Most people, particularly Americans, assume (or are absolutely certain) that rock and roll began as a distinct musical style in the United States during the mid-1950s. It drew heavily from rhythm and blues, blues, jump blues, boogie-woogie, up-tempo jazz, and swing music. Clearly some elements of its make up existed earlier in the 20th Century but it began its continued rise with the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino, among others. But what if that history was wrong, or didn’t go far enough? This is the premise of a wonderful new book from Elizabeth Sharkey. It is called ‘Why Britain Rocked – How Rock Became Roll and Took Over The World.’ She traces the history of rock music back to points hundreds of years earlier. The evidence she has uncovered suggests that rock music has its true roots in Scottish and Irish folk music and African music. Eventually the two styles and histories met in Appalachia as the Scots and Irish immigrants headed west and freed slaves of African descent made their way north to states that were more open the end of slavery. This history takes a journey that includes Henry VIII, the Celts, Bob Dylan, the Quakers, and Paul Robeson to mention just a fraction of the people and lives included.
Elizabeth is a music historian, author, columnist, and media commentator. The research she has undertaken for the book looks like it took years, and it looks incredibly thorough. As to why Elizabeth authored the book she said “Growing up, music was everything to me: my home, my thrill, my escape, and my understanding of the world. If you love certain songs or pieces of music to the very core of your soul – then you might, as I was, be curious to look a little deeper into just why, how, such magic came to be.” When I saw her in Pocklington as part of the book launch tour, she also said that her curiosity was piqued as to how British bands were able to take on “American” music so readily and so skilfully in the early sixties. She argues that this is highly likely because it was already in our musical DNA via generations of handed down songs.
The book covers a huge spectrum of the history from incredibly early folk music to modern pop and murder ballads. The latter are narrative songs that often explore themes of justice, revenge, and the consequences of violence. Often the songs protagonist is killed by another of the songs characters with revenge a regular motif. Usually, the murder might have arisen through a love gone wrong and jealousy. When I saw her speak, I was quite amused when Elizabeth suggested that in fact Benny Hill’s huge UK hit from 1971 “Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)” is a murder ballad. I believe that she is correct. It has two men vying for the love of one woman. One suitor kills the other and the murdered character comes back to haunt the living.
I can imagine that many Americans and music scholars might see the book as some kind of music blasphemy. But that would be just to protect their own entrenched positions. Having read the book I am convinced that Sharkey has an extraordinarily compelling argument and the more music I listen too the more I can hear the “forgotten” histories she writes about. The book is quite easy to read given that in some ways it leans towards academia. I love that she has added a brief playlist at the end of each chapter in the book. But even better than that she has created them all as extend playlists on Spotify. As a result, I have listened to songs that I haven’t listened to for years and some that I don’t believe that I have ever heard. I have embedded one of those playlists, my current favourite, below. Classic Rock magazine described the book as “a treasure trove of exploration, academic rigour and a welcome, bold attempt at re-framing the history of British pop music.” It would be hard not to agree with that summation. I would add that I believe that this book should be made compulsory reading for all music journalists and anyone studying rock music. I am also intrigued as to where Sharkey might go with her next book. Has she already begun researching for it? After reading ‘Why Britain Rocked’ I will definitely read whatever comes next from Elizabeth Sharkey! In the meantime if you would like to order a copy of ‘Why Britain Rocked’ just click here!
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