ROCK AND ROLL IS HERE TO STAY

I have been gently chided by some friends about my recent piece “Show-Stoppers” because I hardly mentioned rock ‘n roll, which seems to have utterly transformed their otherwise terminally dull lives. I plead that they misunderstood my earlier piece, which was not supposed to record anybody’s favourite songs but rather to recall particularly striking musical moments. In fact I liked rock ‘n roll immensely in my distant wasted youth and am delighted now to pay tribute to its enduring potency.

The actual term “rock ‘n roll” was said to have been coined by DJ Alan Freed, but its musical sources were many and varied including rockabilly, gospel and rhythm and blues. Whatever (and a whole industry is devoted to exploring these origins), the new genre exploded globally with kiss-curled Bill Haley and the Comets singing Rock around the Clock in the 1956 film of that name; British Teddy Boys trashed cinemas in their enthusiasm . As a 14 year old Scotsman in 1956, my contemporaries and I did not bother in the slightest about who started rock ’n roll – it was sufficient that it made an enormous amount of noise and that our elders and betters found it offensive.

Doo-wop (sic!) group Danny and the Juniors scored a huge 1957 hit with At the Hop and then set out the manifesto neatly before sinking without trace:

Rock and roll is here to stay.
It will never die.
It was meant to be that way
Though I don't know why
I don't care what people say
Rock and roll is here to stay.

Elvis Presley swivels in 1956

Elvis was an excellent singer of gospel (Peace in the Valley) and of ballads (Don’t) but he electrified the world with his dynamic rendering of rock classics like Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, All Shook Up and Blue Suede Shoes. His stage performances with his deep voice and notorious gyrations attracted adulation and scandal; his albums sold like hot cakes. Conscripted into the US Army in 1958 he became duller and more clean-cut. In the 1960s he concentrated on making rather feeble movies (King Creole maybe the best of a bad bunch) and then launching himself as a Las Vegas cabaret act in 1968. He attracted a huge US audience with ladies of a certain age but the Liberace-like, sequin-costumed and obese new Elvis was a travesty of the Elvis of old. He died an obsessive pill-popper in 1977 but he deserved the title of “The King”, though his reign was sadly short. I prefer to remember

She touched my hand what a chill I got
Her lips are like a volcano that's hot
I'm proud to say she's my buttercup
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
I'm all shook up

Elvis the King

                                                       

A major figure in the late 1950s was Buddy Holly, killed in an air crash in 1959. A geeky, bespectacled Texan, Buddy wrote, produced and sang his own excellent songs including That’ll be the Day, Rave On, Peggy Sue and Oh Boy. Much of his fame was posthumous and he left behind many tracks which were released later; his rockabilly style was widely influential.

Buddy Holly Raves On

                                             

A-well rave on, a-it's a crazy feelin' and
I know, it's got me reelin'
I'm so glad, that you're revealin'
Your love for me
Rave on, rave on and tell me
Tell me, not to be lonely
Tell me, you love me only
Rave on to me

Another Southerner was Jerry Lee Lewis whose Great Balls of Fire became a classic. A hell-raiser, his own career never got over the revelation that he had married his 14-year old cousin.

Another unquiet but greatly exciting spirit was Little Richard. Standing at the piano which he thumped unmercifully, hair greased, teeth gleaming he hit notes you hardly knew existed as he belted out Tutti Frutti, Lucille and Good Golly, Miss Molly - my, how our parents suffered as we played him endlessly on the record player, with his heavy back-beat punctuated by moans and screams! His bizarre retirement in 1958 to become an evangelist is essential America but he well represented the black origins of much rock ‘n roll.

Little Richard, the piano maker's nightmare

Good golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball,
Good golly Miss Molly, sure like to ball,
When you're rockin' and a rollin', can't hear your Mama call.

Quite often, a rock band is best remembered for only a few tracks. Cases in point are Gene Vincent with Be-Bop-A-Lula, Eddie Cochran with C’mon Everybody or The Coasters whose 1958 number Yakety Yak was unforgettable

Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spendin' cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

By contrast the British rock scene initially was parochial. Cockney Tommy Steele had a following but the most enduring artiste was goody-goody Cliff Richard, the Peter Pan of Pop, still going strong in his 70s. His 1958 Move It was a seminal British rock classic.

Wholesome Cliff Richard

Then another rock explosion detonated. A Liverpool band, the Beatles, had been touring the UK and building up fans in Northern Europe. Albums started to flow in 1963 and songs like Please, Please Me and Twist and Shout raced up the charts to be quickly followed by the likes of All My Loving, It Won’t be Long and I Want to be Your Man. Fan hysteria reached new heights and in 1964 the mop-headed Fab Four made a wildly successful US tour.

John, Paul, George and Ringo

What the Americans call The British Invasion had started with plenty other acts crossing the pond in the wake of the Beatles, such as The Dave Clark Five (Bits and Pieces), Herman’s Hermits (I’m into Something Good), Manfred Mann (Do-Wah Diddy Diddy) and Gerry and the Pacemakers (I Like It).

Although I enjoyed A Hard Day’s Night and Help! my own rock/pop days were coming to an end. As the Beatles moved on to Gurus, long hair and psychedelic substances, they had lost me. The Rolling Stones, an admired and edgier band, did not appeal – I found them physically repellent. Later rock bands are a closed book to me, although I briefly revived my interest with Abba’s iconic 1974 Waterloo.

My my
At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah
And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo

Abba meet their Waterloo

Thus my rock ‘n roll days ended. It was all a long time ago, but it was great fun.

SMD

20.09.12

Text Copyright Sidney Donald 2012