Page 15 - Edge Issue 3

Here Comes the Sun...
The historic bands that made up everyone’s past playlists.
Story by Emma Kelleher
The Beatles
“Help me if you can, I’m feeling down.”
“Down!” The crowd at the Shea stadium echoes, their faces turned to look at the band on the stage that would change music forever: The Beatles.
In March of 1957, a sixteen-year-old John Lennon, along with his friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool, formed a small high school jazz band that was first called The BlackJacks. The young band changed their names to The Quarrymen in respect of a local group that was already called The Blackjacks.
On July 6th of the same year, the band played at a church garden party. At this performance, John Lennon would meet Paul McCartney. McCartney would become a co- vocalist and bassist in The Beatles, with Lennon as the lead vocalist.
On January 10th, 1964, seven years after The Quarrymen, The Beatles released their first album to the public. It was aptly named “The Beatles.”
The rest is history. The Beatles made a name for themselves in music with their iconic songs such as “Hey Jude,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “Here Comes the Sun.”
Sixty years after the band was formed, The Beatles still affect our modern culture.
Queen
Another band that created a sensation and is still popular to this day is Queen.
Queen was formed in London in 1970 with four members: Freddie Mercury was the main vocalist and pianist, Brian May was the lead guitarist, Roger Taylors was the drummer, and
John Deacon was the bass guitarist.
Their song “Bohemian Rhapsody” intertwines several unique styles, such as opera, into
the song.
Joseph Godwin, a senior at Edgewood with a passion for old music and a playlist full of it,
knows what he is talking about when it comes to past rock bands like Queen and Pink Floyd.
“The Beatles were the original boy band. Queen was a huge step into rock and roll. All are unique and a big step into the modern music generation but seem similar since they’re from generally the same genre,” Joseph Godwin, 12, said. “I listen to tons of 80s music and I listen to it almost daily. I have a huge playlist
made of 80s music because it rocks.”
The music genre is way more than interesting for the senior, and Godwin demonstrates the perfect example of a fan for
these bands. Godwin believes that all of the historic bands from this era were very important to the progression of music.
Pink Floyd
Continuing with the many memorable bands, Pink Floyd is a necessary addition.
“Historic bands provided the backbone of modern music, especially the experimental Pink Floyd music in Atom Heart Mother. It was a highly criticized album because of how long it is and how weird the songs are, but it’s fire,” Godwin said.
Pink Floyd was formed in London in 1965 and gained popularity in the US. Some of their popular tracks include “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Comfortably Numb,” and “Wish You Were Here.”
Godwin believes that music is a philosophy that brings different ideas and eras to the table.
“The music and lyrics in different songs can mean different things. Music is such a broad subject that in every song you can pick out parts that either compare or contrast to older music and vice versa,” Godwin said.
Even Aerosmith, a classic rock and roll band, keeps popping into our modern music. At Disney World, the thrilling coaster “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster” brings the band to mind to the subjects waiting for the ride. It tells the story of the commotion of getting to one of their concerts.
All in all, music is a thing that always brings joy to everyone around the world. It is diverse, and everyone has a different taste.
“Instead of recreating the wheel of music, we are improving it by adding our own special touches,” said Godwin.
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