Original origin of Rock?

  "Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days they will return to you..."

  If this confused you wait until you read the rest! For instance, did you know that the above quote was written by the same author whose writings also formed the lyrical backbone of Pink Floyds Dark Side of The Moon - one of the most succesful albums of all time ? and no, the quote wasn't written by Wright, Waters, Gimour or Mason.. . But if you've watched any of the Frames concerts on our 'Gigs of the Month' page you may recall Glen Hansard suggesting that if you're in a band and ever want some free fantastic lyrics for a heavy metal song all you have to do is open the bible at any page and you'll find some straight away (bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath etc,etc, were quite well aquainted with this technique). The author of the above quote was actualy a chap called Solomon , the third king of Israel and Judah in about 1000bc who was given a large some of wisdom as a present from the bloke upstairs and was also occaisionaly employed as a writer for him too on and off throughout his reign. His father, King David, was also arguably the first ever celebrity superstar, and when he danced through the streets in his (under)pants he inspired what was probably one of the first ever bouts of mass hysteria and swooning among the earths female population .He was also one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of all time.

  But what does the bread on the waters bit mean and where did all this human musical gifting and ability come from in the first place?

  The answer it seems is found in just one line of the bible that was written thousands of years ago in a completely different language and so, this is our 'paraphrased' explanation. Now not many people know this, but God is actualy not only quite good at creating universes but he is also an expert musician and song writer/ inspirer, and one of the first things he did was teach angels how make fantastic music so they could all hold amazing, fantastic and awesome concerts in heaven (think tunes like 'Great gig in the sky'...only in the sky) it was a talent that most of them excelled in and were well made for. Mankind on the other hand , was not quite so bright and after a few thousand years of listening to him jamming in caves with a selection of small furry animals and a pict (remembering here that with God a thousand years can be like a day and a day like a thousand years hence the referance to another Pink Floyd song from UmmaGumma) God was driven nuts and finaly decided to give human kind the ability to make real inspirational and creative music too (hence the dramatic improvement in the Pink Floyd sound) .The line from the bible simply says that at a certain time in history 'god placed His spirit on the musicians composers and songwriters' to enable them to play' - the gift itself became a significant tool in the learning and developement of mankind.When handing the gift out some nations clearly got more than their fair share as it does seem that the worlds most prolific musicians do seem to come from either a semetic or celtic genetic background. As God has a habbit of saving the best til last maybe it was just that the Irish and Israel were at the bottom of the list, although there is another story that involves angels tripping up and spilling most of the contents on the celts and africans (while the celts were passing through north africa) so there was only just enough left over for Solomans direct ancestors and a handfull of Chinese people.

  Anyway, as earths empire's rose and fell these gifts and skills were remixed, mingled, kneeded through and passed on among the nations of the world until when, in the twentieth century , the combination of audio technology and the gathering in of cultures in the 'new world' multi cultural melting pot of America (also no doubt intermingled with the age old desire for fame and fortune) made musical creativity more accessible to the masses than ever before. Most people just assume that Rock music came about of it's own accord in the fifties, sixties and early seventies due primerily to the new found electrification and mass production of stringed instruments, er..and also possibly due in part to the mass usage of halucanagenic drugs!... but it was actualy a multi cultural process thousands of years in the making. The term 'Rock' music was actualy a Gospel term first used by the creators of Gospel and blues ' Rock' music mostly among the black churches in America during the nineteen twenties to forties (Jesus is often referred to as being 'The Rock' and the 'Cornerstone' of christianity).Indeed , most of the foundational Rock and Roll artists of the 50's had their musical roots fimly embedded in church and Gospel music from Chuck Berry through to Jerry Lee Lewis and the same is also true for most 'Soul' and R&B artists of the era ( and today ) also. 70's 'Progressive' Rock , progressed mostly from the blending of acoustic folk and those american church blues, Jazz and gospel 'rock' beats.

  So what was all this music and creativity for..? Well It was originaly designed as the ultimate in spiritual communication and fun, and was actualy a means for us to express ourselves and our innermost desire for our 'maker' ...and pretty much anything else we enjoy and want to set to music or communicate.It was part of Gods eternal party plan to get us to sing to and enjoy him and ourselves...but... unfortunately a handfull of those angels wanted to have Gods top spot in the eternal chart for themselves and, after pretending they were him and putting on one of the worst gigs ever, they got themselves barred and kicked out of the 'Major' major venue. When they were'nt busy trying to convince most of the world that they did not realy exist, they were engaging in copyright theft by tricking humanity into believing that those untapped gifts God had already given man were those angels sole property. When electrification added to the possibilities, paranoid and backward thinking , stuffy , unmusical religious men - many of whom were almost as annoying to God as those angels- also started telling people that all new forms of electrified Rock music belonged to those copyright stealing angels too! But God, being always one step ahead of the so called competition in a 'one day is like a thousand years and one thousand years is like a day' kind of pre- emptive 'I'm two steps ahead of you' way , started to prove both the copyright thiefs and religeous biggots wrong.

  "Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days it will return to you" ...in Gospel traditions bread is often an anology of Gods words, or that spark of life which comes from God...Is this starting to make sence now ? In the fifties, sixties and seventies while the ultra religeous were turning the youths (and more than likely God's) stomach's by insisting that every catchy tune was from the devil, (when in fact it was from the people God gifted with the musical ability to write it) the music industry saw the perfect opportunity to make big bucks out of the growing gulf between the old and stuffy and young and hip. Simple sociology and psychology knows that youth, bursting as it is with hormones and zeal, is always determined to find it's own way out into the brave new world and put right all the mistakes and hypocricies it finds among the previous generation (...or at least thats how it is until it's tied up with a mortgage, bills and it's own growing heard of youngsters to protect), so it wasn't too hard for those executives to tap into that energy and enthusiasm for a fast financial turn around. Tell someone raging with hormones and a desire for independance not to do something and human nature will probably make them want to do it all the more , so teenage rebellion became the new multi million, billion dollar industry of America's melting pot and the world. But underneath those raging hormones is another instinctive desire and that is the desire to be known ,accepted and understood for who you are - and as a generation of disatisfied hippies started to find out - there is a lot more to being 'known' on a personal level that can't realy be fulfilled by the 'slap and tickle' interperatations of the 'biblical known' or by the fame and fortune variety...and 99percent of all those who try to sign a contract at the crossroads with the international copyright thief also soon find out that fallen angels are also compulsive liars even if they are experts on legal issues. Happiness doesn't come with the multi million pound record deal or the adoration of millions of fans. Riches can often increase the iscolation and loneliness of the human soul...especialy if you're a solo artist, and Solomon , one of richest Kings and writers of his age was quite quick to point this out when he was penning most of the lyrics for Dark Side of the Moon in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs.' Much chasing after wealth is meaningless' he would say. It might help a little, but real happiness has nothing to do with money - it has more to do with the relationships we have. And this is where all those loaves placed on the waters by the big fellah throughout history have all have started to come back to him as a growing fleet of musical ships have returned from their wanderings with their guitars and amps turned up to 11 to put the rock back in gospel ( or was it the gospel back in rock..?)

  Anyway, here are a few heavenly award winners who each toured a few stormy oceans of their own before heading back to the shore....

  In 1965 the American public were held in awe when an eleven year old boy appeared on the popular panel game show called 'I've Got A Secret', after some confused guessing it transpired that the boys secret was he had written over forty rock and roll songs and had just been given a five year recording contract with Decca records, He was also the youngest ever recording artist to sign with the American songwriting corporation...but , (as has often been the case with many record companies) once they had groomed the young Kieth Green for stardom Decca lost interest in their child star to pursue the Osmonds instead. The young Kieth Green came of age at the height of the cultural and social change of the hippy era and, like many dissatisfied with the American dream he sought out fulfilment via every alternative physical , philosophical and spiritual avenue he could find.Kieth came from an open minded Jewish background and once he hade made a significant tour of the worlds religeons he found that the one source that repeatedly 'struck a chord' was the teachings of Jesus himself in the Gospels. The organised religeon he saw surrounding the faith seemed to have little in common with the actual teachings and lifestyle of Jesus and his original followers but - after a host of bad experiances at nearly every other spiritual and , er..chemical source , he made a conscious choice to live the kind of christian lifestyle that was clearly shown and taught by Jesus in the gospel accounts themselves.With his girlfriend Melody ( who also co wrote many of Kieths songs) the couple quickly turned LA on it's head with an 'open house' social lifestyle that probably hadn't been seen with such effect since the pioneering days of the Gospel itself.And just like their ancestor David when he was hiding from King Saul in the caves of Judea, every waif and stray that fell across their path ended up being housed by Kieth and Melody. Kieth had an endless supply of refugees from the hippy and drug lifestyle queing at the door and the money he made from touring and playing at all the major music venues of the West Coast was all put straight back into the needs of the community and people around him. As more and more people sought him out for help, more and more houses in his street were bought up in what soon became a Christian community, social welfare and a drug and alcohol rehabilitaion centre. His frustrations with 'organised' christianity for not putting the 'social elements' of gospel teachings into practice were apparent in most of his songs, but unlike most of the religiously minded of his day Kieth actualy practiced everything he preached. As an american generation returned to grass roots christianity (er um... at least until the mortage payments etc etc..) and Born Again Christianity became the new tag and label to attach to anything in a church that moved with any kind of energy, Kieth Green became one of the most inspirational and pioneering Gospel singers of his generation and he (alongside wife Melody,) repeatedly challenged the inaction and lack of compassion that was so prevailent in institutionalised religeon and society everywhere, he also put an emphasis back on the personal aspects of a one to one faith and relationship with the original rock .He also challenged the thinking of many Gospel, 'worship' singers and his Recording company and publishers by choosing not to charge any money at all for his later album releases but instead, give his fans an opportunity to pay whatever they wanted or could afford to pay...he was the first ever artist to do so. He also would put two copies up for sale 'by voluntary donation only' in shops so that people could give copies to their friends.In 1982, Kieth Green and his first two children died in an airplane accident leaving his pregnant wife Melody and youngest doughter behind. Despite a personel tragedy that would have destroyed most, Melody continued with their work, lifestyle, and faith and writing and stil overseas their Last Days Ministries where she is also heaily involved in rescuing abandoned children and providing family based orphanages.

For that video of Kieth Green as an eleven year old and samples of some of the most

 overpowering gospel music ever written and more on what Melody is doing now then

follow these links....