The History of Rock and Roll (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Incredibly entertaining; especially for anyone who has lived through the times talked about. Many, many of the songs ARE full-length versions, albeit with commentary provided over the top. But, after all, it is a documentary and not a CD set. I watched it about three times already and have included here what I would have liked to have known, mainly what songs and artists are covered, in essentially the order they're presented in. I may have missed a few, but what follows is 99% correct:
Episode One: Rock `n' Roll Explodes
*With or Without You - U2
*Wild Think - Jimi Hendrix
*Money Honey - Elvis Presley
*Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
*Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
*Shut `Em Down - Public Enemy
*I Just Want to Make Love to You - the Rolling Stones
*Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters
*Hey, Good Looking - Hank Williams Sr.
*That'll be the Day - Buddy Holly
*Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean - Ruth Brown
*Caldonia - Louis Jordon & the Tympani 5
*Shake, Rattle & Roll - Big Joe Turner
*I Got a Woman - Ray Charles
*Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
*Blue Monday - Fats Domino
*Maybellene - Chuck Berry
*Reddy Teddy - Little Richard
*Tutti Frutti - Little Richard
*Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley & the Comets
Episode Two: Good Rockin' Tonight
*Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
*Lucille - Little Richard
*How Much is that Doggy in the Window - Patti Page
*Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
*Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
*Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
*Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
*Oh, Boy! - Buddy Holly & the Crickets
*Bye Bye Love - the Everly Brothers
*Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel) - Roy Orbison
*At the Hop - Danny and the Juniors
*Words of Love - Buddy Holly
*Calendar Girl - Neil Sedaka
*You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling - the Righteous Brothers
*Be My Baby - The Ronettes
*Searchin' - the Coasters
*Stand By Me - Ben E. King
*The Twist - Chubby Checker
Episode Three: Britain Invades, America Fights Back
*Twist and Shout - the Beatles
*I Get Around - the Beach Boys
*The Way You Do the Things You Do - the Temptations
*Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying - Gerry & the Pacemakers
*House of the Rising Sun - the Animals
*Needles and Pins - the Searchers
*Around and Around - the Rolling Stones
*Satisfaction - the Rolling Stones
*I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits
*A World Without Love - Peter and Gordon
*You Really Got Me - the Kinks
*As Tears Go By - Marianne Faithful
*You Can't Hurry Love - the Supremes
*Do You Believe In Magic? - The Lovin' Spoonful
*Good Lovin' - the Young Rascals
*Turn! Turn! Turn! - The Byrds
*Creeque Alley - Mama and Papas
*Can't Explain - the Who
*Carrie-Anne - the Hollies
*Keep on Running - the Spencer Davis Group (featuring Steve Winwood)
*Paint It Black - the Rolling Stones
Episode Four: The Sounds of Soul
*Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley
*Georgia On My Mind - Ray Charles/Michael Bolton
*Papas Got a Brand New Bag - James Brown
*You Send Me - Sam Cooke
*Baby Workout - Jackie Wilson
*What'd I Say - Ray Charles
*In the Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
*I've Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now) - Otis Redding
*Dr. Feelgood - Aretha Franklin
*I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Gladys Knight & the Pips
*Love is Like a Heatwave - Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
*I Can't Help Myself - the Four Tops
*Ooo Baby Baby - the Miracles
*Come See About Me - the Supremes
*My Girl - the Temptations
*Choice of Colors - Curtis Mayfield
*Say It Loud, I'm Black & I'm Proud - James Brown
*A House is not a Home - Luther Vandross
*Ain't that Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
*I Want You Back - the Jackson 5
*For the Love of Money - O'Jays
Episode Five: Plugging In
*On the Road Again - Bob Dylan
*It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - Bob Dylan
*Talkin' New York - Bob Dylan
*Mojo Hand - Sam "Lightenin'" Hopkins
*I Ain't Marchin' Anymore - Phil Ochs
*Handsome Johnny - Richie Havens
*Blowin' In the Wind - Peter, Paul & Mary
*All My Trials - Joan Baez
*The Times They Are a-Changin' - Bob Dylan
*I'll Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms - the Monroe Brothers (?)
*Maggie's Farm - Bob Dylan
*Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan
*My Back Pages - Bob Dylan
*Mr. Tambourine Man - the Byrds
*California Dreamin' - the Mamas & Papas
*Surfer Girl - the Beach Boys
*God Only Knows - the Beach Boys
*Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
*Paint It Black - the Animals
*Ball & Chain - Janis Joplin
Episode Six: My Generation
*Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane
*Tell Mama - Janis Joplin
*China Cat Sunflowers - the Grateful Dead
*Foxy Lady - Jimi Hendrix
*When the Music's Over - the Doors
*Up on Cripple Creek - the Band
*Street Fighting Man - the Rolling Stones
*I Feel Free - Cream
*Baba O'Riley - the Who
*Handsome Johnny - Richie Havens
*Fixin' to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish
*Soul Sacrifice - Santana
*Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby, Stills & Nash
*Down By the River - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
*Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
*Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix
*Touch of Grey - the Grateful Dead
Episode Seven: Guitar Heroes
*Black Magic Woman - Santana
*Eruption - Van Halen
*Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
*Won't Get Fooled Again - the Who
*Blue Moon of Kentucky - Elvis
*Hello, Mary Lou - Ricky Nelson
*Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
*Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
*Sweet Sixteen - B.B. King
*The Last Time - the Rolling Stones
*Train Keep A Rollin' - the Yardbirds
*Layla - Derek and the Dominos
*Dazed and Confused - Led Zepplin
*Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
*Voodoo Chile - Jimi Hendrix
*Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns & Roses
*Bullet the Blue Sky - U2
Episode Eight: The 70's: Have a Nice Decade
*Bennie & the Jets - Elton John
*Reeling in the Years - Steely Dan
*How Many More Times - Led Zepplin
*Paranoid - Black Sabbath
*Whipping Post - Allman Brothers
*Do That Stuff - Parliament/Funkadelic
*Get Up Stand - Bob Marley
*I Want to Take You Higher - Sly and the Family Stone
*Superstition - Stevie Wonder
*Brain Damage - Pink Floyd
*Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
*Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
*Rock and Roll All Night - Kiss
*School's Out - Alice Cooper
*Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
*Fame - David Bowie
*Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
*Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
*Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton
*Y.M.C.A. - the Village People
*Refugee - Tom Petty
*Quarter to Three - Bruce Springsteen
*Episode Nine: Punk
*Anarchy in the U.K. - the Sex Pistols
*The Passenger - Iggy Pop
*Sweet Jane - the Velvet Underground
*Back in the U.S.A. - the New York Dolls
*Blank Generation - the Heartbreakers
*Rockaway Beach - the Ramones
*Psycho Killer - Talking Heads
*Gloria - Patti Smith Group
*Garageland - the Clash
*Go There Natty - U-Roy
*Alison - Elvis Costello
*God Save the Queen - the Sex Pistols
*No Fun - the Sex Pistols
*Johnny Hit and Run Pauline - X
*Radio Radio - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
*Jackson, Monk and Rowe - Elvis Costello
*London Calling - the Clash
*Message of Love - the Pretenders
*I Will Follow - U2
*Every Breath You Take - the Police
*Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
*Basket Case - Green Day
Episode Ten: Up From Underground
*Whip It - Devo
*Our Lips are Sealed - the GoGos
*Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? - Culture Club
*The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
*The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
*Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
*Rock Box - Run-D.M.C.
*Walk this Way - Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith
*Fight the Power - Public Enemy
*Sabotage - Beastie Boys
*Justify My Love - Madonna
*Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
*Money for Nothing - Dire Straits with Sting
*Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
*Express Yourself - N.W.A.
*Escape from the Killing Fields - Ice-T
*My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen
*Let's Talk About Sex - Salt 'n' Pepa
*Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2
*Long View - Green Day
*Radio Song - R.E.M. with Krs-One
*Rumblefish - the Goats


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Ten titanic hours of the greatest rock extravaganza ever! This definitive 10-part documentary covers rock 'n' roll history from its humble beginnings in the '50s to Lollapalooza in the '90s. Fans can experience their favorite rock 'n' roll moments all over again through hundreds of exclusive interviews, classic footage, and unforgettable in-concert performances from rock 'n' roll's biggest stars. A must-own for any rock 'n' roll fan!

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Rock And Roll: A Social History Review

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(More customer reviews)There is no shortage of books purporting to give historical accounts of American rock and roll music. From trade paperbacks to more scholarly treatments (like Steve Waksman's "Instruments of Desire") these texts vary widely in scope and quality. Paul Friedlander's "Rock and Roll: A Social History" is one of the better treatments of this music, although it suffers from some difficulties. Published on Westview Press, the book is written by a musician turned academic historian, and is targeted towards an intelligent readership, although not necessarily towards the strict academician.
The book exhibits a number of strong points, including an opening essay providing a hermeneutics of rock and roll, focusing on open-ended readings of both music and lyrics, while acknowledging the biases and cultural positioning of the critic. Friedlander avoids exclusivist and reductionistic modes of analysis, instead arguing for pluralistic elements of both "escape" and "enlightenment" in popular music. This allows him to maintain a critical distance, but avoids a simplistic overgeneralization of the subject matter, as seen in both left-wing music critics like Theodore Adorno and right-wing critics like Orrin Hatch.
The bulk of Friedlander's book, however, focuses on tracing a narrative of influences from artist to genre and back again. While useful, this reveals a limitation on Friedlander's part, a subterranean impulse to regard the history of music as a history of artists. While the fetishizing of the "artist" is nothing new (dating at least from the publication of "Sentimental Education" by French realist Gustav Flaubert) it deserves to be interrogated and examined, especially in a text claiming to be a "social history."
Friedlander's narrative progresses from a largely white middle class phenomenon in the early fifties, to an infiltration of urban R +B into the musical sensibilities of white teens. Friedlander is careful to analyze the appeal of early artists in terms of race and sexually rebellious theme, as in the case of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis as compared to Elvis Presley. Friedlander devotes complete chapters to supergroups, and artists, like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, while chronicling the interplay of Soul and Motown music with issues race. Later chapters are devoted to themes of "decades" (70's, 80's) while punctuating these chapters with genre examinations, such as Punk Rock and Folk Rock. The attention given to race as a guiding issue in rock and roll music is admirable, even if some of the particular conclusions are debatable-here Friedlander shows himself superior to many other treatments of the subject, which often ignore Soul, Motown or post-50's R+B altogether.
Another strength of the book is an extensive discography of the artists covered (and skipped too) in the book. Again here Friedlander rises above others in his careful treatment and guidance to the reader regarding label reissues, as well as refusing to fetishize the "original album" as the proper unit of record collecting (a fairly recent and annoying trend). At the same time, Friedlander's endnotes are frustrating, leaving very few openings to track down interpretations and influences in his own writings.
In the final analysis, "Rock and Roll : A Social History," is a valuable but insufficient introduction, especially with regard to social issues other than race. An excellent place continue reading is Steve Waksman's "Instruments of Desire," an excellent cultural history of the electric guitar.
-Christopher W. Chase, PhD Fellow, Michigan St. Univ.

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Rock and Roll: An Introduction Review

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(More customer reviews)This textbook is good overall and very suitable for college rock and roll courses.
Michael Campbell is the author of AND THE BEAT GOES ON, a textbook about the history of American Popular Music. This textbook focuses just on rock and roll.
The first few chapters cover the roots of rock n' roll: the basics of blues, boogie woogie, and other popular styles in the years after World War II. The authors spend a large chunk of pages on Rock's ascendance from 1964-1974 (about 170 pages). The period from 1974-1989, as a comparison, receives about 90 pages.
The book's strengths are their thoroughness of explanation and clarity of the text. While the textbook is certainly not exhaustive or complete (somebody always complains that THEIR FAVORITE band was overlooked), all the major styles and bands are discussed.
Campbell and Brody do a good job of placing each rock movement within its historical context and tracking the progression of rock through the mid-90s.
The pictures and diagrams can be helpful, especially to non-music majors. The key terms at the end of each chapter are basic, and the study questions are somewhat helpful.
One strong criticism (and certainly any R&R textbook will run into this) is its listening examples. Because these songs are still so popular, it is impossible to get all of the recordings discussed on one set of recordings. The discography at the back of the book shows that most of the songs discussed are on several anthology CDs, but there are many which have to be bought piecemeal. Once again, any textbook on rock will likely have this problem.
I think undergraduate professors should strongly consider this book for their courses, as it takes a straightforward approach to the subject.


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ROCK AND ROLL: AN INTRODUCTION, 2ND EDITION takes advantage of online delivery of recorded music.For your study of a playlist of 115 rock-era songs discussed in the text. The extensive book companion website, includes timed listening guides, a multimedia-enhanced glossary, links to chapter playlists on both iTunes and Rhapsody for those songs not included on the CD set, and clearly organized recommendations for further listening.

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