3 Massively Influential Songs That Split Rock History in Two

Some songs stand out from the pack. These singular songs shake up their genre, offering a much-needed relief from the same-old-same-old. The three songs below all changed rock history. Without these songs, rock wouldn’t have been the same.

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“Like A Rolling Stone” (Bob Dylan)

Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” completely shifted the idea of genre lines and the notion of a rockstar. Dylan was a folk hero before he plugged in and let this song rip. Afterwards, rock was shaken by his entry into the scene.

This song was divisive in the truest sense of the word. While many rock fans celebrated Dylan’s shift, his folk purists were disturbed. Moreover, Dylan’s lyricism, set against a rock backdrop, completely shifted the structure of a rock song. “Like A Rolling Stone” created a fork in the history of rock.

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“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones)

The Rolling Stones were the edgier counterparts to many of their British Invasion peers. While many of the bands that dominated around the same time were provocative in their own way, the Stones were the bad boys of the bad boys. They proved that with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

This heavy rock song was both right on time and years ahead of its time. Many rock bands wouldn’t teeter over the edge of hard rock for several more years. The Stones shifted rock’s ideals, paving the way for a new generation of bands.

“H*roin” (The Velvet Underground)

Speaking of bands that dared to live on the fringes years before it was cool, the next entry on this list of songs that split rock history in two is The Velvet Underground’s “H*roin”.

This track was riddled with taboo. Though the 60s saw rock get a little looser, the early 60s were still lingering with notions from the 50s. Few bands, if any, dared to sing about something like drug addiction then. The Velvet Underground’s example of the themes rock could explore opened the door for subsequent acts to follow a similar path. Without this song, rock would’ve likely been stuck in a holding pattern.

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(Photo by NILS MEILVANG / SCANPIX DENMARK / AFP) (Photo by NILS MEILVANG/SCANPIX DENMARK/AFP via Getty Images)