Rock Bands that Defined their Decades: Personal Choices

Everyone has their favorite Rock & Roll Bands.  Some bands have legions of faithful followers: the Deadheads, the Parrotheads, the Kiss Army, and so on.  I thought that I would pick my favorite rock artists/bands from each of the decades that have passed during my particular lifetime thusfar.  That time span would be the 1950's up to today.  This list is not meant to generate fervent debate or disapproval or agreement, but reflects my own personal choices.

The 1950's - Elvis Presley

Despite the fact that Little Richard was the "Architect of Rock and Roll" and Chuck Berry created "The Sound" and Bo Diddley gave us the "Bo Diddley Beat", Elvis was "The King". Sixty years later, he is still the King.  It's good to be king, Tom Petty reminds us, and so Elvis will be long remembered in the pantheon of Rock Gods.  Personally, Elvis was my imaginary stepfather. His voiced boomed through the walls of 126 South Madison Street in La Grange, Texas during most of my childhood.  My mother loved Elvis and, in fact, had a personal connection with him.  When Elvis was young and touring in the Louisiana Hayride, my mother and two of her High School friends went to see him in Austin.  They got to go backstage for autographs.  Elvis' policy at the time was apparently "One Autograph for One Kiss".  My mother's friends each kissed Elvis and got their autographs, but mom refused to kiss Elvis because "his hair was too greasy". A few year's later, my mother was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base (my birthplace) near Omaha and was working as a journalist for the base newspaper.  When Elvis visited the base, she got to be the tour guide. The story goes that Elvis remembered my mother as the "girl from Texas that wouldn't kiss him". She never kissed him, but she did get his autograph.  Naturally, I grew up going with my mother to see every Elvis movie shown at the Cozy Theater. Elvis died and the Cozy Theater burned down. When Elvis died, my mother was the sole employee at a hamburger joint named the Dairy Mart.  She heard the sad news of Elvis' death and immediately locked the door and went home to mourn the King.  The Dairy Mart was closed for three days despite the complaints of the owner.  God bless Elvis and my mother.

The 1960's - The Beatles

Before the Beatles, rock music was considered by frivolous music meant for kids alone.  The Beatles changed all that.  Suddenly, the Beatles were getting reviewed by "serious" music critics and they elevated Rock music into a larger realm.  Everyone took notice that Lennon-McCartney were penning songs for the ages and their melodies were compared to those of the great classical composers.  Their musical legacy is immortal and will remain forever alongside Beethoven and Mozart.  What impressed me about the Beatles is how, in such a relatively short time, they created such an amazing body of work; re-inventing themselves with each consecutive album.  My personal favorite Beatles song is "Hey Jude".  I remember hearing it on the jukebox at the bowling alley in La Grange.  The long fade-out "Na-Na-Na-Na's" are seared into my memory.  The bowling alley manager would yell at me when I would bump the side of the jukebox to cause the record needle to jump back mid-record and continue to play the song over and over again.  Like the Cozy Theater, the bowling alley also burned down.

The 1970's - Led Zeppelin

From time to time, Rock music has to take a new direction.  Led Zeppelin amplified the Blues to unexplored heights.  Some historians, however, lump Led Zeppelin into the Heavy Metal category.  I disagree.  Heavy metal was created by Black Sabbath and is still alive and well today.  Led Zeppelin's music was, in my opinion, uncategorizable.  Rock radio tends to play their heavier tunes, "Whole Lotta Love", "Black Dog" and "Kashmir", but their catalog is full of gentle folk-tinged English blues.  It is the range of beautiful melodies and thought-provoking lyrics that set Led Zeppelin apart from most rock bands in the Seventies.  Sure, "Stairway to Heaven" was many people's pick for Song of the Decade, alongside The Eagles' "Hotel California", but Led Zeppelin certainly had many other songs that rivaled "Stairway" in their majesty.  And, like the Beatles,  Led Zeppelin were not complacent to repeat themselves but continued to re-invent their craft with each successive masterpiece album.  I remember listening in wonder to Physical Graffitti and it opened my mind. Like many other rock artists in the Seventies, Led Zeppelin's album cover art was astounding. Bands like Pink Floyd and Yes were known to great album covers and the same is certainly true for Led Zeppelin.  Just examine Led Zeppelin III, or Houses of the Holy, or Physical Graffitti to see what I mean.  It's best if you can find the old vinyl LP version because the CD inserts can't compare.  Perhaps I will do write a blog about GREAT LP COVER ART because it was truly a wonder to behold in the 1970's. For Physical Graffitti, Led Zeppelin chose to show the front of a building with the windows cut out. The record sleeve had photos that were perfectly aligned to show through the cut out windows.  I remember creating my own paste-up art and slipped it inside the album cover so that my other things were visible through the windows.  Led Zeppelin were a constant source of inspiration for me.  Years later, I saw Robert Plant play at the Sunken Gardens in San Antonio.  Driving out of the venue, I went past his tour bus and Robert was waving to fans as they left.  We made momentary eye contact and he nodded his head to indicate that he saw me waving at him.  It was one of many special moments I remember.  So what are they doing today?  John Bonham's son followed in this father's large footprints and became a great drummer in his own rite.  Robert Plant recorded a wonderful Grammy-winning album called Raising Sand, singing spectacular duets with Allison Krause, under the expert direction of producer T-Bone Burnett who is having success again this year with the movie soundtrack for Crazy Heart.  Jimmy Page starred with Jack White and U2's The Edge in my favorite recent movie It Might Get Loud, a documentary praising the rock electric guitar.  See it; it's terrific.  Finally, John Paul Jones is now part of the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and the former lead singer of the Queens of the Stone Age.  In an interview Them Crooked Vultures said that they want to "re-invent the Blues" yet again.  With former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, they certainly have a shot a achieving that.

The 1980's - U2

U2' s first and second album were released without my noticing them. Apparently they had a somewhat small following of fans in Boston at that time, but it was not until the War album that most of America took any notice of U2.  For me personally, I became a U2 fan watching a broadcast of their phenomenal Red Rocks concert Under a Blood Red Sky on MTV.  I remember lying on the floor in front of the TV, with my headphones on, and thinking "these guys are good".  I was impressed with the new kind of sound that the Edge was getting from his guitar; kind of sounding like a bell ringing.  It was a wake up call for me.  I remember watching Bono working the crowd into a frenzy and I thought again "these guys are really good". Time went on and U2 released The Unforgettable Fire.  I was impressed that they had Brian Eno as a producer.  Eno had been a keyboardist for Roxy Music, which I will definitely have to devote an entire blog to.  Roxy Music were very unique and innovative.  Brian Eno helped change U2's sound and I started to like them even more. "Pride (in the Name of Love)" was on that album and, like many U2 fans, I went GaGa over it.  At the time, I remember telling my work colleagues, "U2 are going to be as big as the The Beatles someday".  They laughed and thought I was nuts.  Who's laughing now?  As predicted, U2 continued to develop into the world-class rock band they are today.  The Joshua Tree won Grammy Awards and got their faces on Time magazine.  Achtung Baby gave us "One", which is perhaps one of the greatest songs ever written by anyone ever.  The Zoo TV tour that promoted Achtung Baby was an unprecented spectacle. I remember seeing them at the Astrodome in Houston and my friend Roland fell off the chair he had been standing on. For the Popmart tour, my daughter Jessica accompanied me to see U2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.  We had floor seats and got to see them up close. Crazy!  My best friend Rob has gone to see U2 with me more than anyone else.   Here is a photo that Rob took of Bono last year.

From The Joshua Tree tour, Zoo TV, Popmart, the Elevation tour, the Vertigo tour and last year on the No Line on the Horizon tour. There is no horizon for U2. Their music is limitless and I expect continued greatness for years to come.





The 1990's - Pearl Jam

Some might say Nirvana or Nine Inch Nails should be considered the best rock bands of the '90's, I would not argue with that.  Sadly, however, Kurt Cobain left us too soon. Like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin, Kurt was way too young to say goodbye.  Nirvana's majestic Nevermind was a definite turning point for rock music and their Unplugged in New York is a haunting reminder of just how talented they were. Similarly, Trent Reznor is a musical genius who took industrial music and, like an alchemist, conjoured up a new kind of metal machine music that makes Nine Inch Nails one of the most important bands of the 1990's.  So why did I choose Pearl Jam?  Not just because they are still around today and still making some of the best music of their career, but because of Eddie Vedder's committment to his art and his beliefs.  He is, in many ways, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, a steadfast defender of human rights.  Plus, the musicianship of the all the members of Pearl Jam is reminiscent of The Who.  The band's chemistry and virtuosity propel them to places that most rock bands never reach. Once again, my best friend Rob and I saw them perform at Southpark Meadows in Austin and it was one of the best concerts of all time.  The Ramones opened.  Rob and I were caught in the mosh pit and the entire audience was undulating like one large jellyfish.  It was truly awesome.  Pearl Jam, like Springsteen and the E Street Band, put on a tremendous show that tests your stamina and doesn't stop until your rock quota has been met.  On record, for me, their 1991 album Ten, their 1994 album Vitalogy, and their most recent album Backspacer, contain their best work.  However, their live shows set them apart from lesser bands.  They rock like their lives depend on it.

The 2000's - Kings of Leon

If Elvis was "The King" that started the whole thing, the new kings are the Kings of Leon.  The torch of Rock & Roll has been passed to them and they have ignited an inferno.  Like many rock bands, the Kings of Leon released several outstanding albums before even getting noticed by most people.  2003's Youth and Young Manhood had the killer track "Molly's Chambers".  Dig this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLaJkbkG5NI
In 2004, they gave us Aha Shake Heartbreak, another amazing album full of rocking tunes with catchy hooks and perplexing lyrics.  By 2007, they had released Because of the Times, were appearing on Letterman, and were about the blow up to rock stardom.  Their song "On Call" got considerable radio airplay.  I missed my chance to see them in a small venue when they played at Sunset Station in San Antonio.  Truly, I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I missed that concert.  Now they are playing arenas, have been on Good Morning America, won three Grammy Awards this year for 'Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group', 'Best Rock Song' and 'Record Of The Year'.  They were given their 'Record of the Year' award by Ringo Starr, which must have been a great moment for them.  I will see them someday.  You should too.

Onomatopoeia

What is Onomatopoeia?
Mrs. Munger’s Class www.youtube.com/watch?v=evUzS6K-5Wg&feature=related explains what the word “onomatopoeia” means and Todd Rundgren describes it here www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeNIiX2opy4 in his excellent song entitled “Onomatopoeia”.  Basically, it means words that imitate or suggest the source of the sound that they describe.  If you're old enough to remember the 1960's Batman TV show, everytime Batman or Robin would punch a villian, big word balloons would pop up saying things like "SPLAT" or "KABOING" or "BLAMMO" and so on.  You also see it frequently used in comic books, like in this Captain America story where the Captain is fighting some evil robot..."WANK".

Songwriters have been using onomatopo-eia for years and years.  Way back in the doo-wop era, bands like the Cadillacs had songs called "Zoom" and "Zoom-Boom-Zing".  Great Blues tunes like "Boom Boom" by John Lee Hooker and "Wham!" by Stevie Ray Vaughan are onomatopoeia.  If you're a fan of Flights of the Conchords, you know their song called "Boom" and that Bret is the Boom-King.  Gunther, the self-proclaimed "Pleasure Man" is onomatopoeia-esqe when he croons his "Ding Dong Song".  Classic Rock stations nationwide play Pat Travers' spectacular "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)", probably daily.
Wham!, the eighties pop duo which launched George Michael is, in fact, onomatopoeia. They clearly inspired Hugh Grant's character in the film Music and Lyrics who sang "Pop! Goes My Heart".  Country singer Jim Ed Brown, and later Alan Jackson, reminded us that we had time for one more round in "Pop a Top".  The younger kids will be familiar with Chris Brown's "Poppin'".  Zydeco fans will instantly rejoice when they hear "My Toot Toot" by Rockin' Sidney.  Country legend George Strait gave us "Honk If You Love Honky Tonk" and his latest masterpiece "Twang".  Down in Texas, there's a lotta honkin' in honky tonks.  Every weekend the great Gary P. Nunn is "Honking Out Some Hank".

You had to be living under a rock last year if you didn't hear "BOOM BOOM POW" by the fabulous Black Eyed Peas, my latest choice as the band that will save popular music.  Rock music has been giving us onomatopoeia for a long time..."Shake RATTLE and Roll" by Bill Haley & the Comets, was also covered very well by Elvis. Of course, there's U2 magnificent album "RATTLE AND HUM", which takes it's name from a line in their epic tune "Bullet the Blue Sky". Rock songs should make a lot of noise.  The best ones sound like cannon blasts. Understandably, rock music gave us T. Rex's "Bang a Gong", Iggy Pop's "Bang Bang" and Todd Rundgren's anthem "Bang on the Drum All Day".  But I would be remiss if I did not mention Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)".

It's the weekend...get out there and make some noise.

Remorse Code

It is expected that, when we do bad things, we will feel remorse.  How many times have we heard someone say, in courtroom dramas, "the killer had no remorse"?  I am doing Weight Watchers again and trying hard to lose weight.  Nevertheless, at a recent Valentine's Day dinner, I indulged on a huge steak and decadent desserts.  Mistake!  I experienced "Eater's Remorse".  Shortly after enjoying that wonderful meal, I was overheard to say "I wish I hadn't eaten all that".  I regretted my blatant disregard for the tenets of Weight Watchers and my lapse into fat person behavior. Regret and remorse go hand in hand; often hand-to-mouth.
To help me through the wilderness of dieting I like to seek diversions such as blogging and listening to music, to take my mind off my stomach.

Aside from Weird Al Yankovic's "My Bologna", I don't know of any songs which describe the regret of over-eating. However, in the great pantheon of Country & Western music, there are a gazillion songs about regret.  Instead of saying "I wish I hadn't eaten all that", the songs tell stories of "I wish I hadn't _________". You can fill-in-the-blank.  "I wish I hadn't told her she was old/fat/ugly and that her feet smelled".  "I wish I had told her I loved her", and maybe she would still be around.  Songwriters have set their regrets to music in countless songs.  Here are just a few:

In “Revelry” by the Kings of Leon, the singer is regretful of a relationship ending because of his love of partying. “Story of My Life” by Social Distortion tells of a love interest the singer had as a teenager that he did not act upon. Years later, he's looking back regretfully on how things from this youth have changed and how quickly his life and opportunity has passed him by. Bob Seger’s “Beautiful Loser” is about having goals set so low that you never achieve anything, and regretting not trying harder.  “Shattered Dreams” by Johnny Hates Jazz is a lamenting tale of a romance that ends in betrayal. The Box Tops’ classic “Cry Like A Baby” tells the tale of a man who took for granted the love of his faithful girlfriend. It’s a pop song but has the sentiment of so many country & western songs because the main character regrets how terribly he treated his girl, now that she's left him. He cries every time he sees her or even thinks of her. In “Title and Registration” by Death Cab for Cutie, the singer finds old pictures of his girlfriend ("souvenirs from better times") in the glove compartment of his car and regrets why the relationship is needlessly over. Possibly the most famous song of regret is The Beatles’ “Yesterday”, which is incidentally the most covered pop song of all time, with over 3,000 versions according to The Guinness Book Of World Records. Its mass appeal is likely due to the purity of its message that 1) he said something wrong, 2) now she’s gone, and 3) he regrets the mistake. “Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say. I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.” The lovely and sad melody coupled with Paul McCartney’s timeless lyrics resonate with everyone who ever had a broken heart.

No regrets, no worries.

What's in a name?

Doug Fieger, lead singer of the Knack, just passed away.  Thirty-one years ago, the year I married my beautiful wife Margaret, the Knack's song "My Sharona" was brand new and played constantly.  Doug's powerful vocal and that terrific guitar solo and its great hooks made it an instant classic. As is many works of great literature and timeless poetry, a particular woman is the inspiration and is the personal muse of the artist.  The Knack wrote many amazing rock songs, by "My Sharona" is their greatest legacy.

I suspect that, ever since music first began, men have been composing tunes for their special ladies.  Beethoven composed a melody called Fur Elise ("For Elise").  No one is certain who "Elise" was. Some believe she was Beethoven's fifth mistress, while others have suggested that the discoverer of the piece, Ludwig Nohl, may have transcribed the title incorrectly and the original title should have been "Für Therese". Beethoven proposed to Therese Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza but she turned him down and married Austrian nobleman Wilhelm von Droßdik. Why marry a poor artist when you can get a rich nobleman? Or maybe she didn’t like the tune. 

Jump ahead to the dawn of Rock and Roll and you will discover a staggering list of tunes dedicated to the one particular woman who needed to be immortalized in song.  "Lucille", screamed Little Richard, "please come back where you belong". If you knew "Peggy Sue", then you would know why Buddy Holly felt blue. In fact, a great number of these songs capture the anguish, despair and longing of the songwriter whose world has been shattered by the woman in question.  In "Maggie May", Rod Stewart wishes that he had never seen her face. In "Allison", Elvis Costello tells her it's over because she done him wrong. Women toying with the hearts of men have been the source material for too many songs to mention. When I was a young boy, my grandfather told me "Someday a woman will break your heart. You will never know greater pain than the pain caused by a woman."  Apparently , a lot of songwriters agree with him.

The classic construct of "Boy Wants Girl, Boy Gets Girl, Boy Loses Girl" has been the basis of countless books, movies and songs.  Because, like most people, I prefer finding to losing, I will concentrate the rest of this blog to songs about the search for women and that strange power they exact over men. "Rhiannon" cast her spell and you couldn't help but "love to love her".  The Beach Boys pleaded "Help Me Rhonda".  Eric Clapton was quite insistent when he commanded "Lay Down Sally".  The Dexy's Midnight Runners begged "Come On Eileen", like there was any hope at all.

Finally, two more fantastic songs are worthy of mention.  First, the classic "Gloria" by Van Morrison, with perhaps the greatest riff in Rock, celebrates the union of male and female like a spiritual awakening, a revelation, and a transcendance beyond the physical to achieve a true illumination of the sould.  It's a religious experience.  Second, perhaps more cheezy, but nonetheless just as heartfelt, "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond reminds us that, with the right woman, "good times never seemed so good".  I am very lucky to say that, for the past 31 years, that's how it has been with me and Margaret.  I am certain it will always be.

The Prince of Paupers

Michael McDermott is a very talented singer/songwriter from Chicago.  I started listening to Michael's songs back in 1991, when he released his first album,  620 W. Surf.  The album impressed me so much that was compelled to write him a fan letter.  I had never written a fan letter before and I heaped praise after praise upon the young artist; comparing him to Dylan and Springsteen.  The letter got the attention of his manager who then called Michael on the road and read him my glowing fan letter.  Michael was amused and through his generous nature, which he still has today, invited me to be his guest at an upcoming concert in Austin.  It was in the fall of 1991 that I first met Michael McDermott, and he has been a friend of mine ever since.

About ten years later, I flew to Chicago for a conference and I saw Michael again.  This time, I did not have an invitation, but after the show I waited with a large group of fans to go backstage for autographs and meet Michael.  Before I could even say hello, Michael said, "Dr. Vic...how have you been, brother?"  We chatted very briefly, musing about our respective careers, and then I went back out into the cold Chicago night thinking how amazing it was that he remembered me after all those years.

More time passed. Michael continued to improve his storytelling and expand his fan base.  Through blogs and websites, he has kept in touch with his fans, who refer to themselves at the pauper community after one of Michael's songs "Pauper's Sky".  His songs strike chords with his fans because he has a knack for capturing those universal experiences of longing and despair.  Like Woody Guthrie, he writes of the plight of the common man, the downtrodden, the losers, the broken spirits.  Through the years, Michael McDermott has created a mosiac of songs full of characters that we recognize.  Characters who strive to shine some light in the darkness and overcome life's hardships.  His songs give us hope.

His latest album is called Hey La Hey, a phrase immediately recognizable to McDermott fans because of its appearance in his older songs such as "Bells", and, once again, it is a triumph.  In my opinion, it is his best work to date.  Check out the single, "So Am I" on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIcTPLoKMww
and more of McDermott's music at his website http://www.michael-mcdermott.com/

Here is the CD insert for Hey La Hey, signed by Michael.  One of these days, all will be revealed.