Country rock is a musical genre formed from the fusion of Rock with country music.
While such cross-pollination has occurred throughout the history of both genres, the term is usually used to refer to the wave of groups of the late 1960s and early 1970s who began to record country flavored records, including Neil Young, The Byrds, Gene Clark, Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan with The Band. These musicians grew up listening to early country music on the radio in the 1950s, and were also influenced by the emergence of rock & roll in the 1960s.
The term is also used for those who came after them, such as Seldom Scene, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers,Pure Prairie League, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Doobie Brothers and The Marshall Tucker Band as well as many musicians that they influenced, such as those in the alternative country movement. Link
Friday, July 20, 2007
The Band
The Band was a Canadian-American rock group, active from 1967 to 1976 and again from 1983 to 1999. It mainly consisted of Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone); and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar).
The members of the Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963; they were also known as Levon and the Hawks. (In about 1966, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires). Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the group for his 1965–1966 world tour. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their record company (a name derived from how they were referred to during their tenure with Dylan), the group left Woodstock, New York to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s; their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist Robbie Robertson.Link
The members of the Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963; they were also known as Levon and the Hawks. (In about 1966, they released a single on Ware Records under the name the Canadian Squires). Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the group for his 1965–1966 world tour. They also joined him on the informal recordings that later became The Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their record company (a name derived from how they were referred to during their tenure with Dylan), the group left Woodstock, New York to begin recording their own material. They recorded two of the most acclaimed albums of the late 1960s; their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. They broke up in 1976, but reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist Robbie Robertson.Link
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival (commonly referred to by its initials CCR or simply Creedence) was an American rock band, fronted by John Fogerty. Though hailing from the Bay Area of California, the group was influenced by the swamp blues genre that came out of south Louisiana in the late 1950s and early to mid-1960s. CCR cultivated a Louisiana connection through its choice of song and album titles, such as "Born on the Bayou," Bayou Country, and Mardi Gras, as well as through the southern "good ol' boy" image projected by its members. Several of their songs also protest against the Vietnam War, such as "Who'll Stop the Rain", "Wrote a Song for Everyone" and most notably "Fortunate Son". Link
The Byrds
The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964) were an American rock band.
Bridging the gap between the folk music of Bob Dylan and the hybrid pop of The Beatles, The Byrds were popular and influential through the 1960s and early 1970s. Throughout their career, they helped forge such subgenres as folk rock, space rock, raga rock, psychedelic rock, jangle pop, and – on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo – country rock. After several line-up changes (with lead singer/guitarist Roger McGuinn as the only consistent member), they broke up in 1973.
Some of their trademark songs include pop covers of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Pete Seeger’s "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and the originals "I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better", and "Eight Miles High".
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and several band members have launched successful solo careers after leaving the group. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #45 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Link
Bridging the gap between the folk music of Bob Dylan and the hybrid pop of The Beatles, The Byrds were popular and influential through the 1960s and early 1970s. Throughout their career, they helped forge such subgenres as folk rock, space rock, raga rock, psychedelic rock, jangle pop, and – on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo – country rock. After several line-up changes (with lead singer/guitarist Roger McGuinn as the only consistent member), they broke up in 1973.
Some of their trademark songs include pop covers of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Pete Seeger’s "Turn! Turn! Turn!", and the originals "I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better", and "Eight Miles High".
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and several band members have launched successful solo careers after leaving the group. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked them #45 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Link
Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco, California. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, country, jazz, psychedelia, space music and gospel—and for live performances of long musical improvisation."Their music," Lenny Kaye wrote, "touches on ground that most other groups don't even know exists."
The Grateful Dead's fans, some of whom followed the band from concert to concert for years, were known as Deadheads and were renowned for their dedication to the band's music. Many followers referred to the band simply as The Dead.
Their musical influences varied widely, and in concert or on record album one can hear psychedelic rock (in the late sixties), the blues, rock nuggets, country-western, bluegrass, country-rock, and although they rarely played jazz music, the band certainly borrowed for their music the kind of long improvisatory sequences that jazz artists such as Charles Mingus and John Coltrane perfected in the 1950s. These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead "the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world." Link
The Grateful Dead's fans, some of whom followed the band from concert to concert for years, were known as Deadheads and were renowned for their dedication to the band's music. Many followers referred to the band simply as The Dead.
Their musical influences varied widely, and in concert or on record album one can hear psychedelic rock (in the late sixties), the blues, rock nuggets, country-western, bluegrass, country-rock, and although they rarely played jazz music, the band certainly borrowed for their music the kind of long improvisatory sequences that jazz artists such as Charles Mingus and John Coltrane perfected in the 1950s. These various influences were distilled into a diverse and psychedelic whole that made the Grateful Dead "the pioneering Godfathers of the jam band world." Link
Eagles
Eagles are an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. With five number-one singles and four number-one albums, the Eagles were among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 and Hotel California, ranked among the ten best-selling albums according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The best-selling studio album Hotel California is rated as the 37th album in the Rolling Stone list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and the band was ranked #75 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.They are also the best-selling American group ever, with Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 being the best-selling album in the U.S. to date.
The Eagles broke up in 1980 and were disbanded for 14 years, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over ("For the record, we never broke up. We just took a fourteen year vacation."). They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
On February 2, 2007, Don Henley announced in Billboard magazine that a new Eagles studio album will be released "in the next 60 to 90 days." Link
The Eagles broke up in 1980 and were disbanded for 14 years, but reunited in 1994 for Hell Freezes Over ("For the record, we never broke up. We just took a fourteen year vacation."). They have toured intermittently since then, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
On February 2, 2007, Don Henley announced in Billboard magazine that a new Eagles studio album will be released "in the next 60 to 90 days." Link
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd) ) is a U.S. Southern rock band, described by All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "the definitive Southern rock band, fusing the overdriven power of blues-rock with a rebellious, Southern image and a hard rock swagger."[1] The band reached prominence during the 1970s under the leadership of vocalist and primary songwriter Ronnie Van Zant until he died, along with several other members of the band, in a plane crash in 1977 in McComb, Mississippi.
The band was named after Leonard Skinner, a gym teacher/coach for some of the members in high school. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most critically acclaimed Southern Rock groups (although the term did not exist at the time they formed) of the 1970s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of March 13, 2006. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar sound made their songs "Free Bird", and "Sweet Home Alabama" American anthems and staples of FM radio. Members inducted include: singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King, and Steve Gaines, bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboard player Billy Powell, and drummers Bob Burns and Artimus Pyle. Link
The band was named after Leonard Skinner, a gym teacher/coach for some of the members in high school. Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most critically acclaimed Southern Rock groups (although the term did not exist at the time they formed) of the 1970s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of March 13, 2006. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar sound made their songs "Free Bird", and "Sweet Home Alabama" American anthems and staples of FM radio. Members inducted include: singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarists Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Ed King, and Steve Gaines, bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboard player Billy Powell, and drummers Bob Burns and Artimus Pyle. Link
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