Flat-Out Rock: Ten Great Bands of the 60s

Overview

The bands that rocked the 60s and 70s still resonate today.

The pioneers of 60s rock spoke for an entire generation of young people. Their music and personas reflected the conflicting moods, politics and passions of a turbulent era. Now, a new generation of musicians and fans is discovering the unique sound from that incomparable musical period.

Charge into Flat-Out Rock and step on stage with 10 icons of 60s and 70s rock. Author and musician ...

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Overview

The bands that rocked the 60s and 70s still resonate today.

The pioneers of 60s rock spoke for an entire generation of young people. Their music and personas reflected the conflicting moods, politics and passions of a turbulent era. Now, a new generation of musicians and fans is discovering the unique sound from that incomparable musical period.

Charge into Flat-Out Rock and step on stage with 10 icons of 60s and 70s rock. Author and musician Mike Tanner puts you in the front row as he chooses a pivotal event in the careers of the greatest rock artists of the era. He tells readers who influenced these classic bands and, in turn, which contemporary bands have drawn on the sounds from that time. Tanner lists each band's best songs and albums, and highlights some of the other great figures who enjoyed popular appeal.

From Jimi Hendrix's burning performance at the Monterey Pop Festival to the Rolling Stones' tragic concert at Altamont, you'll witness the most extraordinary era of recent times. Also profiled:

  • The Beatles
  • The Doors
  • Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash
  • Janis Joplin
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • Led Zeppelin
  • Bob Dylan
  • The Who.

With a blend of pulse-pounding storytelling and captivating images, Flat-Out Rock is the perfect introduction for young fans.

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Editorial Reviews

Resource Links - Victoria Pennell
Capture[s] the essence of the "new" music of the '60s... a great addition to the history of rock music for music programs.
VOYA - Mary E. Heslin
Musician and recording artist Tanner profiles ten bands whose careers peaked between 1964 and 1974, classic rock's heyday. Before 1964, Tanner views rock as formative, and after 1974, as fractured into genres. Musicians made his list because they created unique sounds, brought singular passion to their art, dominated their particular styles, and influenced all who followed them. They are Bob Dylan; The Beatles; The Who; The Doors; Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; Creedence Clearwater Revival; The Rolling Stones; Neil Young and Crosby, Stills and Nash; and Led Zeppelin. Tanner discusses other qualified bands, but to include one or more of them among his ten, he asks, "Who would they replace?" An introductory section summarizes each band's importance, tracks its rise to fame, and identifies its members. A longer narrative tells how each group formed and developed musically, names its best songs and albums, and touches on its internal difficulties-often drug and/or personality related-and reports its present status. Outstanding photos appear throughout, not only of the musicians but also of pivotal events, such as the shooting at Kent State, that influenced both the musicians and their audiences. Tanner successfully demonstrates how each band interpreted the anger, idealism, passions, and excesses of its generation. Teens interested in the origins of the rock music written in this new millennium, as well as fans eager to learn more about their idols-along with U2, the Stones are "the biggest concert draw in the rock world" today-will find this slim readable volume an excellent preliminary resource.
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up
Ten of the great bands in the forefront of the music scene from 1964 to 1974 are highlighted here. Tanner offers a description of how each group came together and how its distinctive style developed. The discussion includes the social and political history of the period and shows how the musicians were impacted by broader events. Many of the era's songs were written in protest against the Vietnam War and other real or perceived injustices. Tanner also candidly discusses the influence of drugs on the musicians and shows how it sometimes led to self-destruction. The narrative style will hold readers' attention. A great deal of related information appears in colorful boxes or on a page that interrupts the chapter. Listings of each group's influences and greatest hits are included, as are discussions of the women's liberation movement, folk music, and the tragedy at Kent State University. This information adds to the book's scope, but interrupts the narrative flow. In spite of the layout, however, this book would be a helpful resource to use along with Adam Woog's The History of Rock and Roll (Gale, 1999) and Frank Moriarty's Seventies Rock (Taylor Trade, 2003).
—Renee SteinbergCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
The narrative style will hold the readers' attention. A great deal of related information appears in colorful boxes.
— Renee Steinberg
Resource Links
Capture[s] the essence... a great addition to the history of rock music for music programs.
— Victoria Pennell
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781554510368
  • Publisher: Annick Press, Limited
  • Publication date: 9/12/2006
  • Pages: 160
  • Age range: 12 - 17 Years
  • Product dimensions: 6.50 (w) x 8.00 (h) x 0.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Mike Tanner is a musician and author of Resurrection Blues. His band plays in and around Toronto, where he lives.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Bob Dylan: June 1965 to May 1966
The Beatles: November 1966 to April 1967
The Who: November to December 1965
The Doors: August 1966
Janis Joplin: June 1967
Jimi Hendrix: August 1969
Creedence Clearwater Revival: 1969
The Rolling Stones: December 1969
Neil Young and Crosby, Stills, & Nash: May 1970
Led Zeppelin: November 1971

More Classic Songs Selected Bibliography and Cited Materials Further Reading Index Photo Credits About the Author

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Preface

Introduction

The bands and individual artists in this book are unique musical talents. They differ widely from each other when it comes to their style and their songs--but they also have much in common. Let's take a closer look.

First, all of these musicians created sounds that had never been heard before. Whether it was the folk-rock of Bob Dylan, the swamp rock of Creedence Clearwater Revival, or the hard rock of Led Zeppelin, a musical revolution took place in each case. Every musician used what had come before and added something personal to break new ground. Each band, singer, player, and songwriter also kept moving forward. Not one was content to remain in the same place, musically speaking, for long.

Second, the artists in this book brought a special passion and energy to music. No audience had witnessed total power unleashed onstage until the Who let loose in London's clubs during the mid-'
60s. Never had a white woman sung gut-wrenching blues like Janis Joplin did when she knocked the crowd out at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

Third, all the musicians you'll read about here caused their share of controversy. Dylan and Neil Young did it just through the songs they wrote. Others, such as the Rolling Stones and the Doors, made waves partly because of the lives they led offstage, and how their dangerous images affected the music they created.

Finally, nobody in these pages cared as much about pleasing the accountants or the critics as they did about artistic honesty. If an album sold millions, that was great--as long as the songs expressed something true. A few musicians, like the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, eventually felt limited by their fans' demands and their record companies' hunger for hits. They had a difficult time trying to live up to people's expectations while still doing what was closest to their own hearts.

The late '60s and very early '70s was the right time for committed, impassioned, original music. Because of their huge numbers, the postwar baby boomers who came of age during this period affected society like no previous generation ever had. Many of these young people, well educated and outspoken, weren't content to allow their elders to dictate the shape and direction of the world. Across North America and the United Kingdom, teenagers, university students, and working youth became more politically active. For a few years, they believed that they could bring about major social changes. They campaigned for the equality of women and racial minorities, and for peace at home and overseas. They supported politicians who favored new, progressive policies and they marched against those who didn't. There were protests and demonstrations. Many people were optimistic, not cynical; and the hippie ideals of love, peace, and equality briefly seemed within reach.
Eventually, some of the ideas this young generation worked for would be accepted by mainstream culture.

Rock music was essential to this international community of young idealists. The photos throughout this book illustrate some of the issues that shaped and influenced the popular music of the day. Songs on the radio told listeners the news and helped shape their opinions. Musicians were forces for social change, either by writing and singing about it directly, or by exemplifying it in their performances and in how they lived. Stars didn't jump on political bandwagons just because it was trendy: Neil Young wrote "Ohio" because he was genuinely shocked by the Kent State shootings; CCR's John Fogerty composed "Fortunate Son" as his honest reaction to the hypocrisy of the American government's involvement in the Vietnam War.

Of course, just like any other era, the '60s produced a lot of forgettable music. There were goofs'
trends and manufactured clichés; for every one of the Beatles there were a hundred bands like the Monkees. But the best of the '60s music still sounds immediate and alive today. It still rocks. That's one reason "classic rock" is so popular, decades after the songs were written. The musicians in this book, and many others, defined the shape of rock music long after their time in the spotlight. There isn't a songwriter alive who can honestly deny the influence of Bob Dylan's lyrics or Paul McCartney's melodies. Everyone who plays electric rock guitar has learned from Jimi Hendrix; all singers who bare their souls in performance have taken something from Janis Joplin or John Lennon.

The 10 chapters that follow took shape partly around this idea--how these musicians influenced everyone who came after them. Each chapter features a list of "musical descendants" who appeared in the decades following the '60s. In the work of these newer artists,
we can hear the echoes of our 10 classic performers. Their influence will be felt, in one way or another, for a long time to come.

Also, these particular artists are profiled because of their popularity at the time, how much they defined and dominated a particular style of rock music, and how original and how potent they were when they were at the top.

A word about terms-such as "rock music." Rock is a category broad enough to include hard rock (for example, Led Zeppelin) and soft rock (some of the music by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young). It also encompasses, especially in its earlier years, music that might now be called country (Buddy Holly and early Elvis Presley). There's folk-rock (sonic of Bob Dylan) and blues-rock (Janis Joplin) and jazz-rock (sonic of the Doors).

There's also the term "pop." Basically, it refers to the most successfully marketed, entertaining music of any given time.
Although most pop music falls into one rock style or another, and most rock music is popular, the word "pop" suggests something lighter. Pop is intended as pure entertainment rather than as an expression of any serious ideas, whether personal or political. Some of our ten singers and bands have written the odd pop song--but, they were motivated by more than just popularity.

Another note, this one about time periods. The bands covered in this book are limited to those whose careers peaked during classic rock's heyday: from the mid-'60s to the early '70s. Before this period, rock music was still in its formative stages; after, it began to fracture into many genres and sub-genres. So, in this book, we're talking about 1964 until 1974. That's why you won't find Elvis Presley (too early), or AC/DC, or Bruce Springsteen, or U2 (all too late).

Still, there are many others who could have been included. Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Van Morrison, the Grateful Dead, the Velvet Underground, the Band, the Beach Boys, .Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart--here are another 10 who could make up a second book. Each has good reasons for being in this one. But whom would they replace?

Read the book, check out the music, and decide for yourself. Each chapter includes lists of the artist's best music. Pick up the albums if you can--they're the full show, a complete listening experience you won't get just hearing a song or two. Turn up the volume, flip through the pages, and rock on.

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