The Beatles certainly didn't found Rock n Roll, bu they might legitimately be credited with changing how it was consumed, being at the front of the large venue era and simultaneously making clear some things that had to be changed.  I like the descriptions of their dinky 100 watt VOX amplifiers going up against the crowd noise at Shea Stadium in 1965 (and the stadium broadcast system was employed too).  Supposedly Lennon played keyboard on the final song of the Shea show with his elbows just to demonstrate that it made no difference because no one could hear them.  Over the next few years equipment and staging evolved quickly to the point where large stadiums could host legitimate concerts, still nowhere near as nice as small venues, of course, but at least worth attending for those acts for which small venues simply couldn't accommodate the demand during tours.

Thinking of Roy Clark got me thinking of another guitarist who got started around about the same time-- Glen Campbell.  Campbell wasn't (isn't) as insanely talented as Clark, but he was still quite well regarded within the industry as a session musician before he broke out with Gentle On My Mind in 1967 and was forever after known (at least to the public) more for his singing than his guitar ability.  I used to have a copy of The Astounding 12-String Guitar of Glen Campbell which he released in 1964 (his 3rd 12-string album release), and which really did have some remarkable playing.  If I recall correctly, the album was purely instrumental-- I don't think he sang on any of the cuts.  Roy Clark played banjo on the album.

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Campbell was part of The Wrecking Crew, the most elite and productive session group in the recording industry in that era.

There is a movie made of this group's exploits but they can't release it due to all the ASCAP fees. I heard that the producer (?) of the film approached it with his heart rather than his head and expected an easing of the fees when they felt what he felt, when they saw the wonderful end product about their industry.

Lots of groups didn't do their own session work on instruments. Even such groups as The Byrds (for their first album, excepting McGuinn. Later on they were allowed to play their own instruments but it took >70 takes for a cut vs. 3 hours with the WC.) Brian Wilson loved them enough that he only used them and the Beach Boys were relegated to singing, which they did well.

The WC would even compose/form music on occasions for these groups.

An interesting anecdote: The Grass Roots didn't play their own instruments for their albums. The guitar player was upset enough that he started acting out in order to be kicked from the band, which he eventually was. That guitar player was Creed Bratton, the actor on The Office (US). (According to an interview with the author of a book on the WC see below.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_%28music%29

I'd love to see the movie. I guess it's showing up at festivals and such but no commerical release. There's also a book, the interview of the the author which I heard a few days ago.

"The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best Kept Secret, by Kent Hartma"

Campbell also filled in for Brian Wilson on tour for the Beach Boys in 1964 and 1965, before Bruce Johnston took the position as a permanent member of the band.  Campbell played bass guitar on tour and guitar on the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album.

Wow, Thanks for all of the posts, great info. A few days ago I was listening to the " Coast To Coast " Radio show late at night and they had a fellow on there who was bringing out a lot of facts about the Wrecking Crew. He also mentioned the terrific film that they can't release for legal reasons, a real shame that.

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Is there some sort of actual legal problem, or is it just a matter of the required fees for the rights to use the performances being prohibitively expensive?

EDIT:  If it's being allowed to be shown for small screenings, that makes me think it's just a financial problem.  The fees are probably linked to expected total viewership, which might preclude a widespread release from being possible.

Being good friends with the the twins of mr. Knofler, I have no choice but to say... ROLLING STONES!!!!! Paint it black is one of my favourite songs.

Thanks for the recent posts. Sad news again earlier this week with the passing of Davy Jones from the Monkees. It seems that the poor fellow has indeed taken " The Last Train To Clarksville ".

Fan of Scorpions, little Deep Purple,The doors, Metallica. I really like the song Paint in Black by Rolling but generally I'm metal type of guy.

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And now no doubt he's turning "Shades of Grey"... (hey, he started it!).

The Monkees even had a song about Davy Jones' grave: "Can You Dig It?"

And will Davy Jones make it into Rock & Roll Heaven ? Well you know " I'm A Believer ".

And all of The Monkees' equipment is in a metal box at the bottom of the ocean.  That's right, Davy Jones' Locker!

Well I hope that the box is sealed and waterproof so that we can go down there and rescue those items because of course " We All Live In A Yellow Submarine ".

Hey, those guys were just a bunch of fake Monkees wannabes from England!

Thanks for the post AndyClifton. One fun area of Rock that we haven't covered much here is the " Surfing Sound ". I luv the songs that the Beach Boys had out. Mind you Jan & Dean were doing great too until the sad " Deadman's Curve " incident. When I hear songs like " Surfing Safari " I get into a good mood, fun music !