The 20th Century Breakdown: A (very) brief history of music.

Although the art of music dates back as early as 7000 BC, it’s unusual for the teens of the modern world to get their kicks from Mozart’s greatest hits or Now That’s What I Call Tudor. The fact is that the medium of musical sound that everyone in the world is affected by every day of their lives developed properly in the 20th Century. That cannot be argued.

Out of the American Deep South in the early 1900’s blues was born. Out of blues came jazz and elements of what would become rock and roll. Rock and roll rebelled and branched to become punk. Rebellious tones from the 60’s and 70’s grew into punk rock, hard rock, grunge and metal. And in the latter part of that century, out of globalisation, soaring synph technology, expanding money markets and the realisation that you can make moola out of pressing buttons and generally being mediocre came ‘pop’ music.

Ok so there’s a little more to the historical growth of music and that’s a little cynical of a genre I know little about. I just shudder at the thought of the wild popularity Justin Bieber somehow gained last year and the success Scouting for Girls gained after their hit that featured them repeating the words ‘I Don’t Know’ more than 30 times in a three and a half minute song. I am not a fan. That is all I shall say.

Whatever you’re into it cannot be denied that music saves lives. Granted, not in the same way as heart surgery or foreign aid but as far as emotions, relationships and deeper meanings go - nothing beats a happy, sad or mellow tune when you’re in the mood.

Here’s a brief timeline of just a few highlights in musical history.

• 1904 - The London Symphony Orchestra is founded.
• 1936 – The world is gifted the electric guitar.
• 1940 - Frank Sinatra establishes himself as a solo performer.
• 1948 - The 33 1/3 LP, i.e. the long-playing album, is introduced by Columbia Records.
• 1956 - Elvis Presley establishes himself as the icon of rock n' roll.
• 1957 – Johnny Cash establishes his stature as country music artist.
• 1962 - Phil Spector creates the ‘wall of sound’ and the methods unison, multi-layering and echo chambers adopted by artists such as Bruce Springsteen, ABBA and The Sex Pistols.
• 1965 - The Who’s ‘My Generation’ is released.
• 1967 - Aretha Franklin is hailed as "Queen of Soul" and the Beatles release their album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That same year, Jimi Hendrix releases his album Are You Experienced?
• 1968 - English rock legends Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath form and change the face of rock music, the latter popularising the ‘devil horns,’ used throughout the world to symbolise rock and metal music today.

• 1970 - The Beatles disband.
• 1973 - The album Catch a Fire by Bob Marley introduces reggae to America and Europe.
• 1977 - Elvis Presley dies.
• 1978 - Sony unveils the Walkman.
• 1980 - The compact disc first appears and John Lennon is murdered in New York.
• 1981 - MTV makes its TV debut.
• 1982 - Michael Jackson releases "Thriller" and Iron Maiden release Number of the Beast.
• 1984 - To raise funds for the children of Africa, Band Aid release their song "Do They Know It's Christmas."
• 1984- Live Aid raises £50 Million for charity and pop becomes purely showbiz.

• 1991 - Nirvana release "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
• 1994 - Kirk Cobain is found dead in his home in Seattle.
• 1995 - In Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum opens
• 1997 - The all-girl group Spice Girls become a hit.
• 1998 - Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack.
• 2001- George Bush declares Eminem as ‘the biggest threat to America since Polio’
• 2003- A poll of American Parents finds that 53% of agree that America’s youth find more truth in Eminem’s lyrics that they do in their President.
• 2004- Metal icon ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott is shot and killed while on stage with Damageplan in Ohio.
• 2005- The Crazy Frog single ‘Ring Ding Ding’ is released.
• 2007- Amy ‘Whino’ Winehouse becomes more famous for her drug abuse than her music.
• 2009- Michael Jackson dies. Kayne West storms the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for her award for Best Female Video stating Beyonce deserved it more. This resulted in President Obama calling him a ‘jackass.’ Rage Against the Machine make UK Christmas no.1.
• 2010- Widely despised pop fluke sensation Justin Bieber is voted by millions to tour the reclusive state of North Korea in a huge internet prank.