"Some rock historians believe that Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", recorded on April 12, 1954, was the first rock song, followed by "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley, which was was recorded on July 5, 1954.": Yep, but we were talking about British imitation rock so Vince Taylor and Cliff Richard are two important pioneers in the UK. I'm guessing one reason they never made a name for themselves in the States is because Americans didn't need second-rate copies of their own stars. The Beatles probably made it because they came along after rock 'n' roll's heyday and added enough original touches of their own to make it more appealing than the saccharine-sweet pop that had by then become the norm.
---In [email protected], <punditster@...> wrote: Some rock historians believe that Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", recorded on April 12, 1954, was the first rock song, followed by "That's All Right" by Elvis Presley, which was was recorded on July 5, 1954. Go figure. Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock Bandstand 1960 http://youtu.be/N-qjc17KEsc http://youtu.be/N-qjc17KEsc Elvis Presley - That's All Right (Comeback Special '68): http://youtu.be/zVaBVZaS7So http://youtu.be/zVaBVZaS7So On 11/3/2013 3:40 PM, s3raphita@... mailto:s3raphita@... wrote: Re "According to John Lennon, Cliff Richard's hit 'Move It',1958, was the first authentic rock and roll song. According to John, "before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music.": Yes, that's right - nothing worth listening to in the rock'n'roll genre anyway. "Move It" is a neat song but it's crying out for someone with more charisma than Cliff Richard to sell it. The "Brand New Cadillac" song I linked to is closer in feel to a genuine rock classic. I mentioned that Vince Taylor's decline into drug paranoia (speed and LSD) was the model for David Bowie's fictional rock star Ziggy Stardust. Bowie's album came out in 1972. Here's Vince Taylor singing "Brand New Cadillac" in 1979. He carries the song with a certaim amphetamine cool but you can see he's on the highway to hell. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvNHXbTL7Oc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvNHXbTL7Oc
