When we think of rock ‘n’ roll history, there are certain moments that stand out as being crucial to the overall progression of the genre. These occasions endure in our minds in a number of different ways. Some are special because many of the top artists of the era congregated in one place, at one time, to show the world what they could do. And others stand out because of how they proved to be a turning point for what the music would sound like or could become. It’s tough to narrow it down to five, but still fun to look back on what made the list.
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1. The Beatles Play The Ed Sullivan Show (1964)
Because so many artists followed in The Beatles’ wake in coming to America from Great Britain, it’s easy to forget that the success of British music stars in America was anything but a sure thing before the Fab Four arrived. In fact, most attempts to break British acts in the U.S. had failed to that point. By the time The Beatles arrived in America for the first time as a group in 1964, they had already conquered their home country with a pair of winning albums and several No. 1 singles. The timing for their arrival was perfect, as it came right on the heels of the band’s first chart-topping hit in America, “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was easily the nation’s top variety show, was a major coup for the group—they easily could have been ignored. Instead, the American public turned out to watch the show in record numbers on February 9, 1964. The atmosphere was boosted by the wild, screaming fans in the studio. By the time the night was over, America belonged to The Beatles; countless future music superstars had decided they would become future music superstars; and the way was officially paved for rock ‘n’ roll music to enjoy its greatest era ever—with the Fab Four leading the way.
2. Woodstock (1969)
Even though it wasn’t actually in Woodstock, New York (it was about 45 minutes away in Bethel), the famed music festival gained some credibility with that name, as many top musicians had decamped there in the years leading up to that famed event in ’69. It wasn’t the first time a large grouping of artists had gathered in one place, but there hadn’t been anything like it achieved to that scale before.
The weather never really cooperated, but somehow the rain added to the atmosphere. Performers played at all hours of the day, often to slumbering fans, and the roster of acts was a wild mélange (Jimi Hendrix’s famous re-imagining of “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed on the heels of a set by ‘50s nostalgia act Sha Na Na). In the end, the fans were perhaps the biggest stars of the event, as Woodstock revealed the power of youth culture like nothing else ever had.
3. The Debut of MTV (1981)
Music videos had been around since the ‘60s in various forms, but they had never been collected in any one place before. MTV premiered on a smattering of small Midwestern U.S. cable markets with little hoopla and even fewer expectations on August 1, 1981. A video by the little-known new wave act The Buggles kicked things off for the network with a prophecy in its song title: “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
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Through word of mouth, the channel grew in popularity in terms of its viewing audience. The irreverence of the network was the perfect fit for the fans they were trying to draw. But the real driver for its success was the reaction of top artists who saw in the channel a promotional tool they’d never possessed before. MTV also had the juice to make new stars out of photogenic and charismatic acts—the superstars who didn’t play the video game would not be superstars for much longer.
MTV still exists, but it doesn’t play many videos. Maybe it’s for the best, because there’s no recapturing the pop-culture lightning of those wild ‘80s years.
4. Live Aid (1985)
In the years preceding Live Aid, a wave of philanthropy had enveloped the rock world, in sharp contrast to the perceived ethos of the “Me Decade.” The Band Aid collection of British artists scored with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” paving the way for U.S.A. for Africa and “We Are the World.”
Bob Geldof, the Boomtown Rats frontman who spearheaded Band Aid, decided to go even further in his efforts to bring relief to Ethiopia, which was then in the midst of a devastating famine. The end result was Live Aid, a pair of concerts taking place simultaneously in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985.
The event featured an even more impressive assemblage of talent than Woodstock. Certain acts stole the show (who can forget Freddie Mercury’s majestic bellow or Bono’s engaging antics), while others faltered (the Led Zeppelin reunion was a perceived bust, and Bob Dylan and two Rolling Stones played way out of tune). And there have long been complaints about whether the show did all that much for the people of Ethiopia beyond bringing attention to their plight. But as pure spectacle, Live Aid was one of the finest moments in rock ‘n’ roll history.
5. Nirvana Debuts “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
Why would a song that didn’t even hit No.1 in the U.S. (it made it to No. 6) be ranked among the finest moments in rock history? So many reasons. But first and foremost it was the first time most of the world discovered Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, a singular talent whose massive impact in his short time on the planet is immeasurable.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” helped to create the Seattle-spawned genre known as grunge, while also (much to Cobain’s public delight) sounding a death knell for the overproduced pop gloss and “hair metal” that had dominated the charts throughout the latter half of the ‘80s.
More than anything else, the song deserves its spot here because it essentially helped to define an entire generation. Disaffected youngsters all over the world could relate to Kurt Cobain’s response to all the pressures and hassles of life: Oh well, whatever, never mind. Grunge didn’t quite survive the decade, but “Smells Like Teen Spirit” will endure for many many generations.
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