Measure for Measure: Stardom, A How-To Guide

12 August, 2015 - 0 Comments

“So You Want To Be A Rock ’n’ Roll Star, then listen now to what I say, just get an electric guitar and take some time and learn how to play …”

So sang a chart-topping Los Angeles-based band called The Byrds in January 1967, at the height of the British Invasion. And thanks to an apparently endless parade of gifted singer-songwriters from beyond the sea, rock stardom didn’t seem all that remote at the time – even if those lyrics were mildly laced with acid.

Flash forward to 2015. I awaken to find yet another bumper crop of ads in my inbox, exhorting me to claim my rightful place as a rock ’n’ roll star. But when I behold the staggering array of software, guitars, pedals, amps, recording equipment, tutoring and degree programs that stand between me and fame, it fills me with wonder: How did the most creative period in pop music history ever get off the ground without the benefit of any of these toys?

Well, why not rev up the Wayback machine and see what a world without Facebook might have to teach us?

Seat belts fastened? First stop, Liverpool, 1961, the eve of the British Invasion.

It’s February, and the Beatles, fresh from a 14-week gig in Hamburg, land at The Cavern Club. The city awakens to a phenomenon in their midst, and fans rapidly fill the subterranean chamber to the rafters. Ringo is still in Hamburg, playing with the Hurricanes, but the Fab Four-to-be already have three things in common: a love of American pop music, years of resisting parental admonitions to “get a job,” and leaving school to pursue their dream.

By: David Alzofon

Source: American Songwriter

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