The “roll“ was removed when The Beatles and The Rolling Stones rose to fame in 1963. This column, therefore, addresses a more focused question: What was the greatest record of that eight-year period and who were the Kings and Queens of Rock ’n Roll? I know that for young readers this is like asking about Arthur and Boadicea when we live in the time of William and Kate (sorry, Catherine now). Nevertheless, the source of modern pop music was that incredible era when songs involved three chords, guitars were acoustic, microphones were crystal and amplifiers were combined in small boxes with speakers. The dance was The Jive.
Let me start with my choice of royalty. The king, of course, was Elvis when he played with Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (upright bass) and DJ Fontana (drums). It all started with “That‘s All Right“ recorded at the Sun Records studios. It ended when he went into the army and Tom Parker, his manager, reinvented him afterwards as a smooth balladeer.
Coming close to Elvis in the royalty stakes are Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis: Holly and Orbison because of the range of their voices; Berry because of his classic rock compositions; and Lewis because of his mesmerising piano-playing technique. Interestingly, there was no super-star female singer like Madonna at that time, but Brenda Lee and Connie Francis produced the odd rock ’n roll hit like “Sweet Nothings“ and “Stupid Cupid“.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Britain only produced copycats like Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele and Billy Fury. None of them cracked it in the United States; so it was one-way traffic until The Beatles arrived on the scene.
Be that as it may, let‘s get back to the first question of the best rock ’n roll record of all time. Here is my top ten in descending order:
1 Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley
2 Rock Around the Clock by Billy Haley
3 Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly
4 At the Hop by Danny and The Juniors
5 Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley
6 Whole Lotta Shakin‘ Going On by Jerry Lee Lewis
7 Tutti Frutti by Little Richard
8 Hello Mary Lou by Ricky Nelson
9 Wake Up Little Susie by The Everly Brothers
10 C‘mon Everybody by Eddie Cochran
There you have it. It‘s one for the money, two for the show! “Blue Suede Shoes“, written by Carl Perkins and turned into a hit by him at the same time as Elvis Presley, is for me the quintessential rock song. However, Elvis‘ version takes the prize because of his insanely vibrant voice and Scotty Moore‘s awesome guitar solo.
On your Marx
Karl Marx was a visionary who foresaw all the flaws in capitalism on display today. Alas, his own recipe was equally flawed and we are still looking for the correct balance between free enterprise and state control. Having read most of what he wrote, I am confident enough to say that he would have been appalled by the way his ideology was twisted by dictators like Stalin to preserve their own power base. Marx’s main purpose was to end the exploitation of workers by ruthless factory owners rather than replace one form of tyranny with another. He himself lived a humble life to the end, unlike many of the communists today who see no contradiction between their luxurious lifestyle and the rhetoric they choose to inflict on their naïve followers.
I am not a closet Marxist; but I have always admired the first chapter of The Communist Manifesto as a prophetic analysis of the modern trend of globalisation. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were spot on with many of their views on the nature and shortcomings of capitalism. It was just that their conclusion that everything should be put in the hands of the State has, in retrospect, proved disastrously wrong. Stalin and Mao bear testament to this statement. However, the long-bearded Karl and Friedrich can hardly be blamed for the distortion of their ideology by dictators who used it in order to remain in power. The authors‘ objective was to protect workers‘ rights.
Consider the following abbreviated quotes from Chapter 1 of the manifesto: “Meantime the markets kept growing, the demand ever rising. The place of manufacture was taken by the giant, Modern Industry, by industrial millionaires, the leaders of whole industrial armies, the modern bourgeois.“
“Modern industry has established the world market. This market has given an immense development to commerce, to navigation, to communication by land.“
“The bourgeoisie has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous‚ cash payment. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of chivalrous enthusiasm in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value.“
“The bourgeoisie has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals; it has conducted expeditions that put in the shade all former Exoduses of nations and crusaders.“
“The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.“
“The need of a constantly expanding market for its producers chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connexions everywhere. The bourgeoisie has through its exploitation of the world market given a cosmopolitan character to production and consumption in every country.“
“In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and national seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal inter-dependence of nations. And as in material, so also in intellectual production. The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property.“
The consequence of all the previous paragraphs is: “a class of labourers, who live only so long as their labour increases capital. These labourers are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market. Owing to the extensive use of machinery, and to the division of labour, the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm.“It is hard to believe that these words (in German) were first published in February 1848, 163 years ago.
They are as good a description of the current economic state of the world as you will find in any newspaper or on any website today. The only aspect they don’t cover is the debt crisis, except for the fact that as soon as a labourer receives his wages, “he is set upon by the landlord, the shopkeeper, the pawnbroker etc.“ You have to say that their choice of language is exquisite, too.
The authors‘ recommendation is contained in the final words of the manifesto: “The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all countries, unite!“
Of course, the working men of the world never did unite because the rivalry between nations trumps co-operation between their working classes. Trade unions are really the only protection employees have against their employers, whether they are employed in the private sector or public sector. Moreover, before you complain that Karl and Friedrich painted far too dark a picture of employers and now we have corporate governance and legislation protecting workers and their conditions, let me put one question to you: Have you come across one company that has, instead of retrenching workers during this recession, cut salaries of directors and management to keep everybody in a job?
Overseas, in places like the UK and US, it has been a bloodbath with the top guys still going home with enormous bonuses. The Gini coefficient in companies measuring the remuneration of the highest paid 20% versus the lowest paid 20% has risen remorselessly. It is time to take on board some of the criticisms levelled by Marx and Engels and seek one‘s own solutions.
Furthermore, with youth unemployment reaching record highs in the majority of economies around the world, the bourgeoisie is obliged to sit down with government and trade unions to work out a new dispensation. It requires the same leap in intellect