Rock and roll… the “evil demon” that we listened to in our youth that was going to make all of our generation into a hopeless cause, turns 60 this year and it has me all nostalgic for my early rock n roll years.
Rock and Roll’s 60th birthday is earmarked as the anniversary of the year that Elvis Presley came out with his debut album, “That’s All Right” (1954) but for most of us here, the 60th birthday of rock means so much more than Elvis, although I remember him fondly.
I do remember back to the day, very early in my life, when Elvis was only allowed to be televised from the waist up because swivelling hips was not considered proper for prime time television in the 1950s. Surprising to think that censorship was ever this severe.
I can remember my first record my parents gave me for my 15th birthday – Help! by The Beatles. It was my most favourite album and I played it non-stop for months. That’s when rock ‘n’ roll really started for me and ever since I have been collecting records (I’m so glad they have had a resurgence of late) – I now have over 300.
When I heard that rock ‘n’ roll was turning 60, it really took me back to the late 60s/early 70s when I was a teenager. Although I was a little young for Elvis, my mother was a special fan and knew a friend who had gotten his signature. Rock stars were something different back then: they were effortlessly cool and we would swoon over them so much. I loved seeing men with guitars and The Beatles were just a revelation to my friends and I and when I think about their career, I often think back to other important moments in rock and roll history. I reminisce quite a lot about these moments and while they’re not necessarily what some would regard as the “greatest” times of rock and roll, I see them as defining musical milestones.
Some of them are obvious choices: The Beatles on Ed Sullivan – while I didn’t see it on the TV, I heard about it in the paper…these days I could just Google it. Rock ‘n’ roll just epitomises my youth and I know plenty feel the same way. I would dance with my friends and I was even swooned by my late husband as he played his guitar and held my hand.
So, on this anniversary year of rock ‘n’ roll, we shall look back at the most important moments in the genre! Feel free to add any more that you remember (my memory isn’t that great – I had to enlist the help of my nephew):