MDMA) as well as party holiday destinations such as Ibiza and Mykonos islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the famous artists of the dance scene include The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Underworld, Orbital, KLF, The Shamen, The Future Sound of London, 808 State, Groove Armada, Aphex Twin, Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk. Later artists built on the foundation, include Pendulum, SBTRKT and Skream. DJs became pivotal in promoting the dance craze and became famous in their own right, including Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Paul Van Dyk and Armin van Buuren. There are many sub‑genres of dance including acid house, IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), ambient, breakbeat, downtempo, jungle and UK garage, all ensuring that dance music remains up‑to‑date and relevant in the 21st Century.
Musical Facts 1990-1999
Day
Month
Year
Music Fact
23
January
1990
American guitarist and co-founder of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allen Collins died from pneumonia in Jacksonville, Florida at the age of 37.
8
February
1990
American country and rock & roll singer and songwriter, Del Shannon committed suicide as a result of depression at his home in California at the age of 55.
18
February
1990
English singer Freddie Mercury made his final public appearance with other members of pop/rock band Queen at the Brit Awards ceremony, held in London.
20
March
1990
English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their career-defining classic 7th studio album, ‘Violator’ in the UK.
26
March
1990
Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist, Gary Moore released his classic studio album, ‘Still Got The Blues’.
3
April
1990
Highly acclaimed Grammy award winning American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan died from cancer at her home in Hidden Hills, California at the age of 66.
10
April
1990
American East Coast rappers Public Enemy released their politically charged 3rd studio album, ‘Fear of a Black Planet’.
16
April
1990
Indie rock giants, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their 6th studio album, ‘The Good Son’.
26
June
1990
Prolific American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their successful and significant 6th studio album, ‘Goo’.
24
July
1990
American heavy metal rock band Pantera released their classic 5th studio album ‘Cowboys From Hell’.
21
August
1990
Legendary American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6771 Hollywood Boulevard.
27
August
1990
American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Stevie Ray Vaughan and four others died tragically in a helicopter crash in East Troy, Wisconsin at the age of 35.
31
August
1990
The funeral service of American blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan took place at Laurel Land Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
3
September
1990
English heavy metal rock band Judas Priest released their 12th studio album, ‘Painkiller’.
21
September
1990
American thrash metal rock band Megadeth released their superb classic 4th studio album, ‘Rust In Peace’.
6
October
1990
American Heavy metal band Metallica began recording their massive studio album ‘Metallica’ (aka the ‘black album’) in Los Angeles, California.
9
October
1990
American thrash metal band, Slayer, released their mega 5th studio album, ‘Seasons In The Abyss’.
29
October
1990
Legendary award-winning American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter John Lee Hooker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
8
January
1991
English guitarist and songwriter, Steve Clark of hard rock band Def Leppard died of alcohol poisoning at his home in London, at the age of 30.
15
February
1991
Successful English pop singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actor Ed Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
21
March
1991
Legendary American inventor and founder of Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, Leo Fender died from Parkinson’s disease in Fullerton, California at the age of 81.
8
April
1991
English trip-hop pioneers, Massive Attack, released their successful debut studio album, ‘Blue Lines’ in the UK, including the dance anthem, ‘Unfinished Sympathy’.
20
April
1991
English guitarist and front man of rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, Steve Marriott died in a house fire at his home in Essex at the age of 44.
23
April
1991
American guitarist, singer and songwriter with New York Dolls, Jonny Thunders died in mysterious circumstances in a hotel room in New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of 38.
30
July
1991
American heavy metal rock band Metallica released their massively successful single ‘Enter Sandman’.
12
August
1991
American heavy metal band Metallica released their career-defining 5th studio album, ‘Metallica’, often referred to as ‘the black album’.
27
August
1991
American alternative rock band from Seattle, the home of grunge rock pioneers, Pearl Jam burst onto the scene with the release of their astonishing platinum-selling debut studio album, ‘Ten’.
10
September
1991
American grunge rock pioneers Nirvana released their ‘90s anthem for disaffected youth, the near perfect hit single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.
17
September
1991
American hard rock band, Guns n’ Roses, released their 3rd and 4th studio albums ‘Use Your Illusion’ parts I & II on the same day in the U.S.
23
September
1991
Scottish alternative rock band, Primal Scream released their massive 3rd studio album, ‘Screamadelica’.
24
September
1991
American grunge rock pioneers Nirvana released their career-defining classic 2nd studio album ‘Never Mind’ in the U.S. Well over 30 million copies have been sold so far.
24
September
1991
American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers released their 5th studio album, ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’, produced by Rick Rubin.
28
September
1991
American jazz trumpeter, Miles Davis died of complications from a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure in a hospital in Santa Monica, California at the age of 65.
14
November
1991
Legendary American guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6627 Hollywood Boulevard.
18
November
1991
Massive Irish rock band, U2, released their storming 7th studio album, ‘Achtung Baby’ in the UK.
24
November
1991
English singer with pop/rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury died of pneumonia resulting from AIDS at his home in London at the age of 45.
15
January
1992
Rock band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and country music legend, Johnny Cash were both inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
29
January
1992
Influential American blues singer, songwriter, upright bass player and guitarist, Willie Dixon died of heart failure in Burbank, California at the age of 76.
21
February
1992
American heavy metal rock band Pantera released their classic 6th studio album ‘Vulgar Display Of Power’.
31
March
1992
English heavy metal rock band Def Leppard released their classic 5th studio album, ‘Adrenalize’.
20
April
1992
English indie rock icons, The Cure released their upbeat, commercial 10th studio album, ‘Wish’.
21
April
1992
American rap rockers, Beastie Boys, released their 3rd studio album, ‘Check Your Head’.
27
April
1992
Indie rock giants, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their great 7th album, ‘Henry’s Dream’.
9
May
1992
American guitarist, singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen made his live American TV network debut on ‘Saturday Night Live’ with show host Tom Hanks.
21
July
1992
American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their cult, cool, classic 8th studio album, ‘Dirty’.
29
September
1992
American alternative rock band Alice In Chains released their sophomore studio album, ‘Dirt’.
6
October
1992
American rock band R.E.M. released their classic top‑selling studio album, ‘Automatic For The People’.
3
November
1992
American rock band Bon Jovi released their classic 5th studio album, ‘Keep The Faith’.
10
November
1992
American rock band Rage Against The Machine released their outstanding and career defining eponymous debut album ‘Rage Against The Machine’.
9
December
1992
Although not officially announced until January 1993, English bass guitarist Bill Wyman left The Rolling Stones.
21
December
1992
Legendary American blues guitarist, Albert King died from a heart attack at his home in Memphis Tennessee at the age of 69, just 2 days after his last concert.
6
January
1993
English bass guitarist Bill Wyman officially announced that he was leaving The Rolling Stones after more than 3 decades with the band.
23
March
1993
English alternative/electronic rock band Depeche Mode released their 8th studio album, ‘Songs Of Faith And Devotion’ in the UK.
20
April
1993
Emerging English alternative rock band Radiohead released their debut album, ‘Pablo Honey’ in the UK.
29
April
1993
English session guitarist, songwriter and producer who played extensively with David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars among others, Mick Ronson died from liver cancer in London at the age of 46.
23
August
1993
English new romantic band Duran Duran received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1770 Vine Street.
21
September
1993
American alternative grunge rock band, Nirvana released their 3rd and final studio album, ‘In Utero’.
19
October
1993
American rock band Pearl Jam released their major 2nd studio album, ‘Vs.’.
9
November
1993
American East Coast rappers Wu-Tang Clan released their incendiary debut studio album, ‘Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’.
19
November
1993
American grunge rock band Nirvana recorded their classic live acoustic concert and album, ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’ at Sony Music Studios.
23
November
1993
American rock band, Guns N’ Roses, released their 5th studio album, ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’
24
November
1993
Legendary American blues/rock guitarist, nicknamed The ‘Master of the Telecaster’ and ‘The Ice Man’, Albert Collins died from lung cancer at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 61.
4
December
1993
Non-conformist American guitarist and composer extraordinaire, Frank Zappa died of prostate cancer at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 52.
1
February
1994
American pop punk rock band Green Day released their breakthrough 3rd studio album, ‘Dookie’.
1
March
1994
American grunge band Nirvana played their last ever live concert, interrupted by a power cut, in Munich, Germany.
1
March
1994
American alternative rock artist, Beck released his 3rd studio album, ‘Mellow Gold’.
8
March
1994
American alternative rock band, Nine Inch Nails released their career-peak 2nd studio album, ‘The Downward Spiral’.
5
April
1994
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and member of grunge rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain died from a self‑inflicted shotgun wound in Seattle, Washington at the age of 27.
19
April
1994
Alternative rock band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their classic, career-defining 8th studio album, ‘Let Love In’.
26
April
1994
American country music legend Johnny Cash embarked on a whole new period of his career with the release of his classic studio album, ‘American Recordings’.
27
April
1994
The famous San Francisco music venue the Fillmore reopened its doors at 1805 Geary Boulevard. It had been closed since 1989 after being damaged in an earthquake.
23
May
1994
Influential American virtuoso jazz guitarist, Joe Pass died from liver cancer in Los Angeles, California at the age 65.
24
May
1994
American rappers, Beastie Boys, released their classic 4th studio album, ‘Ill Communication’ in the U.S.
14
July
1994
English rave band The Prodigy released their breakout 2nd studio album ‘Music for the Jilted Generation’.
22
August
1994
Pioneering English trip-hop band, Portishead released their ground breaking debut studio album, ‘Dummy’.
23
August
1994
Acclaimed American singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley released his first and only studio album, ‘Grace’. A modern classic.
26
September
1994
English trip-hop outfit, Massive Attack, released their great sophomore studio album, ‘Protection’ in the UK.
4
October
1994
Versatile American ‘redneck jazz’ guitarist Danny Gatton died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds at his home in Newburg, Maryland at the age of 49.
1
November
1994
American grunge band Nirvana released their impressive award-winning live album, ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’, 6 months after Kurt Cobain’s death.
5
December
1994
English indie rock group The Stone Roses released their sophomore studio album, ‘Second Coming’.
13
March
1995
English alternative rock band Radiohead released their breakout 2nd studio album, ‘The Bends’ in the UK.
13
June
1995
Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and producer Alanis Morissette released her classic 3rd studio album, ‘Jagged Little Pill’.
14
June
1995
Renowned Irish blues/rock guitarist Rory Gallagher died of MRSA following liver failure caused by medication and alcohol in London at the age of 47.
9
August
1995
American guitarist Jerry Garcia of psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead died from a heart attack while at a rehabilitation centre in California at the age of 53.
2
September
1995
12 years after it was founded, America’s homage to contemporary music, the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Museum opened on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio and was celebrated with an all-star concert.
26
September
1995
American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their great 10th studio album, ‘Washing Machine’.
2
October
1995
Australian artists, Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue released the haunting and elegiac duet single ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’.
7
November
1995
American alternative rock band Alice In Chains released their eponymous 3rd studio album, ‘Alice In Chains’.
21
November
1995
American rock legend, Bruce Springsteen released his 11th studio album, ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’.
17
January
1996
Music greats, David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground were all inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
5
February
1996
Australian alternative rockers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their dark 9th studio album, ‘Murder Ballads’.
16
April
1996
American alternative rock group Rage Against The Machine released their sophomore studio album, ‘Evil Empire’.
17
May
1996
American blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter and guitarist, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson died of a heart attack after collapsing on stage in Yokohama, Japan at the age of 61.
15
June
1996
Legendary American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald died of complications from diabetes in Beverley Hills, California, at the age of 79.
18
June
1996
American alternative rock artist, Beck, released his classic, top-selling 5th studio album, ‘Odelay’.
17
July
1996
English bass guitarist with R&B band The Animals and Jimi Hendrix’s manager, Chas Chandler died of an aneurism in Newcastle, at the age of 57.
10
September
1996
American alt-rock group R.E.M. released their classic 10th studio album, ‘New Adventures In Hi-Fi’.
13
September
1996
American rapper Tupac Shakur died of gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 25.
19
September
1996
American jazz guitarist George Benson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7055 Hollywood Boulevard.
31
October
1996
English/American guitarist Slash announced that he was leaving rock band Guns N’ Roses after a relationship breakdown with the group’s lead singer Axl Rose.
2
November
1996
Sublime American singer and guitarist, known as ‘the songbird’, Eva Cassidy died from cancer in Bowie, Maryland at the age of 33.
10
January
1997
American soul legend James Brown received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1501 Vine Street.
12
February
1997
English singer and songwriter David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
4
March
1997
Alternative rock band, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their classic 10th studio album, ‘The Boatman’s Call’.
9
March
1997
American rapper Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G.) was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California at the age of 24.
11
March
1997
English former member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London.
7
April
1997
British dance/electronica/big beat duo, The Chemical Brothers, released their massive studio album, ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ in the UK.
14
April
1997
English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their classic 9th studio album, ‘Ultra’ in the UK.
29
May
1997
Renowned American singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley died tragically from accidental drowning in Wolf River Harbor, Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 30.
4
June
1997
English bass guitarist and founder of rock band Small Faces, Ronnie Lane died from pneumonia resulting from multiple sclerosis in Trinidad, Colorado at the age of 51.
16
June
1997
English alternative rock band Radiohead released their top-selling 3rd studio album, ‘OK Computer’ in the UK.
30
June
1997
British rave band, Prodigy, released their massive zeitgeist‑defining 3rd studio album, ‘The Fat Of The Land’ in the UK.
22
August
1997
German industrial metal rock band Rammstein released their massive 2nd studio album, ‘Sensucht’ (translated crudely as ‘Desire’).
11
September
1997
American blues legend John Lee Hooker received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
30
September
1997
English trip-hop band, Portishead released their eponymous sophomore album, ‘Portishead’ in the UK.
12
October
1997
American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist John Denver died tragically in plane crash in Monterey Bay, California, at the age of 53.
19
October
1997
American guitarist, best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Glen Buxton, died of complications from pneumonia in a hospital in Mason City, Iowa at the age of 49.
10
November
1997
Highly-regarded American session guitarist and one of the most recorded musicians in popular music history, Tommy Tedesco died of lung cancer in Northridge, California at the age of 67.
22
November
1997
Australian singer and front man of the rock band INXS, Michael Hutchence committed suicide in Sydney, Australia at the age of 37.
19
January
1998
American singer, songwriter and guitarist, Carl Perkins died from throat cancer in Jackson-Madison County Hospital, Tennessee, at the age of 65.
30
January
1998
English pop singer and songwriter Sir Elton John received his knighthood from Her Majesty The Queen.
19
February
1998
Legendary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard.
20
April
1998
English trip-hop outfit, Massive Attack, released their classic 3rd studio album, ‘Mezzanine’ in the UK.
14
May
1998
American singer and actor, Frank Sinatra died from a heart attack at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 82.
6
July
1998
Legendary American singer, guitarist and actor, nicknamed the ‘King of the Cowboys’, Roy Rogers died of heart failure in Apple Valley, California at the age of 86.
25
July
1998
American virtuoso jazz guitarist, Tal Farlow died of oesophageal cancer in New York City at the age of 77.
17
August
1998
Mexican-American guitar legend Carlos Santana received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
15
September
1998
American heavy metal rock artist, Marilyn Manson released his massively successful classic 3rd studio album, ‘Mechanical Animals’.
24
September
1998
American icon and rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
1
October
1998
American guitarist, singer and songwriter and founder of rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard.
2
October
1998
American country & western ‘singing cowboy’ Gene Autry died of lymphoma at his home in Studio City, California at the age of 91.
6
October
1998
American rock band Queens Of The Stone Age (QOTSA) released their self-titled debut album, ‘Queens Of The Stone Age’.
13
October
1998
The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, founded by English blues/rock guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, opened its doors to help clients with drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
3
November
1998
American alternative rock singer, songwriter, musician and producer, Beck, released his 6th studio album, ‘Mutations’, the follow up to the massive ‘Odelay’.
29
November
1998
American jazz pioneer of the 7-string guitar, George Van Eps, died of pneumonia in Newport Beach, California at the age of 85.
25
December
1998
English pop/rock band, The Beatles, received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
30
December
1998
American surf rock band The Beach Boys received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.
15
March
1999
Legendary American singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen was inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
28
April
1999
American rock band Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard.
17
May
1999
Award-winning American singer, songwriter, guitarist, electronica musician and producer Moby released his mega-successful 5th studio album, ‘Play’.
15
June
1999
After a long break, American Latin rock band Santana released their highly successful 17th studio album, ‘Supernatural’.
16
June
1999
English rock singer, drummer and member of progressive rock band Genesis, Phil Collins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard.
24
June
1999
English blues/rock guitarist, Eric Clapton auctioned many of his guitars in New York City. The proceeds were used in support of the Crossroads Centre he founded in Antigua as a residential treatment centre for alcohol and chemical dependencies.
11
August
1999
American rock band KISS received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.
7
September
1999
American virtuoso guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Steve Vai released his astonishing 5th studio album, ‘The Ultra Zone’.
2
November
1999
American alternative rock band Rage Against The Machine released their 3rd studio album, ‘The Battle Of Los Angeles’ in the UK.
23
November
1999
American alternative rock artist, Beck, released his adventurous 7th studio album, ‘Midnite Vultures’.
17
December
1999
American smooth jazz, funk and soul saxophonist, Grover Washington Jr. died of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 56.
26
December
1999
Highly acclaimed American soul singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, Curtis Mayfield, died from complications of diabetes in a hospital in Roswell, Georgia at the age of 57.
Tailpiece
The 1990s was certainly a strange decade both musically and culturally, notably as a segue to the 21st Century. While it seems very recent, it is actually receding into long‑term memory, thereby affecting our perceptions of what it meant to us at the time. Still to come, the new millennium is temptingly beckoning and it will prove as frustrating as it was liberating.
Now… we have a minor problemo. I was hoping to conclude this series of articles conveniently in December at the very end of the current decade. However, there are still one, two or maybe even three articles still to write before we are done. December 2019’s article will therefore, ceteris paribus, interrupt the sequence in that it will cover a summary of 2019 through the eyes of CRAVE Guitars, meaning that the ‘History of Modern Music’ will resume early in 2020, all being well. This series has been a gargantuan task thus far, so perhaps a short break in proceedings won’t do any harm. Heaven knows what will follow after it has been concluded though. Looking into the crystal ball of the future is largely futile, so I’ll have to start thinking hard about the ‘next big thing’ very soon. However, that can wait for next year/decade. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “It is a moral travesty that, if you have got everything, you think you can get away with anything.”
Welcome to the 1970s. Well kinda. Yep, here we are yet again, with the 7th article in the current series of musical discovery, focusing on the delightful ‘Seventies’. As is often the case with monumental projects, the amount of work involved has been colossal and the amount of information has been considerable. The scale alone has meant that compressing it all into logical and manageable chunks has proved somewhat of a challenge. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it has been the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s that have proved to be the most eventful and remarkable. This month’s article focuses on the unpredictable 1970s as it follows on from the previous two tumultuous decades.
If you would like to (re)visit the first four parts (and over 300 years) of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):
In terms of this article as part of the overall series, the 1970s has, by far, more content than any other single decade. While it is inherently fascinating, it makes for quite a hefty read (over 300 facts this month)… so be prepared and apologies.
The Story of Modern Music Part VII 1970-1979
The so-called ‘golden era’ of music (1950s-1970s inclusive) was characterised by major seismic musical movements. The 1950s saw rock ‘n’ roll burst onto the scene, the 1960s saw the fan hysteria of the ‘British Invasion’ followed by heady idealism of hippie flower power full of peace & love, while the 1970s heralded a very different form of youth rebelliousness, veritably bristling with vigorous nihilistic punk attitude.
Gone was the positivity and optimism to be replaced with disaffection distrust and deeply seated urban angst. Instead of striving for some sort of wistful, unobtainable utopia, the desperate pursuit for a grimy dystopian anarchy became almost an end in itself. The zeitgeist of warts‑and‑all realism was striking back.
The 1970s would ultimately descend into gritty and chaotic demands for change without a clear idea of what outcome the disillusioned generation was rebelling for or against. In many respects, it didn’t matter as the alienated youth voice was seen as irrelevant to detached and remote institutions who weren’t listening and, worse, seemed not to care.
As social provocateur Malcolm McLaren proclaimed, “What matters is this: Being fearless of failure arms you to break the rules. In doing so, you may change the culture and just possibly, for a moment, change life itself.” He went on to comment, “I always said punk was an attitude. It was never about having a Mohican haircut or wearing a ripped T-shirt. It was all about destruction, and the creative potential within that.”
Civilisation wasn’t really breaking down of course and not everything was tainted by dismal doom and gloom. However, western societies were being tested and forced to adapt to a darker, more uncertain, complex and ambiguous new world.
Historical Context 1970-1979
The self-indulgent 1970s was described as the ‘Me Decade’ (coined by writer Tom Wolfe), with a move away from the model of social collectivism (communities) to individualism (self). To many, the ‘70s may well be remembered as a caricature of kitsch, a gaudy facsimile of 1960s’ sybaritic, exuberant excess. While not devoid of conflict and warfare, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, the world was slowly becoming accustomed to a period of extended and stable peace around the globe. Even the tension of the Cold War became a continuous mutual standoff. Progressive political, cultural and social change that began in the 1960s continued, including the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement, enabling greater social mobility for many. The ever‑more liberal ‘permissive society’ was well under way representing a crucial stage in that generation’s struggle for greater individual freedom and equality. Technology was developing at a rapid pace, providing much greater work, leisure and recreational opportunities for people in their everyday lives. However, a number of disruptive economic and political events began to destabilise a long period of post‑war economic expansion. Widespread social discontent and a rejection of a stagnant status quo resulted in widespread riots, protests, labour strikes, direct action and hints of anarchy, culminating in the UK with the infamous ‘winter of discontent’.
Year
Global Events
1970
Manned moon mission Apollo 13 narrowly avoided tragedy after an emergency in space, ultimately returning all 3 astronauts safely to Earth.
After being signed in 1968, 43 nations ratified The Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, intended to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and promote co‑operation on the peaceful use of nuclear power.
1971
The phenomenally successful coffee empire, the Starbucks Corporation, was founded in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
The massive Aswan High Dam across the River Nile in Egypt was opened. The project had required moving the ancient Egyptian temples of Ramses at Abu Simbel (in 1964) above the rising waters of Lake Nasser.
1972
The first commercial video game, Pong was released by Atari.
The classic gangster movie, ‘The Godfather’, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando was released.
Britain imposed direct rule over Northern Ireland following the so‑called ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre.
A Palestinian terrorist group killed 11 Israeli Olympic team members and a German police officer at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany.
Apollo 17 became the last moon landing (to‑date) where humans have walked on the surface of the Moon.
1973
The United Kingdom joined the expanding European Economic Community (EEC).
The seminal and controversial ‘horror’ movie about faith, ‘The Exorcist’ was released, directed by Willian Friedkin and starring Linda Blair.
A global oil crisis was triggered by OPEC, the confederation of Arab oil producing nations, which imposed an embargo on oil exports to countries supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War, also known as the Arab-Israeli War.
The famous Spanish artist and co‑founder of the Cubist movement, Pablo Picasso died at the age of 91.
1974
American President Richard Nixon resigned from office following the Watergate scandal, to be succeeded by Gerald Ford as the 38th U.S. president.
The popular 3-D combination puzzle Rubik’s Cube was invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, Ernő Rubik.
The ubiquitous Bar Code was introduced. It was notable because it was the first standardised method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form.
1975
America finally pulled out of the Vietnam War after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the formal reunification of north and south Vietnam.
An historic joint American/Russian Apollo and Soyuz space mission took place in Earth orbit. It was the first time that spacecraft from different nations docked in space.
Widely recognised as the first modern summer blockbuster film, ‘Jaws’ was released, directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel by Peter Benchley published in 1974.
American technology innovators, Bill Gates and Paul Allen co‑founded the Microsoft Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1976
American technology entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne co‑founded Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in California.
The infamous ‘Son of Sam’ serial murders began in New York City, sparking the largest manhunt in the city’s history. The notorious killer, David Berkowitz, was finally arrested in 1977.
Chinese communist leader, Chairman Mao Zedong died, effectively ending the decade‑long Chinese Cultural Revolution.
1977
South African activist and anti-apartheid campaigner Stephen Biko died while in police custody after violating an order to restrict his movements.
The cinema phenomenon and start of a major film and merchandise franchise, Star Wars Episode 4 was released, directed by George Lucas.
1978
English woman Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby, was born after conception by in‑vitro fertilisation (IVF).
The classic video game created by Tomohiro Nishikado, Space Invaders was released.
The Camp David Accords signifying a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and Egypt was signed in Maryland in the U.S.A, leading to the Egypt‑Israel Peace Treaty of 1979.
1979
Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher became the UK’s first female Prime Minister. She was Prime Minister for nearly 12 years.
Russia invaded the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, starting the Soviet‑Afghan war that would last until 1989.
Revolutionary Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed Iran to be an Islamic Republic in the Middle East, starting decades of international isolation.
The epic Vietnam war film, ‘Apocalypse Now’, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando was released.
In Africa, the notorious Ugandan president and dictator Idi Amin was forced to leave the country into exile.
The nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, America suffered a catastrophic meltdown.
Musical Genre Development 1970-1979
If the 1960s was memorable for its own musical revolutions, the 1970s was about to unleash its own rebellious step changes. The music of the 1970s can be categorised by bursts of creativity, using existing musical styles to come up with something relevant, new, raw and vital with something important to say. Perhaps more than any other decade, the 1970s produced greater musical diversity than any other before or since. Pop music continued to be commercially successful into the 1970s including artists like David Cassidy, The Osmonds, Abba, The Bay City Rollers and the Jackson 5.
Progressive rock, often abbreviated to ‘prog’, is a broad musical genre that grew largely from psychedelic rock and the British Canterbury Scene to achieve significant appeal in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Progressive rock can be characterised by long instrumental compositions influenced by fusing classical, jazz, rock and folk styles often complemented by elegiac, poetic lyrics. Prog music was usually only released by bands on LP albums rather than singles. Studio technology and instrumental proficiency were central to the artistic soundscapes used. Like most classical music, it was intended to be listened to, rather than danced to. To some critics, prog rock was seen as avant‑garde, pompous, overblown and boring, being not readily accessible to casual listeners. For some prog musicians, it was important to elevate music from largely populist to the status of art and included experimental arrangements to create debate and stimulate interpretation. This attitude was regarded by some as pretentious and elitist, pushing the genre into somewhat of a dead end niche. Prog rock reached its peak around 1973 and had largely been rejected by the rise of punk rock in the mid‑1970s. Early artists associated with prog rock include Procol Harum, Colosseum, Soft Machine, Barclay James Harvest, Caravan and Curved Air, paving the way for the progressive giants of the genre, including Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Yes, Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP), as well as Pink Floyd and Mike Oldfield.
The underpinnings of heavy metal began in the late 1960s as hard rock explored new musical territories. Often cited as the pioneers of the genre were Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, all forming in 1968. Arguably, though, the first two, while clearly influencing metal, lean more towards hard rock and its successors. Even though many of the characteristics of metal had been used before, Black Sabbath are widely regarded as the true forefathers of today’s heavy metal. The sound of heavy metal took hard rock and laid on layers of thick, heavy distorted riffs using power chords, high volume levels, searing guitar solos, pounding drums and thundering bass. Vocals were often strong and bold and had a dark or satanic emphasis. During the formative 1970s, there were a few bands that adopted the metal tropes, including Judas Priest. By the end of the 1970s, a new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) was spearheaded by bands such as Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon and UFO. Although more rock than metal, Motörhead played their part in promoting heavy rock to audiences. The sub‑culture surrounding heavy metal grew alongside the music with fans branded as ‘headbangers’ with a dress code not unlike the rockers of the previous decade but taken further. By 1984 and the release of the mockumentary film ‘This Is Spinal Tap’, metal had reached a point of self‑parody. During the 1980s and beyond, metal gave birth to sub‑genres including hair metal (Van Halen, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe), thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth), groove metal (Pantera, Blackstone Cherry and White Zombie), industrial (Rammstein and Marilyn Manson), alternative metal (Alter Bridge, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, Deftones, Tool and Queensryche) and nu‑metal (Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Korn and Disturbed), amongst many others such as glam metal, progressive metal, black metal, doom metal, death metal, power metal, metalcore, Christian metal, etc. Possibly more than any other style of music, heavy metal has proliferated sub‑genres.
Glam rock is a relatively short‑lived offshoot of rock music that developed in the early 1970s, particularly in the UK. Glam rock’s heyday was roughly between 1970 and 1975. The music was tightly interwoven with flamboyant and colourful fashions, being performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, stark makeup and pronounced hairstyles. The impact of the symbolism was to blur the traditional gender stereotyping that was prevalent before 1970. The visuals often extended to custom instruments used by some artists. Although it may not appear obvious, glam rock influenced subsequent genres such as punk rock, new romantics, Goth rock and new wave that followed. Significant artists included Marc Bolan and T.Rex, David Bowie, Queen, Sweet, Slade, Elton John, Mud, Roxy Music and Gary Glitter. Although its impact was lower profile in the USA, artists such as Alice Cooper, New York Dolls and Iggy Pop adapted glam imagery for their own purposes.
Reggae emanated from Jamaica in the late 1960s and significantly became popular internationally during the 1970s. Reggae evolved from ska and a transitional form between ska and reggae called rocksteady. Reggae is distinctive in that it has a 4/4 rhythm with the drum marking the 3rd beat of the bar with a guitar or keyboard staccato ‘skank’ on the 2nd and 4th (off) beats of the bar. Reggae is also often associated with strong and heavy rhythmic bass lines, sometimes complemented by horn arrangements. Reggae is often but not exclusively connected to Rastafarianism which also features strongly in many reggae songs, as does the use of marijuana. Roots reggae refers to its African roots and the black diaspora. Jamaican record producers also played a strong part in moulding the sound of reggae and developed a complete sub‑genre known as ‘versions’ or dub reggae that used production techniques to remove vocals and remix instrumental elements of drum, bass and guitar. Dub reggae was often played on loud PA sound systems. Key producers include Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, King Tubby, Mad Professor and Scientist. Reggae has been successfully exported worldwide, although the UK remains a key consumer market. One of the major artists who not only popularised commercial reggae globally but also acted as an ambassador for Jamaica was Bob Marley who, with his band, The Wailers became an international icon. Other major artists also include Peter Tosh, Toots & The Maytals, Burning Spear, Augustus Pablo, Horace Andy, I‑Roy, U‑Roy, The Abyssinians, Black Uhuru, Sly & Robbie, The Upsetters, Desmond Decker, Jimmy Cliff, Johnny Nash, Third World, Gregory Isaacs and many others. British reggae artists include Aswad, Steel Pulse, Linton Kwesi Johnson and UB40. After Bob Marley’s death, the genre diversified into other forms, such as dancehall and ragga.
The origins of rap and hip hop music derived from vocal a cappella rapping and African American urban street music originating in New York house and block parties in the Bronx during the early 1970s. The largely vernacular spoken rhyming lyrics were backed by rhythmic percussive soul, funk and disco beats of the period. The sub‑culture expanded by the late 1970s to include MCing, DJ scratching, sampling and beatboxing frequently using drum machines. Also associated with rapping were break dancing, urban graffiti art and aggressive gangland/gun culture. The broader cultural definition has become widely known as hip hop, which is the current common categorisation. Early practitioners included Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, the Sugarhill Gang and Afrika Bambaataa. The genre spread widely during the ‘golden age of hip hop’ from the 1980s up to the early 1990s spawning many sub‑genres, often associated with the region or country. For instance, there was intense rivalry between U.S. West Coast and East Coast hip hop during the 1990s, coining the term ‘gangsta rap’. Hip hop became massively influential in many other mainstream musical genres who adapted the rhyming lyrical style and sparse percussive beats. Despite a decline in the mid‑2000s, hip hop is now a global phenomenon with numerous offshoots and diverse styles. While its origins are African American, a few white artists have been successful including the Beastie Boys and Eminem. There are way too many hip hop artists to mention all of them. However, they include Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Ice‑T, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, N.W.A., The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, OutKast, Jay‑Z and Kanye West among many others.
Like other musical forms, funk and disco adapted from previous genres, becoming mainstream during the 1970s. Funk emerged from African American communities and mixed soul, jazz and R&B. Funk is recognisable by have an addictively danceable groove. Funk focused on a strong first beat of the bar and was driven by strong insistent bass and drum rhythms. Funk artists included James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, Parliament/Funkadelic, Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire and Kool & The Gang. Later, artists like Rick James and Prince would adopt funk as a key ingredient in their dance‑fused arrangements. Funk tends to be more musically complex than its sister genre, disco. Disco originated in America and rapidly spread to the UK. It is associated with urban nightclubs and DJs mixing dance records through loud sound systems to audiences in clubs and discothèques. Discos also used complex light and strobes to emphasise the beat. Disco is a heavily produced bass and drum‑driven 4/4 rhythm, often using electronic instruments to add syncopation. Disco’s core rationale was music to dance to, so disco dancing became very popular. Culturally, disco is also associated with fashion, drug use and promiscuity. Disco artists included Gloria Gaynor, The Bee Gees, Donna Summer, The Village People, Sylvester and Chic. Disco was hugely influential on later dance genres such as house, techno, drum ‘n’ bass and rave. Like many other broad genres, funk and disco have diversified into many other related sub‑genres over the years.
Widespread social dissatisfaction and a rejection of established musical forms on both sides of the Atlantic during the mid‑1970s led to the emergence of punk rock. Loud, brash, nihilistic and stripped‑back arrangements performed mainly on guitar, bass and drums were used to support often angry and alienated anti‑establishment lyrics. The result was short, sharp bursts of controversial and provocative music. The emergence of punk in America is associated with artists such as Television, Patti Smith and Ramones, building on the work of proto‑punk bands like Velvet Underground, New York Dolls and Iggy & The Stooges. Meanwhile a parallel evolution in the UK was epitomised by bands such as Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, Buzzcocks, Sham 69 and The Ruts. As with many other music‑related sub‑cultures, punk led to distinctive fashions (Vivienne Westwood), art (Jamie Reid) and agressive attitudes. The anarchic punk movement spread rapidly and by 1977 was pervasive in many westernised countries. As popularity increased and punk sensibilities were adopted by the commercial mainstream, the essential ethos of punk imploded and was overtaken by the music business machinery that, ironically, was punk’s original anathema. The demise of chaotic punk rock principles led to post‑punk sub‑genres that expanded its appeal beyond the original audience, including artists like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Ian Dury, The Cure and The Sisters Of Mercy. Punk in its purest form could not and did not last long. However, it was very influential in subsequent styles such as new wave, new romantic, emo and Goth sub‑genres. Live music venues were very important for audiences to experience the visceral nature of punk rock first hand, including CBGBs in New York and the Marquee in London. Punk saw a revival in the 1990s with bands like Green Day, Blink‑182 and The Offspring but it was far more commercial and lacking the authenticity of the original.
Musical Facts 1970-1979
Day
Month
Year
Music Fact
26
January
1970
American folk rock duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released their 5th and final classic studio album, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.
3
February
1970
Multi-talented American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, solo artist and member of rock super group The Winery Dogs, Richie Kotzen was born in Reading, Pennsylvania.
13
February
1970
English heavy metal legends Black Sabbath released their classic, game-changing self-titled debut album, ‘Black Sabbath’ in the UK (NB. appropriately on Friday 13th).
14
February
1970
English rock band The Who performed a concert at Leeds University. The show was recorded and released as the band’s first official live album, ‘Live At Leeds’.
5
March
1970
American guitarist, former member of rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and solo artist, John Frusciante was born in New York City.
9
March
1970
After changing their name from Earth, English heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath performed their debut live concert at the Roundhouse in London.
22
March
1970
Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex released their last studio album before transforming into glam rockers T.Rex, ‘A Beard of Stars’.
10
April
1970
English singer, songwriter and bass guitarist, Paul McCartney issued a press statement that he was leaving The Beatles, signalling the band’s break up.
21
April
1970
American Chicago blues guitarist Earl Hooker died of complications from tuberculosis in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 40.
1
May
1970
English guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and former member of indie rock band Suede, Bernard Butler was born in London.
3
May
1970
English rock band The Who released their classic live album, ‘Live At Leeds in the UK.
8
May
1970
Legendary English pop/rock band The Beatles released what would be the group’s 12th and final studio album, ‘Let It Be’, after the band split up.
3
June
1970
British heavy rock band Deep Purple released their classic breakout studio album, ‘Deep Purple in Rock’ in the UK.
5
June
1970
English heavy rock band Deep Purple released their breakthrough hit single ‘Black Night’ in the UK.
6
June
1970
American rhythm guitarist and co-founder of Nu-Metal rock band Korn, James Shaffer (a.k.a. Munky) was born in Bakersfield, California.
8
July
1970
Innovative and massively talented American alternative rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, Beck was born in Los Angeles, California.
18
July
1970
London hosted the third Free Concert held in Hyde Park featuring Pink Floyd, Roy Harper, Kevin Ayers, and the Edgar Broughton Band.
14
August
1970
English psychedelic space rock band Hawkwind released their debut studio album, the eponymous, ‘Hawkwind’.
23
August
1970
American singer, songwriter and guitarist Lou Reed performed his final live concert appearance with The Velvet Underground (bar reunions) at Max’s Kansas City rock club in Manhattan, New York City.
26
August
1970
The famous Isle of Wight Festival began at Afton Down, attracting between 600,000 and 700,000 attendees, the largest open air music festival of its kind. Tickets for the weekend cost £3.
28
August
1970
Well over half a million people attended the 3rd day of the UK’s famous Isle of Wight Festival to see artists including Taste, Chicago, Family and Procol Harum.
29
August
1970
The 4th day of the massive Isle of Wight Festival continued starring Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Ten Years After, ELP, The Doors, The Who and Sly & The Family Stone.
30
August
1970
The 5th and final day of the gigantic Isle of Wight Festival took place starring Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen and Richie Havens.
4
September
1970
English rock group The Rolling Stones released their classic live album, ‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out’ in the UK.
6
September
1970
Legendary American rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix played his final live concert at the Isle of Fehmarn in Germany.
11
September
1970
American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Jimi Hendrix gave his final interview for the UK weekly music magazine New Musical Express (NME).
12
September
1970
London hosted the fourth Free Concert held in Hyde Park (the 2nd that year) featuring Canned Heat, Eric Burdon and War, John Sebastian, Michael Chapman, Stoneground and others.
18
September
1970
Legendary American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, Jimi Hendrix died tragically of asphyxia in his London flat at the age of 27.
18
September
1970
Pioneering English heavy metal rock band, Black Sabbath released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘Paranoid’ in the UK.
19
September
1970
The very first Glastonbury Pop, Folk & Blues Festival took place at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, UK, attended by approximately 1,700 people.
19
September
1970
Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist Neil Young released his classic 3rd studio album, ‘After The Gold Rush’.
1
October
1970
American guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s funeral service took place at Dunlap Baptist Church in his hometown of Seattle before he was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Renton, also in Seattle.
2
October
1970
English glam rock band Marc Bolan and T.Rex released their classic breakout hit single ‘Ride A White Swan’ in the UK.
2
October
1970
English progressive rock band, Pink Floyd released their 4th studio album, ‘Atom Heart Mother’ in the UK.
4
October
1970
Respected American rock, soul and blues singer Janis Joplin was found dead following an accidental heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California at the age of 27.
5
October
1970
English heavy rock band Led Zeppelin released their classic 3rd studio album, ‘Led Zeppelin III’ in the UK.
10
October
1970
English heavy metal rock band, Black Sabbath had their classic 2nd studio album, ‘Paranoid’ reach No. 1 in the UK album chart.
23
October
1970
The Jimi Hendrix Experience released the song ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ shortly after the guitarist’s untimely death. It reached number 1 in the UK singles chart.
23
October
1970
English progressive rock band Genesis released their breakout studio album, ‘Trespass’ in the UK.
1
November
1970
Legendary American psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead released their classic 5th studio album, ‘American Beauty’.
4
November
1970
English singer and songwriter David Bowie released his classic 3rd studio album, ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ in the UK.
6
November
1970
Emerging American rock band Aerosmith made their debut live appearance in the gymnasium at what was Nipmuc Regional High School (now Miscoe Hill Middle School) in Mendon, Massachusetts.
9
November
1970
American blues/rock guitarist, singer and member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band along with hubby, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
15
November
1970
American alternative rock band, The Velvet Underground released their 4th and possibly most commercial studio album, ‘Loaded’.
27
November
1970
Former member of English rock band The Beatles, George Harrison released his hugely successful solo triple studio album, ‘All Things Must Pass’ in the UK.
11
December
1970
English singer, songwriter and guitarist, Marc Bolan and T.Rex released the first post-Tyrannosaurus Rex studio album, ‘T.Rex’ in the UK.
11
December
1970
English singer and songwriter John Lennon released his post-Beatles solo album, ‘John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band’ in the UK.
12
December
1970
American rock band, The Doors played their final live concert with singer Jim Morrison at the Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana.
16
January
1971
American blues rock band, ZZ Top, released their debut studio album, ‘ZZ Top’s First Album’ in the UK.
17
March
1971
Renowned Canadian singer, songwriter and poet, Leonard Cohen released his classic 3rd studio album, ‘Songs of Love and Hate’ in the UK.
19
March
1971
English progressive rock band Jethro Tull released their classic 4th studio album, ‘Aqualung’ in the UK.
16
April
1971
English blues rock band The Rolling Stones released their huge hit single, ‘Brown Sugar’, taken from the album, ‘Sticky Fingers’.
23
April
1971
The Rolling Stones released what was probably their career peak 9th studio album, ‘Sticky Fingers’.
29
April
1971
American rock band, The Doors released their massive 6th studio album, ‘L.A. Woman’, including the classic single, ‘Riders On The Storm’, recorded shortly before singer, Jim Morrison’s death.
22
June
1971
The second Glastonbury Festival took place in Pilton, Somerset, UK, attended by c.12,000 fans. Artists included Hawkwind, Traffic, David Bowie, Joan Baez, Fairport Convention, Quintessence and Melanie.
2
July
1971
English glam rock group T.Rex, led by the late Marc Bolan, released their classic hit single ‘Get It On’.
3
July
1971
American singer, poet and member of rock band The Doors, Jim Morrison died from reported heart failure at an apartment in Paris, France at the age of 27.
6
July
1971
American jazz trumpeter and singer, Louis Armstrong died of a heart attack in a New York hospital at the age of 69.
31
July
1971
American guitarist known for his work with heavy rock bands Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, as well as a solo artist, John Lowery (a.k.a. John 5) was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
25
August
1971
English rock band, The Who, released their 5th studio album, ‘Who’s Next’ in the UK.
9
September
1971
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and former Beatle, John Lennon released his career-defining solo studio album, ‘Imagine’ in the UK.
15
September
1971
English heavy rock band, Deep Purple released their flaming hot 5th studio album, ‘Fireball’ in the UK.
21
September
1971
UK broadcaster, the BBC aired their highly regarded long-running contemporary music TV programme, ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ for the first time.
8
October
1971
English psychedelic space rock band Hawkwind, released their 2nd studio album ‘In Search Of Space’ in the UK.
29
October
1971
American guitarist and co-founder of rock band The Allman Brothers Band, Duane Allman died tragically in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia at the age of 24.
30
October
1971
English former member of The Beatles, John Lennon had his classic solo studio album, ‘Imagine’ reach number 1 in the UK album chart.
1
November
1971
The classic hit single ‘Jeepster’ was released, performed by English glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan and T.Rex, reaching No. 2 in the UK singles chart.
1
November
1971
British guitarist, singer and songwriter John Martyn released his classic 3rd solo album ‘Bless The Weather’ in the UK.
5
November
1971
Supremely versatile English lead guitarist with alternative rock band Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood was born in Oxford.
8
November
1971
English hard rock band Led Zeppelin released their classic multi-million-selling 4th studio album, ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ in the UK, which included the track, ‘Stairway To Heaven’.
12
November
1971
English progressive rock band Genesis released their ambitious 3rd studio album, ‘Nursery Cryme’ in the UK.
13
November
1971
English progressive rock band Pink Floyd released their outstanding 6th studio album, ‘Meddle’ in the UK.
4
December
1971
The Montreux Casino in Switzerland, built in 1881, burnt down during a Frank Zappa gig, inspiring Deep Purple’s classic rock song, ‘Smoke On The Water’.
17
December
1971
Legendary English rock singer, songwriter and actor, David Bowie released his classic 4th studio album, ‘Hunky Dory’ in the UK.
27
December
1971
Remarkable English guitarist with The Aristocrats and noted guitar teacher, Guthrie Govan was born in Chelmsford, Essex.
21
January
1972
English glam rockers Marc Bolan with T.Rex released the classic hit single ‘Telegram Sam’ in the UK.
10
February
1972
English glam rock singer David Bowie made his debut live appearance as his legendary alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust at the Toby Jug pub in London.
17
February
1972
American singer, songwriter, guitarist, front man and co‑founder of pop punk rock band Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Oakland, California.
25
February
1972
English singer, songwriter and guitarist, Nick Drake, released his sublime 3rd and final studio album, ‘Pink Moon’.
25
February
1972
Legendary Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Neil Young, released his classic 4th studio album, ‘Harvest’.
3
March
1972
English progressive rock band Jethro Tull released their classic 5th studio album, ‘Thick As A Brick’ in the UK.
25
March
1972
English heavy rock band Deep Purple released their classic 6th studio album, ‘Machine Head’ in the UK, which included the track, ‘Smoke On The Water’.
29
April
1972
English hard rock band Wishbone Ash released their career-defining classic 3rd studio album, ‘Argus’.
5
May
1972
English glam rockers, Marc Bolan and T.Rex released their classic hit single ‘Metal Guru’ in the UK.
12
May
1972
English rock band, The Rolling Stones released their massive 10th studio double album, ‘Exile On Main Street’.
6
June
1972
English glam rock singer and songwriter, David Bowie released his classic 5th studio album, ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’.
3
July
1972
American country blues guitarist, Mississippi Fred McDowell died from cancer in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 66.
23
July
1972
British glam rock band, Marc Bolan and T.Rex released their classic studio album ‘The Slider’ in the UK.
8
September
1972
British glam rock star Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex released the classic hit single ‘Children Of The Revolution’.
11
October
1972
Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana with his band released their classic 4th studio album, ‘Caravanserai’.
17
October
1972
American rapper and hip-hop artist, Eminem was born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III, a.k.a. ‘Slim Shady’ in St. Joseph, Missouri.
10
December
1972
British singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of alternative rock band Placebo, Brian Molko was born in Brussels, Belgium.
5
January
1973
American rock band, Aerosmith, released their eponymous debut studio album, ‘Aerosmith’.
5
January
1973
American singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen released his debut studio album, ‘Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’.
30
January
1973
After changing their name to KISS, the American rock band made their debut live performance in Queens, New York.
1
February
1973
British singer, songwriter and guitarist, John Martyn released his classic 4th solo studio album, the sublime and career-defining, ‘Solid Air’.
7
February
1973
American proto punk rock band Iggy The Stooges released their hugely influential 3rd studio album, ‘Raw Power’.
8
February
1973
Max Yasgur, who owned the New York dairy farm on which the legendary Woodstock Festival was held in August 1969, died from a heart attack in Florida at the age of 53.
23
February
1973
English pop/rock band Slade released their classic hit single, ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ in the UK.
2
March
1973
British glam rockers, Marc Bolan and T.Rex released their classic hit single ‘20th Century Boy’ in the UK.
16
March
1973
English progressive rock group Pink Floyd released their career pinnacle 8th studio album, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ in the UK.
23
March
1973
English progressive rock band King Crimson released their 5th studio album, ‘Larks’ Tongues in Aspic’.
28
March
1973
British heavy rock band Led Zeppelin released their 5th studio album, ‘Houses Of The Holy’ in the UK.
12
April
1973
English glam rock singer, David Bowie released his milestone classic 6th studio album, ‘Aladdin Sane’ in the UK.
13
April
1973
Jamaican Reggae legends, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their classic 4th studio album ‘Catch A Fire’ in the UK.
17
May
1973
American singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, actor and founder of rock bands Queens Of The Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal, Josh Homme was born in Joshua Tree, California.
25
May
1973
Richard Branson’s Virgin Records label was launched, marked by the release of Mike Oldfield’s seminal studio album, ‘Tubular Bells’.
18
June
1973
American folk rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Ray LaMontagne was born in New Hampshire.
22
June
1973
English glam rock singer David Bowie released his classic hit single, ‘Life On Mars?’, with ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ on the B-side.
3
July
1973
English glam rock star David Bowie announced that his iconic on-stage persona, Ziggy Stardust was to retire (not Bowie himself, as was widely reported in the press).
13
July
1973
English rock/pop band Queen released their great debut studio album in the UK, the eponymous ‘Queen’.
15
July
1973
American bluegrass and country rock guitarist, a member of rock band The Byrds and an accomplished session musician, Clarence White died in a car accident in Palmdale, California at the age of 29.
26
July
1973
American southern blues/rock power trio ZZ Top released their critically acclaimed 3rd studio album, ‘Tres Hombres’.
6
August
1973
Influential American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist Memphis Minnie (real name Lizzie Douglas) died from a stroke in a nursing home in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 76.
13
August
1973
American southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd released their storming debut album, ‘(pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd)’, featuring their career-defining signature song, ‘Freebird’.
11
September
1973
American rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Bruce Springsteen released his sophomore studio album, ‘The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle’.
19
September
1973
American guitarist with country rock band The Byrds, Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose in Joshua Tree, California at the age of 26.
20
September
1973
American folk/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, Jim Croce died tragically along with 5 others in a plane crash in Natchitoches, Louisiana at the age of 30.
1
October
1973
British singer, songwriter and guitarist John Martyn released his remarkable change of direction 5th studio album, ‘Inside Out’ in the UK.
9
October
1973
Influential American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe died from a stroke in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the age of 58.
12
October
1973
English progressive rock band Genesis released their classic 5th studio album, ‘Selling England By The Pound’.
19
October
1973
Jamaican reggae legends (Bob Marley &) The Wailers released their classic studio album, ‘Burnin’’ in the UK.
19
October
1973
English singer and songwriter David Bowie released his 7th studio album comprising cover songs, ‘Pin Ups’ in the UK.
26
October
1973
English rock band, The Who, released their classic 6th studio double album; the rock opera and ode to the UK’s mod movement, ‘Quadrophenia’.
11
November
1973
Legendary Irish blues/rock guitarist, Rory Gallagher, released his 4th studio album, ‘Tattoo’ in the UK.
1
December
1973
English heavy metal band Black Sabbath released their 5th studio album, ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’.
5
December
1973
English former member of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and Wings released his 5th and most successful ‘solo’ studio album, ‘Band On The Run’ in the UK.
10
December
1973
The legendary New York alternative, punk and New Wave music venue at 315 Bowery, Manhattan, CBGB & OMFUG, was opened by club owner Hilly Kristal.
31
December
1973
Australian heavy rock band AC/DC made their debut live performance at a local bar in Sydney, Australia.
17
January
1974
Legendary American guitarist, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan released the studio album recorded with The Band, ‘Planet Waves’.
15
February
1974
British hard rock band, Deep Purple released their classic 8th studio album, ‘Burn’ in the UK.
20
February
1974
American jazz rock band Steely Dan released their critically well-received and commercially successful classic 3rd studio album, ‘Pretzel Logic’.
8
March
1974
English rock band, Queen released their classic 2nd studio album, ‘Queen II’ in the UK.
15
April
1974
American southern rock group, Lynyrd Skynyrd released their classic breakout 2nd studio album ‘Second Helping’.
17
April
1974
Swedish guitarist, singer and songwriter with progressive death metal rock band Opeth, Mikael Åkerfeldt was born in Stockholm.
18
April
1974
Accomplished American guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock bands Creed, Alter Bridge and as a solo artist, Mark Tremonti was born in Detroit, Michigan.
24
April
1974
English glam rock legend, David Bowie released his classic 8th studio album, ‘Diamond Dogs’ in the UK.
1
June
1974
Talented Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, activist and actress Alanis Morissette was born in Ottawa, Ontario.
15
June
1974
English rock super group Bad Company released their self‑titled debut studio album, ‘Bad Company’ in the UK.
1
July
1974
English blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton released his classic 2nd studio album, ‘461 Ocean Boulevard’.
21
July
1974
Highly acclaimed Irish blues/rock guitarist Rory Gallagher released his hugely successful live album, ‘Irish Tour ‘74’.
29
July
1974
Perennial Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist Neil Young released his classic 5th studio album, ‘On The Beach’.
16
August
1974
American punk rock band Ramones played their first live concert at the legendary CBGB & OMFUG music venue in New York City.
6
September
1974
English space rock band, Hawkwind, released their classic 4th studio album, ‘Hall of the Mountain Grill’.
14
September
1974
English guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton released his cover of Bob Marley’s ‘I Shot The Sherriff’ as a single, which reached number 1 in the U.S.
6
October
1974
English progressive rock band King Crimson released their 7th studio album, ‘Red’.
12
October
1974
American punk rock band Blondie made their first appearance at the legendary CBGB & OMFUG music venue in New York City.
25
October
1974
Jamaican reggae legends, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their studio album, ‘Natty Dread’ in the UK, the first Wailers’ album to bear Marley’s name in the title.
29
October
1974
Hugely impressive American blues/rock guitarist, Eric Gales was born in Memphis, Tennessee.
8
November
1974
English rock band Queen moved in a more commercial direction and released their successful 3rd studio album, ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ in the UK.
18
November
1974
English progressive rock band Genesis released their 6th studio double concept album, and their final LP with singer Peter Gabriel, ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’.
25
November
1974
English singer, songwriter and guitarist, Nick Drake died from a drug overdose at his home in Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire at the age of 26.
28
November
1974
English former Beatle, John Lennon made his final live appearance, joining Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
16
December
1974
After 5 years as a member of The Rolling Stones, English guitarist, Mick Taylor announced that he was leaving the band.
17
January
1975
English former member of The Beatles John Lennon released his classic solo covers album, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ in the UK.
18
January
1975
American jazz, blues and country rock guitarist, Johnny Hiland was born, growing up in Maine.
20
January
1975
Legendary American guitarist, singer and songwriter, Bob Dylan released his renaissance studio album, ‘Blood On The Tracks’ in the UK.
24
January
1975
Influential and pioneering British singer, songwriter and guitarist John Martyn released his 6th studio album, ‘Sunday’s Child’.
7
February
1975
American guitarist and member of nu-metal band Limp Bizkit and Black Light Burns, Wes Borland was born in Richmond, Virginia.
17
February
1975
Australian hard rock band, AC/DC released their debut studio album, ‘High Voltage’.
24
February
1975
English heavy rock band, Led Zeppelin released their epic 6th studio double album, ‘Physical Graffiti’.
7
March
1975
English singer, songwriter and true rock legend, David Bowie released his change of direction classic 9th studio album, the soul-oriented ‘Young Americans’ in the UK.
11
March
1975
English pop/art/rock band 10cc released their hugely successful 3rd studio album, ‘The Original Soundtrack’ in the UK.
16
March
1975
American blues legend, Aaron Thibeaux ‘T-Bone’ Walker died from pneumonia following a stroke in Los Angeles, California at the age of 64.
17
March
1975
English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as member of hard rock band The Darkness, Justin Hawkins was born in Chertsey, Surrey.
29
March
1975
Experimental virtuoso English rock guitarist, Jeff Beck released his seminal and commercially successful 2nd solo album, ‘Blow By Blow’ in the UK.
2
April
1975
English super group Bad Company released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘Straight Shooter’.
8
April
1975
American hard rock band Aerosmith released one of their most successful records, their 3rd studio album, ‘Toys In The Attic’, including the hit track, ‘Walk This Way’.
9
May
1975
English space rock perennials, Hawkwind, released their 5th studio album ‘Warrior On The Edge Of Time’ in the UK.
23
May
1975
English pop/rock band 10cc released their superbly written and produced massive hit single, ‘I’m Not In Love’.
20
June
1975
Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist Neil Young released his classic 6th studio album, ‘Tonight’s The Night’.
23
June
1975
Hugely talented Scottish multi-genre singer, songwriter and guitarist, KT Tunstall was born in Edinburgh.
29
June
1975
Influential American singer, songwriter and guitarist Tim Buckley died from a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 28.
9
July
1975
Mercurial American singer, songwriter and flamboyant guitarist with The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, as well as solo artist, Jack White was born in Detroit, Michigan.
11
July
1975
British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac released their self-titled 10th studio album, ‘Fleetwood Mac’.
17
July
1975
Jamaican reggae icons, Bob Marley And The Wailers performed the first of 2 live concerts at London’s Lyceum. The concerts were recorded for the classic live album, ‘Live!’
25
July
1975
English singer and songwriter, David Bowie released his hit single, ‘Fame’, co-written with Carlos Alomar and with backing vocals by John Lennon. It was reportedly a jibe at Bowie’s artist management.
16
August
1975
English singer and songwriter Peter Gabriel announced that he was leaving Genesis, the progressive rock band he co‑founded.
25
August
1975
American rock icon Bruce Springsteen released his massively successful 3rd studio album, ‘Born To Run’.
1
September
1975
British singer, songwriter and guitarist John Martyn released his masterful live concert album, ‘Live At Leeds’.
5
September
1975
English progressive rock band Jethro Tull released their 8th studio album, ‘Minstrel In The Gallery’ in the UK (8 September in the U.S.).
12
September
1975
English progressive rock band, Pink Floyd released their massive classic 7th studio album, ‘Wish You Were Here’.
23
October
1975
English singer and songwriter, Elton John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6915 Hollywood Boulevard.
6
November
1975
British punk rock band, Sex Pistols made their debut live performance as a support act in the Common Room of Saint Martin’s School Of Art at Charing Cross Road in central London.
10
November
1975
Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Neil Young with his band Crazy Horse released the classic 7th studio album, ‘Zuma’.
2
December
1975
English pop/rock band Queen released their 4th studio album, ‘A Night At The Opera’, including the massive hit single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
5
December
1975
Jamaican reggae legends Bob Marley And The Wailers released their classic live album, ‘Live!’ recorded at London’s Lyceum Theatre on 17 & 18 July 1975.
13
December
1975
American punk rock singer, beat poet and political activist, Patti Smith released her classic anti‑establishment debut studio album, ‘Horses’, produced by John Cale.
13
December
1975
American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and co‑founder of pop punk rock band Blink-182, Tom DeLonge was born in Poway, California.
20
December
1975
American guitarist Joe Walsh joined the country rock band Eagles, replacing former band guitarist Bernie Leadon.
5
January
1976
Renowned American guitarist, singer and songwriter, Bob Dylan released his classic mid-career studio album, ‘Desire’ in the UK.
10
January
1976
American blues legend Howlin’ Wolf died from complications of kidney surgery in Hines, Illinois at the age of 65.
23
January
1976
Legendary English rock singer and songwriter, David Bowie released his classic 10th studio album, ‘Station To Station’.
9
March
1976
Country music legend Johnny Cash received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6320 Hollywood Boulevard.
18
March
1976
The classic sci-fi film ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring English singer David Bowie was released in the UK.
19
March
1976
English guitarist with rock band Free, Paul Kossoff died from a drug-related heart attack on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City at the age of 25.
21
March
1976
Guitar pioneer, innovator and entrepreneur, Adolph Rickenbacker died from cancer in Orange County, California at the age of 89.
23
March
1976
English heavy metal band Judas Priest released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘Sad Wings of Destiny’.
26
March
1976
Irish rock group, Thin Lizzy released their breakout classic 6th studio album, ‘Jailbreak’.
28
March
1976
American guitarist with rock group The Killers, Dave Keuning was born in Pella, Iowa.
31
March
1976
Legendary English heavy rock band Led Zeppelin released their 7th studio album, ‘Presence’.
3
April
1976
British pop group Brotherhood Of Man won the 21st Eurovision Song Contest with, ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’.
23
April
1976
American punk rock band, Ramones released their eponymous debut studio album, ‘Ramones’.
30
April
1976
Jamaican reggae legends, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their commercially successful studio album, ‘Rastaman Vibration’.
3
May
1976
American hard rock band, Aerosmith, released their 4th studio album, ‘Rocks’.
4
July
1976
British punk rock band The Clash made their live concert debut supporting the Sex Pistols at the Black Swan pub (known to locals as ‘The Mucky Duck’) in Sheffield, England.
27
July
1976
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and former member of The Beatles, John Lennon, finally had his application for permanent American residency approved by the U.S. Government.
31
July
1976
American hard rock band, Blue Öyster Cult released their signature tune and huge commercial hit, the classic single, ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’.
29
August
1976
Exemplary American blues guitarist and singer, Jimmy Reed died from respiratory failure in Oakland, California at the age of 50.
13
September
1976
American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd released their great live double album ‘One More From The Road’ in the US.
7
October
1976
Following an appeal hearing, English former member of The Beatles, John Lennon had his permanent residency of the USA confirmed.
8
October
1976
American jazz fusion pioneer and bass guitarist Stanley Clarke released his ground breaking studio album ‘School Days’.
22
October
1976
Influential American poet, singer, songwriter, artist and activist Patti Smith released her 2nd studio album, ‘Radio Ethiopia’.
24
October
1976
Legendary Irish guitarist, Rory Gallagher, released his classic 6th studio album, ‘Calling Card’.
25
November
1976
Canadian/American rock group, The Band, played their final concert in San Francisco, California, ‘The Last Waltz’, documented by filmmaker Martin Scorsese.
26
November
1976
English punk rock pioneers, Sex Pistols released their controversial debut single, ‘Anarchy In The UK’ on EMI Records.
2
December
1976
The photoshoot for the iconic album cover to Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ (released in 1977) took place at Battersea Power Station in London, complete with giant inflatable pig.
3
December
1976
Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley was wounded when gunmen shot him, his wife and manager at his home in Kingston. The incident was widely thought to be a politically motivated act.
5
December
1976
French electronic musician Jean Michel Jarre released his milestone 3rd studio album Oxygène in France.
8
December
1976
American country rock band Eagles released their top‑selling and career-defining classic 5th studio album, ‘Hotel California’.
12
December
1976
English guitarist with hard rock bands The Darkness and Stone Gods, Dan Hawkins was born in Chertsey, Surrey.
28
December
1976
American blues guitar legend, Freddie King died of complications from ulcers and acute pancreatitis in Texas at the age of 42.
14
January
1977
English rock singer David Bowie released his 11th studio album and the first part of his highly acclaimed ‘Berlin Trilogy’, ‘Low’ in the UK.
23
January
1977
Highly acclaimed English progressive rock band, Pink Floyd, released their 10th studio album, ‘Animals’, in the UK.
4
February
1977
Anglo-American rock band, Fleetwood Mac released their massive career-topping 11th studio album, ‘Rumours’ in the US.
26
February
1977
American delta blues guitarist and singer Booker T. Washington ‘Bukka’ White died from cancer in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 67 or 70 (age disputed).
2
March
1977
English singer, songwriter, co-founder and front man of band Coldplay, Chris Martin was born in Exeter, Devon.
10
March
1977
English punk rock band Sex Pistols controversially ‘signed’ a short-lived recording contract with A&M Records outside Buckingham Palace in London.
21
March
1977
Australian hard blues/rock band, AC/DC, released their 4th studio album, ‘Let There Be Rock’.
8
April
1977
English punk rock band, The Clash released their classic eponymous debut studio album, ‘The Clash’. Often considered to be one of the finest British punk albums.
8
May
1977
Great American blues rock guitar maestro, Joe Bonamassa was born in New Hartford, New York.
27
May
1977
In the same year as Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee, British punk pioneers Sex Pistols released their controversial 2nd single, ‘God Save The Queen’ in the UK.
31
May
1977
The BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority banned the Sex Pistols’ controversial single, ‘God Save The Queen’ from being played on UK radio for being “in gross bad taste”.
3
June
1977
Jamaican reggae icons Bob Marley & The Wailers released their career-defining massively successful 9th studio album, ‘Exodus’.
12
June
1977
Talented American blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Kenny Wayne Shepherd was born in Shreveport Louisiana.
15
June
1977
English punk rock band Sex Pistols infamously performed ‘Anarchy In The UK’ aboard a party boat on the River Thames outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
20
June
1977
Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist Neil Young released his 8th studio album, ‘American Stars ‘n Bars’.
30
June
1977
Marvel Comics published the first comic book with characters loosely based on members of the American rock band KISS.
2
July
1977
British punk rock pioneers Sex Pistols released their controversial 3rd single, ‘Pretty Vacant’ in the UK.
16
August
1977
American rock ‘n’ roll legend, Elvis Presley died from a drug-related heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 42.
18
August
1977
The funeral of American singing legend, Elvis Presley took place at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.
11
September
1977
Welsh guitarist and co-founder of rock band Coldplay, Jonny Buckland was born in London.
16
September
1977
Flamboyant English glam rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan of Tyrannosaurus Rex and later T.Rex died tragically in a car accident in London at the age of 29.
16
September
1977
American alternative rock band, Talking Heads, released their remarkable debut studio album, ‘Talking Heads: 77’.
23
September
1977
English singer and songwriter David Bowie released the single ‘Heroes’, which would become one of his greatest signature songs.
24
September
1977
English heavy rock band Motörhead released their debut studio album, the self-titled ‘Motörhead’ in the UK.
30
September
1977
English post-punk and new wave singer, songwriter and actor, Ian Dury released his debut studio album with The Blockheads, ‘New Boots And Panties!!’ in the UK.
30
September
1977
Fiery American blues/rock guitarist and member of Supersonic Blues Machine, Lance Lopez was born in Galveston, Texas.
7
October
1977
English guitarist Steve Hackett left progressive rock band Genesis to pursue a successful solo career.
12
October
1977
American singer, songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen released his 4th studio album, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’.
14
October
1977
English singer and songwriter David Bowie released his 12th studio album, ‘Heroes’, the 2nd part of his famed ‘Berlin Trilogy’.
16
October
1977
Award-winning American blues/rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer John Mayer was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
17
October
1977
American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd released their 5th studio album, ‘Street Survivors’, just days before the band’s tragic plane crash.
20
October
1977
Several members of American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, including singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, singer Cassie Gaines were among those tragically killed and injured in a plane crash near Gillsburgh, Mississippi.
21
October
1977
American rock band, Meat Loaf, released their best‑selling debut studio album, ‘Bat Out Of Hell’.
28
October
1977
English punk rock band, Sex Pistols released their controversial debut (and currently only) studio album, ‘Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols’.
4
November
1977
American punk rock pioneers, Ramones released their definitive 3rd studio album, ‘Rocket To Russia’.
4
November
1977
British guitarist, singer and songwriter John Martyn released his classic 7th solo studio album, ‘One World’ in the UK.
25
November
1977
English blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Clapton released his classic 5th studio album, ‘Slowhand’.
1
December
1977
American guitarist, producer and founding member of nu-metal rock band Linkin Park, Brad Delson was born in Agoura, California.
25
January
1978
After changing their name from Warsaw to Joy Division, the post-punk rock band made their first live performance in Manchester, UK.
6
February
1978
Influential Dutch/American guitarist, Eddie Van Halen released the eponymous debut studio album that launched the band’s career ‘Van Halen’.
10
February
1978
English heavy metal band Judas Priest released their classic 4th studio album, ‘Stained Class’.
3
March
1978
American punk rock singer, poet, activist and artist, Patti Smith released her classic 3rd studio album, ‘Easter’.
23
March
1978
Jamaican reggae legends, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their 9th studio album and follow up to the massive ‘Exodus’, ‘Kaya’.
5
April
1978
English new romantic and pop/rock band Duran Duran performed their debut live concert at Birmingham Polytechnic.
15
May
1978
Antipodean heavy rock band, AC/DC released their storming 5th studio album, ‘Powerage’.
19
May
1978
British rock band, Dire Straits released their breakout debut single, ‘Sultans of Swing’ in the UK.
2
June
1978
Irish rock band, Thin Lizzy released their massive live double album, ‘Live And Dangerous’ in the UK.
9
June
1978
Mercurial English guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of rock band Muse, Matt Bellamy was born in Cambridge.
7
July
1978
American indie rock band, Talking Heads, released their 2nd studio album, ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’.
7
September
1978
English drummer with rock band The Who, Keith Moon, died of a drug overdose in London at the age of 31.
12
October
1978
English bass guitarist with the Sex Pistols, John Ritchie (a.k.a. Sid Vicious) was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City.
30
October
1978
American punk rock band Blondie released their single ‘Hanging On The Telephone’, their first Top 10 hit in the UK singles chart.
2
November
1978
English post-punk rock band The Police released their astounding debut studio album, ‘Outlandos d’Amour’ in the UK.
11
November
1978
The first commercially available vinyl 7” single picture disc was released by the Elektra label, featuring The Cars, ‘My Best Friend’s Girl’.
23
November
1978
American singer, songwriter, artist and occasional guitarist with rock bands, The Kills and The Dead Weather, Alison Mosshart was born in Vero Beach, Florida.
2
January
1979
The trial of English bass guitarist with Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, started in New York. He was accused of murdering his American girlfriend, Nancy Spungen in 1978.
31
January
1979
American virtuoso jazz guitarist Grant Green died of a heart attack while on the road in New York City at the age of 43.
2
February
1979
English bass guitarist of Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious (John Ritchie) died from a heroin overdose in New York City at the age of 21.
7
February
1979
American guitarist, singer and songwriter Stephen Stills became the first major rock artist to record tracks using digital studio equipment at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.
3
March
1979
American guitarist, singer and songwriter, Frank Zappa released his highly successful and humorous part studio, part live double album, ‘Sheik Yerbouti’.
12
March
1979
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of indie rock bands The Libertines and Babyshambles, Pete Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland.
24
March
1979
English rock band, Motörhead hit the mainstream with the release of their classic 2nd studio album, ‘Overkill’.
8
May
1979
English indie rock giants The Cure released their debut studio album, ‘Three Imaginary Boys’ in the UK.
14
May
1979
Great American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and member of blues rock band The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach was born in Akron, Ohio.
18
May
1979
Legendary English rock singer and songwriter David Bowie released his 13th studio album and the third part of his ‘Berlin Trilogy’, ‘Lodger’.
8
June
1979
American guitarist, songwriter, member of rock band The Allman Brothers Band and founder of The Derek Trucks Band, Derek Trucks was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
15
June
1979
English post-punk band Joy Division released their impressive debut studio album, ‘Unknown Pleasures’.
20
June
1979
English guitarist, singer, songwriter, former member of indie rock band Ash and then solo artist, Charlotte Hatherley was born in London.
29
June
1979
American singer, songwriter and guitarist with Little Feat, Lowell George died from a cocaine-related heart attack in Arlington, Virginia at the age of 34.
1
July
1979
Japanese technology company Sony launched the first Walkman portable media player, capable of playing Compact Cassettes while on the move.
27
July
1979
Australian hard rock band AC/DC released their classic 6th studio album, ‘Highway To Hell’.
3
August
1979
American alternative rock band Talking Heads released their classic 3rd studio album, ‘Fear Of Music’, produced by Brian Eno.
11
August
1979
English hard rock band Led Zeppelin played their final UK concert with their original line up at Knebworth Festival in Hertfordshire.
12
August
1979
American pop singer and songwriter Michael Jackson released his 5th studio album, ‘Off The Wall’, marking his status as a global superstar.
15
August
1979
English heavy rock band Led Zeppelin released their last album with their original group line up, ‘In Through The Out Door’.
24
August
1979
American guitarist Peter Frampton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6819 Hollywood Boulevard.
17
September
1979
American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer Frank Zappa released his studio album, ‘Joe’s Garage Act I’. The first of 3 ‘parts’.
29
September
1979
English post-punk rock trio The Police had their first UK No.1 hit single with, ‘Message In A Bottle’, the band’s 3rd Top 20 hit.
2
October
1979
Jamaican reggae legends, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their studio album, ‘Survival’ in the UK.
2
October
1979
English post-punk rock band The Police released their massively commercial chart-topping 2nd studio album, ‘Reggatta de Blanc’ in the UK.
7
October
1979
English post-punk rock band Joy Division released their debut single ‘Transmission’ on Factory Records in the UK.
19
October
1979
Anglo-American rock group Fleetwood Mac released their divisive, experimental 12th studio album, ‘Tusk’ amidst reports of the band’s excess.
27
October
1979
English rock band Motörhead released their strong 3rd studio album, ‘Bomber’ in the UK, with the classic line up of Lemmy, Eddie Clarke and Phil Taylor.
19
November
1979
American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer Frank Zappa released his classic studio double album, ‘Joe’s Garage Acts II & III’.
30
November
1979
English progressive rock band, Pink Floyd released their epic 11th studio double concept album, ‘The Wall’. Estimated worldwide sales are around 30 million copies.
14
December
1979
English punk rock band, The Clash released their mighty 3rd studio double album, ‘London Calling’ in the UK.
Tailpiece
That’s more than enough for now! Looking at the list of artists, it is a veritable roll call of modern music. Just contrast the albums that started and ended the decade to see how much irreversible change had occurred in just 10 years. For many, the 1970s was the last decade to witness truly fundamental changes in musical and social paradigms. While not being strictly true, it was always going to be a tough task to sustain the energy and innovation of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s into subsequent decades. However, this didn’t stop existing and emerging artists trying to break the constraints of predictability. So, the 1980s was to prove a different kettle of fish altogether and that is what the story seeks to explore in the next article. Are you with me? Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Nobody should have to play a secondary character in their own life”
So, here we are again, good people. Like the immortal rose‑tinted glasses of the ‘Summer of ‘69’, 50 years on, the summer 2019 is beginning to degrade and enter the memory banks while the evenings are inexorably drawing in again. Perhaps it is poignant to recount the past and reflect a little on how we got to where we are now.
If you would like to (re)visit any or all of the first five parts (and over 300 years) of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):
In the last article, the world of music transformed seemingly overnight with the rise of rock ‘n’ roll acting as a significant catalyst for American and British youth culture in the 1950s. Of course, it wasn’t quite like that in reality – so many different ingredients came together to create an irresistible phenomenon. If the 1950s wasn’t enough to challenge the traditionalists, things were about to get a whole lot more liberal and lively in the 1960s. Even greater social change compounded the consternation of the older, and typically more old-fashioned, conservative generation.
The Story of Modern Music Part VI 1960-1969
While rock ‘n’ roll now seems to be a permanent fixture in the minds of modern music lovers, in its purest form, it didn’t last that long before it became diluted and music evolution moved on rapidly. However, the influence of rock ‘n’ roll was pervasive, acting as a major stimulus to all other sorts of genre developments. The 1960s stood alone from previous and subsequent decades in terms of political, cultural, economic, technological climate and this was reflected in the distinctive music emerging over the same period. For many readers, the 1960s is now within ‘living memory’ – it is, just about, for me. Up to now, much of the chronology will be history, picked up second hand from written or pictorial records. From here on in, readers may well have some experience of these events for real. For a younger audience, be patient, we’ll get to your era soon. There is a lot to get through this month, so it focuses only on one decade with a few photos again.
Historical Context 1960-1969
Although fundamental human equality was still a pipedream for many in the west, freedom of expression and individual liberties probably characterised the ‘Swinging Sixties’ more than anything else, including the Sexual Revolution and civil rights movements. People felt able to say and do things that were unthinkable in previous decades. People were also able to protest against what they felt were moral injustices. Many families experienced benefits from improving economic prosperity and technological advancement. The Cold War and the space race dominated international relations, particularly between the capitalist ‘west’ and communist ‘east’. The latter part of the 1960s saw symbols of the peace & love movement, gaudy fashion and hippie ‘flower power’, all kaleidoscopically prevalent. If there was a decade that could live up to the description of ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’, the 1960s would be it.
Year
Global Events
1960
America launched the first satellite navigation geo‑positioning system into space, called Transit for use by the U.S. Navy, entering operational service in 1964.
The oral contraceptive pill was approved for use by married women in America followed by Britain in 1961.
The classic great American novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, written by author Harper Lee was published.
The classic and ground breaking psychological horror film, ‘Psycho’, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Anthony Perkins was released.
1961
Democrat politician John F. Kennedy became the 35th President of the U.S.A. JFK’s election heralded a new wave of hope and optimism set against the background of the Cold War.
The American‑backed military invasion of the Bay of Pigs in Cuba intended to topple Fidel Castro failed, thereby escalating political tensions.
The infamous Berlin wall separating east and west Germany was constructed. It remained until 1989 when it was symbolically destroyed by the German people.
Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space aboard the Soviet Vostok 1 capsule.
Astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American to go into space aboard a Mercury spacecraft.
1962
The Cuban Missile Crisis between United States and the Soviet Union narrowly avoided escalation into a full‑scale nuclear world war.
American actress and cultural icon Marilyn Monroe died of a drug overdose at the age of 36. Her death was ruled controversially as probable suicide.
Marvel’s fictional super hero Spider‑Man made his first comic book appearance.
The first satellite television transmission and telephone calls took place over the Atlantic ocean from Europe to North America, relayed by the American Telstar communication satellite.
1963
American president John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Former U.S. Marine, Lee Harvey Oswald was accused of the murder only to be killed while in police custody by local night club owner, Jack Ruby, fuelling many conspiracy theories.
Democrat politician Lyndon B. Johnson became 36th President of the U.S.A. following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The infamous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay was closed as a prison. The island is now a museum and tourist attraction run by the U.S. National Park Service.
1964
Sidney Poitier became the first African American actor to win an Academy Award (Oscar) for his role in the film ‘Lilies of the Field’.
South African anti‑apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela was jailed, having been charged with sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
1965
America joined the Vietnam War by sending U.S. Marines into battle supporting the South Vietnamese against the Chinese‑backed North Vietnamese National Liberation Front (the Viet Cong).
American space missions took a significant step forward with the launch of manned Gemini low Earth orbiting capsules. The successful programme ended in 1966.
Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to make a spacewalk, lasting 12 minutes after exiting the Voskhod 2 spacecraft.
Renowned British Fashion designer Mary Quant launched the iconic mini skirt in London, encouraging young women to dress to please themselves.
1966
The Chinese Cultural Revolution began, led by Chairman Mao Zedong, intended to preserve Chinese Communism and purge capitalism from its society. The oppressive campaign lasted until Mao’s death in 1976.
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded in Oakland, California in 1966, intended to patrol African American neighbourhoods and protect residents from acts of police brutality. It ceased operation in 1982.
The classic, ground breaking science fiction TV series Star Trek was first broadcast, created by American producer and screenwriter, Gene Rodenberry.
1967
British sailor Sir Francis Chichester became the first person to circumnavigate single‑handedly around the globe in his yacht the Gypsy Moth IV.
Argentinian Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, a major figure in the Cuban Revolution, was executed while in military detention in Bolivia at the age of 39. His death secured his status as a political martyr and counter‑culture rebel icon.
The first successful human heart transplant took place, carried out by Dr Christiaan Barnard in South Africa.
The first American Football Super Bowl took place between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay won.
1968
Russia brutally crushed the Prague Spring uprising in Czechoslovakia, forcing the country to subordinate its national interests to those of the ‘Eastern Bloc’.
The classic science fiction film, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ was released, directed by Stanley Kubrick.
American civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by lifelong criminal James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee.
The ambitious American Apollo space program got underway with the first manned flight aboard Apollo 7. The program ended in 1972 with Apollo 17.
1969
Supersonic passenger flight became possible with the introduction of the Anglo‑French Concorde airliner.
The cult classic counter-culture movie ‘Easy Rider’ was released, starring Dennis Hopper (also directing) and Peter Fonda.
American Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, killing 28‑year old Mary Jo Kopechne, a former aide to Senator Bobby Kennedy.
Police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City, sparking demonstrations and the start of the gay civil rights movement in the United States.
Followers of the cult leader Charles Manson carried out a series of 9 brutal murders including that of actress Sharon Tate.
American manned space mission Apollo 11 successfully landed on the Moon. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon’s surface, with Armstrong proclaiming, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.
Republican politician Richard Nixon was elected as the 37th U.S. president. Infamously, he remains the only American President to have resigned from office, following the Watergate scandal.
The United Kingdom abolished the death penalty substituting it with a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
Musical Genre Development 1960-1969
The ‘Swinging Sixties’ were particularly important and memorable for music in America and Europe. The musical revolution that began with rock ‘n’ roll in the previous decade rapidly morphed and diversified on both sides of the Atlantic. By the end of the decade, rock and pop were firmly established as major commercial genres that continue to flourish and adapt to the current day. The 1960s was also a time in which large outdoor music festivals flourished, especially towards the end of the decade, with major events like Newport, Monterey and Woodstock in America and Hyde Park and the Isle of Wight in the UK. In addition, the 1960s saw the introduction of the music compact cassette, which made music not only cheaper but also more portable. As the famous quote, probably attributed to American comedian Charles Fleischer (1950-) goes, ‘if you remember the ‘60s, you weren’t really there’. If that is the case, this article might just serve as a timely reminder.
R&B, gospel, and jazz started to evolve into urban African American soul music, made popular by record companies specialising in the genre. One of these labels was Motown in Detroit, Michigan featuring artists such as Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Four Tops, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. Another record label that was hugely influential at the time was Stax Records based in Memphis, Tennessee which was significant for its racially integrated production of southern soul and blues music, including house band Booker T & the M.G.’s and artists like Otis Redding. Atlantic Records which began in New York also promoted soul artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Wilson Pickett. Some other popular soul and R&B artists of the 1960s include The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers and the Jackson Five. Racial segregation was a major hurdle for aspiring black musicians and soul is often seen as being closely associated with the American civil rights movement.
Surf music originated in the early 1960s on the west coast of America, particularly around the surfing culture of Orange County in southern California. It was influenced by instrumental rock ‘n’ roll artists like Link Wray, The Ventures and Duane Eddy. Surf is, however, distinct from rock ‘n’ roll and was important in the formation of modern rock music. Surf music tended to fall either into instrumental tunes performed by the likes of Dick Dale & The Deltones or harmonised vocal songs characterised by The Beach Boys. The musical style is heavily based around reverb‑drenched electric guitar sounds often making use of a guitar’s vibrato and the amplifier’s tremolo effect. Lyrics focused on, unsurprisingly, surfing, girls, cars and sunny west coast beach culture. Surf was relatively short‑lived and was taken over by many other American and European genres from the mid‑1960s onwards.
Up to the early 1960s, British artists were in the shadow of American acts and were often playing catch‑up. While not a genre in its own right, the so‑called ‘British Invasion’ began around 1963 with many artists from Britain becoming massively popular in the United States. UK artists sometimes took American songs and gave them a British sound. Perhaps the most significant phenomenon was coined ‘Beatlemania’, when Merseybeat pop group The Beatles broke onto the American music scene circa 1963 and spearheaded the export of UK music to the USA. Other British artists included The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Cream, The Hollies and The Who. By the end of the decade American artists had largely regained their homeland audiences. Various attempts to recreate the phenomenon have only been partially successful, for instance Britpop in the 1990s with artists like Oasis, the Spice Girls and Robbie Williams.
By the mid‑1960s, there was a strong revival of folk music, notable especially for songs with a social and moral conscience, widely articulating the feelings and messages of the various turbulent protest movements of the time. Songs encompassed issues such as poverty, class, the Vietnam War, social injustice and racial segregation. Songs also began to exhibit a stronger leaning towards the emerging rock oriented music scene. Perhaps the most significant artist of the period was Bob Dylan who controversially and ultimately successfully fused acoustic folk and electric rock genres.
Pop music is a diverse genre that attracts a lot of debate. It developed not from the broader traditional popular music of previous decades but from rock ‘n’ roll in the late 1950s and ‘pop’ became a commonly used term since the 1960s to describe non‑classical highly commercial and easily accessible youth‑oriented music. From about 1967, there was a clear divergence between rock music and pop music. Rock became harder edged and played by ‘real’ musicians recording albums while pop was refined into short catchy radio friendly ‘singles’ that were largely industry driven, highly produced, easily packaged, widely marketable and hugely profitable. Musically and lyrically, pop songs are generally uncontroversial and tended not to challenge the listener to any significant degree. Pop artists would sometimes appear and disappear overnight, as it was the songs, sales and chart position that mattered more to the record companies, rather than the performer. The term ‘one‑hit‑wonder’ is often associated with the throwaway appeal of pop music consumption. Conversely, the corporations assert that profits enable investment in new artists. Successful pop artists from the 1960s included The Monkees, The Shadows, Herman’s Hermits, The Dave Clark Five, The Everly Brothers, The Bee Gees and The Lovin’ Spoonful. Pop music continues to evolve and has had a number of peaks since the 1960s including in the early 1980s with artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna and late 2000s including the likes of P!nk, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Pop therefore represents considerable mainstream economic business to the industry.
Experimental psychedelic rock was popular during the late 1960s and is often associated with the hippie/flower power counterculture. It is also associated with the widespread use of cannabis and manufactured hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD (acid). Song lyrics frequently referenced drugs and altered/elevated states of consciousness. Songs were often long and comprised extended instrumental extemporisation and improvisation (often called jamming). Musicians regularly used esoteric instruments like the sitar, tabla vibraphone and organ, much of it influenced by Asian, Indian and oriental music. Psychedelic rock and folk rock became closely associated with simple messages of peace and love that began with 1967’s ‘Summer of Love’ phenomenon and reached a climax at the Woodstock festival in 1969. Many rock bands of the period stretched the boundaries of the genre, including the Grateful Dead, The Velvet Underground, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, The Moody Blues, Gong, Hawkwind and early Pink Floyd.
Ska is a genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and came to popular prominence in the early 1960s. Ska was influenced by Caribbean calypso and Latin music combined with American jazz and R&B. Ska developed heavy basslines and offbeat accents producing a distinctive up‑tempo dance rhythm. Jamaican producers began recording ska on their own labels which were then played on DJ sound systems. Ska became popular not only in Jamaica but also in Britain, being associated with the decade’s mod and skinhead sub‑cultures. Importantly, ska was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Key players in the genre were Prince Buster, Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd and Duke Reid. Ska experienced a major revival in Britain in the late 1970s and early 1980s on the back of the punk rock boom through Two Tone Records and artists like The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners, The Selecter, and The Beat.
Classic rock music, or simply just rock, really came into its own as a separate broad genre during the 1960s deriving from America and the UK. Rock’s origins stem from rock ‘n’ roll, blues, folk, country and R&B. Experimentation with sound and composition mean that there are many, many sub‑genres and crossover styles of rock music. Rock is predominantly performed by a band with vocals, one or more electric guitars, bass and drums played in an un‑syncopated 4/4 rhythm and comprising a verse and chorus structure. Rock became distinct for increasing use of volume and distorted electric guitar sounds. Classic rock was the starting point for the various offshoots that followed including hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, folk rock, progressive/contemporary rock, heavy metal, glam rock, soft rock, AOR, roots rock, jazz rock, punk rock, new wave, post‑punk, grunge, alternative rock and indie. Many of these styles of rock music remain popular to the current day. Culturally, rock music has often been connected with political activism as well as changes in social attitudes to race, sex, crime and drug use, and is often seen as an expression of young people’s rebellious rejection of adult uniformity and conformity. Artists associated with classic rock include The Kinks, Small Faces, Free, Bad Company and Jeff Beck.
Hard rock split from pop and rock during the latter half of the 1960s. As rock music was beginning to define itself throughout the 1960s, an offshoot rapidly developed that had its own distinctive sound. Hard rock took commercial rock and gave it a heavier and more aggressive style. Hard rock vocals tended to be in the higher registers and were often raspy and guttural. The hard-edged, loud, distorted guitar‑heavy music was influenced by blues, rock and garage. Hard rock could often be identified by catchy ‘power chord’ riffs and impressive lead guitar solos. Hard rock quickly became associated with excluded and defiant young people and the lyrics frequently had a distinctly anti‑authoritarian slant. This sometimes hostile approach to the mainstream was characterised by some acts destroying their instruments on stage, for instance by Pete Townsend of The Who and Jimi Hendrix. The hedonistic rock lifestyle went hand in hand with the music, resulting in musicians reportedly partying as hard as they played, regularly destroying property. Many rock artists developed drug and alcohol dependencies, which resulted in some high profile deaths, including Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. Notable hard rock bands from the 1960s include The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf and The Rolling Stones and later in the early 1970s by bands like Rainbow, Whitesnake, Aerosmith, Kiss, Queen, AC/DC, Alice Cooper and Van Halen.
Musical Facts 1960-1969
Michael Stipe (REM)
Day
Month
Year
Music Fact
4
January
1960
American singer, songwriter, producer, artist and former frontman of indie rock band R.E.M. Michael Stipe was born in Decatur, Georgia.
22
January
1960
Australian singer, songwriter and co-founder of rock band INXS, Michael Hutchence was born in Sydney, New South Wales.
9
February
1960
Legendary American singer Elvis Presley received his first star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6777 Hollywood Boulevard.
3
March
1960
American rock ‘n’ roll singer and now soldier, Sargent Elvis Presley set foot in the UK for the first and only (confirmed) time while his forces plane was refuelled at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire, Scotland.
13
March
1960
British/Irish bass guitarist, best known as a member of rock band U2, Adam Clayton was born in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England.
31
March
1960
American blues rock guitarist, Popa Chubby (a.k.a. Theodore ‘Ted’ Horowitz) was born in The Bronx, New York City.
4
April
1960
Legendary American rock ‘n’ roll singer Elvis Presley recorded his classic hit single, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight?’ at RCA studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
6
April
1960
American guitarist and member of blues/rock groups The Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and The Dead, Warren Haynes was born in Asheville, North Carolina.
17
April
1960
American rock ‘n’ roll singer and guitarist Eddie Cochran died tragically following a car accident in Wiltshire, UK, at the age of just 21.
23
April
1960
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and key member of heavy rock band Def Leppard, Steve Clark (1960-1991, 30) was born in Hillsborough, Sheffield.
10
May
1960
Irish singer and songwriter Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono, front man of massive rock band U2 was born in Dublin.
1
June
1960
Great English bass guitarist with indie rock icons The Cure, Simon Gallup was born in Duxhurst, Surrey.
6
June
1960
American virtuoso rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, Steve Vai was born in New York.
20
June
1960
English bass guitarist and co-founder of new romantic band Duran Duran, John Taylor was born in Solihull, Warwickshire.
27
October
1960
American soul singer Ben E. King recorded his first songs as a solo artist after leaving The Drifters, the classics, ‘Spanish Harlem’ and ‘Stand By Me’.
7
November
1960
American guitarist and songwriter with rock band KISS from 2002, Tommy Thayer, nicknamed ‘The Spaceman’ was born in Portland, Oregon.
8
February
1961
After changing their name from The Quarrymen, English pop band The Beatles made their debut appearance at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, their first of 292 performances at the venue.
7
May
1961
Welsh guitarist and long-term member of hard rock band Motörhead, Phil Campbell was born in Pontypridd.
12
May
1961
English guitarist, songwriter and member of post-punk band, The Cult, Billy Duffy was born in Manchester.
29
May
1961
Award-winning American singer, songwriter and guitarist, Melissa Etheridge was born in Leavenworth, Kansas.
3
June
1961
English guitarist and founding member of psychedelic rock bands Ozric Tentacles and Nodens Ictus, Ed Wynne was born in London.
10
June
1961
American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter, former member of alternative rock band Pixies and currently fronting The Breeders with her twin sister, Kim Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio.
10
June
1961
American guitarist and member of The Breeders with her twin sister, Kelley Deal was born in Dayton, Ohio.
23
July
1961
Multi-talented award-winning English singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer, DJ and co-founder of Depeche Mode, Martin Gore was born in Dagenham, Essex.
8
August
1961
Irish guitarist and songwriter with rock band U2, The Edge (a.k.a. David Evans) was born in Barking, Essex, England to Welsh parents.
13
September
1961
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of thrash metal rock band Megadeth, Dave Mustaine was born in La Mesa, California.
16
September
1961
English guitarist, singer and songwriter with indie rock band My Bloody Valentine, Bilinda Butcher was born in London.
3
October
1961
The Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee welcomed its first inductees, Jimmie Rodgers, Fred Rose and Hank Williams.
10
October
1961
English bass guitarist and actor best known as member of new wave/pop group Spandau Ballet, Martin Kemp was born in London.
10
February
1962
American bass guitarist and songwriter, best known as a member of heavy rock band Metallica, Cliff Burton (1962-1986, 24) was born in California.
11
February
1962
Talented American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, including guitar, bass and drums, Sheryl Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri.
2
March
1962
American singer, songwriter, founder and front man of the rock band that bears his name, Jon Bon Jovi was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
8
April
1962
American guitarist, co-founder and ex-member of rock band Guns N’ Roses, Izzy Stradlin (a.k.a. Jeffrey Dean Isbell) was born in Lafayette, Indiana.
2
August
1962
American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Robert Allen Zimmerman formally changed his name to… the one and only Bob Dylan.
25
August
1962
Northern Irish guitarist who has been a member of hard rock bands Def Leppard, Dio and Whitesnake, Vivian Campbell was born in Belfast, County Antrim.
11
October
1962
English pop group The Beatles had their song ‘Love Me Do’ reach no. 4 in the UK singles chart, their first record to do so.
16
October
1962
Australian/American bass guitarist and co-founder of rock band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Balzary (a.k.a. Flea) was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
17
October
1962
English newcomers, The Beatles made their first regional television appearance playing 2 songs live on Granada’s ‘People And Places’ show.
18
November
1962
Great American guitarist, songwriter and long-time member of metal rock band Metallica, Kirk Hammett was born in San Francisco, California.
24
November
1962
English guitarist and songwriter with the Stone Roses and The Seahorses, John Squire was born in Altrincham, Cheshire.
8
December
1962
American guitarist, well known for his 10-year stint with heavy metal band Megadeth, Marty Friedman was born in Washington D.C.
9
January
1963
English drummer, Charlie Watts joined the rock band The Rolling Stones, starting a long-term membership of the group.
19
January
1963
English pop/rock band, The Beatles made their first recorded UK TV appearance on the ITV/ABC show, ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’.
2
February
1963
American singer, songwriter and guitarist, the ‘songbird’, Eva Cassidy (1963-1996, 33) was born in Washington D.C.
22
March
1963
Emerging English pop group The Beatles released their debut studio album ‘Please Please Me’ in the UK. Merseybeat had well and truly arrived.
27
May
1963
American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, Bob Dylan released his classic 2nd studio album, ‘The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan’.
30
June
1963
Impressive, prolific Swedish virtuoso neoclassical heavy rock guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was born in Stockholm.
3
August
1963
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of heavy metal rock band Metallica, James Hetfield was born in Downey, California.
9
August
1963
Popular British weekly pop music television show, ‘Ready Steady Go!’ was first broadcast by ITV. The show ran until December 1966.
9
August
1963
Multi-award-winning American soul/R&B singer and actress, Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey.
30
August
1963
Dutch technology company Philips introduced the Compact Cassette to Europe at the Berlin Radio Show, followed by an American launch in November the same year.
13
October
1963
Emerging English pop band The Beatles made their first major TV appearance on ITV’s famous variety show, ‘Sunday Night At The London Palladium’.
31
October
1963
English guitarist, singer, songwriter, ex-member of post‑punk rock band The Smiths, as well as a successful solo artist and collaborator, Johnny Marr was born in Manchester.
31
December
1963
American guitarist, singer and founding member of thrash metal rock band Anthrax, Scott Ian was born in Queens, New York.
1
January
1964
The BBC’s popular chart music television programme ‘Top Of The Pops’ (TOTP) was first broadcast in the UK. The show ran for over 42 years until July 2006.
13
January
1964
American folk singer Bob Dylan released his 3rd studio album ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’, which became a political anthem for social change in 1960s America.
5
February
1964
American bass player and ex-member of rock bands, Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded and Jane’s Addiction, Duff McKagan was born in Seattle, Washington state.
7
February
1964
‘Beatlemania’ struck America when The Beatles landed at New York’s JFK Airport on their first visit to the USA.
9
February
1964
‘Beatlemania’ struck again when English pop band The Beatles made their American TV debut on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’.
11
February
1964
English pop band The Beatles made their debut live performance in America at the Washington Coliseum in front of 8,000 screaming fans.
26
May
1964
American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actor, Lenny Kravitz was born in New York City.
30
May
1964
Great American guitarist with rock bands Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, as well as several solo projects, Tom Morello was born in New York.
3
June
1964
Great American guitarist with thrash metal rock band Slayer, the formidable Kerry King was born in Los Angeles, California.
19
June
1964
English rock band, The Animals, released their seminal hit single, ‘House Of The Rising Sun’.
10
July
1964
English pop/rock group The Beatles released their 6th studio album ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ in the UK.
24
July
1964
The Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, U.S.A. descended into controversy when Bob Dylan performed an electric rather than acoustic set.
13
November
1964
English rock band The Rolling Stones released their cover of the classic Willie Dixon blues song, ‘Little Red Rooster’ as a single in the UK.
23
December
1964
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and long-time member of rock band Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder was born in Evanston, Illinois.
20
January
1965
The self-proclaimed ‘father of rock ‘n’ roll’, legendary American DJ Alan Freed died from uraemia and cirrhosis in hospital in Palm Springs, California at the age of 43.
28
January
1965
Emerging English rock band, The Who made their debut television appearance in the UK on the ITV music show ‘Ready Steady Go!’
14
February
1965
Australian/French multi-instrumentalist, including guitar, known for working with alternative rock bands Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Grinderman, Warren Ellis was born in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
8
March
1965
Legendary American folk guitarist, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan released his first top 40 hit single, ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ in the U.S.
12
May
1965
English rock band The Rolling Stones recorded their trademark song ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ at RCA’s studio in Hollywood.
17
May
1965
Prolific composer, singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and founder of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania.
16
June
1965
Legendary American folk singer and guitarist Bob Dylan recorded his classic song, ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ at Columbia studios in New York.
23
June
1965
English guitarist and founding member of rock band Oasis, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs was born in Manchester.
23
July
1965
British/American guitarist, member of hard rock bands Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, as well as a successful solo artist, Saul Hudson (a.k.a. Slash) was born in London.
29
July
1965
The full-length film ‘Help!’, featuring a certain English pop quartet, The Beatles, was premiered in London.
6
August
1965
English pop group The Beatles released their 5th studio album, ‘Help!’ in the UK, which was also the soundtrack to their film of the same name.
15
August
1965
English pop band The Beatles broke the (then) record for an audience of 55,600 at Shea Stadium in New York City.
20
August
1965
English rock band The Rolling Stones released their massive hit single, ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’.
28
August
1965
Canadian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist, Shania Twain, the ‘Queen of Country Pop’ was born in Windsor, Ontario.
30
August
1965
American folk guitarist, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan released his classic 6th studio album, ‘Highway 61 Revisited’ in the UK.
13
October
1965
English rock band The Who recorded their classic single ‘My Generation’ at Pye Recording Studios in London, UK.
21
October
1965
Pioneering American rock ‘n’ roll bass player, forever associated with singer Elvis Presley, Bill Black died of a brain tumour in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 39.
26
October
1965
HM Queen Elizabeth II presented members of the English pop band The Beatles with MBEs at Buckingham Palace in London.
29
October
1965
English rock band, The Who released the single ‘My Generation’ in the UK, reaching number 2 in the British singles chart.
12
November
1965
Emerging young English singer, songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan performed his first single, ‘The Wizard’ on national UK TV music programme ‘Ready Steady Go!’
12
November
1965
American rock band Velvet Underground performed their debut live performance at Summit High School in New Jersey.
19
November
1965
English guitarist, songwriter and lead man for alternative rock band Spiritualized, Jason Pierce was born in Rugby.
21
November
1965
Avant-garde Icelandic singer, songwriter, producer and actress, Björk Guðmundsdóttir was born in Reykjavík.
25
November
1965
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, a member of punk rock bands Rancid and Transplants, Tim Armstrong was born in Albany, California.
3
December
1965
English pop/rock group The Beatles released their 6th studio album ‘Rubber Soul’ in the UK.
3
December
1965
English rock band, The Who, released their classic debut studio album, ‘My Generation’ in the UK.
10
December
1965
American singer, songwriter and guitarist, front man of alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., the great J. Mascis was born in Amherst, Massachusetts.
4
March
1966
Member of The Beatles, John Lennon, made his infamously controversial statement that the band was “…more popular than Jesus…”.
18
March
1966
American guitarist and founder of heavy rock band, Alice In Chains, Jerry Cantrell was born in Tacoma, Washington.
25
March
1966
Renowned Canadian blues rock guitarist, Jeff Healey (1966-2008, 41) was born in Toronto.
5
April
1966
American guitarist and co-founder of rock band, Pearl Jam, Mike McCready was born in Pensacola, Florida.
22
April
1966
English garage rock band The Troggs released their version of the Wild Ones’ song, ‘Wild Thing’, which became a classic hit single of its time.
1
May
1966
English pop/rock band, The Beatles performed their final UK live appearance at the NME Poll Winners’ Party, held at the Empire Pool, Wembley in London.
13
May
1966
English rock band, The Rolling Stones released their dark and sinister hit single, ‘Paint It, Black’ from the album ‘Aftermath’ (U.S. release).
16
May
1966
Original American surf pop/rock band, The Beach Boys released their best-selling classic 11th studio album, ‘Pet Sounds’ in the U.S.
16
May
1966
American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, Bob Dylan originally scheduled the release date of his classic 7th studio double album, ‘Blonde On Blonde’. It didn’t actually become available until early June.
26
May
1966
English pop/rock band, The Beatles recorded ‘Yellow Submarine’ at Abbey Road Studios in London.
30
May
1966
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of alternative rock bands Pavement and the Jicks, Stephen Malkmus was born in Santa Monica, California.
16
July
1966
British music icons Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker formed the short-lived blues/rock super group Cream.
5
August
1966
English pop/rock group, The Beatles released their classic 7th studio album, ‘Revolver’ in the UK.
20
August
1966
American guitarist, songwriter and founder of heavy metal rock bands Pantera and Damageplan, ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Lance Abbott (1966-2004, 38) was born in Arlington, Texas.
12
September
1966
Featuring an American/British pop-rock band, The Monkees show premiered on American TV network NBC.
20
September
1966
Portuguese/American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and member of rock band Extreme, Nuno Bettencourt was born in Terceira, Azores.
23
October
1966
Anglo-American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded ‘Hey Joe’, their debut single, which peaked at number 6 in the UK chart.
2
November
1966
American blues guitarist Mississippi John Hurt died of a heart attack in a hospital in Grenada, Mississippi at the age of 73.
6
November
1966
American virtuoso rock guitarist, member of rock bands Mr Big and Racer X, as well as successful solo artist, Paul Gilbert was born in Carbondale, Illinois.
17
November
1966
American surf band, The Beach Boys had a number one hit in the UK singles chart with the classic song, ‘Good Vibrations’.
17
November
1966
Talented American singer, songwriter and guitarist, the graceful Mr Jeff Buckley (1966-1997, 30) was born in Orange, California.
25
November
1966
The Jimi Hendrix Experience played their debut live performance in the UK at the Bag O’Nails Club in Soho, London.
7
December
1966
English guitarist and songwriter who has worked with bands Oasis, Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Gem Archer was born in Durham.
9
December
1966
English blues/rock super group Cream, comprising Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, released their debut studio album, ‘Fresh Cream’ in the UK.
13
December
1966
Anglo-American rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, made their UK TV debut on popular music programme ‘Ready Steady Go!’.
13
December
1966
Anglo-American rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their classic track, ‘Foxy Lady’ (a.k.a. ‘Foxey Lady’ in the U.S.), released as a single in May 1967.
16
December
1966
Anglo-American rock band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their debut single in the UK, ‘Hey Joe’, reaching no. 6. It failed to chart in the U.S.
23
December
1966
After 3 years on air, UK TV network channel ITV broadcast the final episode of the popular music programme, ‘Ready Steady Go!’ following a Musicians’ Union ban on miming on television.
29
December
1966
Anglo‑American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their first UK TV appearance on the BBC’s ‘Top Of The Pops’, performing their single, ‘Hey Joe’.
4
January
1967
American rock band, The Doors, released their classic self-titled debut studio album, ‘The Doors’.
11
January
1967
Anglo‑American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their classic song, ‘Purple Haze’ at De Lane Lea Studios in London. It took 3 takes in 4 hours to complete.
14
January
1967
American heavy metal guitarist, singer and songwriter, founder of heavy metal band Black Label Society, Zakk Wylde was born in New Jersey.
17
January
1967
English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, solo artist and session musician, Richard Hawley was born in Sheffield.
3
February
1967
Pioneering English record producer and studio engineer, Joe Meek murdered his landlady and then committed suicide in London at the age of 37.
17
February
1967
English Blues rock band John Mayall and the Blues Breakers released their 2nd studio album, ‘A Hard Road’ with Peter Green replacing Eric Clapton as guitarist.
20
February
1967
American singer, songwriter and guitarist with grunge rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain (1967-1994, 27) was born in Aberdeen, Washington state.
12
March
1967
American rock band, The Velvet Underground released their debut studio album, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’, with iconic cover art by pop artist Andy Warhol.
17
March
1967
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins, Billy Corgan was born in Chicago, Illinois.
12
May
1967
Anglo‑American rock band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their debut studio album, ‘Are You Experienced’ in the UK.
29
May
1967
English singer, songwriter and guitarist with rock bands Oasis and High Flying Birds, Noel Gallagher was born in Manchester.
1
June
1967
English pop/rock band, The Beatles released their classic 8th studio album, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in the UK.
1
June
1967
Aspiring English singer David Bowie released his eponymous debut studio album, ‘David Bowie’ in the UK.
7
June
1967
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of alternative rock band Jane’s Addiction as well as former member of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Navarro was born in Santa Monica, California.
16
June
1967
The ‘Summer of Love’ officially arrived with the start of the legendary 3-day Monterey Pop Festival in California. Artists included The Animals, Simon & Garfunkel and Sly & The Family Stone.
16
June
1967
English psychedelic/progressive rock band Pink Floyd released their classic single, ‘See Emily Play’, written by Syd Barrett.
17
June
1967
The ‘Summer of Love’ continued with the 2nd day of the 3-day Monterey International Pop Festival in California. Artists included Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, Steve Miller Band and The Byrds.
18
June
1967
The ‘Summer of Love’ continued with the 3rd and final day of the Monterey International Pop Festival in California. Artists included Buffalo Springfield, Grateful Dead, Ravi Shankar, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Who.
24
June
1967
German guitarist with Industrial Metal rock band Rammstein, Richard Z. Kruspe was born in Wittenberge.
12
July
1967
Great American guitarist and founding member of heavy rock band Dream Theater, John Petrucci was born in New York.
4
August
1967
English psychedelic progressive rock group, Pink Floyd released their debut studio album, ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’.
25
September
1967
American rock band The Doors released their all-time classic 2nd studio album, ‘Strange Days’.
30
September
1967
English broadcaster the BBC aired their pop music channel Radio 1 for the very first time in the UK. The first record played by DJ Tony Blackburn was, ‘Flowers in the Rain’ by The Move.
3
October
1967
American singer, songwriter and guitarist Woody Guthrie died from Huntington’s Disease in New York City at the age of 55.
9
November
1967
The brainchild of Jann Wenner, the very first issue of Rolling Stone music magazine was published in the USA, featuring a photo of John Lennon on the front cover.
10
November
1967
English blues/rock super group Cream released their classic 2nd studio album, ‘Disraeli Gears’ in the UK.
1
December
1967
Anglo-American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their sophomore studio album, ‘Axis: Bold as Love’ in the UK.
7
December
1967
Shortly before his tragic death, American soul singer Otis Redding recorded his classic single, ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’.
10
December
1967
American soul singer, Otis Redding was killed tragically when the plane in which he was travelling crashed into Lake Monona near Madison, Wisconsin, at the age of 26.
16
December
1967
English rock band, The Who, released their 3rd studio album, ‘The Who Sell Out’ in the UK.
27
December
1967
Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Leonard Cohen released his classic debut studio album, ‘Songs of Leonard Cohen’.
13
January
1968
American country music legend Johnny Cash performed two live shows at the notorious Folsom State Prison in California.
21
January
1968
Anglo-American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their cover version of Bob Dylan’s, ‘All Along The Watchtower’ at Olympic Studios in London.
30
January
1968
American psychedelic rock band, The Velvet Underground released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘White Light/White Heat’.
8
March
1968
The famous New York live music venue Fillmore East opened its doors at 105 Second Avenue and East 6th Street in Manhattan. It closed 3 years later on 27 June 1971.
6
April
1968
English progressive rock band Pink Floyd announced that guitarist and singer Syd Barrett had left the band he helped to found.
15
April
1968
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and original member of alternative rock band Radiohead, Ed O’Brien was born in Oxford.
20
April
1968
After changing their name from Roundabout, English hard rock band Deep Purple played their first live concert as Deep Purple in Tastrup, Denmark.
24
May
1968
English rock band, Small Faces released their classic 4th studio album ‘Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake’.
24
May
1968
English rock band, The Rolling Stones released their massive hit single, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’.
28
May
1968
Multi-talented Australian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and sex symbol, Kylie Minogue was born in Melbourne, Victoria.
5
June
1968
Marc Bolan’s band Tyrannosaurus Rex released their debut album, ‘My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair… But Now They’re Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows’ in the UK.
15
June
1968
Acclaimed American jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery died of a heart attack at his home in Indianapolis at the age of 45.
28
June
1968
English progressive rock group Pink Floyd released their sophomore studio album, ‘A Saucerful Of Secrets’ in the UK. It was the only Pink Floyd album to feature both Syd Barrett and David Gilmour.
29
June
1968
The first Hyde Park Free Concert was held in London, UK, featuring Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Roy Harper.
5
July
1968
The legendary San Francisco live music venue Fillmore West opened its doors at 10 South Van Ness Avenue. It stayed at this location until 4 July 1971.
10
July
1968
English guitarist Eric Clapton announced that the blues/rock super group Cream were splitting up, after just 3 studio albums.
13
July
1968
Under their original name, Earth, English heavy metal pioneers, Black Sabbath played their first live concert at The Crown pub in Birmingham.
17
July
1968
The unique psychedelic animated film ‘Yellow Submarine’, featuring characters based on The Beatles premiered in London.
5
August
1968
Influential American country guitarist and principal sideman for Johnny Cash, Luther Perkins, one of the famed ‘Tennessee Three’, died tragically in a fire accident in Hendersonville, Tennessee at the age of 40.
9
August
1968
English blues/rock super group Cream released their 3rd studio album, ‘Wheels Of Fire’.
6
September
1968
English blues/rock guitarist Eric Clapton recorded the guitar solo on The Beatles’ song, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’.
7
September
1968
English rock band The New Yardbrids, later to become Led Zeppelin performed their live concert debut at Gladsaxe, near Copenhagen in Denmark.
14
September
1968
The animated series based around a fictional pop band, ‘The Archies’, from the original comic strip, premiered on CBS TV in America.
20
September
1968
English Heavy rock band, Led Zeppelin started recording their ground-breaking debut album ‘Led Zeppelin (I)’ in London, to be released in 1969.
7
October
1968
English singer, songwriter and guitarist with alternative rock band Radiohead, Thom Yorke was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
14
October
1968
English psychedelic folk rock duo Tyrannosaurus Rex released their 2nd studio album, ‘Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages’.
25
October
1968
Nine days after its American launch, The Jimi Hendrix Experience released their final studio album ‘Electric Ladyland’ in the UK.
9
November
1968
English hard rock band Led Zeppelin performed their debut London concert at The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm. Members’ tickets cost 16 shillings.
21
November
1968
English bass guitarist and songwriter, principally with Britpop band Blur, Alex James was born in Bournemouth.
22
November
1968
English group, The Beatles released their highly regarded 9th studio double album, ‘The Beatles’, a.k.a. the ‘White Album’ in the UK.
26
November
1968
Aside from their 2005 reunion gigs, English blues/rock super group, Cream played their final ‘Farewell Concert’ at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
29
November
1968
Emerging British/American blues/rock band Fleetwood Mac released their classic instrumental hit single ‘Albatross’.
6
December
1968
British rock band, The Rolling Stones released their classic 7th studio album, ‘Beggars Banquet’ in the UK.
24
December
1968
American blues/rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, prolific musical collaborator as well as solo artist, Doyle Bramhall II was born in Dallas, Texas.
5
January
1969
Controversial American rock singer and songwriter, Brian Warner, better known as the artist Marilyn Manson, was born in Canton, Ohio.
12
January
1969
British rock band Led Zeppelin released their self‑titled debut studio album, ‘Led Zeppelin’ on Atlantic Records in the UK.
13
January
1969
English band The Beatles released their studio album ‘Yellow Submarine’ as a soundtrack to the psychedelic animated film of the same name featuring the Fab Four.
14
January
1969
American singer, songwriter, drummer and guitarist with rock bands Nirvana and Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl was born in Springfield, Virginia.
22
January
1969
Legendary Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Neil Young released his eponymous debut album, ‘Neil Young’.
30
January
1969
English rock band The Beatles made their final live public performance, filming their famous unannounced rooftop gig atop the Apple Studio building in London for the film ‘Let It Be’.
21
February
1969
Welsh singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer with rock band Manic Street Preachers, James Dean Bradfield was born in Pontypool.
22
February
1969
Legendary English pop/rock band The Beatles started recording their classic studio album, ‘Abbey Road’ at the famous London recording studio of the same name.
24
February
1969
Anglo-American rock trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience performed their final UK live indoor concert at The Royal Albert Hall in London.
12
March
1969
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founder of indie rock/britpop band Blur, Graham Coxon was born in Rinteln, Germany where his father was stationed with the British Army.
7
April
1969
Legendary Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Leonard Cohen released his classic sophomore studio album, ‘Songs From a Room’.
9
April
1969
American folk rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan released his change of direction 9th studio album, ‘Nashville Skyline’.
13
May
1969
Prolific and inventive American rock guitarist, Buckethead (a.k.a. Brian Carroll) was born in Pomona, California.
14
May
1969
Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter, Neil Young with his band Crazy Horse released their sophomore studio album, ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’.
16
May
1969
Before pioneering glam rock, English singer, songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan with Tyrannosaurus Rex released their 3rd studio album, ‘Unicorn’.
23
May
1969
English rock band, The Who released their ground breaking epic rock opera double album, ‘Tommy’ in the UK.
26
May
1969
John Lennon and Yoko Ono promoted world peace through an 8-day ‘bed-in’ in Canada proclaiming ‘Give Peace a Chance’.
4
June
1969
American country artist Johnny Cash released his classic live album, ‘At San Quentin’, recorded at the (in)famous high security prison in California.
20
June
1969
Emerging English singer David Bowie recorded his first hit single ‘Space Oddity’ at Trident Studios, London.
3
July
1969
English guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and founder of The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones drowned in his swimming pool at his home in Hartfield, East Sussex at the age of 27.
11
July
1969
Emerging English rock singer and songwriter David Bowie released his classic debut single, ‘Space Oddity’ in the UK.
1
August
1969
The point at which aspiring rock band Earth changed their name to Black Sabbath, announced at a concert held at the Pokey Hole Club in Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK.
5
August
1969
American singer and songwriter Iggy Pop launched his long and varied music career, with or without The Stooges, with the release of his/their debut studio album, ‘The Stooges’.
15
August
1969
The legendary hippie counter-culture Woodstock Festival ‘Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Music’ Arts Fair began at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel, New York, attended by over 400,000 people. Tickets were priced at $6 per day. Artists included Melanie, Arlo Guthrie and Joan Baez.
16
August
1969
The second day of the legendary Woodstock Festival took place in upstate New York. Artists included Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Sly & the Family Stone, The Who and Jefferson Airplane.
17
August
1969
The third and (sort of) final day of the legendary Woodstock Festival took place on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre farm 43 miles south west of the town of Woodstock, New York state. Artists included Ten Years After, The Band, Johnny Winter, Blood, Sweat & Tears and CSN&Y.
18
August
1969
As the last of 32 acts, American guitar legend, Jimi Hendrix closed the fabled Woodstock Festival by playing a 2-hour set at 9:00 in the morning with a temporary band.
30
August
1969
After changing their name from Earth, English heavy metal pioneers, Black Sabbath played their first live concert as Black Sabbath at a local pub in Workington, Cumbria.
5
September
1969
Talented American guitarist, son of Frank and carrying on the formidable family legacy, Dweezil Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California.
7
September
1969
English guitarist, best known as a member of Britpop group Cast and his work with alternative rock artist Robert Plant, Liam ‘Skin’ Tyson was born in Liverpool.
22
September
1969
Canadian/American roots/folk/country rock artists, The Band released their classic self-titled 2nd studio album, ‘The Band’.
25
September
1969
American guitarist, songwriter, producer and one-time member of rock band Guns N’ Roses (2006-2014), Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal was born in Brooklyn, New York.
26
September
1969
Legendary English pop/rock band The Beatles released their classic final studio album with the iconic zebra crossing cover photograph, ‘Abbey Road’ in the UK.
3
October
1969
Influential American delta blues singer and guitarist Skip James died in Pennsylvania at the age of 67.
10
October
1969
American rock guitarist and composer Frank Zappa released his outstanding, classic career-peak studio album, ‘Hot Rats’.
10
October
1969
English progressive rock band King Crimson released their classic studio album, ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ in the UK.
16
October
1969
Anglo‑American rock trio the Jimi Hendrix Experience released their 3rd and final studio album, the classic ‘Electric Ladyland’ in the U.S.
18
October
1969
American music family, The Jackson 5 made their debut on American TV, appearing on ABC’s ‘Hollywood Palace’.
22
October
1969
English hard rock group Led Zeppelin released their classic multi-million-selling 2nd studio album, ‘Led Zeppelin II’ on Atlantic Records in the U.S.
28
October
1969
Award-winning multi-genre American guitarist, singer and songwriter Ben Harper was born in Pomona, California.
4
November
1969
English singer and songwriter David Bowie released his 2nd studio album, ‘David Bowie’ (also released as ‘Space Oddity’ after the hit single from the album).
7
November
1969
English progressive rock group, Pink Floyd released their 4th part live, part studio experimental double album, ‘Ummagumma’, with cover art by Hipgnosis.
14
November
1969
Cartoon bubblegum pop group, The Archies began the longest ‘one hit wonder’ UK singles chart-topping streak (8 weeks), with their classic song, ‘Sugar, Sugar’.
27
November
1969
American guitarist, singer and songwriter, a member of heavy rock band Alter Bridge, as well as pursuing many side projects, Myles Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
29
November
1969
English rock band, The Rolling Stones, released their classic 11th studio album, ‘Let It Bleed’ in the UK.
6
December
1969
A man was stabbed to death by a member of the Hells Angels during The Rolling Stones set at the infamous Altamont Free Festival in California.
14
December
1969
American music family, The Jackson 5 made their American Network TV debut, appearing on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’.
Tailpiece
Well there you go… that’s the 1960s in a proverbial (and quite sizeable) nutshell. An appreciation of music genre development and music facts from the 1960s catalogues the seemingly sudden eruption of creativity that took place against the background of momentous global events. The vibrancy and liberalism of the 1960s was exploratory, liberating and empowering for many, mostly young people at the time. Much of the optimistic idealism was, perhaps in hindsight, naively transient and disappointingly ephemeral. All good things come to an end and things were about to change quite fundamentally all over again.
How the heck do you follow the decade of decadence? Well, that will be the fascinating story of the 1970s, which will unfold in all its hedonistic, nihilistic grime and glory. Intrigued? Why not come back for the next enthralling episode of the ‘History of Music’. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “I’m glad I’m alive. What else would I do?”
Welcome once again all guitar and music aficionados. We are now half way through 2019 and not only are the evenings once again beginning to draw in but also the end of the ‘noughties’ is just a few months away. What a sobering thought. One wonders whether the 2020s will match the exhilarating heights (and lows) of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ of last Century. Sometimes, I doubt it and there are too many ‘harbingers of doom’ for optimism and hope to reign too strongly but perhaps it was ever thus – I hope I’m wrong. However, that sort of future speculation is for another place an time, as this month we are looking back to some 70‑80 years’ ago.
We are here in the midst of a series of articles chronicling the story of modern music by way of numerous guitar‑oriented facts and events. If you’ve been following the series so far, you’ll already know that, so I won’t bang on about it any longer.
If you would like to (re)visit the first three parts (and nearly 300 years) of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):
There are so many facets to the 1940s that to cover the 1950s as well would make for an overlong article, so for the sake of our mutual sanity, let’s take it one step (and decade) at a time. So… this month, we concentrate solely on the 1940s, a watershed decade during which epochal change was increasing in both pace, scale and scope. Without further ado, assuming you know the routine and format by now, let us dispatch our ‘boots on the ground’ and get on with the show. Onward to the fascinating Forties…
Historical Context 1940-1949
The 1940s was known simply, and rather unimaginatively, as ‘The Forties’. During the first half of the decade the world was dominated by major conflict and brutal warfare. As if the world had not already seen enough, almost as soon as WWII ended, the Cold War began, again raising international political and military tensions between the capitalist west and communist eastern blocs, a struggle that would last for several decades. Ordinary people in many countries suffered on‑going economic austerity, adversity and disadvantage for many years as a consequence of WWII. Socially, concerns over the possibility of widespread post‑war friction sat at odds with hopes for long‑term peace. Technological progress was closely linked to competitive military advances and many major innovations spawned during the 1940s would ultimately benefit future generations.
Year
Global Events
1940
Conservative MP Winston Churchill became British Prime Minister and would remain in power to lead Britain to victory in WWII.
The mass evacuation of more than 330,000 allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France to England took place during WWII.
In WWII, the German Luftwaffe carried out the ‘Blitz’, the massive air bombardment of London, UK.
The WWII aerial Battle of Britain took place in the skies over Britain and Europe.
1941
Russia entered WWII when German‑led Axis forces crossed the area covered by the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact, thereby effectively invading the Soviet Union.
The classic motion picture film, ‘Citizen Cane’ directed by and starring Orson Welles was released.
After 14 years of labour, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Black Hills, South Dakota was opened to the public, depicting the massive sculptures of four American presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
America joined WWII after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
1942
The classic movie, ‘Casablanca’ was premiered, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
1943
The world’s largest office building and headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, The Pentagon, was completed in Virginia.
1944
Operation Overlord (commonly known as ‘D-Day’) saw 150,000 allied troops successfully storm the beaches of Normandy in France against German defences.
1945
Germany surrendered to the allied forces, effectively ending WWII in Europe.
U.S. atomic weapons testing was undertaken at the Trinity nuclear test site in New Mexico as part of the research & development programme known as the Manhattan Project.
Two American atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan leading to unconditional surrender and the formal end of WWII. Over 60 million people were killed during the conflict.
The United Nations (UN) organisation was formed, with a mission to maintain international peace and security.
Democrat Harry S. Truman became 33rd President of the U.S.A. following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Nuremburg Trials began; a military tribunal established to prosecute the most prominent political and military leaders of Nazi Germany for war crimes during WWII.
1946
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), the first programmable electronic computer was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania.
1946/
1947
The Cold War between Russia with its neighbouring Eastern Bloc states and America with its western allies started and lasted until the collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union between 1889 and 1991.
The transistor semiconductor was developed by American technology company, Bell Labs in New Jersey.
1947
Italian motor company Ferrari started production of luxury sports cars in Modena.
American test pilot Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight in a rocket-propelled Bell X-1 aircraft that he nicknamed ‘Glamorous Glennis’, achieving a recorded top speed of Mach 1.06 (807.2mph) at an altitude of 45,000 ft.
1948
British author George Orwell wrote his prophetic dystopian novel, ‘1984’.
The independent state of Israel was established after the British pulled out of Palestine.
The British National Health Service (NHS) was founded and would become the model for universal health care in the country. The NHS was part of the wider liberal welfare state system reforms that were implemented the UK.
1949
The Communist People’s Republic of China was proclaimed by Chairman Mao Zedong.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was formed comprising 29 independent member states committed to mutual defence in response to an attack by any non‑member countries.
Well that is where the world was at, at the time. Now to refocus our attention onto the matter in hand, musical history.
Musical Genre Development 1940-1949
Music of the 1940s built on the sustained popularity of jazz, bebop and swing/big band music to provide upbeat positivity against the background of WWII, as played by Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Artie Shaw. Electric blues had spread to the west coast of America, particularly California, performed by artists such as T-Bone Walker and B.B. King. Chicago also became a vital locus for electric blues, as played by Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, as did Detroit with the likes of John Lee Hooker, and Indiana with Albert King and Jimmy Reed. Blues remained strong in the southern states, including artists like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Freddie King. Country and western music also became popular again with ‘singing cowboys’ such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. Wartime songs would feature across many musical genres and many entertainers helped to support the allied forces at home and abroad, including Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields and The Andrews Sisters. It was also during the 1940s that the influence of Latin music began to be felt across other genres, popularised by the likes of ‘The Brazilian Bombshell’, Carmen Miranda brought to western cinemagoers by film director Busby Berkeley.
Around 1945, bluegrass began to make its mark. Bluegrass fused many American, European and African roots styles culminating in a unique blend of country, folk, traditional and Appalachian mountain music incorporating blues and jazz influences. The music is usually played on acoustic string instruments including fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass. Bluegrass was particularly popular for dancing, including dance styles such as buckdancing, flatfooting and clogging. The term ‘bluegrass’ arose not only from a type of grass in the region near Kentucky but also from the name used by pioneers of the genre, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Monroe is often called the ‘Father of Bluegrass’ and his band notably featured Earl Scruggs on banjo and Lester Flatt on guitar. In the early days, bluegrass was categorised along with country & western, hillbilly and folk music before being defined as a discrete genre that remains popular today.
Traditional popular music is generally defined as having broad appeal for a wide audience and has existed throughout time and across the globe. While the ‘pop song’ originated in the 1920s, modern popular music is largely accepted to be Anglo‑American in origin and arose during the 1940s as the big bands declined and before rock & roll music took off in the mid‑1950s. Popular music was notable for structured song writing, often comprising repeated verse and chorus with a middle bridge section. Popular music was often based on musical standards, sung by ‘crooners’. In addition, popular music was also often composed by professional songwriters, which was then performed by a vocalist accompanied by a backing band or orchestra. Success was characterised by record sales and chart position as a measure of achievement. Perhaps the most famous popular music artists of the early popular music era were Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby who achieved enormous commercial success. The familiar term ‘pop music’ actually appears to have its origins in Britain in the mid‑1950s. Popular music is often referred to as, but not synonymous with, ‘pop’ music; however, pop music developed as a major separate genre during the 1960s and has largely remained so to the current day. Another characteristic is that popular music is constantly evolving into many different formats and styles to keep pace with social and cultural changes, including aging western populations. Traditional popular standards were being released well into the 1950s by the likes of Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole and Dean Martin.
During the late 1940s, there was already indicative evidence of the sounds that would coalesce and become what we now call rock ‘n’ roll during the 1950s, particularly by blues/R&B artists such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe. That fundamental step-change is now for the next article.
Musical Facts 1940-1949
Many legendary artists that we now take for granted as part of today’s musical landscape were not yet born or still mere fledglings yet to make their indelible mark on our collective consciousness. As with last month’s article, a large proportion of the musical facts relate to births of future stars.
Looking down the long list of nearly 200 musical events during the 1940s, it could quickly become repetitive, e.g. American/English blah‑de‑blah was born in blah, blah. However, just a scan of the names and places gives a sense about what these youthful individuals were experiencing as teenagers during the ‘big bang’ of rock ‘n’ roll and the tsunami of the ‘British Invasion’, just a few years later. Just think of the exposure they had to sweeping new music crazes and how the fads might have inspired and stimulated these curious youngsters on to great music careers that they could never have foreseen. Some of these fabulous flames would burn brightly and briefly, while others would endure as wizened veterans still working hard and influencing today’s generations. As time passes, the balance between births, lifetime achievements and, sadly, deaths will shift considerably.
Day
Month
Year
Music Fact
–
–
1940
American blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, Seasick Steve was born c.1940 or 1941 (date not disclosed) in Oakland, California.
27
July
1940
Billboard magazine published its first Music Popularity Chart. Topping the chart at No. 1 was Tommy Dorsey with his hit song, ‘I’ll Never Smile Again’.
9
October
1940
Massively influential of English singer, songwriter, guitarist, former member of The Beatles and successful solo artist, John Lennon MBE (1940-1980, 40) was born in Liverpool.
26
November
1940
Hugely influential English folk guitarist, Davey Graham (1940-2008, 68) was born in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.
21
December
1940
Prolific genius, American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer, the one and only Mr Frank Vincent Zappa (1940-1993, 52) was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
9
January
1941
Legendary perennial American folk/protest singer, songwriter, guitarist, and political activist, Joan Baez was born in Staten Island, New York.
15
January
1941
Influential American rock singer, songwriter and musician, Don Van Vliet (better known as Captain Beefheart) was born in Glendale, California.
24
January
1941
Acclaimed American singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor Neil Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York.
24
January
1941
English folk singer, songwriter and guitarist Michael Chapman was born in Leeds, Yorkshire.
14
February
1941
Prolific English studio session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan (1941-2012, 71) was born in Uxbridge, Middlesex. Sullivan appeared on about 750 chart singles including 54 chart toppers.
24
April
1941
Australian virtuoso classical and contemporary guitarist, as well as one-time member of instrumental fusion rock group SKY, John Williams was born in Melbourne.
24
May
1941
Nobel prize-winner for literature, American folk/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Bob Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota.
18
July
1941
Influential country/blues/rock guitarist and singer songwriter, Lonnie Mack (1941-2016, 74) was born in West Harrison, Indiana.
14
August
1941
American singer, songwriter and guitarist, founder of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, Hall of Famer, David Crosby was born in Los Angeles, California.
20
August
1941
The ‘grandfather of space rock’, English guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of psychedelic rock band Hawkwind, Dave Brock was born in Isleworth, Middlesex.
13
October
1941
Living legend, American singer, songwriter, guitarist, formerly half of Simon & Garfunkel and a successful solo artist, Paul Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey.
21
October
1941
Multi-Hall of Famer, American guitarist, songwriter, record producer and member of Stax Records’ house band Booker T. & the MG’s, Steve Cropper was born in Dora, Missouri.
28
October
1941
English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his uniquely distinctive work with The Shadows, Hank Marvin was born in Newcastle upon Tyne.
2
November
1941
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as an original member of instrumental pop/rock band The Shadows, Bruce Welch OBE was born in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
20
November
1941
Great American singer, songwriter, pianist and occasional guitarist Dr John was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
4
January
1942
English jazz/rock fusion guitarist, composer, solo artist and member of Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
28
February
1942
English guitarist and founding member of rock band The Rolling Stones, Brian Jones (1942-1969, 27) was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
2
March
1942
Legendary American virtuoso jazz guitarist Charlie Christian died from tuberculosis in New York at the age of just 25.
2
March
1942
American singer, songwriter and guitarist with The Velvet Underground and as a successful solo artist, Lou Reed (1942-2013, 71) was born in Brooklyn, New York.
24
April
1942
Oscar-winning American singer, songwriter, actress and film maker Barbra Streisand was born in New York City.
17
May
1942
Hugely influential American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, Taj Mahal (a.k.a. Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, Jr) was born in Harlem, New York.
1
June
1942
Highly influential virtuoso Spanish flamenco guitarist, Paco Peña was born in Cordoba.
18
June
1942
English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pop/rock bands The Beatles and Wings, as well as a successful solo artist, Sir Paul McCartney MBE was born in Liverpool.
13
July
1942
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of rock band The Byrds, Roger McGuinn was born in Chicago, Illinois.
1
August
1942
Influential American singer/songwriter and guitarist with Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia (1942-1995, 53) was born in San Francisco, California.
27
November
1942
A true music legend, American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, the one and only James Marshall Hendrix (1942-1970, 27) was born in Seattle, Washington.
31
December
1942
English guitarist, composer, member of rock band The Police and successful solo artist, Andy Summers was born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire.
10
January
1943
American folk/rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, Jim Croce (1943-1973, 30) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
19
January
1943
Legendary American psychedelic blues/rock singer Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas.
25
February
1943
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and member of The Beatles, George Harrison (1943-2001, 58) was born in Liverpool.
22
March
1943
Influential American jazz/soul/R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter, George Benson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2
April
1943
American jazz guitarist, the ‘Godfather of Fusion’, Larry Coryell (1943-2017, 73) was born in Galveston, Texas.
14
May
1943
Scottish bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of blues rock super group Cream, Jack Bruce (1943-2014, 71) was born in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire.
5
July
1943
Canadian guitarist, songwriter, composer, producer and former member of Americana rock group The Band, Robbie Robertson was born in Toronto, Ontario.
26
July
1943
English singer, songwriter and occasional guitarist, a founding member of rock band the Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger was born in Dartford, Kent.
28
July
1943
Renowned American blues guitarist and Hall of Famer, Mike Bloomfield (1943-1981, 37) was born in Chicago, Illinois.
24
August
1943
American guitarist and founder of west coast rock bands Quicksilver Messenger Service and Copperhead, John Cipollina (1943-1989, 45) was born in Berkeley, California.
6
September
1943
English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Roger Waters was born in Great Bookham, Surrey.
5
October
1943
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader, Steve Miller was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
3
November
1943
Sublimely talented Scottish guitarist and founding member of folk revival band Pentangle, Bert Jansch (1943-2011, 67) was born in Glasgow.
7
November
1943
Highly influential Canadian folk, jazz, rock and pop guitarist, singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta.
28
November
1943
Highly acclaimed American singer, songwriter and composer of numerous film scores, Randy Newman was born in Los Angeles, California.
8
December
1943
Iconic American singer, poet, counter-culture rebel and front man of rock band, The Doors, Jim Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida.
12
December
1943
American guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and founding member of rock band The Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.
18
December
1943
Legendary English guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of rock band The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards was born in Dartford, Kent.
21
December
1943
Hugely talented English guitarist and songwriter known for his country/rock hybrid picking style, Albert Lee was born in Lingen, Herefordshire.
31
December
1943
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, John Denver (1943-1997, 53) was born in Roswell, New Mexico.
9
January
1944
English musical innovator and legendary guitarist, best known for his work with hard rock band Led Zeppelin, the highly influential Jimmy Page OBE was born in Heston, Middlesex.
23
February
1944
Great American blues guitarist and Blues Hall of Famer, Johnny Winter (1944-2014, 70) was born in Beaumont, Texas.
1
March
1944
English singer, actor, founder and long-term front man of rock group The Who, Roger Daltrey was born in London.
23
March
1944
Trailblazing English guitarist and founder of blues/rock band Groundhogs, Tony McPhee was born in Humberston, Lincolnshire.
15
April
1944
Welsh rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer Dave Edmunds was born in Cardiff.
28
May
1944
American Motown legend and award-winning ‘Empress of Soul’, the formidable Gladys Knight was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
7
June
1944
American bluegrass and country rock guitarist who was a member of rock band The Byrds and an accomplished session musician, Clarence White was born in Lewiston, Maine.
8
June
1944
American singer, songwriter and guitarist, former member of the Steve Miller Band and a successful solo artist, Boz Scaggs was born in Canton, Ohio.
17
June
1944
Respected, versatile and prolific English session guitarist, singer and producer, Chris Spedding was born in Staveley, Derbyshire.
21
June
1944
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and former front man of pop/rock band The Kinks, as well as solo artist, Sir Ray Davies CBE was born in London.
24
June
1944
Outstanding and prolific English instrumental guitar genius, as well as former member of blues/rock band The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck was born in Wallington, Surrey.
8
August
1944
Renowned English guitarist and songwriter, known for his work with Bert Jansch and folk revival group Pentangle, John Renbourn (1944-2015, 70) was born in London.
16
August
1944
English singer, songwriter and guitarist with psychedelic rock band Soft Machine, as well as a successful solo artist, Kevin Ayers (1944-2013, 68) was born in Herne Bay, Kent.
9
October
1944
Legendary English bass guitarist with rock band The Who, nicknamed ‘The Ox’, John Entwistle (1944-2002, 57) was born in London.
19
October
1944
Jamaican reggae guitarist, singer and songwriter, a member of Bob Marley & The Wailers and a successful solo artist, Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica.
15
December
1944
Famous American big band leader and musician Glenn Miller was killed when the plane in which he was flying disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel during WWII at the age of 40.
18
December
1944
British guitarist, best known as member of progressive rock band Man, Deke Leonard (1944-2017, 72) was born in Llanelli, South Wales.
19
December
1944
Highly regarded English guitarist, singer, and member of blues/rock group Ten Years After, Alvin Lee (1944-2013, 68) was born in Nottingham.
3
January
1945
American guitarist, singer and songwriter, famous for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), Stephen Stills was born in Dallas, Texas.
6
February
1945
A true legend as well as a great ambassador for Jamaica and reggae music with The Wailers, Rastafarian singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Marley (1945-1981, 36) was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica.
9
March
1945
English blues/rock guitarist who came to fame as a member of rock band Procol Harum, before embarking on a long and successful solo career, Robin Trower was born in London.
11
March
1945
American guitarist, member of Canned Heat amongst others, and one of the first to popularise the two-handed tapping playing technique, Harvey Mandel was born in Detroit, Michigan.
30
March
1945
Highly renowned English blues/rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and Hall of Famer, Eric Clapton CBE was born in Ripley, Surrey.
13
April
1945
Great American guitarist, singer and songwriter with Little Feat, Lowell George (1945-1979, 34) was born in Hollywood, California.
14
April
1945
Hugely influential English guitarist and co-founder of hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow, as well as folk rock duo Blackmore’s Night, Ritchie Blackmore was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
6
May
1945
American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and leader of the Silver Bullet Band, Bob Seger was born in Detroit, Michigan.
19
May
1945
English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and member of The Who, Pete Townshend was born in London.
28
May
1945
American rock singer, songwriter, guitarist and former member of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Fogerty was born in Berkeley, California.
1
July
1945
American singer, songwriter, actress and founding member of rock band Blondie, Debbie Harry was born in Miami, Florida.
31
August
1945
Northern Irish rhythm & blues singer, songwriter and producer, Sir Van Morrison OBE was born in Belfast.
4
September
1945
Amazing American ‘Redneck Jazz’ guitarist, Danny Gatton (1945-1994, 49) was born in Washington D.C.
10
September
1945
Prolific Puerto Rican guitarist, singer and songwriter, José Feliciano was born in Lares.
11
September
1945
Extraordinary American multi-genre acoustic guitarist and a true master of his instrument, Leo Kottke was born in Athens, Georgia.
26
September
1945
English singer, songwriter and former front man of glam art rock band Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry CBE was born in Washington, County Durham.
3
October
1945
American singer Elvis Presley made his first public performance at the age of 10 when he sang ‘Old Shep’ at the Mississippi/Alabama Dairy Show talent competition. Reports say he came 2nd and won $5, while Elvis later recollected coming 5th and not winning a prize.
31
October
1945
English guitarist, singer, producer and one time member of rock band Argent, Russ Ballard was born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.
26
November
1945
English bass guitarist with rock bands John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and then Fleetwood Mac, John McVie was born in London.
30
November
1945
Welsh bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as a member of heavy rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow, Roger Glover was born in Brecon, Powys.
24
December
1945
English bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and founder of rock band Motörhead, Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister (1945-2015, 70) was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
25
December
1945
English bass guitarist and member of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Noel Redding (1945-2003, 57) was born in Folkestone, Kent.
3
January
1946
English bass guitarist, songwriter, former member of hard rock band Led Zeppelin, solo artist as well as a member of Them Crooked Vultures, John Paul Jones was born in Sidcup, Kent.
6
January
1946
English singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of psychedelic/progressive rock band Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett (1946-2006, 60) was born in Cambridge.
8
January
1946
American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a key member of rock band The Doors, Robby Krieger was born in Los Angeles, California.
19
January
1946
Larger-than-life American country music legend, successful business woman and actress, Dolly Parton was born in Pitman Center, Tennessee.
20
February
1946
American guitarist and leader of The J. Geils Band, John ‘J’ Geils (1946-2017, 71) was born in New York City.
6
March
1946
English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and former member of Pink Floyd, as well as a successful solo artist, the incomparable David Gilmour was born in Cambridge.
12
March
1946
Oscar-winning American singer and actress, Liza Minelli was born in Los Angeles, California.
1
April
1946
English bass player, singer, songwriter and founder of rock bands the Small Faces and the Faces, Ronnie Lane (1946-1997, 51) was born in Plaistow, Essex.
4
April
1946
English guitarist and member of pop/glam rock band Slade, Dave Hill was born in Holbeton, Devon.
16
May
1946
One of the great experimental English guitarists of our time and member of progressive rock band King Crimson, Robert Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset.
26
May
1946
Great English rock guitarist and close companion of David Bowie, Mick Ronson (1946-1993, 46) was born in Kingston upon Hull.
7
June
1946
Welsh guitarist and co-founder of progressive/psychedelic rock band Man, Micky Jones (1946-2010, 63) born in Merthyr Tydfil.
15
June
1946
English guitarist and singer with glam pop/rock group Slade, Noddy Holder MBE was born in Walsall, Staffordshire.
6
August
1946
Extraordinarily talented English virtuoso fusion/rock guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017, 70) was born in Bradford.
23
August
1946
Influential and eccentric English drummer and member of rock band The Who, Keith Moon, was born in Wembley, Middlesex.
5
September
1946
Flamboyant English singer with rock/pop band Queen, Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) was born in Stone Town in the Sultanate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania).
14
October
1946
English singer, songwriter and guitarist with rock band The Moody Blues, Justin Hayward was born in Swindon, Wiltshire.
29
October
1946
Highly acclaimed and influential English guitarist and co-founder of blues/rock band Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green was born in London.
5
November
1946
American country rock guitarist with The Byrds, Gram Parsons (1946-1973, 26) was born in Winter Haven, Florida.
17
November
1946
Great English guitarist, best known as a long-term member of rock band Jethro Tull, Martin Barre was born in Birmingham.
20
November
1946
Legendary American guitarist and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, nicknamed ‘Skydog’, Duane Allman (1946-1971, 24) was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
22
November
1946
Jamaican bass guitarist and producer who played with reggae bands Bob Marley & The Wailers and The Upsetters, Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett was born in Kingston.
24
December
1946
Dutch progressive rock and jazz fusion guitarist best known for his work with rock band Focus, as well as a long solo career, Jan Akkerman was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
30
December
1946
Influential American singer, poet and activist, part of the vibrant New York punk movement, Patti Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois.
–
–
1947
American session guitarist and collaborator, best known for his work with Steely Dan, Elliott Randall was born (exact date not known).
8
January
1947
A true legend, English singer, songwriter, occasional guitarist and actor, the one and only David Bowie (1947-2016, 69) was born in London.
22
January
1947
English punk pioneer, the manager of New York Dolls and the Sex Pistols, as well as a solo music artist, Malcolm McLaren was born in London.
30
January
1947
English ‘mod’ guitarist with rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, Steve Marriott (1947-1991, 44) was born in London.
3
February
1947
English guitarist, singer and songwriter who, along with his older brother Ray, provided the driving force behind pop/rock band The Kinks, Dave Davies was born in London.
14
February
1947
American multi-genre singer, songwriter and guitarist, Tim Buckley (1947-1975, 28) was born in Washington D.C.
15
March
1947
American musician, composer, songwriter and phenomenal slide guitarist, Ry Cooder was born in Los Angeles, California.
25
March
1947
Flamboyant multi-award-winning English pop singer, songwriter and pianist, Sir Elton John CBE was born in Pinner, Middlesex.
8
April
1947
Great English guitarist, songwriter and producer best known as a long-time member of progressive rock group Yes, Steve Howe was born in London.
1
June
1947
English guitarist with rock band The Rolling Stones and previously the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, Ronnie Wood was born in Hillingdon, Middlesex.
5
June
1947
American guitarist, singer, co-founder of funk band Sly And The Family Stone, and now a Christian pastor, Freddie Stone was born in Vallejo, California.
9
June
1947
English guitarist and long-time member of rock band Uriah Heep, Mick Box was born in Walthamstow, East London.
12
July
1947
Influential English guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pub rock band Dr. Feelgood, Wilko Johnson was born in Canvey Island, Essex.
19
July
1947
Award-winning English guitarist, astrophysicist, animal rights activist and co-founder of rock/pop band Queen, Dr. Brian May CBE was born in Hampton, Middlesex.
20
July
1947
Highly acclaimed Mexican/American guitarist, songwriter and main man for Latin/jazz/fusion/rock group Santana, Carlos Santana was born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco.
3
September
1947
Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist and founder of rock group Thin Lizzy, Eric Bell was born in Dublin.
30
September
1947
Massively influential English glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan of Tyrannosaurus Rex and then T.Rex (1947-1977, 29) was born in London.
1
October
1947
English bass guitarist, singer and founding member of rock band Wishbone Ash, Martin Turner was born in Torquay, Devon.
8
November
1947
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and former member of pop/rock bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and Wizzard, Roy Wood was born in Birmingham.
10
November
1947
English bass guitarist, singer and songwriter, famous for his work with progressive rock bands King Crimson and ELP, as well as a successful solo artist, Greg Lake (1947-2016, 69) was born in Poole, Dorset.
10
November
1947
American guitarist best known for working with the original Alice Cooper band, Glen Buxton (1947-1997, 49) was born in Akron, Ohio.
12
November
1947
American guitarist with rock band Blue Öyster Cult since its formation in 1967, Buck Dharma (a.k.a. David Roeser) was born in Long Island, New York.
20
November
1947
Great American guitarist, singer, songwriter, solo artist and member of country rock band Eagles, Joe Walsh was born in Wichita, Kansas.
8
December
1947
American guitarist, singer, songwriter and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman (1947-2017, 69) was born in Nashville, Tennessee.
21
December
1947
Highly influential Spanish virtuoso Flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucíá (1947-2014, 66) was born in Cadiz.
12
January
1948
English jazz fusion guitarist supreme and long-term member of progressive rock band Soft Machine, John Etheridge was born in London.
15
January
1948
American singer and frontman of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, the great Ronnie Van Zant was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
2
February
1948
American guitarist, songwriter, producer and ex-member of funk band Earth Wind & Fire, Al McKay was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
4
February
1948
Theatrical American rock singer, songwriter, actor and presenter, Alice Cooper was born in Detroit, Michigan.
19
February
1948
English rock guitarist with Black Sabbath and the ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal’, Tony Iommi was born in Birmingham.
2
March
1948
Legendary Irish blues/rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Rory Gallagher (1948-1995, 47) was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal.
2
March
1948
American jazz fusion guitarist, composer and prolific multi‑genre session musician, the great Larry Carlton was born in Torrance, California.
4
March
1948
Renowned English bass guitarist and co-founder of progressive rock band Yes, Chris Squire (1948-2015, 67) was born in London.
6
April
1948
Talented English multi-genre guitarist and composer, Gordon Giltrap was born in Brenchley, Kent.
30
April
1948
American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer and co-founder of rock band MC5, Wayne Kramer was born in Detroit, Michigan.
15
May
1948
Pioneering experimental English composer, producer, musician and founding member of glam rock band Roxy Music, Brian Eno was born in Melton, Suffolk.
18
June
1948
Columbia Records began mass producing the 33RPM long‑playing (LP) record. The original concept of the vinyl ‘album’ has endured and has undergone a retro revival in the digital age.
19
June
1948
Highly respected English singer, songwriter and guitarist, Nick Drake (1948-1974, 26) was born in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar).
20
June
1948
Scottish bass guitarist and founding member of 1970s pop group, The Bay City Rollers, Alan Longmuir (1948-2018, 70) was born in Edinburgh.
22
June
1948
American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, solo artist and founding member of progressive rock band Utopia, Todd Rundgren was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
17
July
1948
American guitarist and songwriter with Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Ron Asheton (1948-2009, 60) was born in Washington D.C.
2
August
1948
Welsh singer, songwriter, guitarist and founding member of rock band Amen Corner, Andy Fairweather Low was born in Ystrad Mynach.
24
August
1948
French electronic composer, instrumentalist and producer, Jean-Michel Jarre was born in Lyon.
31
August
1948
German rhythm guitarist, songwriter and founder of hard rock band Scorpions, Rudolf Schenker was born in Hildesheim.
11
September
1948
Hugely influential and innovative British singer, songwriter and guitarist, John Martyn (1948-2009, 60) was born in London.
8
October
1948
Pioneering American punk rock guitarist and songwriter with the Ramones, Johnny Ramone (1948-2004, 56) was born in New York.
12
October
1948
English guitarist and long-term member of rock band Status Quo, Rick Parfitt (1948-2016, 68) was born in Woking, Surrey.
6
November
1948
American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and founding member of country rock band Eagles, Glenn Frey (1948-2016, 67) was born in Detroit, Michigan.
3
December
1948
English singer, songwriter, TV personality and member of heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, nicknamed ‘The Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham.
13
December
1948
American guitarist, best known for his work with Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Spirit, Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter was born in Washington D.C.
13
December
1948
Controversial American singer, songwriter and guitarist, known for his ultra-conservative political views, the ‘Motor City Madman’, Ted Nugent was born in Redford, Michigan.
18
December
1948
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with experimental rock band Be-Bop Deluxe, Bill Nelson was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
22
December
1948
American guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Cheap Trick, Rick Nielsen was born in Elmhurst, Illinois.
17
January
1949
English guitarist and former member of blues/rock bands John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor was born in Welwyn Garden City.
19
January
1949
English pop/rock singer and songwriter and member of rock bands Vinegar Joe and the Power Station, Robert Palmer was born in Batley, Yorkshire.
7
February
1949
English bass guitarist and founding member of pop/rock band Status Quo, Alan Lancaster was born in London.
31
March
1949
Record company, RCA Victor released their first 45RPM 7″ single, ‘Texarkana Baby’ by Eddy Arnold… on green vinyl.
3
April
1949
English guitarist, singer, songwriter, solo artist and former member of folk rock band Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson was born in London.
4
May
1949
Scottish guitarist, best known for his work with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band in the 1970s, Zal Cleminson was born in Glasgow.
17
May
1949
English guitarist, singer, composer and founder of progressive rock band Camel, Andrew Latimer was born in Guildford, Surrey.
19
May
1949
American bass guitarist and long-term member of southern blues/rock band ZZ Top, Dusty Hill was born in Dallas, Texas.
29
May
1949
English singer, songwriter and guitarist with rock/pop band Status Quo, Francis Rossi OBE was born in London.
17
July
1949
Great English bass guitarist with heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, Terence ‘Geezer’ Butler was born in Aston, Birmingham.
12
August
1949
British guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, composer and co-founder of rock band Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler OBE was born in Glasgow.
20
August
1949
Irish bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of rock group Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, (1949-1986, 36) was born in West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England.
25
August
1949
Israeli/American bass guitarist, singer, actor, businessman and co-founder of rock band KISS, Gene Simmons, nicknamed ‘The Demon’ was born in Tirat Carmel, Haifa, Israel.
28
August
1949
English guitarist, singer, songwriter and ex-member of punk rock pioneers, The Stranglers from 1974-1990, Hugh Cornwell was born in London.
5
September
1949
English guitarist with rock bands Colosseum, Humble Pie and a successful solo artist, Clem Clempson was born in Tamworth, Staffordshire.
14
September
1949
American guitarist with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Gaines (1949-1977, 28) was born in Seneca, Missouri.
14
September
1949
American guitarist and bass guitarist with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ed King (1949-2018, 68) was born in Glendale, California.
23
September
1949
American living legend that is ‘The Boss’, Mr. Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch, New Jersey.
3
October
1949
American guitarist, singer and songwriter primarily with rock band Fleetwood Mac and now solo, Lindsey Buckingham was born in Palo Alto, California.
8
November
1949
American blues, rock, Americana roots and with a hint of country guitarist, singer, songwriter and activist, Bonnie Raitt was born in Burbank, California.
6
December
1949
American blues/folk guitarist and singer, Lead Belly (Huddie William Ledbetter) died of motor neurone disease in New York at the age of 61.
7
December
1949
Prolific and hugely influential American singer, songwriter, composer and actor, Tom Waits was born in Pomona, California.
13
December
1949
American singer, songwriter and guitarist with alternative post-punk rock band Television, Tom Verlaine was born in Denville, New Jersey.
16
December
1949
American guitarist, singer and songwriter with blues/rock band ZZ Top and solo artist, Billy F. Gibbons was born in Houston, Texas.
23
December
1949
American guitarist and singer with a long solo career and known for his work with British progressive rock band King Crimson and a host of others including Frank Zappa, David Bowie and Talking Heads, Adrian Belew was born in Covington, Kentucky.
Tailpiece
Well, that’s it for another month – that is a veritable roll call of rock ‘n’ roll, all packed into just 10 years. The thing that struck me most about this article is the overwhelming focus on America and Britain as the drivers for musical change in the 20th Century. Today, we readily accept a much more diverse, global infusion of styles and influences. One can pontificate that it had to start somewhere and these two countries largely made it happen bilaterally; maybe not exclusively but certainly predominantly. Unsurprisingly, perhaps given the period, it is also male dominated.
Just how quickly we proceed from here depends entirely on the volume of the content. At this rate, we could be at this for a while yet. I didn’t realise when I started, what a colossal exercise it was going to be. However, I have found it fascinating to focus on musical evolution through this lens and I hope that you have found something of interest along the way. Maybe the Forties were not a great deal of interest to you, they were certainly before my time. We will get around to other periods that may motivate your attention span in a different way, I promise… eventually.
We are now well past the chronological midway point but we haven’t yet reached half way in terms of content. The massive upsurge of musical events that took place over the latter part of the 20th Century has still to unfold fully, raising the anticipation of plenty more to come… and, boy, is there plenty more! The ambitious effort to bring an interrelated bunch of musical factoids to life within the context of the broader human condition continues unabated. I hope you will join me on the rest of the journey, hopefully reconvening here‑ish next month. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Material things feed the vanity of the ego, while music nourishes the spirit and sustains the soul.”
As the sizzling summer season of weekend music festivals draws to a close for another year, maybe it’s worth taking a look at this particular cultural phenomenon. It is perhaps tempting to think that open air festivals are a new-ish thing because they are one of the fads of the late ‘noughties’ and ‘teenies’. The modern ‘pop’ festival that we’ve come to accept as part of the summer musical landscape has actually been around for a very long time.
Festivals of the past
People have always performed to audiences out of doors, travelling troubadours, minstrels, bards, poets and entertainers roamed the countryside as a means of communicating news and passing on stories, so the social fabric of our communities has thrived and depended on al fresco musical and literary experiences for many, many centuries. Fast forward…
While it wasn’t the first large scale outdoor music event, perhaps the pivotal moment, and the granddaddy of what we now regard as the open air music festival, occurred between 15th and 17th (actually the 18th) August 1969 at Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York State, USA. The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, described by its organisers as “An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music” has passed into field music legend as a hippie pilgrimage and the dawn of a ‘new age’. Known to most simply as Woodstock, it was attended by around 400,000 people and had only 32 main acts. Now widely regarded in hindsight as a massively important event in modern music and a milestone in popular counter-culture, it was by many accounts, a soggy and shambolic experience, thereby setting the standard for modern festivals to learn from and improve upon. The top acts at Woodstock included Joan Baez, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Who and, ultimately on Monday morning, Jimi Hendrix. Regardless of the myths surrounding the event, it was probably as successful as it could have been. There is plenty of information about Woodstock on the hinterweb, so it isn’t repeated here. (Wikipedia… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock)
The next major festival event was the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK held between 26th and 31st August 1970. While the Isle of White pop festivals started in 1968 and had built a solid reputation for quality, 1970 became almost as legendary as Woodstock. It was certainly much bigger, attracting somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000 people. Given that the island had a resident population of less than 100,000 at the time, the scale of the event proved a logistical nightmare. Ultimately, it failed to make a profit, consigning the Isle of Wight Festival into hiatus for over 30 years. Acts included The Doors, The Moody Blues, The Who, Miles Davis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Jethro Tull, Leonard Cohen, Free and Jimi Hendrix. As with Woodstock, the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 has been well documented over the years. Wikipedia… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Wight_Festival_1970)
While both these events were essentially limited in longevity (1 and 3 years respectively), they spawned the annual programmes of modern music festivals. Perhaps the world’s most famous and successful music festival is Glastonbury Festival, held at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, UK, organised by Michael Eavis. While the first Pilton Festival (as it was called) on 19th September 1970 was attended by only about 1,500 people (rising to 12,000 in 1971), it has grown into a global phenomenon and arguably now sets the benchmark for the organisation of modern summer open air music festivals, including revived events on the Isle of Wight. Glastonbury had a shaky start, taking place intermittently until 1981 but has since settled into a regular feature not only of the festival scene but also an essential symbol of the modern festival zeitgeist. Attendance now hovers around 170,000 to 180,000 people. Festival nerds’ fact: The first Glastonbury Festivals were first held between 1914 and 1926 but were a far cry from the hippie movement of the early ‘70s. The history of Glastonbury Festival has also been well-documented elsewhere. (Wikipedia… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival)
Music festivals also seem to be synonymous with recreational drug taking, although less so these days where alcohol seems to be the drug of choice. I’m not going to cover substance (mis)use here, however, it cannot be overlooked within the broader context so, there you go, it has been mentioned.
I was too young to experience the historic festivals in the early years. So…
Festivals in the current day
Moving to the modern day, there is a massive diversity of open air music festivals across the globe and particularly across Europe and North America. The enormous growth in popularity of outdoor concerts has led to a veritable saturation of music (and indeed other types of) festivals every year, despite being inherently prone to meteorological unpredictability. So much so, that many events struggle to sell out and many have to work very hard to make a meagre profit, usually by finding a niche in the timing, scale or theme of a busy, full summer festival diary. Organisers work on their profit being made in the last few tickets sold (the vast majority of ticket sales go to covering costs of organisation, regulation and artist fees). Long gone is the hippie nirvana epitomised by the early ‘free festivals’ of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and based on a youthful rebellion against capitalist greed and institutional/social constraint. Some festivals have stayed true to their origins and retained ideological stance and continue to support worthy causes, including Glastonbury.
To many onlookers, the current festival scene must seem relatively homogenous with many bands regularly performing on the festival ‘circuit’, leaving little to differentiate between many of them. However, festivals do provide an ideal breeding ground for emerging new talent, eager to gain experience in front of massive receptive audiences. Specialisation is now common with both major and minor festivals adopting discrete genre-specific approaches, including indie, folk, heavy metal, pop and retro.
Success or failure of open air events can often depend on the weather, for instance, Glastonbury has become laughingly notable for the stubborn reliability of its mud. The festival has, however, become equally resilient to it, as it sells out on reputation within minutes every year, usually without any artist announcements beforehand. Automatic sell out is a remarkable achievement, especially considering its history and the volatile economic climate.
What I can’t adequately explain is the magnetic attraction of attending open air music festivals. Perhaps obviously, there is the opportunity to see a concentration of excellent music artists at relatively (!?!?) economic prices all at one location. Add to that the atmospheric vibe, festival girls, and the sheer other worldliness of a back-to-basics existence for a short time. There are also the surprises – the things one never expected to encounter that make it all worthwhile. However, the benefits have to be balanced with potential for poor weather, poor sanitation, poor transport and accessibility, discomfort and exhaustion, drunken idiots, more drunken idiots, irresponsible rubbish and the impossibility of fitting everything into a limited time period. However, there is something in the blood for veteran festival goers that just keep us returning to the fields on a regular basis. Go figure!
Those that don’t ‘get it’ will probably never understand, let alone be converted and it’s not worth trying to articulate the appeal of shivering outside in the middle of a muddy cow field listening to bands (good and bad) that you may not be able to see (other than on big screens) with sometimes poor sound systems. It is notable that live music festivals have continued to flourish despite the proliferation of Internet music, iTunes, music TV, etc. The current appetite for guitar music seems unquenchable, which is promising in this abominable X-Factor-obsessed world. Perhaps, in addition to my grumpy-old-man misanthropic attitude, there is also a bit of the diehard ‘festival snob’ coming to the fore, based on seeing the scene change over the years. So sue me!
Not forgetting CRAVE Guitars’ fundamental rationale, it is also great to see so many vintage guitars being used in earnest at big live events. These instruments are being used for their intended purpose, which is to make real music for festival aficionados, rather than being stored away in wealthy owners’ private collections. I would love to play on a major festival stage, along with one or two of my vintage guitars, rather than participate as part of the audience but, I have to be realistic, it just ain’t ever gonna happen now. Shame.
Personal circumstances now dictate that, like guitar buying, festival attendance is in hiatus, hopefully temporary but perhaps permanently. After 40 years, I have to report that there is an uncomfortable withdrawal effect in a festival-less summer. TV coverage of festivals is continually improving but, let’s face it, it just isn’t the same as the physical, spiritual and emotional endurance required to ‘enjoy’ the full festival experience.
What do modern festivals now represent in the current day? Peace & Love? The hippie ‘ideal’ has long since been consigned into the history books and mythology has been replaced with rampant commercialism, corporate exploitation and, sadly, a degree of youth complacency resulting from over-familiarity of the type. Rebellion? Where is the counter-culture revolution that fuelled those early historic festival events? Sadly it seems to have been diluted by the middle class desire to be seen to be ‘cool’. Fashion? It is fashionable to wear fashion at festivals – always has been. Sorry to burst your bubble but massive flares are unlikely to come back into fashion any time soon! Right of passage? Not necessarily any more, as the almost insurmountable challenge of attendance has been eased by the Internet, on-site glamping, showers and other, frankly, ludicrous festival facilities, especially for the growing abhorrent VIP ‘set’ who wouldn’t dream of getting their designer high heels or pristine white trainers muddy. Despite the vile elite, modern festivals have, I believe something for everyone, which is healthy.
Although festivals continue to attract the young and adventurous, many stalwart veterans still need the visceral on-site experience of the fetid festival ‘fix’. The age profile has changed significantly over the intervening decades since, for instance, Woodstock, with the ‘family unit’ currently well catered for. Thankfully, access for disability has also improved, although remains far from ideal.
The future
What of the future? Probably more of the same littered with subtle diversification and specialisation; it will, however, become an increasing challenge to distinguish one weekend from another – a field is a field is a field after all. There is, though, plenty of room for improvement to inspire current and future generations.
Size does matter (no matter what wimmins say!) – Big is sometimes better, however, small and intimate fields (a.k.a. ‘bijou’ festivals) also have many benefits, as ‘less can be more’. I will almost guarantee that there is now a festival somewhere for pretty much every taste. One thing is for sure, money is king, and always has been. Money and commercial interests will drive the development and survival of the festival phenomenon, rather than ideological passion. How long before there is a Starbucks franchise at our festivals? Place your bets please.
A festival veteran’s personal reminiscences
My personal festival ‘career’ began 40 years ago in the balmy heat of the summer of 1976 in the UK. My first outing was Knebworth Fair in 21st August 1976 with Todd Rundgren, 10CC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Rolling Stones. The second was Reading Festival (no Leeds at that time) on 27th to 29th August 1976 with Gong, 801, Rory Gallagher, Camel, Van der Graaf Generator, Colosseum and Ted Nugent amongst others. The third was Hyde Park Free Festival on 18th September 1976 with Kiki Dee, Steve Hillage and headliners, Queen. Quite an introduction for a teenage ‘festival virgin’!
The fact that I simply cannot clearly remember very much about the adventures of the ‘Summer of ‘76’ probably means that it was probably pretty enjoyable, despite all the inherent drawbacks (having stuff lost/stolen, travel problems, etc.). That was it, hooked.
Glastonbury Festival has been my adult mainstay, along with occasional much smaller ‘boutique’ events to fulfil the need.
The mist of time, and perhaps some naughty narcotics, tends to elevate the hazy highs and diminish the dodgy deficiencies. Thank heaven that others documented these occasions for posterity. I can’t begin to count the number of artists I’ve seen over the last 4 decades. What a journey.
The evolution of outdoor music festivals from the late 1960s to the current day is interesting (at least to me). It will also be fascinating to observe what happens to them in the future. Hopefully, I can be at some of them to celebrate at the altar of live field music first-hand. See you in the inevitable quagmire. Until next time…
CRAVE Guitars ‘Music Quote of the Month’: “Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Excess in all three, at least at the same time, is not recommended. Compliance, however, seems to be modern music’s one abiding law.”