The question is sort of like asking what the U.S. founding fathers would think of the U.S. today. How do the pioneers of rock & roll view the progression of the genre, generally speaking?
“We were pioneers of this thing called rock & roll. We had no idea where it would go…”
“… and it all turned out well.”
“… and it all went to hell at some point.”
“… and we stopped giving a shit years ago.”
I put the thread in IMHO because it likely calls for some speculation. The question applies to the artistic side and not so much the business side of rock.
I know everyone is different, but as an example, would someone like Little Richard appreciate someone like Boston, Howard Jones, Pearl Jam, Coldplay?
Perhaps they would be pissed off that nobody sounds like Sha Na Na anymore.
The problem with this is that while Chuck Berry is indeed a Rock-n-Roll icon and a true Founding Father of the genre, he is also a notorious asshole with a massive ego and very little talent remaining to back it up anymore. (His recent live performances have been pitiful, even allowing that he is an 80-something year-old man. Contrasted with another performer of a similar age, for example BB King, it’s glaring to see just how poorly Chuck and his nostalgia act have aged)
Anything Chuck Berry would have to say on the subject is likely to be pure Sour Grapes.
The founding fathers agreed with each other on absolute nothing. And their opinions on everything changed every five years throughout their lives, especially when they were in or out of power.
So why would the founding rockers agree on anything either? Or why would you think that their stated opinions would still hold today, no matter when they were given?
Look at Keith Richards’ autobiography. He likes everything, except for the stuff he doesn’t like at all, as long as it’s good music, defined by what he considers good, as long as he currently likes that person, or what page he’s on.
I remember during the punk/new wave one of the BOF of Crosby, Stills and Nash was pretty down on it, thundering “today’s music doesn’t have the same passion as ours”. Neil Young, on the other hand, was supportive. Probably Crosby, although it could have been Stills.
About the only thing I can think of is when Bo Diddley was inducted in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, he and a bunch of others were on a 5 minute segment of one of those CBS morning talk shows. Bo said young musicians should “keep it clean”.
I remember Johnny Cash was pretty negative to the PMRC nonsense, saying how he and his son went to a Twisted sister concert and liked Dee Snider.
Michael McDonald has stated his enjoyment of Grizzly Bear and called their music “alluring and interesting.” ETA: also Paul Simon likes them and has asked them to perform with him.
Starting in 1994 Johnny Cash also recorded a series of albums (the “American Recordings” series) that included many covers of contemporary rock songs by artists like Beck, Soundgarden, and U2. Perhaps the best known of these was his cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”.
If nothing else, Fats Domino and Chuck Berry both seem to agree that yachting caps are just the thing to cover their receding or non-existent hairlines.
MBP, sorry to hear that about Chuck Berry, though I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s a rare 80-year-old man who can keep up the physical pace of his performances as a young man; and that, along with the writing and playing, was a major component of his early appearances.
Little Richard groused some time ago (1990-ish?) that he couldn’t make a comeback because Prince had stolen his stage show.
Debbie Harry, a pioneer of Punk Rock, talked smack about Lily Allen’s rendition of “Heart of Glass” mere seconds after the reconstituted Blondie backed Allen up on the song on the Today show (This was maybe 4 years ago).
Chrissie Hinds (a pioneer of New Wave music) wrote an open letter to the Pop Princesses of the late 90s, calling them out on their sexualized stage personas. (“The proper attitude is ‘F— You,’ not ‘F— Me.’”) The letter–very well thought out, as I recall–ended with a warning to be wary of bitter older people giving advice, including herself.
No one actually likes the music of their kids’ generation. Still, reactions to the new kids by the old guard run the gamut from resentful to gracious. And honestly, how many new musicians refer to themselves as “Rock ‘n’ Roll” any more?
Rock’s moment feels like passed in the 90’s - grunge and the Seattle scene felt like the last gasp of fresh and rebellious, but not much since then. American Idiot was popular, but didn’t feel like the dawn of a new chapter in the vitality of rock n’ roll. With tribute bands, the coming and going of Guitar Hero and the like, it feels like a piece of history you can introduce to your kids…
Watching the new George Harrison documentary by Martin Scorsese, it was like watching any historical review where you can interview some of the now-old folks about “what it was like back then.”
Rockers are like any other group of artists - some see they had their moment, and still make money off their hits via royalties and oldies tours. Others try to stay current and comment on what’s happening around them with varying degrees of success…
On the other hand, about 10 years ago Entwistle’s bandmade Pete Townshend recorded a new version of “Who Are You” featuring a rapper. So I don’t think Entwistle’s views were necessarily shared even by other members of The Who.
I remember seeing an interview clip with Iggy Pop a few years back where he said he liked hip hop because there was joy and excitement there. He didn’t say this flat out, but I got the impression he felt a lot of modern rock music was too whiny.
It’s not just the next generation. People in general, and that includes rock stars and every other type of musician, don’t like everything in their own generation. Why should they? They may not like the person or the group or the style of music or the way they approach the business or the kind of lyrics they sing or the drugs they do or don’t do or whether they’ve “sold out” or not. It’s universal across time.
