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The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (Official Video)

The birth of hip-hop as a form of music was brought about by “Old School” DJ/MC groups, such as The Sugarhill Gang.  Hip-hop during the early time period was very reliant on energetic and crowd-oriented live performances.  Note the lyrical influence that this particular song, “Rapper’s Delight,” has had upon popular music today.  For instance, the back and forth chant of “hotel, motel, Holiday Inn” is a highly recognizable hook from one of Pitbull’s songs today.

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Styx ~ Renegade

One of the most notable bands from the 1980s Arena Rock era was Styx.  Many of Styx’s songs have maintained longevity and are still fairly popular/recognizable today.  For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers use “Renegade” as a mid-game pump up song, and the song has become closely associated with the team by fans.  Punk Rock was birthed out of rebellion against this style of band and performance, which pervaded much of the popular music scene in the late 1970s and 1980s.  Note the hair.

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The Clash - I Fought the Law (Live at the London Lyceum Theatre - 1979)

This video of The Clash is a compilation of live performance snippets that gives the viewer a taste of what the concert would have been like in 1979.  The rise of Punk Rock/Pub Rock in revolt against the massive production efforts that contributed to Stadium Rock resulted in bands like The Clash being able to get up close and personal with their fans.  The visceral performance is backed by footage of people being forcibly removed from the Theatre and people moshing in front of the stage.

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The Kinks - You Really Got Me

When progressive rock was on the rise in popularity, punk rock also began to become more popular.  One of the most striking differences between prog rock and punk rock was the length of the songs.  Prog rock songs had a tendency to extend to upwards of 10-15 minutes, whereas most punk songs, such as “You Really Got Me” hardly exceeded 2.5 minutes in length.

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The Clash - I Fought the Law (Official Video)

Disdain for many of the “big” and “old” bands that were popular during the 1960s (i.e. The Beatles) gave birth to the rise of punk rock.  Many of these young punk bands viewed the fame and excess enjoyed by many of their predecessors with disgust, and pushed back with their own form of dirty, gritty and unyielding music.  A classic example of a punk rock band from the 1970s is The Clash.  Their song “I Fought the Law” nearly perfectly encapsulates the mentality of the young DIY musicians who rose to power during this time period.

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Queen + Adam Lambert - Who Wants To Live Forever - Live at The Isle of W...

The Isle of Wight Festival has occurred annually since 1968.  In 2016, Queen (sans Freddie Mercury) performed at the festival with Adam Lambert fronting the band.  They performed “Who Wants to Live Forever,” in tribute to the people who were gunned down in an Orlando nightclub the day before.  Similar to the spirit of Woodstock and the original Isle of Wight Festivals, this proved the uniting power of music among people.

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The Doors - When The Music's Over (Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970)

The Doors - When The Music’s Over (Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970)

The Isle of Wight Festival was intended to serve as a British version of the Woodstock Festival of 1969.  Designed as a counterculture event, the Isle of Wight Festival of 1970 drew a crowd of nearly 700,000 people and the lineup consisted of bands such as The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joan Baez, and Jethro Tull.

Source:

youtube.com

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Altamont Free Concert - Death of Meredith Hunter

During the Altamont Free Concert of 1969, an 18 year old African American man named Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by a member of the Hell’s Angels Biker Gang.  In the years since the incident, it has been told that Meredith Hunter was extraordinarily high and threatened violence by pulling out a gun during the show. Whether or not the Hell’s Angels member who killed him did it in defense of the Rolling Stones, of other concertgoers, or as a racially charged assault, this has gone down as one of the most infamous moments in rock and roll history.

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Jefferson Airplane Live at Altamont - 1969

The fighting that took place at Altamont started early in the day during Jefferson Airplane’s set.  The Hell’s Angels Biker Gang, who had been given free beer to drink in exchange for their security services, tried to corral and control many of the concertgoers - many of whom were experimenting with drugs during the show.  The physical confrontations went back and forth across the stage and eventually resulted in Jefferson Airplane’s singer, Marty Balin, being struck in the head and knocked unconscious.

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Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil (Live Altamont, 1969)

The Altamont Free Concert of 1969 was designed to be the “Woodstock of the West.”  It was created with the intention of bringing people together in love and unity for the purpose of watching a free concert - which is exactly what happened at Woodstock.  However, the Altamont Free Concert revealed to many people that there was a darker side to the “hippie” mentality when fights broke out throughout the night between concertgoers and the “security staff” for the evening - the Hells Angels Biker Gang.

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An event as significant as the Woodstock Festival of 1969 is not easily forgotten.  The hallowed grounds of the festival have been immortalized by the construction of a museum, monument and massive arts center within the heart of Sullivan County, New York.  I am currently an employee at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts - I help distribute lawn chairs to concert goers and then stick around after the show to help collect and re-stack the chairs for the next shows.  The magic still exists at Woodstock, and people come from hundreds of miles away every year to lay their eyes upon “ground zero for peace and love.”

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Woodstock 69 - Rain Chant

“NO RAIN.”  When it began to rain during the Woodstock festival of 1969, the crowd began to chant for the rain to stop.  While the chant didn’t necessarily work, it has gone down as one of the most essential occurrences that took place during the festival.  It brought about a moment of collective unity for everyone involved and the chant has gone down in history because of it.  The rain resulted in the creation of mudpits everywhere, which the concert goers would later go play in before bathing in the lake on the other side of the field.

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"Soul Sacrifice" - Santana Live at Woodstock in 1969

Another essential byproduct of the hippie San Francisco lifestyle was Carlos Santana.  Santana was a Mexican American guitar player who eventually went on to become one of the most renowned musicians in the world after his performance at the 1969 Woodstock festival.  Santana has since been quoted as referring to the Woodstock festival as “ground zero for peace and love.”

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“Somebody to Love” - Jefferson Airplane

During the 1960s, San Francisco became a hotbed for the hippie lifestyle.  There was an intense sense of communal living that gave rise to many bands such as Jefferson Airplane.  The communal lifestyle brought about an almost pagan-esque celebration of human existence that resulted in copious sharing of music, creativity, and ideals among the people of San Francisco.

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The Beatles - “Come Together”

While there will always be discussion among fans about whether or not “Let It Be” or “Abbey Road” was the last official Beatles studio album, it is undeniable that many of the band’s most recognizable songs came about towards the end of their tenure as a band.  “Come Together” has been played for decades at anti-war rallies, and was the campaign song for 2018′s “Justice League” movie.  Ironically enough, shortly after writing a song about coming together, The Beatles split apart.

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The Beatles - “Don't Let Me Down”

On January 30, 1969, the Beatles performed together for the very last time.  After suffering through years of in-fighting due to conceptual/artistic differences, the band decided to call it quits... but not without one last goodbye to all.  While the band didn’t officially disband until a little while later, pretty much all of the members knew that the break up would be inevitable.  Are the smiles on Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s faces blissful in this video for the sake of the cameras?  Or because they both know that they are close to being free?

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The Who - Baba O'Riley (Live)

One of The Who’s most widely recognized songs, “Baba O’Riley” can be considered to be minimalism portrayed through rock and roll.  Despite it’s explosiveness, the song is trademarked by its simple guitar riffs and lyrics that speak to the rebelliousness of teenagers.  Its structure is very similar to that of an arena rock/hair metal song from the 1970s/80s.