Origins of Rock n Roll:

Rock and Roll emerged as a defined musical style in the United States in the early to mid-1950s. It derived most directly from the rhythm and blues music of the 1940s, which itself developed from earlier blues, boogie woogie, jazz and swing music, and was also influenced by gospel, country and western, and traditional folk music. Rock and roll in turn provided the main basis for the music that, since the mid-1960s, has been generally known as rock music.

The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean, but was used by the early twentieth century, both to describe a spiritual fervour and as a sexual analogy. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became used more frequently - but still intermittently - in the mid to late 1940s, on recordings and in reviews of what became known as "rhythm and blues" music aimed at a black audience. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style while popularizing the term "rock and roll" to describe it.

Because the development of rock and roll was an evolutionary process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously "the first" rock and roll record. In terms of its wide cultural impact across society in the US and elsewhere, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", recorded in April 1954 but not a commercial success until the following year, is generally recognised as an important milestone, but it was preceded by many recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned.

The alliterative phrase "rocking and rolling" was originally used by mariners at least as early as the 17th century, to describe the combined "rocking" (fore and aft) and "rolling" (side to side) motion of a ship on the ocean. Examples include an 1821 reference, "...prevent her from rocking and rolling... and an 1835 reference to a ship "...rocking and rolling on both beam-ends”. As the term referred to movement forwards, backwards and from side to side.

The Vinyl Records-Off the hook cover

Cavalera Conspiracy - Killing Inside

Jon Douglas Lord

(born 9 June 1941) is an English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player.

Lord is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms. He has most famously been a member of Deep Purple, as well as of Whitesnake, Paice, Ashton & Lord, The Artwoods and Flower Pot Men. He has worked with numerous other artists including Graham Bonnet (following Bonnet's departure from Rainbow).

In 1968, Lord co-founded Deep Purple. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only constant band members during the band's existence from 1968 to 1976 and from when they reformed in 1984 until Lord's retirement from Deep Purple in 2002.

One of his finest works was his composition Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969 with Deep Purple (Lord and Paice with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerto was revived for its 30th anniversary in 1999 with another performance at the Albert Hall, again performed by Deep Purple (Lord, Paice, Gillan, Glover and Steve Morse in place of Blackmore) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Early metal

Heavy metal (often referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are generally associated with masculinity and machismo.

The first heavy metal bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple attracted large audiences, though they were often critically reviled, a status common throughout the history of the genre. In the mid-1970s Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. Bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal such as Iron Maiden followed in a similar vein. Before the end of the decade, heavy metal had attracted a worldwide following of fans known as "metalheads" or "headbangers".

In the 1980s, glam metal became a major commercial force with groups like Mötley Crüe. Underground scenes produced an array of more extreme, aggressive styles: thrash metal broke into the mainstream with bands such as Metallica, while other styles like death metal and black metal remain subcultural phenomena. Since the mid-1990s, popular styles such as nu metal, which often incorporates elements of grunge and hip hop; and metalcore, which blends extreme metal with hardcore punk, have further expanded the definition of the genre.

Physical gestures

Fans raise their fists and make the "devil horns" gesture at a concert by Estonian heavy metal group Metsatöll in 2006

Many metal musicians when performing live engage in headbanging, which involves rhythmically beating time with the head, often emphasized by long hair. The corna, or devil horns, hand gesture, also widespread, was popularized by vocalist Ronnie James Dio while with Black Sabbath and Dio.Gene Simmons of Kiss claims to have been the first to make the gesture in concert.

Attendees of metal concerts do not dance in the usual sense; Deena Weinstein has argued that this is due to the music's largely male audience and "extreme heterosexualist ideology." She identifies two primary body movements that substitute for dancing: headbanging and an arm thrust that is both a sign of appreciation and a rhythmic gesture. The performance of air guitar is popular among metal fans both at concerts and listening to records at home. Other concert audience activities include stage diving, crowd surfing, pushing and shoving in a chaotic mêlée called moshing, and displaying the corna hand symbol.

impact of Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell’ remarkable

June 23, 2010

Last month Ronnie James Dio died of cancer at the age of 67. Although his death was sudden, it wasn’t unexpected to those in the know. His battle with the disease lasted six months. When Heaven and Hell (basically the early ’80s version of Black Sabbath) canceled all of their European tour dates in April, one had the feeling that Ronnie’s situation had taken a bad turn. On May 16, the news broke that he’d died early that Sunday morning. Many stories have been written and many tributes have happened since.

It’s now fitting to remember RJD in a way that he would have wanted. 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the seminal hard rock/metal release Heaven and Hell. Regardless of age, the album and its production stand the test of time, and is as relevant today as much as it was deemed progressive at the time.

Dio literally brought Sabbath back from the dead. When Ozzy was unceremoniously relieved of his duties, band leader Tony Iommi went on a mission; to replace one of the most popular lead vocalists and front men in the history of music. When Dio left Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow after great success, Iommi and Dio got together. The result was the first song written for the H&H album, “Children of the Sea.” The rest, as they say, is history.

It wasn’t an easy road initially for the new Black Sabbath. Dio’s brand of dungeons and dragons type lyrics were both applauded and reviled by fans and critics alike. Chants of “Ozzy, Ozzy” greeted the band when they initially took the new lineup on tour. Dio knew he had to sing songs like “Iron Man” and “War Pigs” and make them his own. Looking back he knew that his vocal style wasn’t right for those songs and he didn’t much enjoy doing them, but he took the songs and molded them to a style befitting of him.

The opening track on H&H is a thunderous stomp called “Neon Knights.” It became a staple at every Sabbath show since 1980. Even when Dio wasn’t a part of the band and Iommi kept the Sabbath brand alive, every singer had to perform that song, along with the title track, “Heaven and Hell,” and “Die Young.” Let’s talk about the song “Heaven and Hell.” It is one of the best hard rock songs of all time.

The tune begins with its signature riff and goes through progression and musical changes throughout. The lyrics are timeless. The imagery serves as a metaphor for reality and life. “The world is full of kings and queens/who blind your eyes then steal your dreams/it’s heaven and hell.” Anyone can relate to the sentiment reflected in those few lines. “They’ll tell you black is really white/the moon is just a sun at night/and when you walk in golden halls/you get to keep the gold that falls/it’s heaven and hell.” The use of paradox by Dio is found throughout his stint with Sabbath and when he decided to go solo in 1983. It really is his signature style. “Lonely is the Word” closes the album. It’s Iommi at his heavy best. The two more mainstream tunes are “Walk Away” and “Lady Evil.” Although more accessible to the masses, they serve as the change of pace to the overall theme of the record. “Wishing Well” is an up tempo riff-laden track with speed as its main ingredient.

Heaven and Hell went to #9 on the UK charts and #28 on Billboard’s US charts. It was the best showing since the ’75 release of Sabotage. It was after Sabotage that the Ozzy era began to come to a close. Sabbath would release two more albums with Ozzy, but addictions and infighting among the original members was too much to overcome. The demise of the band resulted in the resurgence of Sabbath and launched the incredible solo career of Osbourne.

Heaven and Hell represents everything right with ‘80s metal. It was mature, lyrical, and musical. The riffs were heavy, but woven with acoustic guitar, keyboards, and the impeccable production of Martin Birch. In the end, very few albums from that era, or any era for that matter, can boast the influence or the downright greatness of H&H.