Barry Drake, called by many a “walking encyclopedia of rock ‘n’ roll,” visited Mississippi State University for the second time Wednesday night to discuss one of the most controversial decades in music history.
“The 70s is the most criticized decade of music there is,” Drake said. “And for good reason.”
Drake, a songwriter, recording artist and performer, is a Manhattan College graduate and former New Yorker now living in Delray Beach, Fla. In 1984, he added to his concert schedule a series of historical lectures on the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
“I didn’t know really what to expect but was really, really impressed,” junior David Brown said. “My fingers were tapping the whole time.”
Drake’s lectures include slides and music, along with interesting facts about what was “really going on” with the bands and their music. Drake opened with a brief lead-up to the ’70s and began with the break-up of The Beatles.
“Ideas from the hippie movement were over and Vietnam was still dragging along. To make things more interesting, Nixon was still in office,” Drake said. “But any true Beatle fan will tell you one thing. They knew it was over for The Beatles.”
From The Beatles breakup, Drake shifted to the early ’70s icons that tragically died at peaking points of their career.
“Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix were the first significant events of the 1970s in music. Their deaths were tragic and proved an interesting introduction to this musical decade,” Drake said.
Drake then spoke of early “Hard Rock” to the “singer/songwriter” era. This led into discussions of folk icons like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young.
“He [Drake] doesn’t leave out anything for sensory. Who would have thought James Taylor was addicted to heroine at one time? I learned a lot of interesting facts that I had no clue about,” senior Paul Jefcoat said.
From early ’70s Folk music, Drake shifted to “Black Rock” and spoke about the heavy influences of singers like Stevie Wonder and Motown greats like George Clinton and Marvin Gaye. This lead to discussion of the “American Roots Rock” and eventually “Southern Rock.”
“People don’t realize how important the Southeast was in ’70s rock ‘n’ roll.” Drake said. “Bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival,The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd all came from Southeastern roots.”
From “Southern Rock” Drake spoke about the change of era into “Glitter-Glam Rock” that was mostly “theatrical.
Bands discussed included: “K.I.S.S.,” “Iggy Pop” and “T-REX” and icons like David Bowie and Alice Cooper.
“Many bands during the ‘Glitter-Glam’ era used theatrics to cover up their lack in musical talent. But live shows were amazing back then,” Drake said.
Next Drake discussed the “Art Rock” era that delved into the stories behind bands like “Genesis,” “E.L.O.,” “Queen” and “Pink Floyd.”
In closing, Drake talked about the “last three types of music the ’70s saw: Reggae, Punk and Disco.” With music from Bob Marley to the BeeGees playing during the slides of his closing, Drake explained how the end of the hippies era came about after Vietnam finally ended.
“At this point, disco and urban-ghetto were coming in strong and it seemed like rock ‘n’ roll was coming to an end,” Drake said. “And when Elvis died in 1977, it was like a sign that the era was over.”
Drake concluded with the man that he started with, John Lennon.
“John Lennon was assassinated in December of 1980. This also signified the end of a musical decade. So much happened from 1970 to 1980 in the world of music,” Drake said. “If someone asked me what decade of music I listen to the most, it would be the ’60s. But the ’70s is a great one to talk about.” Drake’s creative presentations have become one of the most popular shows at Mississippi State and other college campuses around the country. For five years between 1995 and 2000, he was named Ccampus Lecturer of the Year’ by the National Association for Campus Activities. His extensive knowledge of music and entertainment has also resulted in similar honors from Campus Activities magazine.
For more information on Barry Drake, visit www.barrydrake.com to access his homepage.