Barry Drake, a nationally known speaker, will give a lecture on ’70s music Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Dawg House Coffee Shop.
Barry Drake’s entire life has centered around music. He grew up in New York where he saw early rock musicians like Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry at the prime of their careers. Drake also heard Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin at the beginning of their careers amongst others.
Kelly Nesbit, the assistant director of the Union and the Campus Activities Board, said that having Drake as a speaker is an honor.
“I’m very excited that Barry Drake is coming to speak,” said Nesbit. “He’s a widely respected music historian that travels campuses across the country. I hope that people will recognize what an opportunity this is and come and hear Barry (Drake) speak.”
Drake not only studies and observes music, but he also plays and records music himself. Drake began recording music and writing songs in 1965. When the counterculture boom hit San Francisco in the late ’60s, Barry moved out to the city of love and flowers where he palled around with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.
Through all of Drake’s experience and observation as a musician and fan of music, he has developed a unique knowledge that few people can equal. Barry started giving lectures on music in the middle of the 1980s. After speaking for nearly 20 years now, Barry has categorized his lectures into four groups: “The Roots of Rock and Roll-1953-1963,” “When the Music Mattered-60s rock,” “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly-70s rock” and “Music in the Video Age-80s rock.”
Drake will deliver “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly-’70s rock” lecture to Mississippi State on Feb 5. This lecture begins with Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin and The Grateful Dead in their prime during the early ’70s and traces the mass acceptance of rock that birthed the pop and disco sounds.
Drake received the National Association For Campus Activities award for Campus Lecturer of the Year five out of the last seven years. Many of his contemporaries refer to him as “The Walking Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll.”
Drake will use a multimedia presentation during his lecture. Admission will be free. The Dawg House Coffee Shop is located in the Union. More information on Barry Drake can be found at www.BarryDrake.com