My History of Rock & Roll Documentary

[ABlairican Pie]

I have had this idea for a documentary of rock & roll for years that would chronicle the history of rock for the past 50 years. I decided to preface it with a song title that would capture a certain mood or expression of the times, then follow it with what each era was about. I originally wanted to do it just by each decade, but I found that each decade had so many changes that I decided to do it by dividing each decade into stylistic changes in music and culture (i.e., 60's: the British Invasion, followed by the Psychedelic Era). I'm trying to find some adequate song titles, etc., for each era. One I've been trying to figure out is, what would we call the era of music AFTER Kurt Cobain's death? A time when people were devastated, and rock seemed to be eclipsed by hip-hop and teen pop? I was thinking of focusing on the trend in "nu-metal" or something. Any ideas?

If I pull this together, who knows, I might have the full documentary ready by the 50th Anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock"!!

"Episode 1: Roll Over Beethoven (or: A Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On) Rock & Roll Begins (or some clever title) (1955-1959)
Starting with the precursors of rock & roll, blues artists such as Robert Johnson and country/western musicians such as Hank Williams (etc.), this segment examins the explosive impact "race music" had on young people in the cloistered society of the 50's. We look at Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard, and music such as Rockabilly."


"Episode 2: A Hard Day's Night: The British Invasion (1964-1967)
After a spell of musical inertia where the bright lights of the 50's rock & roll had either died or dispersed, and the assassination of President Kennedy had plunged the nation into depression, the arrival of the Beatles in America launched a revolution in music with bands like the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks, and the Yardbirds."

"Episode 3: Purple Haze (or: Break On Through): The Summer of Love (1967-1970)
When folk rocker Bob Dylan inroduced the Beatles to marijuana, creative opportunities opened up in music--psychedelic drugs were seen as a gateway to a new reality, a new religion, and a new consciousness, with guitarist Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and the Doors expanding musical boundaries, culminating in the Woodstock music festival--and resulting chaos at Altamont."

"Episode 4: Stairway to Heaven: The Hammer of the Gods (1970-1977)
A new crop of British bands rose from the wreckage of the 60's: the doomsday sound of Black Sabbath, the manic virtuosity of Deep Purple, and the biggest of the big, Led Zeppelin, all put heaviness on the map of music--as well as progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who created outsized musical opuses and stage extravaganzas, while other artists such as Elton John, David Bowie, the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac became superstars, in a time when America wanted to forget Vietnam and Watergate."

"Episode 5: Pretty Vacant: The Outrage of Punk (1977-1981)
By the mid 70's, rock and pop had become relatively safe and self-indulgent, as the Sexual Revolution of the Me Decade spun its glittering disco ball into radio-friendly frivolity of the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and the Village People--until a British band of ugly upstarts, the Sex Pistols, shook up the UK, along with other punk bands, the Clash and the Ramones, bringing rock back to its raw, simple anarchy. Meanwhile in America, similar musical rumblings spawned innovative bands such as the Talking Heads, Television, Blondie, and the Cars, forming what was to become known as New Wave, complete with synthesizers, skinny ties and simple, quirky tunes."

"Episode 6: Girls On Film (or: Money For Nothing): The Video Revolution (1981-1985)
As the country entered the Reagan Era, a new medium of promoting potential hits became the norm: Music Television, or MTV, where bands such as Duran Duran and Def Leppard became huge, as artists were judged more on how the looked and acted more than how well they played. Guitar hero Eddie Van Halen helped break racial boundaries on Michael Jackson's hit "Beat It,";video propelled Irish band U2 into prominence with its themes of social consciousness, and working-class rocker/songwriter Bruce Springsteen suffered the biggest misrepresentation of his music by the powers-that-be."

"Episode 7: Welcome to the Jungle: Parental Advisory (1985-1991)
During Reagan's second term, conservative political forces decided to clamp down on perceived obscenity and destructive messages in music after the wife of Senator Al Gore found "offensive lyrics" on a Prince album. Tipper Gore's Parents' Music Resource Center (PMRC) targeted "corrupting" artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna, Motley Crue, AC/DC, and an upcoming band that pushed heavy tempos to extremes--Metallica.
One band, Guns N' roses, crawled from the underbelly of L.A.'s blow-dired pop-metal scen of Ratt, Poison, and Dokken to become the baddest of the bad."

"Episode 8: Smells Like Teen Spirit: Alternative Nation (1991-1994)
The L.A. pop-metal hit machine ground to a halt with the rise of a grubby "grunge" band from Seattle called Nirvana and its fellow scenesters Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains, starting a trend in garage-band-like guitar playing, themes of teen alienation, and heroin use--all to end with the suicide of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who lamented his inability to handle "stardom", and killing the joy for all other aspiring rock artists in pursuit of success. At that time, Metallica had re-invented its sound into a more commercial (yet heavy) style on its self-titled album, and U2 had embraced a more electronica/dance sound on its albums in the 90's. "

"Episode 9: Baby Hit Me One More Time: The End of Rock? (1994-2001)
Now that the bright light of the 90's had snuffed out his own life, rock was crawling into a slow state of decline, perked up slightly by the "punk-pop" of Green Day, the Offspring, and Blink-182, as well as Metallica's "Load" albums. For once, rock was no longer supreme on the charts; its popularity eclipsed by rap/hip-hop, country, and the disturbing trend of teen pop stars such as Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and Christina Aguilera. Their cuteness and sexiness overshadowed their vapidity of their songs. Meanwhile, "nu-metal" bads incorporating hip-hop rhythms like Korn and Limp Bizkit flourished while progressive "alt-metal" rockers Tool and hard-driving Pantera scored points for holding high the metal flag, and "shock-rocker" Marilyn Manson made headlines."

Other song titles: "Got the Time" by Korn, "Far Beyond Driven"(album) by Pantera, etc.

"Episode 10: A Beautiful Day: United We Stand (2001+)
The most imprtant event in music in the Third Millenium so far was not a musical event--but has affected music even to this day: September 11, 2001, when America was attacked on its own soil by terrorists. From the FCC banning certain songs from the airwaves (i.e., "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong and "Leaving On a Jet Airplane" by Peter, Paul, and Mary) to patriotic, even xenophobic country anthems by Toby ("Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue--the Angry American Song") Keith, the music scen now reflected the new realities in America. Overnight, freedom of expression, so bitterly fought for by musicians, had suddeny become suspect. Angry country fans howled for the heads of the Dixie Chicks when singer Natalie Maines criticized President Bush's war in Iraq. In a complete reversal of the 60's, political dissent and protest was largely ignored in popular music, while rapping "nu-metal" bands like Linkin Park, Poppa Roach, P.O.D, and Puddle of Mudd dominated the charts. Metal superstar Ozzy Osbourne became America's favorite dysfunctional t.v. father while his Ozzfest summer concert tours revitalized interest in heavy metal."

[Jrnygrl]

I like your ideas so far!! Have you begun any filming or have you contacted any of the people that were around in the eras your focusing on for interviews. I would love to hear about your experiences while talking with them.

Good luck with your project!!!

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally posted by Jrnygrl
I like your ideas so far!! Have you begun any filming or have you contacted any of the people that were around in the eras your focusing on for interviews. I would love to hear about your experiences while talking with them.

Good luck with your project!!!

I'm currently completing the screenplay for it, but I should get ready and start calling people for it and get a better idea! I'm just a busride away from EMP in Seattle, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

[~*Hannah_Lee*~]

I think this is a great idea! And your ideas look pretty awesome. Good luck with this.

[DianeChambers87]

It's great! I wish they would actually broadcast it though! :cough: :cough: although you are missing :cough cough: a very important :cough: band :cough cough cough: by the name of :cough: Queen.

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally posted by DianeChambers87
It's great! I wish they would actually broadcast it though! :cough: :cough: although you are missing :cough cough: a very important :cough: band :cough cough cough: by the name of :cough: Queen.

Oh yeah, I haven't forgotten Queen, I'm going to talk about them in the "Hammer of the Gods" episode, where rock & roll became all spectacular in their songs and in concert in the mid-70's; in that paragraph above I used Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, etc., as examples of bands that made everything BIG. I may not have mentioned KISS and Aerosmith either, but they are definitely going to be in there as well, it just wouldn't be the 70's without them!!

Btw, my episodes are theoretically going to be two hours long and no stone will be uncovered. In the HOTG episode, I am going to make MORE than a little mention of Black Sabbath as the inventors of metal.

I also thought of a good name for the 9th episode: "Episode 9: Freak On a Leash --Something Nu", about the rise of bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and the nu-metal in the latter half of the 90's.

[Kay Scarpetta]

If that gets filmed and stuff, you're my new idol. That's freakin awesome.

oh ya one more thing... "Blizzard of Oz" came out in '80, right, and I know that from around '77 to about '82 was basically the "Punk" era, but maybe you should mention BOO too

[ABlairican Pie]

Originally posted by Miss Karly
If that gets filmed and stuff, you're my new idol. That's freakin awesome.

oh ya one more thing... "Blizzard of Oz" came out in '80, right, and I know that from around '77 to about '82 was basically the "Punk" era, but maybe you should mention BOO too

I thought I already was your new idol.

Yeah, I was thinking about that, in 1980, a whole new crop of metal/hard rock bands came out and killed disco, like AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy, and Judas Priest, and technically, the first wave of punk was finished by 1980, but the one thing about the punk/new wave movement was that it gave bands the idea that it was okay to make songs that could easily fit on a playlist on the radio, and not have to be huge sprawling numbers that took up entire album sides like in the 70's. So even though my "punk" episode will be about punk, it won't be TOTALLY about punk, it will be about the rebirth of heavy metal. And I was thinking of starting the episode off with one of the reasons why punk took off in the first place: DISCO!!

[ABlairican Pie]

(cue: "Rock And Roll" by Led Zeppelin)

Hi. I'm Captain ABlairica. I'm your captain on a journey into time...and music. We are going into the past 50 years of the greatest music the world has ever known: Rock and roll. We will look at everyone from Elvis to Eminem...Little Richard to Linkin Park. It'll be quite a trip. So hey. Enough of my yackin'. Let's boogie.

Episode 1: Roll Over Beethoven: Rock and Roll Begins

So where did rock and roll begin? From some jukebox in a soda shop during the Eisenhower Era? Actually, the seeds of rock and roll were planted some twenty some odd years before, in a world quite different from L.A. or London...In a place somewhere in the Mississippi Delta. Rock and roll was a product of the Blues. Not one particular artist or song is to be credited for it, many persons, particularly musicians of African-American persuasion, were to begin its formation. One artist in particular was a young man who was to have profound impact on future generations of musicians. His name was Robert Johnson.

[ABlairican Pie]

(Cue "Cross Roads Blues)

Cross Road Blues (take 2)

I went to the crossroad
fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad
fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now
save poor Bob, if you please

Mmmmm, standin' at the crossroad
I tried to flag a ride
Standin' at the crossroad
I tried to flag a ride
Didn't nobody seem to know me
everybody pass me by

Mmm, the sun goin' down, boy
dark gon' catch me here
oooo ooee eeee
boy, dark gon' catch me here
I haven't got no lovin' sweet woman that
love and feel my care

You can run, you can run
tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
You can run, you can run
tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
Lord, that I'm standin' at the crossroad, babe
I believe I'm sinkin' down

[ABlairican Pie]

While Robert Johnson was to have recorded nearly thirty acoustic blues on guitar and harmonica, little is known about him. For what little is known about him legend and myth have compensated for the rest: He was born in Mississippi in 1911 and married young to a wife who died in childbirth. He chose music over a life of working in cotton plantations, and began to tour around the South playing juke joints where his reputation grew as amazing guitarist. So amazing, that, as legend has it, he was to have sold his soul to the Devil for his musical abilities in a Faustian bargain. The Devil seemed to have collected early, legend tells us that a jealous husband poisoned him to death for his womanizing ways. He died in August 1938 and was buried in a spot no one exactly knows where, but three separate markers announce his final resting place. His song "Hellhound on My Tail" sums up his life--and death--perfectly.

[Rickenbacker]

The period right after Nirvana ended was pretty much the Spice Girls (teen pop)/hip hop thing, like you said.

But also there was a *huge* explosion of female artists & female-led bands. Seemingly outta nowhere we got people like Alanis M., Veruca Salt, Paula Cole, Jewel, Fiona Apple, the whole Lilith Fair thing & all the 'riot grrls' etc etc.
The leftover 'alternative' scene was thriving at this point too.

[ABlairican Pie]

The history of American musicis filled with many names and many songs of those who planted the seeds of rock and roll. Many classic rock artists who were popular thirty to forty years ago listened to what could be considered "classic rock" thirty to forty years before them. Many of these artists included:

Lead Belly, who was imprisoned in 1917 for killing a man, but was pardoned after composing a song to the governor
pleading for his release. His songs include "Rock Island Line," which later led to the skiffle movement many years after his death in 1949, while other songs such as "Black Betty" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" resurfaced on the charts decades later.

[dandelion wine]

This rocks! Here's wishing you lots of luck.

[ABlairican Pie]

T-Bone Walker, one of the first innovators on the electric guitar, performed wild stage antics that would later inspire
future greats Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. His famous songs were "T-Bone Blues" and "Call It Stormy Monday."