Great Moments In Rock n' Roll History - Part 1

Maybe it is time to add some historical moments in rock n' roll to this blog. The start of a new year is a good excuse for anything, so here we go with the first installment of our random posts celebrating some great historical moments in the short history of rock music.
In 1976 bland was still in and even disco, which was a refreshing enough fad, didn't quite kill the crap that was filling the airwaves. From "Seasons In the Sun" to "Silly Love Songs" and with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in-between, generally, music was as mainstream as it was in the 50's when Perry Como ruled and rock n' roll didn't even exist. Music needed a shakeup and someone had to deliver it. That person turned out to be Malcolm McLaren. He put a band together called 'The Sex Pistols' and inadvertently invented punk rock. I say inadvertently because I'm sure what followed what he had started could not have been part of a long term plan... more of an ever developing movement that he started. That development was, of course, punk rock. The savior of music... the much needed outlet for the frustrated and disillusioned. Don't get me wrong, it didn't completely change the world - the Westies still loved Led Zep, the AM radio listeners still loved their MOR hits and disco wasn't over at all. But there was something DIY about punk that was exciting for all the others... outcasts? maybe at first, but accepted over time - not that they gave a fuck about being accepted, but accepted all the same. This takes us to the mainstream media. They weren't so accommodating when it came to this new style of music. When the Sex Pistols were invited on the Bill Grundy show in December 1976 it was obvious he (and maybe the producers) had no respect and was provoking them to behave, well, as they did. Even they would would look back with a cringe, but you can't get past the fact that the Bill Grundy Show was going out of their way to provoke hatred and basically a set up to their conservative audience. Johnny Lydon has been quoted recently that had Bill Grundy been a nice guy, or at least, more respectful, there may have been a different outcome. Anyway, what they managed to do was widen the gap between the old and the rebellious young. Punk got new recruits in the thousands. The moral of this story is that we didn't have to put up with MOR rubbish anymore... and we got The Stranglers, Boomtown Rats, The Clash, XTC, and the Damned on the radio. So this great moment in rock n' roll history wasn't so much about saying Fucker on national television but more about changing the musical landscape. If it wasn't for punk, I don't know if I would be the music nerd I am.