– (Disclosure/Reproduction/Wikimedia Commons)
There is no consensus, but many historians of the genre point to Bill Haley & His Comets, a group that appeared in the USA in 1951. played country, but ended up changing its name because of the changes in its sound, which began with the cover of the song “Rocket 88”. They incorporated elements from blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel (styles played by blacks) to country and folk (played by whites). This mix is what would give rise to rock. Two years later, the “Comets” would have their first rock hit on the American charts, “Crazy Man, Crazy”.
GUITAR PIONEERS
Other artists who marked the history of the genre with very rock ‘n’ roll innovations
THE WHO
Pete Townshend was the first to break his guitar onstage in 1964. At first it was by accident. Then he completed the «service» just to see the public’s reaction
THE BEATLES
They were the first rockers to sell out a stadium: Shea Stadium, in New York, in 1965
BOB DYLAN
Released the first rock double album, the classic Blonde on Blonde, from 1966
THE DOORS
Jim Morrison was the first rocker arrested on stage – in 1967 for disturbing order
STEPPENWOLF
The band coined the term heavy metal in the song “Born to Be Wild”, from 1968. Several others dispute the title of pioneer in this subgenre, like Iron Butterfly, created in 1966, and Black Sabbath, from 1968
ROLLING STONES
They are the first to “idolize the Devil”, in the track “Sympathy for the Devil”, from 1968. The lyrics do not bring explicit words of adoration, but create a glamorous image of the devil
RAMONES
They inaugurate the punk genre in 1974 – although there are those who point to the New York Dolls or Stooges as precursors. In 1975, the Sex Pistols, the UK’s first punks, appeared.
-FALSE FIRST
– “Rocket 88” had been recorded before by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, but it was a fake band: just a fusion of Brenston and the Kings of Rhythm group
– American dj Alan Freed was the first to describe the new sound that emerged with the term rock and roll, in 1951
SOURCES Encyclopedia Britannica, This Day In Music, The Little Book of Rock