Inconsequential Rock Sub-Genre: Glam Rock

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Glam rock is usually viewed as an inconsequential rock sub-genre. It is often forgotten in the abundance of genres that originated in the 1970s, and it is often neglected completely as a major genre at all in America. Critics slammed the new genre, calling it hype-driven and plastic. One argument held that glam rock was typically seen as insignificant because it did not have a long life, nor did it capture the attention of the world. Glam rock was popular in the UK, but even there, it was short-lived and only popular amongst teens who missed out on the pop culture and hippie ideology of the late 1960s. Glam rock, then, may seem a genre that is worth forgetting, except that glam rock laid the foundations of the modern popular music industry. Between 1970 and 1977, glam rock commercially remodeled the traditional approach to popular music following the hippie movement of the late 1960s, it did this by focusing on stimulating stage performances, theatricality, fashion, revolutionary management techniques, and endorsing fringe social issues such as: alienation, introspective reflection, and sexual exploration—artists such as David Bowie and Marc Bolan, were the figureheads of glam rock that paved the way for the future of the commercial music industry.

Before examining the impact of glam rock, one must look at the historical beginnings of rock and roll as a whole and how glam rock arrived in popular culture. Music in America after the Civil War consisted of a few genres: orchestral, hymnals, gospels, and ethnic folk were the most common. By 1900, country music had achieved national status. In 1912 blues music gained national attention when W.C. Handy released the song “Memphis Blues”, which unleashed a new approach to music. Off-shoo...

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.... "David Bowie." 20/20 Recorded Marth 19 2010. American Broadcasting Company. Web, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoaQVd1fP10.

-Howard, Jan. "Needle Sharing in the Haight: Some Social and Psychological Functions." American Sociological Association. no. 3 (1970): 221. Retrieved from J-stor. (accessed April 8, 2014).

-Pearl. "Glam Rock Documentary 70's" Recorded October 04 2008. Pearl. Web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_upoa-FLUM&list=PL725C87C255B94B8D.

-Quatro, Suzie. "The Final Word." Marc Bolan - The Final Word Recorded February 15th 2013. British Broadcasting Company. Web, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCNm6eNLAw

-Thomas, Michael. “T. Rex is Gonna Fuck You into the Mick Jagger Gap.” Rolling Stone March 16, 1972: 32.

-Russell, Ethan. Let it Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties. New York City: Grand Central Publishing, 2009.

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