Classic Rock: The Affect of the 70s and 80s

With legendary classic rock bands such as, AC-DC,

Queen, Journey, Kiss; Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and many
more. However, theres only one band that impacted the music
industry like never before - and that is, The Rolling Stones.
The universe has fell in love with the lyrics and electric blues
and sinuous/dark rock style of their songs, as the group in their
entire career achieved over 250 million in sales, and was
certified six times platinum, with songs such as Shattered and
Beast of Burden and their various popular albums, Exile On
Main Street, Some Girls, Sticky Fingers, and Tattoo You. Yet,
although the music achieved to speak to the minds of the
generation, there was a strong purpose shown through their
songs, making sure to target racial issues, sexism, and/or drugs
and violence, such as Sister Morphine and Mothers Little
Helper. However, through all of their success and remarkable
career, during the 1970s and 1980s, the main members,
known as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, have in the past,
been charged with drug possession, resulting in a few months
in jail.
Shattered Lyrics- Rolling Stones:
Shattered, shattered/ Love and hope and sex and dreams/Are still surviving on the street/ Look at me,
I'm in tatters!/ I'm a shattered/ Shattered/ Friends are so alarming/ And my lover's never charming/
Life's just a cocktail party on the street/ Big Apple/ People dressed in plastic bags/ Directing traffic/ Some
kind of fashion/ Shattered/ Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and sex/ Look at me,
I'm in tatters/ I'm a shattered/ Shattered/ All this chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter 'bout/
Shmatta, shmatta, shmatta -- I can't give it away on 7th Avenue/ This town's been wearing tatters
(shattered, shattered)/ Work and work for love and sex/ Ain't you hungry for success, success, success,
success/ Does it matter? (Shattered) Does it matter?/ I'm shattered/ Shattered/ Ahhh, look at me, I'm a
shattered/ I'm a shattered/ Look at me- I'm a shattered, yeah/ Pride and joy and greed and sex/ That's
what makes our town the best/ Pride and joy and dirty dreams and still surviving on the street/ And look
at me, I'm in tatters, yeah/ I've been battered, what does it matter/ Does it matter, uh-huh/ Does it
matter, uh-huh, I'm a shattered/ Don't you know the crime rate is going up, up, up, up, up/ To live in
this town you must be tough, tough, tough, tough, tough! /You got rats on the west side/ Bed bugs
uptown/ What a mess this town's in tatters I've been shattered/ My brain's been battered, splattered all
over Manhattan/ Uh-huh, this town's full of money grabbers/ Go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don't mind
the maggots, huh/ Shadoobie, my brain's been battered/ My friends they come around they/ Flatter,
flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter/ Pile it up, pile it high on the platter

In the following picture above, it
shows both Keith Richards and
Mick Jagger.
Music is a powerful tool to express ones originality,
free- thought, and self- expression. It has helped pave and
influence society through daily life, fashion, attitudes, and
language and have set the trend for the world. In the 1970s
and 80s, many popular groups that existed during that time
period, carried out messages in their songs and lyrics that
spoke out on political issues on government, crime, drugs,
violence, and how neighborhoods were poor and unstable.


The Social Effects of Classic Music in
The 70s & 80s
As the world began to shutter with
undergoing a rapid and drastic physical
transformation, the population started to dwindle
and abandoned buildings and empty lots were
covered on every street, with only signs such as
Shoplift Something and Mug a Yuppie on the
dilapidated tenement buildings. Yet, bands such as
The Rolling Stones became known for finding
inspiration and bringing it to life, amid the bleak
urban landscape and the bareness. As a result,
classic rock bands have been motivated and
enthused to create new styles of genres, for
instance, the up-bringing of soul, rock and roll,
disco, blues, electronic and many more! This then
truly empowered the generation living in the 1970s
and 80s, because of the connection from music to
the harsh lifestyles that were present during that
time period. In addition, not only was the condition
of neighborhoods influential to singer/ songwriters,
but also was stimulating to visual artists, and
politicians. Overall, The Rolling Stones have held
the record for longevity as a rock and roll band and
are considered the Worlds Greatest Rock and
Roll Band after being inducted in the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Furthermore, in total
they have released 29 studio albums, 13 live
albums, 24 compilation albums, and 107 singles in
their still present career. Although, the band has
had several feuds in the past, and replacements
between band members that could have cost their
entire career and future, the group has always
consisted to stay strong as not only work- partners
but as friends, which truly is one of the many
reasons the popularity of the band is known around
the world.

In the three last pictures on the left, there are three
album covers The Rolling Stones produced, which
are called Some Girls, Sticky Fingers, and
After-Math.

The 1970s & 1980s
Overtime, during the 70s and 80s, The Rolling Stones have achieved speaking the language
of rock music, while at the same time, representing several issues of current events occurring during
that time. Due to gentrification, the city and the lower east side community has become notorious in
the world for high rates of crime, drug sales and use, high unemployment and homeless people and
damage from past blackouts. In addition, the culture and the social normality slowly have declined
and caused racial and ethnic tension with the population decreasing as well. This then has destroyed
our local history, with the citys subway system regarded as unsafe with crime and frequent
mechanical breakdowns, Central Park known for muggings and rapes, while the LES neighborhood
consisted of a whole town filled of abandon buildings that were set occasionally ablaze by drug-
dealers and drug-addicts. Therefore, it was the bands goal to bring awareness to these problems,
with the blues style of their songs. As you can see through these three songs, named Shattered,
Sister Morphine and Mothers Little Helper it helps the audience understand and take the lyrics
into a deeper meaning and message of the harsh times of the 70s and 80s with drugs and violence
However, the group has still managed to bring light and joy to the young souls listening to the
music, letting it enter into their spirit, for them to sing along in harmony.

Sister Morphine Lyrics:
Here I lie in my hospital bed/ Tell me, Sister Morphine, when
are you coming round again? / Oh, I don't think I can wait that
long/ Oh, you see that I'm not that strong/ The scream of the
ambulance is sounding in my ears/ Tell me, Sister Morphine,
how long have I been lying here? / What am I doing in this
place? / Why does the doctor have no face? / Oh, I can't crawl
across the floor/ Ah, can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying
to score/ Well it just goes to show/ Things are not what they
seem/ Please, Sister Morphine, turn my nightmares into
dreams/ Oh, can't you see I'm fading fast? / And that this shot
will be my last/ Sweet Cousin Cocaine, lay your cool cool hand
on my head/ Ah, come on, Sister Morphine, you better make up
my bed/ 'Cause you know and I know in the morning I'll be
dead/ Yeah, and you can sit around, yeah and you can watch all
the/ Clean white sheets stained red.

Mothers Little Helper Lyrics:
What a drag it is getting old/ "Kids are different today,"/ I hear ev'ry mother say/ Mother needs
something today to calm her down/ And though she's not really ill/ There's a little yellow pill/ She
goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper/ And it helps her on her way, gets her through
her busy day/ "Things are different today,"/ I hear ev'ry mother say/ Cooking fresh food for a
husband's just a drag/ So she buys an instant cake and she burns her frozen steak/ And goes
running for the shelter of a mother's little helper/ And two help her on her way, get her through her
busy day/ Doctor please, some more of these/ Outside the door, she took four more/ What a drag it
is getting old/ "Men just aren't the same today"/ I hear ev'ry mother say/ They just don't appreciate
that you get tired/ They're so hard to satisfy, You can tranquilize your mind/ So go running for the
shelter of a mother's little helper/ And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight/
Doctor please, some more of these/ Outside the door, she took four more/ What a drag it is getting
old/ "Life's just much too hard today,"/ I hear ev'ry mother say/ The pursuit of happiness just seems
a bore/ And if you take more of those, you will get an overdose/ No more running for the shelter of
a mother's little helper/ They just helped you on your way, through your busy dying day