Fact: Nine out of 10 dads love Bruce Springsteen.
words MARY-KATE MORONEY
art JULIAN WATTS
There’s something on the wind — the stale scent of tobacco and aftershave, the faint sounds of snoring and things you wish you’d never heard about your mother–and it can’t bust a move for shit. Why, it must be your dad, listening to rock music. Not just any rock music, but something grey-haired, something classic: dad-rock. What is it that defines this rock ‘n’ roll sub-genre? Where does it come from? Grab a cup-o-Joe and strap on a tie as we think back on a golden age, a time when our dads were not dads, and their dads were hardly rocking out to guitar-heavy ballads about love, drugs, and freedom.
Sometime around the mid-1950s, American folk music winked at the blues, who in turn showed a little skin, and after a little folkin’ around, rock ‘n roll was born. Of course, rock needed a fair amount of TLC, and extended family members country, pop, jazz, and R&B rose to the occasion. With so many influences, rock ‘n roll split and expanded into several sub-genres, one of which weaseled its way into the young hearts of, you guessed it, our dads. To this day, names like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Tom Petty are still shredding at the front lines of dad-rock, beards and bald-spots at the ready. Assuming your dads, like mine, were coming of-age around the early 1970s, the times were ripe for music and freedom, inviting all young people to enjoy the fruits of live-performance music.
At the forefront of live music history is Woodstock ’69 — a big step for rock ‘n’ roll, glorifying festivals and the rockstar way of life. Included in the line-up were some dad-rock essentials: Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Joe Cocker, and a few others. However, not all of the artists performing at Woodstock (although time appropriate) fall under the dad-rock umbrella. Acts such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Grateful Dead remain beside the mustached sub-genre, mainly because their music seems to have transcended the generational gap between dads and the rest of us.
While most important in characterizing dad-rock, the time period alone is not its sole defining factor. You know it’s dad-rock if it is decreasingly popular among successive generations, features long-haired white male guitarists, and has released more than one greatist hits album. We love it because it takes us back to a glorified time period that we never had the pleasure to experience first-hand. It reminds us of old men, horses (right?), and riding driver on dad’s lap.
So next time you chance a chuckle at your old man’s pitiful air-guitar, or abandon the radio at the first feeble chords of Neil Young’s “Old Man,” take a second to embrace the all-encompassing power of dad-rock, and before you know it you could be tappin’ a toe in your dad’s shoes.
STREAM THE OV’S FREE DAD-ROCK MIXTAPE
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cotton Fields
The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Band – The Shape I’m In
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Teach Your Children
Neil Young – Old Man
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Helpless
Steely Dan – Peg
Tom Petty – I Won’t Back Down
Jeff Beck – You Know What I Mean
The Eagles – Take It Easy
Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally
John Mellencamp – Hurts So Good
Cat Stevens – Peace Train
The Guess Who – No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
Old Crow Medicine Show – Take ‘Em Away
Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire
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