3 Underrated Contributors to Rock and Roll
Three fellows who deserve credit where credit is due. Who do you think needs a mention?
Rock and roll has produced an unprecedented number of musicians for us, many of whom have entertained and amazed the entire globe, sailing on the cusp of the stratosphere of fame and hysteria, some even managing to go beyond what was seen as insurmountable. We could harp on all day about The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the like, rocketing off into long tangents as we eulogise their impact on our lives. But for every Keith Richards or Jimmy Page, there is a scrap heap of lost talents who took part in the rock and roll zeitgeist and left through the back door without much fuss. Some of them are long gone now, while others have returned to the normalities of the everyday, while the selected icons swarm around in our consciousness, almost as fresh as they were when they first arrived. But the unobtrusive deserve a fraction of the spotlight if only for a little while, their endeavours having made more waves than some may think, influencing generations, genres and aspiring musicians. So, here we have three contributors who each get a meaty paragraph giving thanks to their work, each mans being equally distinctive. 1. Jeffrey Lee Pierce (front-man/guitarist)
Born in Los Angeles on June 27, 1958, Jeffrey Lee Pierce grew up as an avid fan of glam rock, reggae, and later became involved in the punk scene that hit America. Having passed away at the age of just thirty-seven, Pierce left a legacy that only a minority of music buffs from his era hold a candle to til this day, as he operated almost entirely out of the mainstream loop. His musical approach was an impassioned cocktail that could never be pigeonholed, a consequence of Pierces unrelenting experimental nature and lack of conformity, which cost him widespread fame but generated plenty of respect from his peers. He was initially a journalist for Slash Magazine, and perhaps a little embarrassingly, the president of the Blondie fan club, but he would soon become more than just an enthusiast in the crowd such was his dissimilarity from other ambitious musos of his generation. As his journalistic enthusiasms waned, Pierce decided to go all out and try to make headway in the music business with the intention of forming a group that bypassed contemporary generic traits, and his discovery of the delta blues scene was an important moment in his life as it would play a crucial part in the formation of The Gun Club, a band that Pierce formed in 1979. The bands first and most widely recognized album, Fire of Love, was released in 1981 when punk was losing its way and electronic banality was on the upsurge. The album was a display of eclectic tastes and youthful volatility, empowered by a fusion of punk and delta blues of undeniable authenticity. Though Fire of Love was not a commercial success, it was groundbreaking in its concepts, so much so that it influenced a very important young man by the name of Jack White who championed the record in an interview, saying of the album: ...why are these songs not taught in schools?. The Gun Club went on to release another six albums, none so formidable as their debut but all well worth acquiring to a collection, but their potential was never wholly realised because of inner conflicts and Pierces addictions to heroin and alcohol, the latter resulting in his demise in 1996. A lyricist, arranger, and an accomplished guitarist, Pierce deserves more credit for his contributions to rock music and music in general, so that his name will remain in the minds of more than a small minority. Signature tune: Sex Beat (1981) You may enjoy...: Mother of Earth (1982)