downs: unless you ve been living in a sealed cave, you ve probably noticed that america s latest craze is disco dancin . this is punk rock, and its purpose is to promote violence, sex, and destruction, in that order. pure rock n roll energy, pure guts, pure stamina. rock singer jimi hendrix died today in london, according to a police source, from an overdose of drugs. reynolds: janis joplin was found dead last night. the cause of death was said to be an overdose of drugs. jim morrison, the lead singer for the doors, a rock music group, is dead. he was 27. naftali: the early years of the 70s are sad in music because you lose people. and you lose the beatles. simon: this small gathering on savile row is only the beginning. the event is so momentous that historians may one day view it as a landmark in the decline of the british empire. the beatles are breaking up. heilemann: it was like a death for a lot of people. rock n roll, as we understood it in the 1960s, was no long
Changing him as an artist in a way that berry gordy is not super happy about. mother, mother everybody thinks we re wrong they do initially berry gordy did not want marvin to do what s goin on. questlove: motown was supposed to be non-threatening. here you now have marvin gaye making a protest record about the war that could potentially ruin good money. you don t lightly talk about the government. yes, i want to know what s goin on right now, people de passe: ultimately when he agrees to put out what s goin on, berry tells marvin, okay, if you re right, i ll learn something. and if i m right, you ll learn something. and of course, as berry will say, i learned something. questlove: every artist at motown suddenly also wanted to try their chance at freedom. when people say soul,
there s a room where the light won t find you holding hands while the walls come tumbling down when they do, i ll be right behind you so glad we ve almost made it so sad they had to fade it everybody wants to rule the world goldman: rock is probably the most important cultural event in the history of america, and out swarmed a whole generation of freaks. it s what guys seem to get off on, they like this high-energy sort of event. cornelius: and if the sight and sound of soul is your pleasure, you can bet your bottom, we got em baby.
wild: bruce springsteen was trying to reclaim the soul of rock n roll by going back to basics. van zandt: using elements from the past that were kind of being discarded at that point. in the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway american dream george: using a sound that was not what was on the radio and was not what was mainstream rock. .suicide machines sprung from cages on highway 9 chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected and steppin out over the line whoa wilson: bruce springsteen created his own counterculture. it just speaks exactly to the american spirit. you couldn t hit it on the head more than bruce springsteen did. baby, we were born to run born to run was a towering statement in the middle of the 70s. it was the cover of time and newsweek.
Uh, they put you in one category. they say, he s a soul artist. that s all they expect for you to sing. and that s all they want you to sing. that s not true. soul is being able to express yourself. wild: stevie wonder went to berry gordy and he negotiated his creative freedom, and he used every bit of it. very superstitious writing s on the wall stevie wonder making some of the greatest records anyone s ever made in popular music in america, back to back to back. ladder s bout to fall questlove: it s the equivalent of shooting a perfect shot from half-court with your eyes closed. music of my mind . oh, he made it. he ain t gonna do it again. talking book . innervisions . fulfillingness first finale . oh, my god, he did it! and then, suddenly, songs in the key of life.