re: Attempting to get into Classic Rock - Where do I start?

1955
Then a loooonnngggg list of who’s who after that. Ya gotta go back to the forefathers and black blues/soul/rockabilly players to get a feel for the vibe. IMHO.

One of the best things about classic rock is the album covers:

quote:

---

1955 Then a loooonnngggg list of who’s who after that. Ya gotta go back to the forefathers and black blues/soul/rockabilly players to get a feel for the vibe. IMHO.

---

All the above. One needs to hear the foundations of rock. You’ll then understand how it got to where it is/was.

Arguably the first rock song is ‘Rocket 88’ by Jackie Brenston. Then listen to Bill Haley, Elvis, Chuck Berry(a lot), Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers. Then the stuff considered classic rock will make sense. Enjoy the journey!!

eta: Listen to Muddy Waters and Chess records artists also. Absolutely essential listening.

You might want to check out the Andy & Alex Youtube Channel.

Those guys are about your age and review classic rock songs.

quote:

---

One needs to hear the foundations of rock. You’ll then understand how it got to where it is/was.

---

Disagree. In my opinion, when it comes to teaching a subject, fundamentals do NOT come first. The first thing one must do is foster an interest and motivation for learning the subject.

With music, when someone is interested in learning about a given genre, I try to give them the most entertaining and accessible music first so that they have the best chance of liking it and wanting to learn more.

I'm not going to show The "Phantom Menace" to someone who's never seen Star Wars before. I'm going to start them off with either "Rogue One" or "A New Hope". If their first exposure to the franchise is something they don't like, it will color their perception of the entire whole.

TBH, I think the old 50's rock n roll would be considered really really really boring to someone who has never even listened to "dad" rock. A lot of young folks avoid classic rock due to the gulf in production quality between old and new stuff. They're used to everything being perfect, pristine, and gridded, and they can tell that the older stuff isn't, which can be jarring. They don't know why it's jarring, but it is, so they just assume that the old stuff sucks. Going back to the 50's with its even lesser quality recordings, as the starter, would be a way to ensure someone never wants to listen to any old music ever again.

In my opinion, teaching classic rock should go like this:
Step 1: great standalone albums that are easily accessible and almost universally loved.

Step 2: figure out which of those albums they like the most and then introduce a few albums by similar artists so they can get a feel for that genre

Step 3: Teach them the history of that genre by showing them artists that those artists influenced and/or were influenced by

Step 4: Show them artists in other genres that had the same influences but went in other directions

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 a few times

Step 6: Unless the genre they liked in step 2 was jazz rock (in which case this would have already been done), it's JAZZ HISTORY TIME

Step 7: 50's Rock n Roll through 60's R&B lesson

Step 8: the birth of rap, sampling beats, and music technology lesson (Herbie Hancock, Prince, the Amen Break, Grandmaster Flash)

Alvin Lee and 10 Years After
Robin Trower
Stevie Ray Vaughn

There a lifetime of classic rock already listed here that basically defined my youth but I not sure I saw ZZ Top (Tres Hombres) David Bowie (Ziggy) or even early Rod Stewart listed.

I personally started with Led Zeppelin II, the Stones Hot Rocks and Who's Next so what else can I say!

Grand Funk Railroad
Wishbone Ash

1971 and 1972 were the best