The history of rock music : from the 60s to the 80s

1. The history of rock music :from the 60s to the 80s

2. The 60s – the years of rebellion,idealism and experimentation In the USA itwas the moment of the Beat Generation, thatexpresseditself in twomain musical trends : rock and folk music. The so called underground singerssangtheirprotestagainst the greatpolitical and social problems and theirusual target was the Vietnam war. At the same time the revolt of youngpeopleagainst family ties, traditions and cultural prisonswasgiven voice. The mostimportantsingerswere Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix.

3. Outside the USA rock became a Europeanphenomenon with the Beatles and the RollingStones, butBeatlesmania spread throughout the USA aswell. …outside the USA…

4. The youthful culture thatgrew up round rock musiciansexpresseditspoliticalprotest by adoptingunorthodoxhair and dressstyles, communal living and drug use. The mostfamousrepresentatives of the new attitudeswere the Hippies. The high point of rock-music culture occurred in the summer of 1969 when the ‘ Woodstock Music and Art Fair ’ attracted 50.000 youngpeoplewholivedtogether and listened to music for two or threedays.

5. The Beatles werea groupconsisting of fouryoungpeoplefrom Liverpool: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Everybodylovedthem in the sixties, mums and dadstoo, and theywereknownas «The FabFour», becausetheywerefabolous and theywerefour. They gave their first concert in the March of 1961, at the Cavern in Liverpool, and in the August of 1966 they gave their last concert in the USA in San Francisco. In January of 1969 they played live for the last time on the roof of the Apple’s London office and in 1970 they split up. In 1980 John was killed by a fan.

6. Letit be When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness She is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be. And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree There will be an answer, let it be. For though they may be parted there is Still a chance that they will see There will be an answer, let it be. Let it be, let it be. Yeah There will be an answer, let it be. And when the night is cloudy, There is still a light that shines on me, Shine on until tomorrow, let it be. I wake up to the sound of music Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be. There will be an answer, let it be. Let it be, let it be, Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

7. The 70s In the early 70s the tragicdeaths of some leading rock musicians, the virtualretirement of Bob Dylan, and the breakup of the Beatles marked the end to the possibility of a utopian community through rock culture. In America two main trends dominated the field of music. One trend was represented by the explosion of disco music; another trend found its expression in Blu Collar Rock which sang the loneliness, deprivation and despair typical of slums and modern metropolises.

8. The Punk Generation Meanwhile in Europe a new season wasbeginning: the Punk generation was the new wave, itwasoften a protestagainstconventionalattitudes and ways of behaving. Punk protestwasexpressedthroughclothes and looksaswell: a typical punk rocker dressed in a bold and extremelyunconventional way, often shocking people with brightly coloured hair and metal chains. Punks no longerbelieve in peace and love; theirmessagewas «hatred and war» and their slogan was «no future».

9. The punk generation startedofficially on November 7 th 1975 when the Sex Pistolsgavetheir first concertwhichwasinterruptedafter 10 minutes ; theybroughtviolence, anger and brutality to the front stage of British society. Punk music focused on the tensions in British society. The Clashwere the secondmostimportant punk band. Two more groupswereat the top in thisperiod : the Pink Floyd, with theirpsychoedelic rock music and The Velvet Underground

10. Thisgroupstarted in 1965 as a blues band. Theysoonbegan to experiment with special light effects and electronic sound and became the officialLondon underground band. The use of psychedelicslides made themwellknown. One of their best songsis «The Wall» whichwasreleased in 1979.

11. Wedon’tneed no education Wedon’tneed no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teachers leave the kids alone Heyteacherleaveuskids alone All in allit’s just anotherbrick in the wall All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

12. The 80S In the 80s most pop rock music wasproduced for purely commercial reasons, but some singers and groupsalsotried to promoteparticular social or politicalcauses. Duringthisperiod music became a sort of money-making machine. At the same time the 80s marked the beginning of charity concerts and projects. The promoter of this fashion was Bob Geldof, whoorganized a concert, "Live Aid", to raisemoney to give to Etiopianpeople. Anotherveryimportantprojectswas "USA FOR AFRICA", manysingerslike Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner partecipated.

13. We are the world Well, send'em you your heart so they know that someone cares And their lives will be stronger and free As God has shown us by turning stone to bread And so we all must lend a helping hand ( CHORUS ) We are the world, we are the children…. When you're down and out there seems no hope at all But if you just believe there's no way we can fall Well, well, well, let's realize that a change can only come When we stand together as one ( CHORUS ) We are the world, we are the children…. There comes a time when we heed a certain call When the world must come together as one There are people dying Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life The greatest gift of all We can't go on pretending day by day That someone, somehow will soon make a change We're all a part of God's great big family And the truth , you know, love is all we need ( CHORUS ) We are the world, we are the children We are the ones who make a brighter day So let's start giving There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives, It's true we'll make a better day just you and me

14. When the decade openssingersseem to lack creative force and theirlyricshavelittlepoeticvalue. Succes, with the hugeamounts of moneyinvolved and with what the media could do to raiseanynormalperson to stardom, was more importantthan music and lyrics.

15. Music and lyricscontinued to be important in the songs of singers and groupsthatweresocially and politicallycommitted : Sting, U2, Queen, etc…

16. Gordon Matthew Sumner (knownas Sting) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band The Police from 1977 to 1983, before launching a solo career to be one of the best poets in the world of international music. His songs are not just beautiful music and songs: they also have a strong philosophical content or they are often the voice of political protest.

17. They Dance Alone «They Dance Alone» (Gueca Solo) isone of the mostfamous of Sting’ssongs, may help remindyoungpeople the opinion campaign led by the rock star against General Pinochet’sdictatorship in Chile. Why are these women here dancing on their own? Why is there this sadness in their eyes? Why are the soldiers here Their faces fixed like stone? I can't see what it is that they despise They're dancing with the missing They're dancing with the dead They dance with the invisible ones Their anguish is unsaid They're dancing with their fathers They're dancing with their sons They're dancing with their husbands They dance alone, they dance alone ………..……………… Hey Mr. Pinochet You've sown a bitter crop It's foreign money that supports you One day the money's going to stop No wages for your torturers No budget for your guns Can you think of your own mother Dancin' with her invisible son They're dancing with the missing They're dancing with the dead ……………………………

18. THANKS FOR WATCHING G. Pupillo Classe2 A sc.