The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or who ? ( or even the Who ? )

Not bloody likely! Rock & Roll was around LONG before those British boys showed up.

Still, they were a lot closer to Poland...

Deciding which band or artist is "the greatest of all-time" is decided upon each individual by their favoured taste. For instance, The Rolling Stones are my favourite music group, but some other guy may think The Beatles are better than The Stones, so it is a game of favourites.

Aha, well that certainly clears the matter up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGw1tMWOlVA

Rock 'n' Roll when the Beatles were teenagers.

When the Beatles were teenagers...

Founders of Rock 'n' Roll; I don't think so.

Hey, the kid was born in 1997...just be amazed he's even heard of the Beatles (don't go quizzing him on Johnny Ace). 

I didn't check his age, but my Grandson (1994) knew all about Elvis when he was 7, and it wasn't because I shoved it down his throat. By the way, what was the quiz? 

Thanks for all of the recent posts. My own little opinion goes like this: there certainly was a huge shift with the British Invasion ( helped a bit by old Ed Sullivan too ) however many of the " British  chaps " themselves stated that the older Blues artist had lead the way. Going back even more when we consider Louis Armstrong we need to realize that in his early days he played the Coronet because the slide-valve Trumpet had not even been invented. Also in the very early days one could go way back to the Tin Pan Alley era and their lively songs such as the Maple Leaf Rag. As to what is connected to whom in the olden days of Rock one of many songs that I loved by the Beatles is " Twist And Shout ", but I recently came across a older version done by The Isley Brothers. Both versions are done in a similar style so I guess that The Beatles also loved the older version as well --- and on it goes  lol.         

Oh and I luv that old photo that you posted AndyClifton, from the pre-Ringo days I believe. Also they had the extra Guitar player ( he didn't play tho  lol ) who had the van that the group needed to get around the UK. Mind you I see that they are in Hamburg there in that shot.

Cystem_Phailure one of the very good songs that Roy Clark had out had this really cute line in it " Thank God And Greyhound She's Gone ", I got quite a chuckle out of that  lol.  

And speaking of "pickin & grinnin"

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.

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.

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.