Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia

728 Pages·2003·16.06 MB·English

by  Maury Dean

ROCK ’n’ ROLL
GOLD
RUSH

ROCK ’n’ ROLL
GOLD
RUSH

A Singles Un-cyclopedia

Maury Dean

Algora Publishing
New York
© 2003 by Algora Publishing.
All Rights Reserved.
www.algora.com

No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-87586-207-1 (softcover)
ISBN: 0-87586-208-X (hardcover)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dean, Maury.
Rock and roll : Gold rush / by Maury Dean.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-87586-208-X (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-207-1 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Rock music—History and criticism. I. Title: Gold rush. II. Title.

ML3534.D42 2003
781.66'09—dc21
2003009634

Proofreader, Copy Editor — Molly Altizer
Text formatting — Mary Ann Still
Picture selection and layout — Jeremy Dean

Printed in the United States
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ………………………………………...…………………………………………………………………………………….. XI
Acknowledgements …………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….. XV
About the Author…. …………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………….. XVI
Chapter 1: Three Guys, Three Chords, and a Cloud of Dust .............................................……. 1
Chapter 2: Stardust Yesteryear Pioneers ................................................................................……. 7
Chapter 3: Dixieland Cowboys -- Moonlight Serenade .....................................................……. 15
Chapter 4: Just a Song at Twilight, with (Guitar) Strings Attached ........................………. 29
Chapter 5: Roll Over the Boogie: Dig That Rhythm and Blues ...................................……….. 35
Chapter 6: Rock Around the Block ..........................................................................................….. 43
Chapter 7: Happy Daze .................................................................................................................… 53
Chapter 8: Holly Days -- Nevermore to Evermore .............................................................…….. 61
Chapter 9: We’ll Sail on That Sloop ‘John B’ ......................................................................……... 75
Chapter 10: Johnny B. Badde, Bandstand Teen Dreams, and the Sizzling Sixties .……….. 83
Chapter 11: In the Shadow of Elvis ...........................................................................................…. 95
Chapter 12: Surf ’s Up... Sixties Surf and Road Warrior Rock .....................................……... 113
Chapter 13: The Really Great Singers And a Few ‘A-’ Ones .............................................….. 121
Chapter 14: North Coast, East Coast, and No Coast Rock.............................................…….. 133
Chapter 15: Kim Dandy to the Rescue -- Women Who Rock & Roll .............................. 139
Chapter 16: Ringo’s Rockers in an International Role ..................................................………. 147
Chapter 17: Dual Role: Liverpool and Motown Cool .......................................................……. 157
Chapter 18: Rock & Roll Thunder Over the Mersey, the Thames, and the Galaxy……... 167
Chapter 19: America’s Golden Age of Rock .........................................................................…... 187
Chapter 20: Rockets’ Red Glare: Cannonade Serenade ..................................................…... 205
Chapter 21: Crossing the Great Divide -- 1970 ................................................................……... 217
Chapter 22: You’re Welcome in the Home of the Blues ................................................…….. 231
Chapter 23: Timeless Troubadours ........................................................................................…. 251
Chapter 24: A Joyful Noise Unto the Lord: Rock, Roll, & Religion ............................…... 263
Chapter 25: Disco Inferno... The Dancing Queen .............................................................……. 283
Chapter 26: Rockin’ Jazz Razz-Mo-Tazz: Art, Orchestral, and Jazz Rock Fusion...... 295
Chapter 27: Heart of Rock & Roll ............................................................................................ .. 321
Chapter 28: Smash, Thrash, and Crash -- Rip-Roaring Rise of Metalmania ...........…….. 365
VII
Chapter 29: All That Glitters Is Glitz? Or Gold? .............................................................…….. 381
Chapter 30: Rock & Roll -- Marathoners and 38-Hit Wonders........................................ . 389
Chapter 31: Tango Fandango -- Latino Rock: Chalypso To Reggae To Salsa ..........……... 413
Chapter 32: Jock Rock -- Sports Rock Meets the Gold Rush ‘90s Waltz Kings .......... 431
Chapter 33: Punk, Rockabilly, and New Wave Rebels in the Old Surf .......................….. 437
Chapter 34: Hip Rap Soul ............................................................................................................ 457
Chapter 35: Light Metal -- The Easy Squeezy Stuff .........................................................……. 471
Chapter 36: Blue Star-Spangled Country and Roadhouse Rock ..................................…... 485
Chapter 37: Bonnie B. Goode: Women (and a Few Good Men) in Rock and Roll .…….. 521
Chapter 38: MTV and ROCKFLIX: Nifty Mix or Jiffy Pix? ..............................................… 535
Chapter 39: On . . . On . . . ON to Rock-Ville Centre .......................................................…... 545
Chapter 40: Still Rock and Roll to Us! ..................................................................................… 565
Chapter 41: Rockin’ Always -- And Even Forevermore?................................................……. 587
Chapter 42: Take Good Care of Our Baby ............................................................................… 601
Niner Nuggets ................................................................................................................................ 605
Chapter Questions ........................................................................................................................ 615
Glossary ....................................................................................................................................……... 627
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................… 643
Photo Credits ..............................................................................................................................… 647
Index ....................................................................................................................................………….. 649
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees .....................................................................................… 679

VIII
“Hearing Elvis for the first time was like busting out of jail.”
– Bob Dylan –
“If you remember the 60s, you weren’t there.”
– Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bumper sticker –
“If it’s too loud, you’re too old.”
– Ted Nugent [of Amboy Dukes] –
“The function of Rock and Roll is to annoy parents.”
– Bob Merlis, Record Executive –
“Not even boot camp is as tough as being in Rock and Roll.”
– Patty Smith –
“Without Elvis, none of us could have made it.”
– Buddy Holly, 1958 –
“Rock and Roll will be gone by June.”
– Music trade magazine Variety, 1955 –
“I like Rock and Roll, and I don’t like much else.”
– John Lennon –
“We got into music to avoid a job, and get lots of girls.”
– Paul McCartney –
Quotes above from video clips, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Rock Hall of Fame Costume Collection, 1-8-2000 [Elvis’s would-be 65th birthday]
“We all just want to be heard . . .”
– Oprah Winfrey, inadvertently expressing the chief reasons for every Rock and Roll song,
Emmy Awards, NBC, 9-22-2002