Last night I cranked up the amp to eleven and played for the first time in some weeks. And as I ran through ClaptonÂ’s version of Crossroads I realized, not for the first time, that it was the epitome of blues rock, absolutely second to none.

Eddie Van Halen once said that that was arguably the best guitar solo ever recorded, and that statement certainly has some merit. It also lead me to outlining in my head the defining moments of rock history. ItÂ’s funny, but sometimes when I play I think of other things and have moments of profound clarity whilst in the middle of a face melting solo.

Anyway, these are what I believe to be the defining moments in rock history.

ElvisÂ’s recordings at Sun Studios: Groundbreaking recordings of a white guy singing what was essentially black music. Also the beginning of what would become the greatest culture theft in modern times.

The Beatles on Ed Sullivan: The mass hysteria at the airport, the creaming of young girls panties and the beginning of the British Invasion. We will never see a band generate so much intensity again.

Chuck Berry literally invents the rock guitar riff: The intro to songs like Johnny B. Good and Maybelene become the stepping stones of almost every guitar riff in the rock guitar handbook.

Dylan turns the Beatles on to smoking pot: Ever wonder how the Beatles went from I Want to Hold Your Hand to Glass Onion? You bet your life thatÂ’s what did it. Dylan going electric gets an honorable mention as well.

The Beach Boys release Pet Sounds: The masterpiece that turned rock on itÂ’s head and inspired the next bombshellÂ…

The Beatles record Sgt. Pepper on 4 track: George Martin should get a lot of credit for this as well. This album changed everything forever. Rock would never be the same again as other influences are mixed in and limitations are erased. The day after the album was released, Jimi Hendrix opened a live show with a cover version of the title track. Aside from the masterpiece of music that it was, it was also the first time (I think) that lyrics are printed on the album sleeve. And the whole album cover design ushered in a new era.

The Stone’s Altamont Fiasco: The Stone’s play a free show in San Francisco using the Hell’s Angels as security. A murder was caught on film and the “Summer of Love” officially ended.

Stairway: Led Zeppelin conquers the known world.

Dark Side of the Moon: What can anyone say? Enter prog rock.

Ziggy Stardust: Enter glam rock.

God Save the Queen: The Sex Pistols sell the swindle. Enter punk rock and with it people who have no idea how to play instruments. Counter culture or ringing cash registerÂ…you make the call.

The 80s kill rock music as we know it: A long, long time agoÂ…I can still remember whenÂ…those good old boys were drinking whiskey and ryeÂ…

MTV plays black artists: After being under the fire for years MTV begins playing black artists, and in the process popularizes rap.

Seattle: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, et. al.

Music sharing: Copyright? What the fuck are you talking about?

The great wasteland: A shitload of bands that all sound like Creed (who sounds like Pearl Jam) clog up the airwaves with brooding bullshit of no substance or creativity whatsoever.

The iPod : People now carry around their entire music collection in a device smaller than a cell phone.

And there we have it.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at 10:35 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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