| You may be wondering when exactly did rock/pop | | | | sound. Even so It was regarded as the forerunner of |
| music begin? There's no clear answer to this. Some | | | | the electronic sampler, invented nearly 20 years later. |
| might say that it started with the advent of rock n | | | | Infinitely more flexible than the Melotron, the sampler |
| roll with Bill Haley and the Comets in 1952. Others | | | | helped build the framework for modern pop,dance |
| would say Elvis, although not the first but surely the | | | | and R&B music. |
| original truly global superstar. Yet none of these were | | | | The Beatles 'Sgt.. Pepper' album with its |
| really the first. Rock n roll has its roots in blues which | | | | groundbreaking recording techniques was preceded |
| has its roots back to the 19th century with black | | | | the year before by their 'Revolver' album. These LP's |
| immigrants trying to escape from their slave driven | | | | helped popularize a new wave in music known as |
| lives. Fast forward to the early 20th. century and | | | | psychedelic or acid rock, named after the mind |
| some of the earliest recordings on 78 began to | | | | bending effects of LSD drugs. Pink Floyd also |
| appear. Players from this time such as Bobby Jo and | | | | recorded their debut album 'Piper at the Gates of |
| Robert Johnson helped to form the structure of early | | | | Dawn' in the studio next door at the same time that |
| blues | | | | The Beatles recorded Sgt. Pepper. It was reported |
| Robert Johnson had recorded only thirty songs during | | | | that Pink Floyd were a direct influence to The |
| his short life as he was prevented from achieving | | | | Beatles as a result. This new style incorporated new |
| true fame while alive by being poisoned by a jealous | | | | guitar effects like Fuzz, flanger anger and delays. |
| husband. He died shortly before he was being sought | | | | These were used along side the earliest portable |
| to appear at the 'Spirituals To Swing' concert in 1938 | | | | synthesizers such as the therein and mini Moog. |
| by record producer John Hammond. As a result, his | | | | invented by Bob Moog. |
| reputation only took off after Hammond released an | | | | In America, the Beach boys responded with the 'Pet |
| album of his recordings for Columbia in the early | | | | sounds' LP in 1966 and later that year released the |
| sixties. Later blues exponents like Muddy Waters and | | | | first big psychedelic hit 'Good Vibrations'. About this |
| Eric Clapton admitted borrowing heavily from these | | | | time, the band 'Jefferson Airplane' recorded their |
| early stalwarts. | | | | debut album which was also the first LP to come out |
| In the 50's, artists took the basic blues style and | | | | of the new San Franciscan music scene. This got the |
| used electric guitars, drums and double bass for the | | | | record industry's attention and they had two of the |
| first time creating early rock n roll, later known as | | | | earliest psychedelic hits 'White Rabbit' and 'Somebody |
| rockabilly. Stalwarts like Chuck Berry, Buddy Hollie and | | | | to Love' in 1967. |
| Jerry Lee Lewis were the most famous protagonists | | | | Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Jim Morrison joined with |
| here. Later Elvis in the US and to a lesser extent, Cliff | | | | members of The Psychedelic Rangers and Rick and |
| Richard (later leading the Shadows) in the UK brought | | | | the Ravens to form 'The Doors' They were initially |
| rock n roll to a truly worldwide audience. This paved | | | | turned down by Columbia but were signed to Electra |
| the way for the 60's beat era which could be | | | | Records and released their self titled debut LP in |
| considered the true beginning of pop music as we | | | | 1967. The album included the 7 minute long hit single |
| know it today, certainly as far as bands were | | | | 'Light my Fire' one of the first to break the typical |
| concerned. | | | | three minute pop and rock song barrier. |
| In the 50's and early 60's, it was mostly lead solo | | | | Back in Britain, radio broadcasting was very limited |
| artists with just a backing band. With the advent of | | | | because the BBC were the only organization allowed |
| the beat era, bands dominated with The Beatles, The | | | | to broadcast on the mainland and had just two pop |
| Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys from the US | | | | music shows The Saturday club and Easy Beat Radio |
| taking the world by storm. Even so, The Beatles later | | | | Luxembourg partially filled the gap but it was left to |
| admitted being heavily influenced by those earlier | | | | pirate radio, broadcast from ships out at sea with DJ |
| rock n roll and blues artists. They mostly played rock | | | | John Peel' which enabled the new style to reach a |
| n roll and blues covers at their pre-fame Hamburg | | | | mass audience, often eclipsing the BBC in popularity. |
| concerts. in the early 60's. The Beatles however, | | | | The BBC responded in the end with the advent of |
| were the first band to successfully blend classical | | | | Radio 1 in June 1967. With the existing labor |
| music textures with rock n roll to form perfectly | | | | government making pirate radio illegal in Britain several |
| crafted pop songs. While bands like The Rolling | | | | months later, Du's like John Peel rather than risk |
| Stones continued with the mainly rock n roll theme, | | | | arrest joined radio 1 which had a much more informal |
| The Beatles took their finely crafted style further in | | | | and relaxed style as opposed to the staid and |
| the seminal album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club | | | | conservative approach favored by the BBC until then. |
| Band' in 1967 by utilizing new studio techniques and | | | | This perfectly suited psychedelic pop and rock and |
| instruments never used before. They used a new | | | | John Peel championed this in his late night shows. |
| instrument called 'the Melotron' This was basically a | | | | playing new genres of music and introducing new and |
| keyboard which played looped tape recordings. of | | | | unsigned bands in the Peel sessions. He did this for |
| real instruments. The most famous sound from this | | | | nearly four decades until his death in 2004. |
| was probably the flute used on the 'Strawberry | | | | By the end of the 60's after the break up of the |
| Fields' single recorded at the same time but later | | | | beatles, mainstream music was about to change |
| dropped from the album. The Melotron though, was | | | | direction yet again both in style and fashion. |
| cumbersome and unreliable and had a rather grainy | | | | |