'50s & '60s

I'm blown away

Excuse my nerd-out

But wow

History amazes me so much (my inner APUSH nerdiness is resurfacing after two years)

I find it absolutely AMAZING what history has done. Especially pop culture history...including music.

Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Monkees...do you realize how many things we wouldn't have if they had never become big?

Elvis was a pioneer of rock 'n' roll. He did not write his own music or even play his own instruments (which is why I believe he isn't the "King" of Rock), but he's the one who made rock 'n' roll big. And I mean BIG. He caused a nationwide awareness for rock 'n' roll. I don't know if "Father of Rock 'n' Roll" is appropriate because there are some black artists that people believe deserve the title, but he was definitely close. Without him...well, we might not have rock 'n' roll in the first place. Or, at least, perhaps not on an international scale.

Buddy Holly. My love. The person I believe to be the "true" king of rock 'n' roll—he most definitely would be if he lived longer. He was inspired by Elvis, sure, but he was trying to launch his career before Elvis was big so I believe that, even if we didn't have Elvis, we would still have Buddy. He was one the first artists to write his own music and play his own instruments. His professional career only lasted a year and a half, but do you realize how many people he INFLUENCED? Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Elton John, The Beatles, The Monkees...do you realize that without Buddy Holly, The Beatles would not exist? And without The Beatles, The Monkees would never exist! And yet he gets so little credit! PLUS he was about 50 years ahead of his time in that he didn't give a shit about labels. One of his best friends once he became a professional singer was Little Richard. A BLACK, BISEXUAL man.

The Beatles. Without Buddy Holly, there would be NO Beatles. They named their band after Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Buddy inspired them to write THEIR OWN music, AND he even gave John the confidence boost he needed to wear his glasses. The Beatles are one of the biggest bands in history and I can't even begin to count the amount of things (music and otherwise) that would've never been if The Beatles never existed. Hell, Paul McCartney wrote YESTERDAY—a song that most people argue is the "most iconic song of all time." It's certainly the most covered. Hell, Chuck Berry admitted that HE WISHED HE WAS THE ONE WHO WROTE IT. Chuck freaking Berry. Wow.

The Monkees. While it's true that they started out as a silly TV show, do you realize what that alone has done to influence the pop culture of today? Big Time Rush and The Jonas Brothers became TV bands because of The Monkees and, while I'm not a fan of either of them, I can't sit here and say that they haven't led to success for the individual members (except for the whole 'Joe Jonas dated Taylor Swift' thing...yeowch). And if The Beatles were never a thing, The Monkees would've ceased to exist. Now, I'm not sure about Michael Nesmith because he himself is an icon alone and I feel like he would've launched his career without the help The Monkees (he created MTV—which launched the careers of a bunch of '80s singers, like Michael Jackson and Madonna—and was a helping hand in the creation of the 'country rock' music genre), but I have a feeling the other three might've had a difficult time launching careers without The Monkees. Heck, Micky Dolenz originally wanted to be an architect. He might've NEVER launched a music career if it weren't for The Monkees. And we would've never had The Monkees if it weren't for Buddy Holly, and The Beatles.

I just.

Wow.

I find it so amazing.

It's all like one big chain reaction. If this had never happened, then that would've never happened, then THAT would've never happened, etc.

And to think all that happened only half a century ago.