Monday, November 6th, 2006
Image: It Still Matters More Than The Music
You're never sure that you've got what it takes... you likely have too much of some qualities and not enough of others. But somehow a good act will always find a way to make their strengths compensate for their weaknesses.
From the very beginnings of rock'n'roll, image has been crucial in developing a career in music. The rise and eventual fall of hundreds of attractions over the years have convincingly demonstrated that it's not only how you perform that matters, but how you look. In short, if Bill Haley's age had been closer to 20 than 30, and if he had, perhaps, replaced that silly spit-curl with a duck-tail hairstyle when his "Rock Around The Clock" hit the charts in 1955, Elvis Presley may have remained a truck driver in Memphis.
Thanks to the simply electrifying exposure it received by being played over the opening credits in the explosive film "Blackboard Jungle," Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" became the first genuine anthem of rock'n'roll. The film provided teen-agers around the world with their first chance to participate in a spirited, liberating celebration of their new unifying rock consciousness. With the help of the film, "Rock Around The Clock," which had failed to become a hit when released a year earlier, became the first non-cover version of a rock'n'roll record to reach No. 1 in the United States. It stayed No. 1 for two months. Besides becoming the first rock'n'roll classic, it gave us our first lesson in the importance of image in the entertainment business.
The man behind "Rock Around The Clock," Bill Haley, was in a perfect position of leadership in 1955. He turned out a series of hits, including "See You Later Alligator" which became a popular teen saying in the mid-1950's. Bill Haley was the king for awhile... until someone saw his picture. Then it was all over. Because of his image, he never really had a chance. Haley looked like one of them... the adults that were the target of the teen rebellion. Indeed, he was a parent with five kids of his own. How could you rebel with one of "them" at the helm?
Thus, Elvis Presley, who was only 21 when "Heartbreak Hotel" was released in 1956, came along with a pink jacket, sideburns, a ducktail haircut and made Haley obsolete overnight. It is no coincidence that Haley never had another Top 20 record after Elvis arrived. Haley was a victim of image... Presley benefited from it.
Elvis set the pattern for all future rockers. He became The Image. And the guitar became his musical symbol. It didn't matter that Scotty Moore, not Presley, actually played lead guitar on all the early Elvis records. Elvis held the guitar and it was, in part, a symbol of his defiance. Thus, with his unprecedented success, the guitar became the rock instrument of the future.
There was a flood of new bands and guitarists that emerged as a result of the success of rock'n'roll, often with virtually identical styles and sounds, that audiences had difficulty measuring the effectiveness of the various players from the music alone. All too often audiences will turn to the old standby to assist them in gauging merit... the image. There is ample evidence, for instance, that most rock fans spend more time looking at the guitarist's image, manner and listening to his or her volume level than assessing the quality of the playing. Image, it seems, is still often as important as the playing. And, we're all, in varying degrees, guilty of failing to make the distinction.
The Who's stage version of "My Generation," for instance, would have probably lost some of its sting if Pete Townshend didn't do his windmill guitar stroke or stopped leaping in the air. Similarly, the Stones "Honky Tonk Woman" would, no doubt, have lost some of its sensual urgency if Keith Richards didn't really look like he had spent some time with that gin-soaked barroom queen down in Memphis.
There are some excellent guitarists that are often underrated by concert audiences because they don't have such a colorful stage presence. James Burton, (a respected session guitarist who played on stage with Elvis) is one of the tastiest, inventive and exciting guitarists (in a purely musical sense) in the world, but he rarely wins any readers' polls because he simply plays. He doesn't leap in the air, smash his guitar or contort his face to demonstrate intensity or turn his volume three notches past 10. A few years ago, I personally witnessed Burton performing with Emmylou Harris at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium where an impatient audience was waiting for headliner Joe Walsh to come on stage. They had obviously never heard of Burton. When he was introduced as one of the world's greatest guitarists, a few in the capacity crowd, apparently none to keen on Harris' country soul and probably suspecting that Burton's introduction was hype, even booed.
But the real clue to the way image can block an audience's appreciation of an artist's work was the reaction (or, more accurately, the lack of reaction) a few minutes later when Burton, perhaps challenged by the audience's attitude, played a solo that was so impressive and skillful it would have been a certain showstopper in any setting where the audience was even partially alert to what was happening on stage. But, there was barely a trace of applause. The audience had simply not heard of Burton and he was doing little in an outwardly physical way to fit the accepted guitar player image. After the concert, I drafted a scoring system to reflect the factors that seem to go into an audience's appreciation of guitar players. The system can probably be used, with minor modifications, for testing the appeal of other performers as well.
On a scale of 100, pure image (appearance, hairstyle, clothing, which groups the guitarist has previously played with) is worth at least 40 points... Stage presence (including mobility, surprise gimmicks, extra volume) is worth another 30 points... and grimace alone (the ability to make it look difficult and/or cosmic or soulful) is worth 20 points. That leaves 10 points for everything else. In thinking about it again today, maybe I would up the grimace to 30 points. Then it wouldn't be necessary to get into such sticky things as considering the music at all...
Only kidding on the last part... but, seriously, image and stage presence will always be the better part of 60% of a performer's appeal. Think about how you can take advantage of your strengths to improve your image, charisma and showmanship. It'll pay huge dividends in the long term.
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