At our last "goat" (chinese astrologic sign) meeting we suddenly started to compare our youth with the one of our children. All three of us are from the same generation with different nationalities. I am German, Ilona Belgian and Chantal French we spent our teen age years in different countries, except myself who continued my teenage life in Belgium from 1959 on. But when it comes to our youth it was more or less the same.
It all started with Rock and Roll. We were the first generation who would later be copied by their own children or even grand children. This had never happened in history.
The song "That's All Right Mama" from Elvis Presley and Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" both from 1954 set the rock and roll boom in motion. Rock around the Clock became one of the biggest hits in history, causing riots in some cities. It was a breakthrough for all of rock and roll music and set the mold for everything else that came.
The massive popularity and worldwide scope of rock and roll gave it an unprecedented social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, language and also the way of dancing from this year on we rocked ! And we loved it ! Ilona even won Rock & Roll contests with her partners. All later dance genres wich followed, starting with the twist, and leading up to funk, disco, house, techno, punk and heavy metal, found there origin in the Rock & Roll.
We have seen Elvis live on TV if not in concert, and all the other Rock & Roll heros too. We could see the young Beatles in concert, they were the same age as we. I liked the Rolling Stones when they were young but think they should stop by now to perform live it looks like if I were still dancing Rock & Roll and Mr. Gattino swings me over his shoulder. Just ridiculous. But I still love their music. After all they are all grandpas and we can be proud of them.
So when today our sons ask us how it was then, we can talk and talk and describe and our eyes would sparkle and somewhere we are a little sorry for them that there is nothing really new to invent or change the world at least not yet.
Today I would choose in my son's generation
Robbie Williams
and in my grandson (or daughter)'s
Mika
Below is a post about "Queen"
