| Maybe we are at a musical watershed? Hate to admit this but I lived through a similar dry period back in the late 50s and early 60s...the only musician it seemed, that had any integrity and showed innovation was James Brown and Chuck Berry. All the other stuff was novelty crap like the Chipmunks and Burl Ives or Dean Martin. Even Elvis was churning out commercial pablum.
The Beach Boys and the Four Seasons were producing listenable stuff but Chuck Berry was creating modern Rock 'n' Roll and James Brown was creating Soul. There was also a huge Folk market led by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary. (See the movie A Mighty Wind...all true)
The paradigm shift happened when Dylan invented Rap music on Subterranean Homesick Blues and went electric. Then the Beatles showed up and everything changed. I mean everything...suddenly we started hearing "American" blues music (forbidden to main stream radio) played back to us by the Brits like Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Who and so on...Elvis went to Vegas and got fat but Chuck Berry kept Reelin' and a Rockin'....
Dylan and the Beatles changed everything and set the stage for Jimi Hendrix, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, CSNY and so on...now the closest we have to rock and roll is coming out of the "Country and Western" genre. 
A few years ago Jame Brown played at the dedication to the Rock and Roll museum in Cleveland. He asked the crowd for a moment of silence to remember those who had died before. he specifically mentioned John Lennon, Mama Cass (Elliot) and Mickey Mantle (Mickey Mantel???)....he bowed his head and the crowd settled down. The silence was broken by some fool in the back row who yelled "All Right! Moment of Silence! Yes!"...that guy is my hero!;) |
