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Post by Hiram on May 1, 2010 23:55:05 GMT -5
If there was a more influential musical artist in the 20th century than Jimmie Rodgers, I'm at a loss as to whom that might be. The election of Rodgers to both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame speaks directly to the impact of this one man upon American music.
That's just one opinion, I'm interested in what others have to say on this subject of musical influence in America.
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Post by TRK on May 2, 2010 17:03:40 GMT -5
If you're talking about his effect on other artists and the culture, I agree that Jimmie Rodgers is one of the most influential performers of the 20th century; I'd add that he's way up there on my list, and I have and often have listened to most of his collected recordings. I don't even deduct points from him because he's been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an organization I consider worse than a sham. (Topic for another discussion  ) As for other musicians that have been influential, I'd submit that Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles/ Lennon & McCartney have been at least as influential as Jimmie Rodgers. But, no argument, Jimmie Rodgers was one of the founding fathers of 20th-century American music, and a very interesting figure to read about (see: Nolan Porterfield's bio, Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America's Blue Yodeler). |
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Post by Jim Boylston on May 2, 2010 17:07:45 GMT -5
As far as influential goes, Bob Dylan ain't too shabby. Of course, Zimmy was influenced by Jimmie.
Jim
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Post by TRK on May 2, 2010 17:22:12 GMT -5
As far as influential goes, Bob Dylan ain't too shabby. Of course, Zimmy was influenced by Jimmie. Jim And, naturally, Dylan heavily influenced the Beatles. |
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Post by Donald Hash on May 2, 2010 22:19:51 GMT -5
...and both Dylan and The Beatles were influenced by the surrealist writings of one Arthur Rimbaud (1854 - 1891). If not for Rimbaud, who influenced Kerouac and the other Beat Poets, the ideals and word-craft of which influenced the music and culture of the 60s... Things would've turned out a bit different today. Of course, Rimbaud is just one major strand of influential DNA that evolved into the music we know and love. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimbaud |
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Post by Hiram on May 7, 2010 8:13:43 GMT -5
I don't even deduct points from him because he's been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an organization I consider worse than a sham. (Topic for another discussion ) As for other musicians that have been influential, I'd submit that Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles/ Lennon & McCartney have been at least as influential as Jimmie Rodgers. But, no argument, Jimmie Rodgers was one of the founding fathers of 20th-century American music, and a very interesting figure to read about (see: Nolan Porterfield's bio, Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America's Blue Yodeler).
Tracing back, you can go from Lennon & McCartney to Dylan to Woody Guthrie/Hank Williams to Jimmie Rodgers. Of course all those artists were influenced by mostly anonymous African-American musicians throughout the South. |
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 7, 2010 8:18:00 GMT -5
It's not always easy to trace who influenced particular artists most, but in a general sense you are all correct. American (and British) popular music is kind of like a tree, with solid roots and a lot of widely-spread out branches. I've probably told this story before, but please forgive my rapidly disappearing memory; I once interviewed Ringo Starr and asked him who is favorite artists were as kid and teenager; he immediately said "Gene Autry." He also explained why he was so taken with Autry's music and his appearance, but quickly mentioned Elvis second and said he was the guy that "totally turned our heads around."
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Post by TRK on May 7, 2010 17:46:40 GMT -5
Ringo....also explained why he was so taken with Autry's music and his appearance, but quickly mentioned Elvis second and said he was the guy that "totally turned our heads around." "Before Elvis, there was nothing." -John Lennon |
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 7, 2010 18:23:53 GMT -5
Ringo....also explained why he was so taken with Autry's music and his appearance, but quickly mentioned Elvis second and said he was the guy that "totally turned our heads around." "Before Elvis, there was nothing." -John Lennon "Cept Chuck Berry, Richard Penniman, Bill Haley, etc." ~ Me |
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 7, 2010 21:41:38 GMT -5
RR -- you're right; Chuck actually had a top-20 hit before Elvis and Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" was the first r&r record I ever heard and responded to as something new and different, which resonated with kids. Remember, most of us did not get to hear black artists of the period because most top-pop radio stations wouldn't play their records. Instead, we got Pat Boone, instead of Fats Domino, singing "Ain't That a Shame." I remember it being played constantly on a juke box where I hung out. It was only after talking to some friends in school about "other" radio stations that were playing a guy named Little Richard and other black artists that I finally started hearing their stuff. And this was in New York!
But, the big difference, or the major point about Elvis, is that he literally, single-handedly, virtually overnight, put his personal stamp on what became commonly recognized as Rock and Roll music around 1956. He did this partly through his unique vocal and performance style and through quick, national exposure on television, beginning in January 1956. No other rock and roll star was able to do this and, despite all of his other many shortcomings, Col. Parker has to be credited with engineering this. It wasn't just the songs Elvis recorded, or the attitude and message they conveyed to an entire generation of teens, it was also his appearance, the clothes he wore, the way he talked, the way he combed his hair, the way the mainstream responded to him, often with such vitriolic hysteria, that made the teenagers cling to him. I think it was ALL of that which John Lennon was referring to, and I understand completely what Lennon meant by that statement. Ironically, it was the fact that mainstream America, the adults of our world, identified Elvis AS the very definition of rock and roll that sealed his position as the original revolutionary, and that changed everything for good. Suddenly, everyone wanted to look like Elvis, learn to play the guitar, and noticed that young girls found that VERY appealing! We all flocked to his movies in the early days and waited anxiously for his next record. The Col. knew how to manage that perfectly and mastered the art of keeping Elvis rare; hard to get. Only so many records per year; so many TV appearances, so that every new look at Elvis became anticipated and special.
Allen
P.S. I meant to mention Alan Freed as the first guy I recall in the N.Y. area who made a point of playing black artists.
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 9, 2010 1:47:16 GMT -5
Well, I wasn't rockin' around during that time, so I can't argue with any of that Allen. In my opinion Elvis is definitely the King of Rock, Pop, Gospel, etc. if not the creator of a particular genre. I guess Rock and Roll was as underground in the early years as The Blues. |
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Post by Allen Wiener on May 9, 2010 8:54:41 GMT -5
It was sure frowned upon by the mainstream. There were record-burnings in the South in opposition to the black man's music "infecting" America's youth. Some radio DJs made a show of breaking records on the air and loudly boasting they wouldn't play "this rock and roll" on their stations. There were serious racial overtones to the opposition to rock and roll, even where I lived near NY City.
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Post by sloanrodgers on May 9, 2010 18:17:40 GMT -5
Well, I'm glad I missed most of that racist craziness and have only seen the silly aftershocks.
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Post by Seguin on May 9, 2010 20:48:42 GMT -5
It was sure frowned upon by the mainstream. There were record-burnings in the South in opposition to the black man's music "infecting" America's youth. Some radio DJs made a show of breaking records on the air and loudly boasting they wouldn't play "this rock and roll" on their stations. There were serious racial overtones to the opposition to rock and roll, even where I lived near NY City. And in the sixties there were Beatles record breaking parties because Lennon had said the Beatles were more popular among the young than Jesus. |
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Post by Paul Sylvain on May 25, 2010 18:57:00 GMT -5
Ah, yes, the famous Lennon quote that was taken out of context (it was a small part of a much more wordy response to a teen magazine interview). Taken in full context, it was quite benign.
Here is the full quote, as was printed in the March 4, 1966 London Evening Standard:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
As far as early pioneers, Fats Domino recorded a song called "Fat Man" on Imperial Records in 1949. It sold over a million copies and is regarded by many as the first rock 'n' roll record.
Paul
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