What Killed Rock & Roll? (Hint: It Wasn't Hip Hop)

In this episode we investigate the truth behind the death of Rock Music.

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Follow On Twitter - @rickbeato

[justincase]

I love classic rock. However, I'm sick of FM stations the same 200 songs, over, and over, and over.

[chrismccarter]

When the Beatles arrived in the US for the first time a US journalist asked John Lennon "what's the first thing you are going to do in America", John replied "I'm going to see Muddy Waters", the journalist asked "Where is that?"

[rtrrzeid]

What killed Rock. To quote Keith Richards, "they forget about the Roll".

[jamesclaydon]

I think it would be really cool if Rick made a list of up and coming rock bands that aren’t getting the recognition they deserve

[ceciliakaplan]

"Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll."

- Keith Richards

[SingleTax]

What's often overlooked whenever this issue is discussed is the Telecommunications "Reform" Act of 1996 -- a horrendous bill that (among other things) allowed a handful of corporations to buy up radio stations all over the country, and thereby dictate from on-high which songs get radio airplay and which ones don't.

[furthermoore]

What Killed Rock & Roll? Quick answer: Culture changes. Technological changes. And the music industry being a money machine over a creative machine.

[jagzrule]

Geddy Lee of Rush sums it up nicely: "All this machinery making modern music, can still be open hearted; it's not so coldly charted, it's really just a question of your honesty, yeah your honesty; one likes to believe in the freedom of music, but glittering prizes and endless compromises shatter the illusion of integrity"

[StanAlter]

Jim Morrison predicted that popular music would become one guy on stage with a bunch of machines.

[wowbagger]

What killed rock? Silly question. What killed classical? What killed Baroque? Nothing killed them, they are all still alive, but time marches on and they all become the music of then, and not now.

But seriously nickelback killed rock.

[barkbustin]

Country music is even more awful since the 2000s.Hillbilly tractor rap.

[monkmchorning]

Rick, I'm of the '52 generation, too, but my influences go back a little further. I became aware of rock and roll in '62 and started listening closely in the summer of '64. So along with blues I heard the influences of country, tin pan alley, minstrelsy, chasson, and all the mash-ups--rockabilly, Texas swing, uptown R&B, soul, surf, Brill Building--and it was all good. The elements that they all had were a sense of the past, an element of fusion or crossover, en element of surprise, and a sense of drama--setting, tension, climax, and denouement. You could turn on the radio and be surprised, and each song had a way of pulling up out in.

We've lost that, first with the sense of the past. In those days musicians listened to the record collections of their elders. Elvis had Lonnie Johnson, Bing Crosby, and Bill Monroe. Bob Dylan had Woodie Guthrie and Cisco Houston. And the Beatles had everything, plus Goffin and King. I had the Ink Spots from my dad, Burl Ives from my mom, and doo-wop singles from my Aunt Pat. Second, for worse as well as better, filtered out a lot of chaff. Making and selling records was expensive and you had to have something special to make the cut. Third, public airwaves and limited bandwidth meant democracy on the airwaves. On one hand FM rock introduced a lot of new sounds, but it was also the tart of market segmentation. Last, people really listened to music. We demanded more from it than background noise, accompaniment to occupy the ears while we were busy doing something else.

So my theory has many culprits, but maybe the big ones are the decline of vinyl and AM radio.

[joefaber]

The reason why Rock effectively died is totally because of the corporate takeover of the music industry... record labels, radio stations, instrument companies, etc.

[themelnibonean]

Music was much better when ugly people were allowed to make it. That is the real truth. Now its more important to look like a model than be talented or innovative.

[sambradley]

Rock N Roll isn't dead, it just went into the Witness Relocation Program. It's still around to an extent.

[kinadabambino]

I want rock and roll to come back, it’ll be tough but I’ll learn the style and try my best. We can’t let such an amazing sound die.

[searchingforlostatoms]

I'm 67. Have no fear, there was plenty of garbage in the 60s and other decades before or after. The main difference between nostalgic times and now is the forum that technology has provided. In the 60s, music was available through records, American Bandstand, and AM radio, and to a big extent word of mouth. Today, due to the fracturing of the culture by way of available outlets due to technology, there are so many outlets where music is found, the music pool is very watered down. I am typing on a technology that anyone can pigeonhole themselves into a particular genre and never have to come up for air. In the 60s, super groups were marketed similarly, but the number of outlets for the music was severely limited compared to today. Within a minute, I can find any particular kind of music I want and expose myself to something that would have taken days, weeks whatever to seek out. Availability. Rock wasn't as dominant in the popular culture in those times as you may think. The big difference between then and now is the supergroup phenomena. In 1967, when the Beatles unveiled Sgt. Pepper there wasn't a human on earth that had access to electricity that couldn't tell you who the Beatles were. That doesn't mean they liked them, because there was a huge backlash against 'Rock n Roll' then. It just means the Beatles were known worldwide. Who would that group or person be today? We're so fractured now, I don't think that question can be answered. If I want to hole myself up and listen to 2021 Rock today, I could access it and never come up for air, thanks to the availability of extremely narrow bands of genre out there.

[ultrasuede]

In my opinion, "American Idol" is the worst thing that ever happened to music, and deserves the most blame for killing rock and roll.

[ericschlebus]

This is literally the best channel on YouTube. A nice break from the endless politics and conspiracies.

[chrisalcala]

MTV abdicated their throne as a launch pad for new music back in 1993 and replaced music with reality (narcissism) TV. I found Santana IV while shopping at Target in 2016. I had no idea this new album existed because the local stations didn't promote it and I was blown away by how great is was/is.