Rock music, as we understand it today, is quite tricky to actually define, especially when compared earliest incarnation, rock ‘n’ roll. Over the course of rock’s storied lifespan, what once was a distinct style of approaching a song has splintered into countless varying forms - from prog to punk, stadium to indie, country to metal. Rock has shaped cultural moments and dictated popular culture’s fashion choices, becoming far more than just another genre.
But the various different evolutionary shapes that rock music has taken over the decades can all trace their lineage back to one solitary figure. A perennially shy, 19 year-old truck driver - reaching for a guitar within a Memphis, Tennessee studio on a hot summer’s evening in 1954.
That young man’s spontaneous decision to knock out a frenzied rendition of a little-known blues song from 1946, would result in a single that fired up the engine for popular music's ascent over western culture. It was rock's Pandora’s box moment.
