Bob Dylan is one of the most influential and diverse musicians of the twentieth century. His work spans over many genres including folk, rock and country and he serves as an inspiration to countless other artists. Dylan’s love of music began as a child and his own musical career began in 1960. His first album, released in 1962, was not met with great success. It contained two original tracks with the rest of the album composed of various popular and familiar folk and gospel tunes. The release of his second album in 1963 was more successful. By this time, Dylan had begun to make a name for himself. He also composed more original tracks, inspired by other musicians. These tracks also showed that Dylan planned to use his music for more than just petty enjoyment. Songs on this album revealed the political side to Dylan that demanded to be heard.
The very distinctive voice of Dylan soon became a voice for an entire generation. While his rough voice turned some against him, the rawness in his voice drew others in. However, Dylan soon became bored and questioned the motives of various protest organizations. This lead Dylan to take his new music in a slightly different direction, heading toward a more rock sound. The decision of Dylan to go electric was met with some negative feedback by some of his fans and many in his former folk community. Nevertheless, the decision allowed Dylan to break new ground in his music and was eventually deemed a good move. In 1965 Highway 61 Revisited was released which contained the track Like a Rolling Stone, at over six minutes long this song was like nothing that he had done before.
In 1966 Dylan withdrew from the public eye. Exhausted from touring and still facing difficulties with some of his fan over the decision to go electric, Dylan needed the break. In a little over a year Dylan was back in the studio working, though tours did not resume for nearly eight years. Dylan continued to release new material and was again met with some opposition in the early 1970s. However, Dylan has proved himself to be a noteworthy musician both solo and as a part of groups like the short-lived supergroup The Traveling Wilburys to which he contributed his signature rough sound. To this day Dylan is celebrated as he continues to receive awards and release new music.
Listening Recommendations:
• Like a Rolling Stone
• Shelter From the Storm
• Hurricane
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were a duo who worked together throughout the 1960s. Their music echoed the popular folk rock of the time, though it gradually became more experimental, and resulted in the pair being regarded as icons of the era alongside others such as Bob Dylan. Though the relationship between the duo had its faults causing constant breakups and reunions, the music produced was so beautiful it belonged in its own category. The duo became known for their unique harmonies although as their music developed they began to move away from harmonizing and each took lead roles in singing.
The duo formed in the late 1950s but did not receive great commercial success until the mid-1960s. Their first major hit was a reedited version of their 1964 song The Sound of Silence. In 1966 they released their third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. This album revealed a more creative side to the pair. They worked closely with their sound engineer and incorporated uncommon influences such as gospel sounds. The film The Graduate was released in 1967 and helped to spread their music as well as create a number-one single, Mrs. Robinson which was subsequently released on their next album Bookends. The duo decided to take a break in 1970 following the release of their final and most successful album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, though it was soon announced to be a permanent split.
Artistic disagreements, differences in interests and creative lulls caused several breakups between Simon and Garfunkel in the beginning and throughout their career. This resulted in several unsuccessful solo albums being released by Simon in the early 1960s. Perhaps because of their stormy relationship the duo failed to produce albums as quickly as record labels demanded, leaving them under much pressure to fulfill record demands. However, the pair continued to reunite time and time again which resulted in a total of five studio albums. After their final breakup in 1970 both Simon and Garfunkel released solo material. Garfunkel released a few solo hits and pursued an acting career, starring in 3 movies before 1980. Simon stuck with music and released several critically and commercially successful albums.
Since 1970 the duo has reunited several times but never released another studio album. Both Simon and Garfunkel ran into some creative difficulties in 1980. These difficulties are part of what fueled one of the most famous reunions in 1981 when they played a free concert in Central Park to help benefit New York’s economic situation. A recording of the concert was released and was met with much success, even igniting plans for a world tour that quickly feel apart as familiar rifts between the pair revealed themselves yet again.
Listening Recommendations:
• The Boxer
• Mrs. Robinson
• The Sound of Silence
The Mamas and the Papas were a foursome composed of husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips as well as Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. The lifespan of the group was very brief, lasting only from about 1965 to 1968 with a brief reunion in 1971 when they released an album to fulfill contractual obligations. The group encountered many turbulences during their time together including extramarital affairs by Michelle with Doherty among others and the pressure to be perfect put on the others by John. In fact, the pressure John put on the others lead to Elliot’s eventual resignation and the end of the band.
The Mamas and the Papas had a very Californian folk rock sound and the vocals, especially by Elliot, will always be remembered. Although the group encountered about as much failure as they did success, the Mamas and the Papas left its fans with plenty of quality music distributed over five studio albums plus numerous singles. Even with all the adversities they faced they still played some very notable performances including the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 and the Hollywood Bowl where Jimi Hendrix opened for them in August of the same year. Unfortunately, members of the band viewed their Hollywood Bowl performance as the climax of their career with the end in sight.
After the dismemberment of the Mamas and the Papas, each member went on to release their own solo album. However, only Elliot’s received commercial success which encouraged her to continue to perform until her untimely death in 1974. After the failure of her only solo album, Michelle Phillips began a successful career in acting. She appeared in numerous movies and television shows throughout her life.
John Phillips’ album, John, The Wolf King of LA, did receive some critical success leading him to continue to produce music in the form of mostly soundtracks while working to overcome a heroin addiction. Doherty went on to release a second solo album which had contributions from both Elliot and Michelle Phillips but still showed no commercial or critical success. He then returned to his hometown and began television work while also battling an addiction, though to alcohol, up until the early 1980s when he became sober. John Phillips and Doherty attempted to revitalize their music talents by forming the New Mamas and Papas in 1980 with Phillips daughter Mackenzie replacing Michelle Phillips and Elaine McFarlane replacing Elliot. The group never released a studio album and never reached great success with a very long lineup of members as people dropped out and were added into the band.
Listening Recommendations:
• Monday Monday
• California Dreamin’
• I Saw Her Again Last Night
I don’t believe there is anything that hasn’t already been said about this band. Love them or hate them you must admit that the impact created in their wake will last forever. In a relatively short span of time these four guys completely revolutionized the music industry. They were forerunners of the British Invasion and would go on to provide inspiration for countless future artists. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the primary songwriters with George Harrison playing guitar and later proving himself to be a noteworthy songwriter as well. Ringo Starr completed the band as their drummer.
The Beatles started out with a sound that was very much the sound of the early 1960s. By the mid-sixties, they had begun to develop their own more progressive sound. At the same time their touring and fame had taken such a toll on them that the band decided to give up touring and focus on studio recordings. This decision allowed for the unprecedented creation of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The sound of this album was completely different from their original early 1960s rock. Sgt. Pepper’s revealed a much more experimental and progressive attempt by the band. However, the next and final albums returned them back to a more traditional rock sound albeit with an increasingly progressive sound.
The beginning of the end for this band was fairly obvious for some time before the breakup was official. The members of the band wanted different things. McCartney went off on a more commercialized direction and continued to make music with new bands. Lennon divulged himself into a more artsy and political direction, working with his wife, artist Yoko Ono. Harrison continued to bring in less traditional sounds into his future works, both on albums and soundtracks, and continued to prove himself as a good songwriter. Ringo Starr worked as an actor in several movies and continued his musical career with his All Star Band.
The members of the Beatles worked together on several projects after their breakup but never all together. John Lennon’s career and life ended early when he was assassinated in New York in 1980. Harrison remained fairly active in the music industry, including becoming a part of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys. Unfortunately, Harrison lost his battle to lung cancer in 2001. Both Starr and McCartney are active musicians to this day. McCartney continues to play concerts including this year’s Desert Trip.
Listening Recommendations:
• Eleanor Rigby
• A Day in the Life
• You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
I’m not sure I know how to describe what this band’s style was. It was certainly revolutionary and diverse. They created what is probably the first rock opera, which is a major feat in my mind. Although they developed a sound that was distinctively them, the category of this sound spans from the typical British invasion sound to mod, hard and possibly even an almost punk rock. Pete Townsend’s amazing songwriting ability paired with the ostentatious vocals of Roger Daltrey made for an astounding collection of music. When you added that to the wild drumming of Keith Moon and the steady bass of John Entwistle the result was just beyond what anyone though four members of a band could do.
Both the Who’s stage presence and album production is absolutely mind-boggling. They were energetic and creative and it looked like they were having the time of their lives and that feeling rubbed off on the audience. They were very well known for smashing their instruments on stage after a show, which just brought forth even more energy and hype from the crowd. Moon once even rigged his drum kit with explosives so that they could end their show as no one else ever had. On the studio side of things, they were known for using new developments in their recordings, such as the synthesizer. They created Tommy, which was a completely new thing at the time as it wasn’t just a collection of the band’s songs. Tommy told a story, through music, of the struggles of a boy who tried to express himself.
The band formed in the early-1960s with a rather rough beginning. Their original manager tried to make them more respectable by changing their look and name. However, the respectable version of the band was not met with much popularity and so the band members decided find a new manager who helped form them into what we all know. Since the mid-1960s the Who have played together straight through to the early 1980s when the members took a break to pursue other interests before officially declaring a breakup in 1982. Even with the clashing egos and other problems between Daltrey and Townsend, they continue to perform to this day albeit without their original band mates Moon, who passed in 1978 and was subsequently replaced by Kenny Jones, and Entwistle who passed in 2002. Over the years, there have been numerous reunions and an official reformation in 1996 with Zak Starkey on drums, though he is not credited with being a certified member of the Who.
Listening Recommendations:
• Pinball Wizard
• Pictures of Lily
• My Generation
The formation of this rock super group seems too good to be true. The story begins with Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison agreeing to help George Harrison record the B-side to one of his singles. The three decided to go to Bob Dylan’s home studio to record it where Harrison remembered that he left his guitar at Tom Petty’s house. Whether this story is completely accurate or not I do not know but either way the formation of this band must have been amazing. These five musicians were already very accomplished in their own right, either through their work with previous bands, Harrison being part of the Beatles, Petty the lead of the Heartbreakers and Lynne part of the Electric Light Orchestra or as solo artists like Dylan and Orbison. The addition of Jim Keltner on drums completed this supergroup.
I think the most amazing thing about this band is the way that the musicians were all able to contribute their individual sounds and have their sounds heard while still meshing so nicely. Even with each member already having been established before the formation of the Wilburys they were still able to learn from each other and grow musically. The band seems too good to be true. Imagining that five huge names in music could all work so coherently together is truly baffling.
The band only released two studio albums together with the second being released after Orbison’s death, which occurred in 1988. The first album received both good commercial and critical success as one would imagine for a super band of this sort. However, the second album which was intentionally misnumbered by Harrison was met with much less success as the first. There was much talk of a Wilburys tour but some of the members expressed that touring would create responsibilities that didn’t exist while they were simply playing in the studio.
The Wilburys life span was very short, spanning over just two years. Whether it was because the band was not the same without Orbison, the band became too much like work or because record sales were not as good as expected, the Wilburys disbanded in 1990. Though short lived, a band like this satisfied so many rock fans dreams. The music these five individually spectacular artists created will exist forever in the hearts of current and future rock fans alike. The Traveling Wilburys will always be remembered the real-life rock and roll fantasy.
Listening Recommendations:
• Handle With Care
• End Of The Line
• Wilbury Twist
Tom Petty is probably my favorite American musician. He started his career in 1970 with short lived band Mudcrutch. Since 1975 he has been with the Heartbreakers which includes two of the members from Mudcrutch. Even through Petty and his band are originally from Florida they naturally adopted a very California-West Coast rock sound. With Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ third album, Damn the Torpedoes, people truly got a sense of Petty’s sound which is very purely the quintessential American rock sound and they loved it causing the album to jump to number 2 on the American charts in 1979. Petty himself is unique in that his voice sounds like no other. He has a very distinct slur to voice that gives off a rebellious vibe with a sad undertone that carries his music and makes it interesting.
The rebellious sort of feeling is present in everything Petty does and this may be because of the uncompromising nature of the musician. One of the things I admire in Petty is that he does things his way or no way. There is even the well-known dispute between him and his record company in which he fought to have his album sold for a cheaper price than the record company planned on releasing it for. True to his nature Petty got his way and probably gain an even larger following in the process. His sound has remained so consistent over the last 40+ years because he is in total control of it. Even though working with many other musicians like Jeff Lynne of ELO and Bob Dylan has influenced him and allowed him to expand his musical talents Petty is still wholly and uniquely himself.
Working with someone who is so stubborn may seem like quite a chore but Petty still currently performs with the Heartbreakers. As much as I admire Petty’s unique sound I must wonder if he could be who he is without the members of the Heartbreakers. Even on his solo albums, like Full Moon Fever, the members of the Heartbreakers all contributed. The artist has also worked with several great producers who have helped him further his career.
One of the fantastic bonuses with Tom Petty’s music are his music videos. In my opinion most of his videos are very strange, but in a way that I have come to expect from Petty. Another nice thing about the videos are that many of them feature the rest of the Heartbreakers. In a band where Petty’s name is literally separate from the rest of his band it would be easy to forget those who helped him get to where he is but they are still prominent in his work.
Listening Recommendations:
• I Won’t Back Down
• Mary Jane’s Last Dance
• You Don’t Know How It Feels
