Author Marc Myers describes rock concerts as a generational event and also as "a right of passage."
"You went in as a kid and came out a young adult," Myers said.
It's what led him to investigate the evolution of these productions for his latest book "Rock Concert: An Oral History as Told by the Artists, Backstage Insiders, and Fans Who Were There."
Myers points to Allen Freed as a man who played a big role with the first rock concert in New York at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater.
Freed's concerts lasted for days and gave attendees the opportunity to see the artists they loved from the radio performing live, over and over again.
When Elvis Presley hit the scene, he combined the artistry of rock and R&B with a performance style and looks that were appealing to women.
"It's really the beginning of true female ecstasy over a male star," Myers said.
The author was purposeful when collecting interviews about Elvis, specifically wanting the perspectives of three women who were close to the star: Barbara Hearn who had dated Elvis in high school and in the early days of his career; Elvis' touring partner for two years, Wanda Jackson who would go on to become the Queen of Rockabilly; and Kay Wheeler who formed the first national Elvis Presley fan club.
"You really get a feel through these three women about how the temperature rises and about how he conducted himself as an artist," the author said.
Prior to 1964, there weren't organized tours and ticket prices were small change, according to Myers
Myers pointed out that it was when concert promoters saw images of performers at the March on Washington in 1963 that a new vision for the rock concert was born, leading to stadium tours.
The Beatles took the stage at Shea Stadium in 1965 and showed how wildly successful the right artist and the right music could be.
Their concerts also showed a need for improvements to enhance the concertgoers experience.
"People who say they went to see The Beatles are accurate. Anybody who says they went to hear The Beatles are lying to you," Myers said.
The screaming of the crowd at Beatles' concerts proved the need for better sound systems, which appeared at Woodstock.
Marc Myers' traces the history of rock concerts through 1985 when he says the industry changed.
"After Live Aid, rock takes a turn," Myers says citing growing corporate involvement and increasing ticket prices.
When it comes to current concerts the big artists are mostly female pop singers and "rock today is almost meaningless," Myers said.
Read the original here:
The rise and evolution of the rock concert in America - KCUR
- History of Evolution | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - December 9th, 2016 [December 9th, 2016]
- Evolution - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokmon encyclopedia - December 12th, 2016 [December 12th, 2016]
- What is Evolution - explanation and definitions - December 21st, 2016 [December 21st, 2016]
- Evolution (2001 film) - Wikipedia - January 28th, 2017 [January 28th, 2017]
- EvolutionM.net - Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution | Reviews, News ... - February 1st, 2017 [February 1st, 2017]
- YMCA evolution continues at lake - Gaston Gazette - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Ivanka Trump's Beauty Evolution, From 1998 to Today Watch - Us Weekly - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Lumpy, hairy, toe-like fossil could reveal the evolution of molluscs - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- How Evolution Alters Biological Invasions - ScienceBlog.com (blog) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Cultural evolution and the mutilation of women - The Economist - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Late-night hosts on the evolution of Trump: 'Dickish to dictatorish' - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Gold's Gym Regina rebrands to become Evolution Fitness - Regina Leader-Post - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Incremental Versus Radical Innovation: A Response to Josh Swamidass on Evolution and Cancer - Discovery Institute - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Blockchain: Investment (R)Evolution For Developing Markets - Forbes - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- See the Evolution of the Famed Porsche 911 in 7 Photos - WIRED - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Exhibition charts 500 years of evolution of robots - Phys.Org - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- How evolution turned ordinary plants into ravenous meat-eaters - Wired.co.uk - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Are Evolution Fresh Drinks 'Poison'? - snopes.com - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Non-Chromosomal DNA Drives Tumor Evolution - The Scientist - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Chimpanzee feet allow scientists a new grasp on human foot evolution - Phys.Org - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- 'Goldilocks' genes that tell the tale of human evolution hold clues to variety of diseases - Science Daily - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Pac-Man is Coming to 'The Sandbox Evolution' Next Week - Touch Arcade - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Chimpanzee feet allow scientists a new grasp on human foot ... - Science Daily - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Bacteria sleep, then rapidly evolve, to survive antibiotic treatments - Phys.Org - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Orangutan squeaks reveal language evolution, says study - BBC ... - BBC News - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Evolution gives rhyme its reason - Aurora News Register - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Deeper origin of gill evolution suggests 'active lifestyle' link in early vertebrates - Science Daily - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- From Tara Palmer-Tomkinson to Cara Delevingne: the evolution of the It girl - The Guardian - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Banned TED Talk: Rupert Sheldrake The Science Delusion - Collective Evolution - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- VOTD: Watch the Evolution of Keanu Reeves' Acting Career - /FILM - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Pokmon Go Eevee evolution: How to evolve Eevee into Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon with new names - Eurogamer.net - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Horse evolution bucks evolutionary theory - Science News - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Samsung's Chromebook Pro highlights the category's continued evolution - TechCrunch - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Scientists solve fish evolution mystery - Phys.Org - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Wildfire evolution forces Forest Service into new thinking - The Daily Progress - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- How the horse can help us answer one of evolution's biggest questions - Raw Story - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- A primer on Darwin Day: Some religious groups embrace 'Theistic evolution' - LancasterOnline - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Apple: Evolution of in-car audio tech moving at 'speed of sound ... - Times of India - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Mariska Hargitay's Evolution from '80s Glam to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - TVOvermind - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Evolution of baseball from power to speed has left SBs behind ... - Chicago Sun-Times - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- More order with less judgment: An optimal theory of the evolution of cooperation - Science Daily - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- J. Albert C. Uy speaks on evolution, biodiversity in bellied flycatcher population - The College Reporter - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- See the Evolution of Movie Magic With Every Oscar Winner for Visual Effects in History - Gizmodo - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Numerology: Here's What Your Name Says About You - Collective Evolution - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- The Evolution of Valentine's Day - Inside Science News Service - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Why evolution may be tech billionaires' biggest enemy - The Week Magazine - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Community Viewpoint: Evolution, like gravity, is much more than theory it is a fact - Kdminer - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- How the horse can help us answer one of evolution's biggest questions - Phys.Org - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- How evolution alters biological invasions - Science Daily - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Cockeyed squid shines light on deep sea evolution - Christian Science Monitor - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Eye Evolution: A Closer Look - Discovery Institute - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Evolution always wins: University of Idaho video game uses mutating aliens to teach science concepts - The Spokesman-Review - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Geneticists track the evolution of parenting - Phys.Org - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- How this cockeyed squid shines a light on deep sea evolution - Christian Science Monitor - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- 4 Possible Roadmaps For macOS and iOS Evolution - The Mac Observer (blog) - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- The Evolution of the Energy Capital of the World - Texas Monthly - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Humons presents an atypical dance evolution - Detroit Metro Times - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Pokemon Go Adds 80 Generation 2 Pokemon, New Evolution Items This Week - IGN - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Fossil discovery rewrites understanding of reproductive evolution ... - Science Daily - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- 'X-Men: Evolution' Is the Gateway Drug of Comic Book Shows - Geek - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- A cultural catch: Evolution of wooden halibut hooks carved by native ... - Science Daily - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Bremerton's Fitness Evolution now Planet Fitness - Kitsap Sun (blog) - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Eye Evolution: The Waiting Is the Hardest Part - Discovery Institute - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Evolution Of The Yeezy: 2009-2017 - HotNewHipHop - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Prebiotic evolution: Hairpins help each other out - Science Daily - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- This 'Live Birth' Fossil Could Change Humanity's Understanding Of Evolution - Daily Caller - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Mysterious Ancient Stonehenge-Like Circles Found in Amazon Rainforest - Collective Evolution - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- 'Pokemon Go': How to Evolve Poliwhirl Into Politoed - Heavy.com - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- 'Pokemon Go': How to Evolve Slowpoke Into Slowbro or Slowking - Heavy.com - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- 'Pokemon Go': How to Evolve Gloom Into Bellossom - Heavy.com - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Pokmon Go Dragon Scale - how to evolve Seadra into Kingdra and how to get the Dragon Scale - Eurogamer.net - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Pokmon Go Eevee evolution: How to evolve Eevee into Umbreon, Espeon, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon with new ... - Eurogamer.net - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- University of Pittsburgh guest speaker discloses evolution findings - UTA The Shorthorn - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- 'Pokemon Go' Special Items: Drop Rates for Evolution Items & Berries at Pokestops - Heavy.com - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- How Vedic Philosophy Influenced Nikola Tesla's Idea of 'Free Energy' - Collective Evolution - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Migration to America took long enough for evolution to happen on the way - Ars Technica - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- How To Choose Your Eevee Evolution In 'Pokmon GO:' Umbreon And Espeon Edition - Forbes - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Evolution Items - IGN - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Congo River fish evolution shaped by intense rapids: Genomic study ... - Science Daily - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Pokmon Go - How to evolve, use Special Items, when to evolve or Power Up your Pokmon - Eurogamer.net - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]