The History of Rock: For Big Fans and Little Punks
ROCK COWBOYS It’s only fair to ask what are these Country musicians coming from a traditional musical style doing in a book on Rock This type of question will pop up often but the answer is simple Johnny Cash especially was a rebel and his music was simple and direct just like Rock itself Rock isn’t just a music style it’s also an attitude Besides these musicians were and still are admired by a lot of Rock artists JOHNNY CASH Johnny’s musical career started right about the time Rock and Roll was breaking out yet his heart was in Country music At 12 he was already writ ing songs inspired by this traditional style which he heard on the radio He worked in cotton fields and at an automobile plant and also served in the Air Force yet despite the harshness of these jobs he taught himself how to play the guitar and got to record his first songs by 23 He achieved a lot of suc cess but his rebelliousness made him go astray and landed him in prison seven times When free he enjoyed playing in prisons because he em pathized with the inmates He had a deep cavernous voice and a sad humble and dark look which gave him the nickname Man in Black Johnny Johnny Cash knew how to hypnotize himself if you believe that sort of stuff debut album 1956 origin Kingsland AR genre Rock and Roll Country Folk Gospel famous songs I Walk the Line Folsom Prison Blues Ring of Fire 10 Cash was a Rock fan so much so that in the last stage of his career Cash covered several Rock artists Some of them are in this book like The Beatles Bruce Spring steen Nick Cave Depeche Mode Beck and Nine Inch Nails among others Despite having been one of the greatest Country artists of all time Johnny has become a reference in the history of Rock OTHER MUSICIANS be all ears HANK WILLIAMS Hey Good Lookin I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry MERLE HAGGARD Mama Tried Okie from Muskogee THE BAND Up on Cripple Creek The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down EMMYLOU HARRIS Two More Bottles of Wine Tulsa Queen KENNY ROGERS Coward of the County The Gambler EAGLES New Kid in Town Hotel California
cowboys rock the ones he sang himself Willie returned to Texas in the 70s and never stopped writing and singing He is one of the most successful Country composers and musicians At 85 he had al ready released 68 records and was playing between 150 and 200 concerts per year debut album 1962 origin Abbott TX genre Country Blues Jazz famous songs Crazy On the Road Again Pancho and Lefty Funny How Time Slips Away WILLIE NELSON Willie and his older sister were raised by their grand parents who loved music and passed this passion to their grandchildren teach ing them how to play the guitar and piano By 1939 his grandfather gave him his first guitar he was only 6 years old and the follow ing year he started writing songs He enlisted in the Air Force studied agricul ture and worked as a Ra dio DJ but never forgot his passion for Country mu sic In 1960 he moved to Nashville where he start ed writing music for oth er musicians Some of the songs he wrote for them were more successful than Dolly has no children of her own but she does have a very special goddaughter Miley Cyrus A little before his 81st birthday in 2014 Willie showed his great physical shape by winning his fifth degree black belt in GongKwon Yusul a martial art DOLLY PARTON Dolly was born into a big family with a total of 12 siblings Her family was poor but that did not stop her mother who knew how to sing and play the guitar giving Dolly a love for music As with many artists in this book it all started with a guitar only in this case it was even more impressive Dolly built her own guitar when she was seven A year lat er her uncle gave her a real one By 10 she was already playing on radio and tele vision shows and record ed her first song when she was 13 Her career started at 21 she wrote her own lyrics and music and sang her songs but also wrote for others and had hit after hit since then She recorded almost as many records as Willie Nelson and starred in many films She’s over 70 now but is still very active and filled with ideas for new pro jects debut album 1958 origin Locust Ridge TN genre Country famous songs Jolene I Will Always Love You Here You Come Again 9 to 5 Islands in the Stream 11
Lucille MISSISSIPPI BLUES Blues music appeared in the USA in the Mississippi River Delta by the end of the 19th century The Blues rhythm has roots in African musical traditions work songs spirituals and folk music Blues gave rise to almost all the 20th century American music genres including Jazz R B Rock and Roll and Soul Blues gave birth to Rock but was also influenced by its child Blues Rock combines elements of Blues and Rock and Roll and is heavily based on the electric guitar It started in the mid-1960s both in England and in the United States with bands like Cream The Rolling Stones and Creedence Clearwater Revival which were Rock bands that experimented with Blues songs Howlin Wolf’s grandfather told him scary stories about howling wolves and how they would catch him should he misbehave One of King’s trademarks was naming his guitars Lucille HOWLIN WOLF Chester Arthur Burnett was Howlin Wolf’s real name Chester grew up on a cotton plantation where he heard tradition al Mississippi songs He started singing and play ing the guitar at an early age as a teenager he was already playing some small clubs He was influenced by some of the early Blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson Sonny Boy Williamson and Charley Patton By 1948 he had formed his first band and three years later he record ed his first song which became a hit By then he had moved to Chicago where he helped trans form the acoustic sound of Blues into an electric one Howlin Wolf was a great guitar and harmonica player but his best instru ment was his voice deep and profound and filled with power and authen ticity debut album 1951 origin White Station MS genre Blues famous songs Smokestack Lightnin Back Door Man Killing Floor Spoonful B B KING Just like Howlin Wolf Riley Ben King was born on a Mississippi cotton plantation where his par ents worked He had a rough childhood and was raised by his maternal grandmother At that time he sang Gospel in a church choir and by 12 he got his first guitar with which he learned how to play By the mid-1940s he moved to Memphis and became a DJ at a local radio station where he was nicknamed B B for Blues Boy It was on the radio that his music became successful earning him a record con tract Throughout the next decade B B King stood 12 tall as one of the biggest names in Blues and still reigns supreme B B re corded dozens of albums and performed hundreds of concerts giving Blues a new style and popularizing the genre all around the world debut album 1956 origin Itta Bena MS genre Blues r&b Rock famous songs Rock Me Baby The Thrill Is Gone
I'm a maaaaaaan MUDDY WATERS Like these other Blues artists McKinley Mor ganfield grew up on a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta He was raised by his grand mother and earned the nickname Muddy be cause he enjoyed playing in mud puddles Waters was added to his name a few years later By 13 he was already playing the harmonica at local parties and by 17 he had bought his first guitar inspired by the Delta Blues artists When he turned 30 he moved to Chicago work ing by day as a truck driver and in a paper mill while trying his luck as a musi cian by night A few years later he recorded his first songs and the following decade he released some of his biggest successes debut album 1960 origin Issaquena County MS genre Blues famous songs Mannish Boy Hoochie Coochie Man I Just Want to Make Love to You becoming one of the most influential musicians in the genre blues mississippi Despite being fast with the guitar Eric Clapton was nicknamed Slowhand OTHER MUSICIANS be all ears JOHN LEE HOOKER Crawling King Snake Boom Boom LYNYRD SKYNYRD Free Bird Sweet Home Alabama THE JEFF BECK GROUP Going Down Situation SANTANA Black Magic Woman Oye Como Va STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN Look at Little Sister Little Wing THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Midnight Rider Ramblin Man DR FEELGOOD She Does It Right Roxette DIRE STRAITS Sultans of Swing Brothers in Arms Keith Richards The Rolling Stones guitar player stated that his band was named like that because of the Muddy Waters song with the same name Supposedly he had the idea when during an interview he saw a record on the floor with the name of the song facing up ERIC CLAPTON Unlike the others in this chapter Eric Clapton was born in England He’s a lot younger too He got a guitar for his 13th birth day He wasn’t able to play it immediately so he gave up but after a while he picked it up again and never stopped again He played old Blues records on a loop until he was able to play them by heart He was playing so well that he dropped out of art school By 17 he started his first band and joined The Yardbirds in 1963 leaving right about the time the band got some success He went through a couple of projects before joining Cream who despite hav ing lasted only two years are considered one of the most important bands of their time By then Eric was already considered one of the best guitar play ers in England After being part of so many bands he ended up becoming a solo artist achieving enormous success He is still con sidered one of the all time best guitarists in the world debut album 1970 Yardbirds 1964 Cream 1966 origin Ripley genre Blues Rock famous songs Tears in Heaven Layla Wonderful Tonight 13
