The Emergence of Rock and Roll Music in the 1950S Brought Forth a Plethora of Influential and Significant Bands Around the World Including Australia
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The emergence of rock and roll music in the 1950s brought forth a plethora of influential and significant bands around the world including Australia. Australia has seen many major bands throughout the decades including The Easybeats, AC/DC, Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel, INXS, Silverchair and numerous others. Spanning from the 1950s to today, this essay will look at how rock music in Australia not only appealed to Australian culture but also how it reflected it and brought forth that Australian sound to the world. Figure 1: ‘Nocturama, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 1 1950s-1960s: The early days of rock and roll The birth of rock music is considered to have occurred in the United States of America during the 1950s. As an offshoot of blues music, the first rock and roll greats included artists like Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. It was these artists that would inspire thousands of musicians to adopt rock and roll and incorporate it into their music. This influence would reach all the way down under to Australia who had their first major rock and roll icon in Johnny O’Keefe. With major hits such as ‘Wild Onei’, Johnny O’Keefe would gain international attention and hence, brought the spotlight to Australia demonstrating that like America and Britain, there was a lot of talent here. This notion would be further elaborated with the success of The Easybeats fronted by George Young and Harry Vanda in the 1960s. “The inroads made by Figure 2: The Easybeats. JOK convinced 1960s Australian acts that it was possible to enjoy international success. The band of the moment was the Easybeats, whose inspiration was the British Invasion sound, dismantled and reassembled for a nation not so damp and dreary as England.”ii Their success was also partly due to the cultural climate of the time as well as following in suite to other successful British bands at the time, most notably The Beatles and The Rolling Stones whom attracted swarms of screaming girls to their sets. Much like these two highly influential bands, The Easybeats were also regarded as such because of the number of fans they drew. This was a result of the 1960s being a time that rock music was beginning to develop into 2 something more elaborate. Music enthusiasts and historians often argue that The Beatles is the greatest band because of not only how successful they were but also because they were the band that really got the rock genre going. Essentially, it was The Beatles that influenced bands like The Easybeats in Australia to create their own music and in turn, gain mass following because people were really into the sound of rock music and it was this culture that allowed the proliferation and expansion of rock music. In summary, while rock music was gaining its footing in Australian culture throughout the 1950s and 1960s, it would not be until the 1970s and 1980s that Australia would really embrace the rock culture. 1970s-1980s: Rock music explodes Figure 3: Cold Chisel’s popularity shows in the headlines Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Australia would see a plethora of rock bands popping up on the scene including its most successful band, AC/DC with Back in Black selling “in excess of 40 million copies.”iii. “The 'Aussie Assault' on the world rock stage included bands such as Men At Work, Midnight Oil, INXS, Crowded House and New Zealand's Split Enz.”iv During the 1970s, many Australian bands including AC/DC would play in pubs and this is where the idea of pub rock comes from. It was essentially rock music that appealed to pub culture and expressed a notion of Australian-ness. Therefore, bands like AC/DC grew widely 3 popular because they were meeting the expectations of that culture they were playing to who wanted to experience a hard and gritty sound and AC/DC answered with “sheer sonic assault.”v “As much as it tries, AC/DC cannot shrug off where it came from because the music of that period doesn't lie: it sounds Australian. And more so than with any other band - more than Daddy Cool, more than Billy Thorpe - it is hearing AC/DC's songs from that 1974- 78 period that makes Australians feel Australian.”vi Furthermore, “Australian band Men At Work were part of the worldwide popularity of Australian rock in the early 1980s, with their anthem Down under introducing listeners around the world to Vegemite sandwiches. Their sound was an interesting mix of styles, with a slight reggae beat, very Australian lyrics and the shrill sounds of a flute.”vii There was also Midnight Oil who “Bernard Zuel wrote (Sydney Morning Herald, 26 Jun 2006); 'the band that was seen internationally as capturing the Australian landscape and personality better than anyone else couldn't get past the myopic radio and mainstream media back home'”viii. Overall, the 1970s and 1980s was a time that saw Australian rock music explode in popularity and showcase Australian culture around the world through music. Mini case study: Australian rock music and masculinity Figure 4: Midnight Oil 4 Due to the abundance of male musicians in the rock music world, there has always been a notion that rock music is especially appealing to masculine culture. This is demonstrated by some of the themes found in rock songs that are based off issues or lifestyle a man would experience. For example, ‘Can I Sit Next To You Girl’ix by AC/DC is clearly from a male point of view about someone’s attraction towards a member of the opposite sex. Furthermore, what also made rock music so appealing to masculinity at the time was that bands like AC/DC and Midnight Oil played in an environment that was largely dominated by men and that was the pubs. “Examination of a number of rock guides and encyclopaedias illustrates how rock lists and canons commonly privilege male performers.”x While there is clear evidence of a short number of female musicians in the rock scene, there have been quite a few influential bands from Australia such as The Divinyls and Killing Heidi. Early Australian acts like the Easybeats, AC/DC and Cosmic Psychos all promote this picture of an Australian culture that lives for the weekend and good times with their mates. This culture however is inherently masculine. Female fronted acts such as Chrissy Amphlett’s The Divinyl’s and Killing Heidi have come a long way in balancing these stereotypes and empowering women in the masculine dominated landscape. Overall, while the rock scene in Australia has largely been dominated by males and has appealed to that culture, there has been a growing acceptance of women also in the rock culture. 1990s-2000s: The era of modern classics This period in rock music history is often seen as the establishment of the more modern take of rock music. While it was believed globally that rock music saw a slight decline in popularity throughout the 1980s due to factors such as the popularity of 80s pop music and new wave, it would be the 1990s that would see another explosion of rock into the 5 mainstream not seen since the 1960s-70s. While America witnessed the Seattle movement of grunge music and Britain had the Britpop movement, it was clear that rock was beginning to evolve into more of an alternative and indie style. This influence would reach down to Australia as well with notable bands like Silverchair, Grinspoon and Powderfinger showcasing their own spin of alternative rock and having a huge impact on the Australian music scene. However, following the end of this period, there would be a decline of rock music in the mainstream and towards the end of the 2000s, rock music became a largely Figure 5: Grinspoon underground music scene. All was not lost though, as rock music would still have its appeal to those who still appreciated it and it is still quite abundant, just not on a mainstream level. While Kiss member Gene Simmons stated in an interview that “Rock is finally dead”xi, many people beg to disagree including Foo Fighters front-man Dave Grohl who reflects that “Rock music may not be at the forefront of the public eye these days, but those ringing the death knell may want to hold off.”xii While there are conflicting opinions about the death of rock music, one thing is for certain. It may not have the same mainstream appeal as it once did but rock music is still thriving in the underground Australian music culture. Overall, rock music’s 6 popularity peaked in the 1990s but would soon decline from there because of the mainstreams’ changing music tastes. 2010- The present: Rock goes underground While there were signs of rock declining and having less of an impact throughout the 2000s, it wouldn’t be until the current decade that rock music would see a major decline in radio play. While casual listeners would think that rock music is extinct, that isn’t the case. There still exists, a more underground and cult scene of rock music with a great number of bands playing. While older bands from the 1980s like Midnight Oil and AC/DC (albeit only Angus Young) are still active, there are many bands that are emerging whom play all sorts of styles of rock music. Whether it be the psychedelic rock of Tame Impala or the surf infused rock of Hockey Dad, there is evidence of rock music still appealing to Australian culture. This can be seen with bands like Bad//Dreems who are labelled as pub rock and therefore, appeal to crowds that are a part of pub culture which in turn, can be seen as a sub culture of Australian culture.