Steve Hackett - The Obliterati

By the 1970s, rock music became the most preferred type of music and most mainstream... Rock music tends to have a negative label towards it, but it’s not as aggressive and dangerous as it’s made out to be. It’s simply a band or artist wanting a voice and spreading a message they feel passionate about. However, there is still such a large group of people who love and enjoy a good rock song. 

Rock music has a beat, a rhythm, a personality, and character. This is something not found in any other genre. It moves in stride with one’s heart and promotes the desire to be alive and stay alive. People can relate to the real life stories that happened to them as well, they see the artists as their buddies, as equals in some sense. Rock has always been against everything, sometimes just out of the fun, like the punk scene general attitude. Rock music talks to the audience’s emotions.

The more complex the music is, the more progressive the audience will be. These songs are written from the heart, from the human emotional side. When it comes down to it, music is a reflection of the times and the ideas of that age.

Source: What Makes Rock Music so Popular? by Ariana Bruno

Steve Hackett - The Obliterati

• Produced by: Roger King
• Released: Sep 10, 2021
• Written by: Roger King and Steve Hackett

"Steve Hackett is renowned as an immensely talented and innovative rock musician. He was lead guitarist with Genesis as part of their classic line up with Gabriel, Collins, Banks and Rutherford."

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Michel Legrand - A Night in Tunisia

Nowadays, Rockstar are viewed as outlying rebels, and that rebellious spirit has its origins in the hardy folks who pioneered it. The church was always wary of alternative forms of spiritualism being propagated back in the day, and the blues musicians of old, with their Vodou undertones, represented something to keep an eye on, to say the least. 

This all came to the fore when hard times hit. The great depression impact everyone and it also made the sombre tones of a blues player spiritually appealing. Thereafter, a busker’s open guitar case ended up competing for the same kindness of strangers as the pastor’s collection pot. Thus, blues players like Robert Johnson were decreed as being in league with the devil. 

If a pastor was saying you could pray your hardships away and Johnson was crooning that your cursed ways were fated and your best off smoothing them out with song then a face off for an audience was inevitable. Church attendance dwindled while dive joints attracted an alternative crowd. Thus, suddenly pastors made the matter bipartisan and warned those sitting on the fence of religion and rock ‘n roll that Johnson was singing the devil’s and to drop him a dime would surely lead to damnation. 

Source: A brief history of why rock ‘n’ roll is called ‘the devil’s music’ by Tom Taylor

Michel Legrand - A Night in Tunisia

• Release on: December 12, 1958
• Duration: 6:49
• Released on: Legrand Jazz

"Michel Jean Legrand was a French composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. A prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many memorable songs."

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Dinah Washington - I Only Know

The style of music that came to be known as rock ’n roll grew out of many other American musical styles, most notably blues, played mostly, but not only, by African Americans, and country, played primarily, but not only, but whites. Perhaps the clearest musical predecessor of rock ’n roll is the jump blues and swing style of the 1940s, typified by the music of Louis Jordan and Louis Prima. Once electric guitars gained wider use, they replaced the saxophone as the small band’s lead instrument, this change was one of the most important developments in rock ’n roll.

After a brief period of popular success, things went wrong for most of rock ’n roll’s early stars... And important dance/radio disc jockey Alan Freed, the man many credit for naming rock ’n roll, faded from the scene in disgrace after a payola, accepting bribes to play specific songs on the radio, scandal.

Meanwhile, big business had discovered that there was a market for this thing called rock ’n roll, so in the absence of many of rock’s original heroes, they manufactured new ones to take their place. This teen idol era featured many disposable, often musically and visually interchangeable, artists, but behind the scenes, true creativity was at work. The so called Brill Building style of pop songwriting launched the careers of many important songwriters who would go onto fame in their later years.

Source: A Brief History of Rock’n’roll…Because, Why Not? by Bill Kopp

Dinah Washington - I Only Know

• Released in: 1950
• Genre: Jazz, Blues
• Written by: Dinah Washington and Richard Johnson

"Although best known as singer, Dinah Washington also wrote two of her Top 10 R&B hits. No matter what style of music she was singing, she displayed a tough, totally unsentimental grasp of the heartbreaking theme of lost love."

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Living Colour - Behind The Sun

R&B, with its infectious rhythms and emotive vocal delivery, played a significant role in the development of rock and roll. Artists like Louis Jordan and Big Joe Turner infused their music with the kind of energy and groove that would become a hallmark of rock and roll.

The soul stirring sounds of gospel music also left an indelible mark on early rock and roll. Gospel’s passionate vocals and emotional intensity found their way into the music of many rock and roll pioneers. Elements of country and western music, particularly the use of guitars, added a distinctive twang to the rock and roll sound. Pioneers like Bill Haley and Elvis Presley drew from these genres, bridging the gap between rural and urban musical traditions.

Jump blues, characterized by its up tempo beat and swinging horn sections, contributed to the energetic feel of rock and roll. Artists like Louis Prima and Wynonie Harris brought this dynamic style to the forefront.

In the 1950s, rockabilly emerged as a subgenre, blending country and rhythm and blues. Artists like Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins embodied this raw, energetic style with their distinctive vocal delivery and guitar driven melodies.

Source: Who Invented Rock And Roll? by James Hardy

Living Colour - Behind The Sun

• Released in: 2009
• Genre: Rock
• Released on: Collideøscope album

"The Living Colour consists of Corey Glover, lead and backing vocals, Vernon Reid, guitars and backing vocals, Doug Wimbish, bass and vocals, Will Calhoun, drums and backing vocals."

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The Jesus And Mary Chain - Moe Tucker

If the genesis of rock & roll has proven anything, it is that music tends to cross boundaries, brings people together, and is able to both define and dissolve stereotypes. As the races are musically divided once again, in the 1990s rap suddenly comes in connection with rock music and progresses to nu metal or rap rock. World famous 90s’ and early 2000s’ bands like Linkin Park, KoRn, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Rise Against the Machine or the Beastie Boys are famous representatives of the genre and dominated pop culture for at least a decade. Even though most of these bands are white, there are also collaborations instigated by Black rap artists.

What can be established of the history of rock & roll? The genre and youth culture which emerged from late Forties’/early Fifties’ Black R&B was influenced and affected by a multitude of ethnic stimuli and eventually developed into a highly esteemed industry. With unprecedented drive it instilled in many the feeling of freedom, revolt and self expression. But money and politics coloured it white and caused it to turn its back to its subversive roots, passing on a false rock is white narrative to future generations. The analogy of rock’s genesis and its many waves of racial separation and approximation reflects the ideologies of its time. All the more important is keeping up the part of history which is excluded from the history books.

Source: A BrIef History Of African-American Influence On Rock & Roll by Mercy Ferrars

The Jesus And Mary Chain - Moe Tucker

• Released in: 1998
• Genre: Rock
• Written by: Jim Reid

"Before forming The Jesus And Mary Chain, the brothers had spent five years on the dole, during which they wrote and recorded songs at home and worked out the sound and image of the band."

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The Rolling Stones - Living In The Heart Of Love

Despite the major influence blues had on the formation of rock n roll, Blues Rock fusion did not explode or become mainstream until around the late 1960s. Through the integration of the classic three chord blues instrumentation, a deep bass line and improvisation combined with roaring amplification, blues rock fusion captivated audience with their soulful sound. The long improvisations that were heavily reminiscent of jazz and blues music, took on a new sound with the use of electric instruments. The extemporization of stylistic, lengthy guitar riffs has become one of the more recognized elements of blues rock, and later rock music in totality. Upon listening to the tracks and guitar licks of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, these intricacies have come to represent the kindred spirit of rock and the blues. The creation and manipulation of guitar notes to emulate the distinctive cry sound is now the forefront of rock sound. As the blues pushed a similar agenda, in which it sought to generate music that was strong and authentic, yet vulnerable and unbridled. By inciting raw emotions through both riffing improvisation and booming amplification, the subgenre of blues rock made yet another groundbreaking entrance into the music industry. The fervent intensity of rhythmic instrumentation, sound manipulation and amplification ignited a fiery passion in audiences and listeners throughout the world, one that was previously unheard of. The deliverance of such raw emotion evocative of the blues with a rock approach was groundbreaking, inspiring the likes of influential artists..  procuring the spawn of new genres effectively.

Blues Rock fusion deviated from the slower, softer and more traditional sounds of early classic rock, exhibiting accelerating tempos, strong back beats, and a more in your face, aggressive sound. As this unconventional yet alluring style gained more of a following, it coincided and was enhanced by the counterculture movement of mid/late 1960s, to the early/mid 1970s. Change was moving fast, revolutionized by the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights Movements, procuring a youthful subculture that embraced exploration and experimentation with sexuality, drugs, and of course music, in defiance of generational rigidity, racism and war. Music was utilized as a way to spread love, end hate, and encourage change, with blues rock artists and sounds being vital contributors. Now more than ever, rock stepped outside its boundaries both culturally and musically, revolutionizing new sounds to inspire and continue change in society.

Source: The Expansiveness of Rock n’ Roll: Blues Rock by anonymous

The Rolling Stones - Living In The Heart Of Love

• Produced by: The Glimmer Twins
• Vocals: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
• Genre: Rock, hard rock

"The Rolling Stones continued to record and perform, and while their albums weren't always blockbusters, they were never less than the most visible band of their era, with a broad fan base and far reaching popularity."

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Lee Hazlewood - Mother Country Music

The end of Prohibition in 1933 forced many musicians out of the illegal drinking clubs and into the open. Jazz adapted its style for wider appeal, tailoring itself to the dance hall in the form of big bands and swing. Bandleaders Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Paul Whiteman led the change.

R&B, characterised by the rolling guitar rhythms... became big business in the US in the early 1950s. Country music also became increasingly commercial... A mixture of black rhythm and blues and white country music produced the dominant style of the new decade, rock 'n roll.

The regular beat and youth targeted lyrics appealed to teenagers, and the first music charts, which appeared in the US in the late 1940s and in Britain in 1952, confirmed the genre’s popularity... The evolution of music, Blues, jazz and the rise of popular music.

Source: The evolution of music: Blues, jazz and the rise of popular music by Mandi Goodier

Lee Hazlewood - Mother Country Music

• Composed by: Joe Nixon
• Vocals by: Lee Hazlewood
• Genre: Pop

"Lee Hazlewood's collaborations with Sinatra as well as his solo output in the late 1960s and early 1970s have been praised as the sound often described as cowboy psychedelia or saccharine underground."

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Thee Sacred Souls - Trade of Hearts

The most widely held belief is that the first rock 'n roll single was 1951's Rocket 88, written by Ike Turner, sung by Jackie Brenston, the saxophone player from Turner's backing band The Kings of Rhythm, and recorded by Sam Phillips, who later went on to found Sun records and discover Elvis Presley. I've had this argument with many many people over the years, but when people talk about rock 'n roll, my own personal view would be Rocket 88.

Some, however, feel that Rocket 88's reputation may have more to do with Sam Phillips's vociferous later claims he had discovered rock 'n roll long before he discovered Elvis than with its actual sound. Despite featuring a distorted guitar and a lyric which, in true rock 'n roll style, conflates the power of the singer's car with his virility, it apparently lacks those all important snare accents.

But if the flow of information and number of available recordings has increased over the years, then the number of people with first-hand memories of the postwar rhythm and blues scene has dwindled to almost nothing.

Source: Will the creator of modern music please stand up? by Alexis Petridis

Thee Sacred Souls - Trade of Hearts

• Produced by: Bosco Mann
• Released on: Feb 25, 2022
• Genre: Funk, Soul

"Thee Sacred Souls's first club dates led to a record deal with the revered Daptone label, their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard."

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The Psychotic Reactions - Skip To My Lou

It expresses the emotions of angst, anger, and lust in some of the only ways that are accepted by society. The history of this edgy music genre dates back to the 1950s. It was formed by a combination of the blues, gospel music, and country. Throughout the decades, rock ‘n roll has evolved and become famous for being the genre that’s continued to push the boundaries of music, and, sometimes, the cultural boundaries of society itself.

In the 1950s rock ‘n roll could be defined as rhythm and blues. In the 1960s it was partial to new musical styles such as folk rock and soul. And in the 1970s hard rock was born. From the 1980s to the present, technology has had an enormous impact on the music industry.

Good taste is the enemy of the revolution. This remark epitomizes the spirit of rock ‘n roll. You’re not expected to conform, you’re expected to be yourself… no matter what anyone thinks. You are admired deeply for expressing emotions such as anger, heartbreak, and sadness through music in a way that is embraced.

Source: Going Against The Grain: The True Meaning Of Rock 'n Roll

The Psychotic Reactions - Skip To My Lou

• Recorded by: Jay Harris
• Music by: Hannah Smillie
• Released on: September 2017

"The Psychotic Reactions was formed in 2017 and consists of Hannah Smillie, Jacob McAneny, Nick Ireland, and Rory Lowe-McLoughlin."

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Gentle Giant - So Sincere

Blues rock music is a genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It emerged in the 1960s and gained popularity in the 1970s... Blues songs typically features heavy guitar riffs, prominent bass lines, and soulful vocals. The genre has continued to evolve over the years, with contemporary artists such as The Black Keys and Gary Clark Jr. keeping the tradition alive.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the genre continued to evolve and diversify. Bands such as Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, and ZZ Top incorporated elements of country, folk, and psychedelia into their music, while still maintaining a strong blues influence.

Blues rock music is a genre that has stood the test of time. It’s a genre that’s deeply rooted in emotion and storytelling, with a signature sound that’s instantly recognizable. While the genre has evolved over the years, it still maintains the core elements that make it a beloved style of music. With talented musicians continuing to push the genre forward, blues rock is sure to remain a staple in the music world for years to come.

Source: History Of Blues Rock Music by Annika Hope 

Gentle Giant - So Sincere

• Released on: September 22, 1974
• Genre: Progressive rock
• Duration: 37:11

"Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music."

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PJ Harvey Verified - Change In C

The term rock ‘n roll was coined in 1951 by a Cleveland radio DJ named Alan Freed. Freed worked for a major radio station during a time when large stations were known to only play music by white artists to cater to their white audience members.

By the 1940s, R&B had established itself as a black genre, with artists like Fats Domino and Arthur Crudup leading the way. Soon after, record labels took notice of the new style of music and wanted to capitalize on it. But they did not want the authentic, original black artists, they wanted marketable artists, ones who could be televised... Today, there is an appreciation for the talent and artistry of many black rock ’n roll pioneers like B.B. King, Chuck Berry and later greats, such as Jimi Hendrix and Prince. But the story of how rock ‘n roll got to where it is today is not always told. Its shady history is deliberately hidden.

Source: Who were the real pioneers? by Wembo Tiapo

PJ Harvey Verified - Change In C

• Written by: PJ Harvey
• Composed by: PJ Harvey
• Released on: All About Eve album

"Among the accolades PJ Harvey has received are both the 2001 and 2011 Mercury Prize, respectively, making her the only artist to have been awarded the prize twice."

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Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning

Blues music takes a fatalistic and noncommittal attitude when facing the future. The people

who first created the blues did not see how their lives would improve. Poor, uneducated, and above all black, blues singers did not hold out much hope that white America’s dream would ever come their way. Blues lyrics accepted their lot in life yet encouraged the struggle. As Michael Bane noted, this attitude is at the heart of most folk music.

Blues was people’s music, a shared language between those who played it and those who listened and danced to it. As the music of African Americans it held dual qualities of being truthfully fatalistic about its people’s future and containing no overt political messages, while being oppositional to and subversive of white music and culture through its sound, its expression, and its methods of performance. 

Blues music never became popular music. In twentieth century America, popular meant

mainstream and mainstream meant white and middle class. Charles Hamm defined popular song as music composed to be popularized through secular performance, then reproduced and marketed to be consumed by a wide audience. The popular song form that blues and later rock music rebelled against the most was the Tin Pan Alley songwriting style that dominated popular music from the turn of the century to the advent of rock and roll in the mid 1950s. Hamm identified the trademark style of these songs. Virtually all Tin Pan Alley songs are in verse chorus form. For the first

several decades of the new era, songs normally had three or more verses, which lay out a brief drama, the chorus follows each verse with a

commentary on the emotional situation developing in the verses. The verse is usually twice as long as the chorus, but the chorus has the more memorable music, the tune which the songwriter hopes will appeal to his listeners and stick in their minds.

Hamm chronicles the eventual standardization of the song form and its movement toward stating a single theme or emotional state and structuring the song to make that point as clear and memorable as possible. Songs were kept simple and short in order to fit into the limited length of a phonograph record, which along with sheet music were the ways by which a song made money for its writer and publishing company. In contrast to the emphasis given both individual interpretation of a standard form and circumlocution in blues music, Tin Pan Alley songs were written and performed to state a single point clearly and simply.

Source: Rock 'n' Roll Stew: The Rolling Stones and Blues Music through the Looking Glass of American Culture in the 1960's by Henry Canning Woodward

Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning

• Genre: Pop, Rock, British Metal
• Recording in: 1983
• Recording in: Boathouse, London, England

Thin Lizzy · Thunder and Lightning

"Thin Lizzy fully came into their sound on 1975 and cracked the charts in the U.K. Lizzy's big break came in 1976, The Boys Are Back in Town. A paean to the joys of working class guys letting loose."

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Mildred Bailey - The Lonesome Road

Rock ‘n Roll and blues have left a lasting impact on the music industry and are celebrated and revered by fans and musicians alike. Rock ‘n Roll has become an international phenomenon and a symbol of youthful rebellion and freedom. In contrast, blues music has been recognized as a crucial part of African American culture and history.

Both genres have also inspired countless musicians and artists and continue to be a source of inspiration and creativity for contemporary artists... Rock ‘n Roll and blues are two iconic genres that have greatly influenced the music industry and continue to be celebrated for their unique sounds and cultural significance.

While they share some similarities, their distinct styles and influences set them apart. From their origins in African American culture to their enduring legacy, Rock ‘n Roll and Blues remain important and influential genres in the world of music.

Source: Rock 'n Roll And Blues: A Comparison Of Two Iconic Genres by Lindsey

Mildred Bailey - The Lonesome Road

• Released in: 1938
• Genre: Jazz
• Written by: Nathaniel Shilkret and Gene Austin

"Mildred Bailey developed a soft, swinging delivery that pleased all kinds of nightclub audiences. After sending a demonstration disc in 1929, she gained a spot with one of the most popular dance orchestras of the day."

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John Prine - The Frying Pan

For the first two thirds of the 20th century, America was an apartheid nation. But there was something that didn’t obey Jim Crow laws or that foolish concept of a society that is separate but equal, the air. We can’t regulate the air, and radio travels through the air. Governments couldn’t legislate what you listened to in your home.

After dark, suddenly you could hear voices from all over the place, voices you couldn’t hear during the day. Growing up, I thought of this as magic time. You could hear WLAC in Nashville all the way from Tallahassee to the Canadian border.

There isn’t a single black person in town. But at night, up in your room, you hear the music of black America on WLAC. You want to hear more and know more. And that desire eventually makes you want to become Bob Dylan.

And even earlier, imagine you’re a black kid living in segregated St. Louis. You listen to the Grand Ole Opry on WSM out of Nashville and hear the voices of old, weird America. And so you grow up steeped in the white traditions of country music. That’s why, when you grow up and become Chuck Berry, all those great rock ’n roll songs have a narrative tradition borrowed from white country music.

When those different kinds of music met, country and western... and rhythm and blues... something new was created... The music provided a metaphor for society, two things kept apart and thought so different could, in fact, be joined. When joined, something better resulted. It was a kind of integration.

Source: What is the Most Important Innovation in the History of Rock ‘n’ Roll? by Zócalo Public Square

John Prine - The Frying Pan

• Released in: September 1972
• Genre: Folk, alt country
• Written by: John Prine

"Prine won his first Grammy in 1991 album and he joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003. The Grammy Hall of Fame inducted him in 2014. Two years later, he accepted the PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award."

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Carmell Jones - Willow Weep for Me

It was the fusion of styles and cultures described by Gordon that gave birth to the Memphis blues, sometime around 100 years ago. Musicians such as Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie sang and played guitar, while Memphis Jug Band popularized a style played on kazoos, washboard, and guitars, with the bass created by blowing across the tops of jugs.

But while such music enjoyed a passionate local following, it was WC Handy who is generally credited with having popularized the blues and taking it to the world at large. Known as the Father Of The Blues, his Memphis Blues, published in 1912, was a game changer. By Handy’s own admission, his was an attempt to apply primitive, southern tendencies to use flattened thirds and sevenths in a major key, and bring it to a more sophisticated audience. These flattened notes became known as the blue notes. This was a distinct departure... but as it turned out, it touched the spot.

The popularity of the blues grew, but in the aftermath of World War II, things began to change quickly. As more and more musicians fled the extreme poverty of the south in search of fame and fortune, the city’s Beale Street became flooded with blues clubs and bars, where hopefuls would plug in their guitars and play louder, more driven blues.

Source: Walking In Memphis: A Guide To The Birthplace Of Rock’n’Roll by Paul McGuinness

Carmell Jones - Willow Weep for Me

• Written by: Ann Ronell
• First recorded on: May 8, 1965
• Released on: Jay Hawk Talk album

"Quite active in Europe, Carmell Jones was largely forgotten by the time he moved back to Kansas City in 1980. In 1982, an album for Revelation helped remind a few listeners of his excellent hard bop trumpet."

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David Sylvian - Bringing Down The Light

Multiple elements in rock and roll provide evidence of common blues qualities. Rock and roll was influenced by elements of blues instrumentation, rhythm, and purpose. Both rock and blues are composed of drums, guitars, and vocals. As blues was becoming increasingly popular throughout the 1950s, manipulation of notes and amplifying instruments occurred. Muddy Waters, for example, began experimenting with increasing the dynamics of guitars and bending the notes of the guitars to give it a cry sound... As blues music developed, it pushed the emergence of rock and roll more and more. Early rock and roll followed a similar rhythm to blues music as well. As it progressed, rock and roll would end up integrating more intense rhythmic elements with an accentuated backbeat, but the foundation was the same. The purpose behind the music, produced by blues and rock and roll, is designed from the same perspective. The goal of both these genres of music is to create music with raw emotion. The blues emotion driven style of music inspired the same pattern to be followed by rock and roll.

Many famous rock and roll bands were influenced by similar popular blues artists... It is easy to see that blues had an impact on rock and roll because a rock and roll band considered one of the best that ever lived, integrated it into their music.

Source: Did Blues Influence Rock and Roll?

 

David Sylvian - Bringing Down The Light

• Composed by: Robert Fripp
• Vocals by: Trey Gunn and David Sylvian
• Released on: July 17, 1993

"David Sylvian released his solo debut in 1984, published his first book of photographs, Perspectives: Polaroids 82/84, in 1985, he released Preparations for the Journey, a documentary filmed in and around Tokyo."

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Anita O'Day - I'm Going Mad For A Pad

Radio stations began to program their music to fit the demographics of a new audience. The audience, which until the early 1950's was a pretty homogeneous audience, now was divided into segments with different interests and people listened to music in a number of places, including their cars. This all meant that some radio stations played music for adults and some stations played music for the teens.

The white record companies started looking... white kids wouldn't buy records by black performers, that played something resembling R&B. Groups like Bill Haley and His Comets, originally a country band called the Saddlemen.

These influences combined in a simple, blues based song structure that was fast, sexy, catchy and could be danced to easily and with excitement. These qualities, along with the fact that it horrified adults in general and parents in particular, caused Rock and Roll to become immensely popular with teenagers, who then, for the first time had their own music.

Source: Introduction: 1950s Rock and Roll by Dr. Robert Arnold

Anita O'Day - I'm Going Mad For A Pad

• Released in: 1944
• Arranged by: Joe Rizzo
• Genre: Jazz, Swing

"Anita O'Day's first appearances in a big band shattered the traditional image of a demure female vocalist. Her performance at 1958's Newport Jazz Festival made her fame worldwide after being released on a film titled Jazz on a Summer's."

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Pharoah Sanders - Dr. Pitt

From obscure origins, the genre had developed by 1900 to its typical three line stanza, with a vocal style derived from the field holler or shout of southern work songs. By the 1920s the first blues recordings were made, of the Mississippi delta country tradition, and other southern regional variants, and the classic vaudeville based blues... The migration north to Chicago during the 1920s led eventually to a new urban blues tradition, coarser and fiercer than earlier styles. This led in the 1940s to the style known as rhythm and blues. All instruments were by this time amplified. The principal exponents were Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf. Blues influenced rock and roll and other genres, including skiffle and soul music. It has continued as an independent genre.

Blues as a musical term can describe an oral tradition of African American poetry set to music using blues form, typically three line stanzas with the first two lines being similar, set to a twelve bar harmonic framework called a blues progression, the form of the poetry and/or the music, and an aesthetic that remains an ideal for Jazz performance in general. Blues originated as an expression of the individual and interactive social tradition of a displaced African American population. It began with the African American agrarian working class of the Mississippi Delta and combined African American and European American traditions, particularly hollers... and British ballads. It was established by the late 1800s as primarily a vocal and improvisatory genre, often with instrumental accompaniment.

Source: The Blues Gave Birth to Rock and Roll by Tom Hoban

Pharoah Sanders - Dr. Pitt

• Released on: Journey to the One album
• Release in: 1980
• Written by: Pharoah Sanders

"Pharoah Sanders developed a slightly different style and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane.  He would also go on to produce much free jazz, being influenced by his free jazz collaborations with Coltrane."

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Lucinda Williams - Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

By the close of the 1960s, rock 'n roll had established itself as a potent cultural force. Its influence reverberated through subsequent decades, shaping countless artists and bands. Although the faces and sounds of rock 'n roll continued to evolve, the spirit of rebellion, innovation, and raw emotional expression that catalyzed its inception in 1954 remained a constant undercurrent.

From the rockabilly of Elvis Presley to the sophisticated lyricism of the Beatles, from the psychedelic explorations of Jimi Hendrix to the countercultural anthems of Woodstock, the foundational years of 1954 to 1969 defined the heart and soul of rock 'n roll. This period not only revolutionized music but also left an indelible mark on global culture, making rock 'n roll an enduring symbol of creative freedom and social change.

Source: The Birth and Rise of Rock 'n' Roll in the 1950s and 1960s by History Skills

Lucinda Williams - Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys

• First recorded: September, October 1975
• First release by: Ed Bruce
• Written by: Ed Bruce and Patsy Bruce

"One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of her generation, Lucinda Williams has released a 15 albums since that have earned her critical acclaim and commercial success."

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Buddy Holly - Think It Over

The main reason we have so much information about the Delta blues and artists from that era goes back to a man named Alan Lomax and other archivists like him who created field recordings. Basically, the Library of Congress sent historians down to the South to record artists in an effort to investigate and document American culture. That's how we transported this music to the North, and it’s also how the message got a little muddled. The white archivists who brought black music to the North painted a picture of the music being sung and played by slaves just getting off work, but that wasn't the real story. 

In fact, all of these artists in the Delta wanted to move on. The Delta basically functioned as a middle ground for black families who wanted to get out of the South. You hear it when Robert Johnson sings Sweet Home Chicago. He wasn't singing Sweet Home Delta. He wanted to get out of the Delta. Everyone did. This group of people came together to take advantage of this fertile soil for new jobs, for a chance to go further North to Chicago. It was purely coincidental that, at the same time, they created this musical subculture of folk music.

The Mississippi Delta is the region where we see the first seeds of rock and roll. We can listen to Led Zeppelin and say, That's the first form of metal, but it started in the Delta. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were obsessed with Delta blues artists, and that inspired them.

Source: The Overlooked Roots Of Rock n Roll by The JHS Show

Buddy Holly - Think It Over

• Released on: May 27, 1958
• Recorded in: February 1958
• Produced by: Norman Petty

"Buddy Holly left behind dozens of unfinished recordings, solo transcriptions of his new compositions, informal jam sessions with bandmates, or tapes demonstrating songs intended for other artists."

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Adrian Belew - Never Enough

With the addition of a string bass and swung rhythms, jazz began to swing and become a style of music that could be danced to. This gradual change started in the late 1920s and continued through to the 1940s. The swing era brought with it the creation of the big band, an ensemble comprising ten or more musicians.

Most of the music in the swing era was not improvised and instead written down, but hundreds of jazz improvisers were still employed and a crucial part of the swing scene. Bandleaders such as Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson became well known through the late 1930s and early 1940s. As big band music developed, more ensembles were being recognised.

With the arrival of a rhythmically and harmonically experimental style, jazz moved out of the dance hall and into the club. The term bebop is derived from a Gillespie tune of the same name. Bebop was seen as a rebellion to the swing era by musicians like Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Bebop musicians would take a standard song and transform it into something almost completely unrecognisable, by adding extra harmony and adjusting the rhythms of the melody.

On the other end of the spectrum came free jazz. Developed in the 1960s by pioneers such as Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, this style of music challenged the boundaries of musical expression. Although the term may suggest otherwise, free jazz is often formulaic in structure with memorised melodies and consistent tempos. It is known as free jazz because musicians are allowed to play whatever they want without having to follow any predetermined chord sequences.

Source: What is jazz music? by Michael Beek

Adrian Belew - Never Enough

• Released in: 1994
• Genre: Rock
• Released on: Salad Days album

"Adrian Belew is a multi instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and guitar guru. Belew has released 20 critically acclaimed solo records and was the frontman, singer, co writer and guitarist for progressive rock powerhouse King Crimson for 30 years."

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