3 Landmark Future-Changing Moments in Popular Music That No One Ever Talks About

Some moments in music history were quiet and unassuming but would cause a domino effect that would make them landmark influential moments in music history. That’s definitely the case for the following legendary moments that changed everything in the music industry. And I bet you’ve never heard of these legendary happenings at all. Let’s take a music history lesson, shall we?

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The Accidental Invention of Electric Guitar Distortion Paved the Way for Heavy Metal, Punk, Grunge, and Beyond

Did you know that the invention of distortion on the electric guitar was more or less a happy accident? Back in the year 1960, country singer Marty Robbins employed the help of guitarist Grady Martin to record the song “Don’t Worry”, out the following year. While switching between guitar and bass, a fuse blew, and the recording engineer involved couldn’t avoid it. That very instance would inspire one audio engineer named Glen Snoddy, who would then take apart an amplifier to produce the world’s first fux box. His invention would later become popular and then essential after The Rolling Stones famously used it in their 1965 song, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

David Bowie Lowkey Invented the Pop Music Alter Ego

Before David Bowie hit the scene with Ziggy Stardust, the idea of the alter ego wasn’t really something you saw in popular music. Concept albums and stories were a thing, sure. But creating a whole ethos and concept around a character, one that the musician themself performs? It wasn’t a thing. David Bowie was Ziggy Stardust, but he wasn’t exclusively Ziggy Stardust. And with the 1972 debut of Bowie’s androgynous alien who came to earth to deliver a message of hope ahead of the impending apocalypse, the idea of a retireable musical character of this caliber came to be. And it’s become a thing in pop, rock, and even hip-hop in the years since.

The Invention of the Recording Lathe in the 1920s Decentralized Music

Today, music fans enjoy the convenience of streaming a la Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, etc. While streaming has its unignorable downsides, it was a pretty big deal in the 2010s, as it allowed musicians to reach audiences through decentralization. And nearly a century prior, one could say streaming music’s origins (or the origins of decentralization in general) came to be with the invention of the lathe.

So, what’s a lathe? This device, invented in the 1920s, was a machine tool that made it possible to record sounds on wax cylinders and later on flat recording discs. These devices were small enough to be made portable. Because of that, musicians in rural areas, especially bluegrass musicians, were able to be recorded and their music was distributed nationally. This was a huge deal and had never been done before. Eventually, lathes became accessible for home recording, and they predated home tape recording. Without the lathe, you wouldn’t have The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. Talk about an underrated landmark music moment!

Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns