cover image The History of Rock & Roll: Volume II 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock

The History of Rock & Roll: Volume II 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock

Ed Ward. Flatiron, $29.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-16519-0

Following up The History of Rock & Roll: 1920 to 1963, Ward smartly and succinctly surveys just over a decade of rock’s rapid evolution. He covers the gamut of musical styles, including the British Invasion, surf sound, guitar rock, R&B, soul, blues, reggae, country, and even some jazz. Not surprisingly, he begins with the Beatles and posits the decades-old question, “Beatles or Stones,” explaining the bands’ different backgrounds (Beatles, working-class Liverpool; Stones, middle-class London) and how each had its own devoted fan base. Ward includes some great tidbits, such as how the small labels that released some of the Beatles’ early U.S. records filed injunctions against Capitol Records in 1964; how Jan Berry of Jan & Dean nearly died in a car accident at the spot he wrote about years earlier in their song “Dead Man’s Curve”; and how the unintelligible lyrics of “Louie, Louie” came to be investigated by the FBI. Ward ends the decade with The Last Waltz, Martin Scorcese’s documentary of The Band’s 1976 concert, whose guests (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, and Neil Young) “had been enshrined by Rolling Stone... as rock royalty.” Ward’s deep dive into this influential era will send even the most knowledgable rock aficionados back to their vinyl collections. (Nov.)