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The Blank Generation — How Rock Moved From Political Opposition to Sheer Nihilism

Cynthia Rose, The History of Rock, 1982

ROCK HAS ALWAYS been about cultural and social conflict, ever since its birth in the Memphis-style boogie (over-amplified 'jump' tunes whose driving rhythms kept country time) which permeated the searching blues of men like John Lee Hooker. Sam Phillips' Sun label — until it spawned rock with record No 209, Elvis Presley's 'That's All Right' — was a blues label, and Sam was the man who had recorded almost all Memphis-style bluesmen.

Total word count of piece: 1634

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