Classic Rock

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Article by Jack DePaul
So what is Classic Rock? In terms of time period, Classic rock took place between the early/mid 60’s, into the 80’s. Or in other words, right after Elvis and just before Travolta. CR has roots in genres such as Blues, and Rock n’ Roll. The centerpiece of CR is the electric guitar. CR guitarists had a “pure” sound, before distortion effects were used in significant influences. The largest distinction between rock music in general and other genres like hip-hop, pop, and rap, is the stress for talent and musicianship, pop music stresses showmanship. Included in this article, will be a list of the 20 top classic rock bands as well as detailed history. The three highlighted bands will be the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

History: The British Invasion
In 1963, Beatlemania came to the United States, and created a surge of British musical influence. The Beatles are considered to be the first, and most successful of any classic rock band. In fact if truth is to be told, most of the best CR artists came from England. The British Invasion was a coin termed in retrospect, by Americans to describe the incredible influence of English artists on the American public. Every teenage kid in the US learned how to play the electric guitar and started a garage band. The Beatles changed the music industry forever, and paved the way for countless other musical artists. Personally I don’t think that you can talk about the history of Classic Rock without giving substantial credit to the Beatles.

Another notable CR band, Led Zeppelin is what many consider the epitome of classic rock. Led Zeppelin in truth sounds nothing like the Beatles, in fact many think that it is injustice to consider them in the same genre. Frankly though CR is not necessarily a genre that represents a single style. Within it there are many sub-genres, like soft-rock, hard-rock, folk-rock, blues-rock, and psychedelic-rock. Led Zeppelin is probably a mix between hard-rock and blues-rock, or funk. Zeppelin’s first album, Zeppelin I, hit the US in 1969. Led Zeppelin was not received well initially. Zeppelin deviated from the format of bands like The Rolling Stones, and the Who. It is described as the counter-culture movement.

Equipment:


Every CR band consisted generally of the same composition; lead singer, lead guitarist, drummer, and bass guitar. Those four positions made up the band’s core, and it is still the dynamic for most rock groups today.

The Beatles
The British phenomena as I have mentioned earlier started classic rock. There are four members of the Band; John Lennon (Rhythm guitar/vocals), Paul McCartney (Bass Guitar/ Vocals), Ringo Starr (Drums), and George Harrison (Lead guitar/ Vocals). The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over one billion units. The Beatles were John Lennon's band, he put them together and was their leader. He made the big decisions and sang the bulk of the lead vocals. At one point the band was even called Johnny and the Moondogs, thankfully it was later changed to the Beatles. The Beatles, went on to record a whopping 24 albums. They toured all over the world, and their music is still played on the radio every single day. Unfortunately, the world took Lennon before his time. His murder in 1980 was a tragedy and a monumental loss to the music community, and one of the most legendary bands ever. Harrison had lung cancer and died in 2001. McCartney and Starr are the only surviving members.

Led Zeppelin
I picked Zeppelin, mostly because I am biased towards their work. They happen to be my favorite band ever. The four members are: Jimmy Page (Lead Guitar), Robert Plant (Lead Vocals), John Paul Jones (Bass Guitar), John Bonham (Drums). The band formed in 1968 and were originally called the “New Yardbirds”. The “Yardbirds” were a “supergroup” which was very popular throughout England. Some other famous members of the “Yardbirds” were none other than Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Both Beck and Clapton went on to have fantastic musical careers. Page however, started Led Zeppelin. The band signed a favorable deal with Atlantic Records that allowed them considerable artistic freedom. Led Zeppelin disliked the releasing of tracks as singles. They preferred their albums to be viewed as indivisible whole listening experiences. Their first two albums were heavily guitar-driven and had a blues rock sound. The dynamic guitar playing from Page made Zeppelin a household name. Their next two albums incorporated wider musical influences, particularly from folk music; the fourth, “Zeppelin IV” featured the track "Stairway to Heaven". Stairway is one of the most popular and influential works in rock music and cemented the status of the group as a “supergroup”. Overall the band recorded 8 albums, but disbanded following Bonham's sudden death in 1980.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Many consider Hendrix to be the greatest, and most innovative guitarists of all time. I like to think that it was a combination of his immense skill and knowledge of the guitar, but if truth be told, it was probably the drugs. Hendrix unlike “The Beatles” and “Led Zeppelin” who are difficult to categorize, is incredibly easy to place, he is one hundred percent psychedelic-rock. One of Jimi’s more memorable moments came during the epic music festival, Woodstock. Hendrix died at the young age of 28, in 1970, due to an overdose.

Jack's Top 20
 05:18, April 18, 2012 (UTC)05:18, April 18, 2012 (UTC)05:18, April 18, 2012 (UTC)~1)        Led Zeppelin

 2)        The Beatles

 3)        Pink Floyd

 4)        The Jimi Hendrix Experience

 5)        The Doors

 6)        The Rolling Stones

 7)        The Who

 8)        Queen

 9)        Van Halen

 10)     The Grateful Dead

 11)     Rush

 12)     Boston

 13)     The Police

 14)     The Eagles

 15)     Kansas

 16)     Prince

<p style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> 17)     Yes

<p style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> 18)     Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

<p style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> 19)     Aerosmith

<p style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> 20)     The Dire Straights