Not here.  This is a living breathing document, narrated by one of its still breathing practitioners, who left his blood splashed across steel strings for nearly a half century.  A guy who peeled his sweat drenched clothes off in the corners of dressing rooms, bath rooms, refrigerators and too many kitchens to name; in concert halls, stadiums, barrooms, roadhouses, fields and hell holes in too many cities and towns to mention.  A road warrior who plies his trade into old age still… still playing, still recording, still practicing… and still dreaming… in relative obscurity somewhere in Upstate New York, America.

Why me?  Perspective, my friends.  MY freaking perspective.  As one who climbed the mountain to Rock stardom.  Yeah, I climbed on it.  Got up there so I could see the summit.  I smelt that rarified air up there.  Breathed it in and fell back down with my heart in my hands.  Nope, never “made it”.  But, I made a lot of music along the way.  I’m not a rock star, but I got to share some space with a lot of them.  And more importantly, I got to share most of my life with freaks like me:  the players, the weekend warriors and their families, the losers, the drunks, the druggies and the fans. Not just those celebrity chasing, personality obsessed groupies.  I’m talking music fans; people who love and support the artform because they still believe in the mystery and the majesty of this music.   Listen, man, it’s not WHO plays it, it’s HOW it’s being played.  These fans understand that sweet, sweaty, passionate moment when every single person in the room knows that “This is Rock and Roll”.   Define it?  Nope, can’t.  But, trust me, you’ll know it when you feel it.

So, as a musician who is NOT a critic, I will personally guide you through this adventure of discovery.  I have a unique and very personal perspective on the first half century of Rock and Roll, as seen from the inside, the soft and dirty underbelly of this beast.  But most of all I want you to know that first and foremost I am a fan.  I love Rock and Roll music with a passion.  And together, WE just might find out why.

And who are the "we" in all of this discovery?  Students!!. Students in the real sense, questing for knowledge and a degree to prove it.  Who may have signed up for what looks like an easy elective to fulfill that degree program. OR, like me, you may be students on a quest for knowledge about something that you  have a genuine passion for.  So, in the academic tradition, we will research "This History of Rock and Roll",  to catalog it, codify it, place it on a timeline, find out where it comes from... and dream about where it is going. 

Yes, we're all students.  We'll learn from each other.  I've had more experiences with Rock and Roll, but you have a unique and powerful perspective.  You started this musical journey at the dawn of a new age.  You are the "i" generation.  And you know what you like.  You are experts at being you.  And you've shaped your own personal music libraries around what moves you.  We will investigate our individual paths to discover why we like what we like.  And more importantly, we will discover through our research where this music we love came from. 

So, share.  Everybody contributes.  And not what you think I want to hear.  I want to hear what's in YOUR ears.  Your perspective will change mine, refine it and make it better.  Check the Bibliography Page.  All of these texts are fair game.  And check back often. (I'll post  Updates.) The list of books and magazine articles will grow.  (NOTE to MUS-226-01 students- I'll make sure that copies of these texts are made available to you either from me or the library.)  Use the internet, but beware!! There's lots of misinformation out there.  Cross check for accuracy. The best stuff gets published here in this online document.  But, everybody participates in the dialogue.

 As you are assigned research projects, here are some important things to consider.  When you submit an article or a link make sure you do the background work.  Label everything you can get your hands on: who, what, where, when.

Timeline- Always consider the date, the moment in history when the artist lived and the moment they created the art.  We’re going to see some threads of influence, and we’ll want to follow those threads through time.  This is history after all, so dates matter. 

Culture- Who you are is where you’ve been.  Where they came from, and what they experienced shaped the music and the message, so make sure you understand the context in which the art was created. (Example- Carl Perkins learned a lick from his neighbor who lived across the field from him.  Carl was a white farm kid.  His neighbor was an old black sharecropper.  Two men, two WAY different cultures… same lick.)

Characters- Rock and Roll is filled with Characters.  Keep an eye out for those who had a particular major influence.  If it wasn’t for Muddy Waters, would there be an Eric Clapton?  And what about Quincy Jones?  Follow his life and you track the jazz thread all the way through Michael Jackson to MAD TV.  There may be a bunch of characters in one band.  Find out who they are and where the went.  (Example- If you tracked all the guitar players in The Yardbirds, you might touch on a significant bevy of giants in Rock history. 

Threads- Ah, yes, these characters thread their way through the Rock timeline, weaving a tapestry of cultures together.  Evidence is everywhere.  Seek it out and watch for it. Here’s a good example I discovered while reading a recent interview with Charlie Daniels in Esquire Magazine.  (In his own words.) “I worked at a creosote plant. I had a bunch of black workmates, and they kept talking about Randy’s Record Shop, and I had no idea what they were talking about.  I come to find out what it was was WLAC in Nashville – late at night, they would go to what they called 'blues radio.'  I was living in North Carolina, but the station cam in at night lie a local station, and these black guys used to listen to it all the time.  It was a whole ‘nother world out there that we had never been exposed to.”  Charlie Daniels is a legendary Country Musician who crossed over into Rock and Southern Rock.  His music was definitely effected by some guys from another culture.

Six Degrees- This is Rock ‘n’ Roll.  This is the music of the people.  And it’s a huge club with open doors.  Always share a personal connection or anecdote.  I will guarantee that we will never find six degrees of separation between any artist in Rock History and someone you know personally.  Rock and Roll is HUGE in the world, but it’s a smaller world than you think.