The History of Rock & Roll. Vol. 2: 1964–1977; The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock

The second of a proposed three-volume series, this ambitious whirl through the advent of modern popular music opens with the Beatles’ first U.S. tour and closes with the death of Elvis Presley, two major events that bookend rock’s evolution from a teenage dance craze to a billions-grossing business that swallowed up the rest of the music industry. Simply stitching all this material together is an impressive feat, and the breadth, if not depth, of coverage here from rock historian Ward (cohost, Let It Roll podcast; The History of Rock & Roll. Vol. 1: 1920–1963) is commendable. “Rock & Roll” actually takes in rock, pop, and soul on both sides of the Atlantic, and, to a lesser extent, blues, folk, country, and jazz. The storytelling is strongest when describing how one musical trend or genre could influence another. But the juggernaut of who, when, and how hurtles onward, with the observer barely able to take a breath before Ward name-checks another avalanche of artists and records, rarely focusing on any long enough for a more detailed examination. While this work is well researched, there is just too much ground to cover. Despite some clever and astute commentary, a series this all-encompassing needs a fuller treatment to reach a wider audience.