Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock

by Steven Hyden

Let’s conduct a thought experiment: is it possible to write a history of rock using only black artists? You could start with Ike Turner, whose 1951 song “Rocket 88” is sometimes credited as the first rock song. Then, of course, there’s Chuck Berry, ace guitarist and one of rock’s most important singer-songwriters. And Little Richard, the model for all future rock ’n’ roll screamers, eccentrics, and gender-benders. All of these artists are already identified as rockers, so let’s branch out. Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, and Jimmy Reed played a pivotal role in influencing how rock is sung, performed, and conceptualized. If they were white, they would automatically be classified as rock stars, but because they’re black, they are more commonly regarded as blues and soul artists. So, let’s annex them into rock history, because they belong there, too. In the sixties, you have all of the great stars of Motown and Stax, including Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, and Wilson Pickett, as well as iconoclasts like James Brown, Sly Stone, and the greatest guitarist of all time himself, Jimi Hendrix. Only Hendrix is commonly categorized as rock, but all those artists either influenced rock musicians or sound exactly like the rock bands of their era.