I think we can agree that a lot of pop and rock from 50+ years ago (counting the Chuck Berry era) is still respected and enjoyed by today's youth, and young musicians. Clearly it's because much of the music the kids and their parents and possibly grandparents listened to, has that certain something, whereas the kids growing up in the '60s and '70s generally didn't find the same enjoyment from the music their parents listened to just 20 or 30 years prior.
What makes a pop/rock song so classic and timeless, that the original recording holds up across generations? When a band plays Brown Eyed Girl in a bar, how is it that both 60-year-olds and 20-somethings dance with the same love for the music?
One thought is that when rock drumming became a thing, the beat forever changed and is universal for baby boomers and newer generations.
Another concept is that the beat changed then - late '50s, let's say - and really hasn't changed much since.
Were the old songs really that great? I think most of them were, and like today, there was no lack of sappy stuff ("Seasons In The Sun" was probably the "Friday" or "Call Me Maybe" of its day.) But there was certainly more invention and creation, and it was exciting.
It's interesting and somewhat affirming that the excitement has remained, but it's not just on the casual listener's part. Up & coming young players have a healthy respect and reverence for musicians and bands from the past like Hendrix, Bonham, Jimmy Page & Led Zeppelin, Moon & Townshend, Stevie Ray, Beatles, Cream, etc., many of whom had stopped releasing "new" music (for obvious reasons) long before these young players were born.
So is it the musicians that played the music, or is it the songs themselves that were really that good? Sure, the older folks have an obvious throwback to their youth and the specific music they grew up with, but today's kids don't have that, so why do they dig the old stuff?
Can we expect a time where today's artists, even the one-hit-wonders, will be considered classic, and be played by bar bands in 20-30 years? Will classic songs from the '60s and '70s still hold up, or will they eventually be considered ancient?
Bermuda
What makes a pop/rock song so classic and timeless, that the original recording holds up across generations? When a band plays Brown Eyed Girl in a bar, how is it that both 60-year-olds and 20-somethings dance with the same love for the music?
One thought is that when rock drumming became a thing, the beat forever changed and is universal for baby boomers and newer generations.
Another concept is that the beat changed then - late '50s, let's say - and really hasn't changed much since.
Were the old songs really that great? I think most of them were, and like today, there was no lack of sappy stuff ("Seasons In The Sun" was probably the "Friday" or "Call Me Maybe" of its day.) But there was certainly more invention and creation, and it was exciting.
It's interesting and somewhat affirming that the excitement has remained, but it's not just on the casual listener's part. Up & coming young players have a healthy respect and reverence for musicians and bands from the past like Hendrix, Bonham, Jimmy Page & Led Zeppelin, Moon & Townshend, Stevie Ray, Beatles, Cream, etc., many of whom had stopped releasing "new" music (for obvious reasons) long before these young players were born.
So is it the musicians that played the music, or is it the songs themselves that were really that good? Sure, the older folks have an obvious throwback to their youth and the specific music they grew up with, but today's kids don't have that, so why do they dig the old stuff?
Can we expect a time where today's artists, even the one-hit-wonders, will be considered classic, and be played by bar bands in 20-30 years? Will classic songs from the '60s and '70s still hold up, or will they eventually be considered ancient?
Bermuda