I never realized it existed as early as the 60's. I thought it had debuted in the late 70's. Not a fan, but would love to see an academic paper on it.
There’s sorta proto-metal stuff in the 60’s, but general consensus is that metal really kicked off with Black Sabbath’s first album in 1970.
We certainly used the term in the late mid-sixties, referring to bands like Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, and Hendrix. It was about volume, effects (especially fuzz), and a certain melodramatic, posturing effect in the vocals, along with speed on the guitar. It was more about tracks than artists although it obviously started from band names. It always seemed to me that Dick Dale was its sperm donor...
You used the term heavy metal in the 60’s? I always assumed its first use was in Born to Be Wild in 1968, “heavy metal thunder.”
Forgot about Steppenwolf, that's another one... but they wrote that line after "In a Gadda de Vida" hit the airwaves, and after the Monterey version of "Wild Thing." It was kind of all scrunched up together in a quick burst, and the term a throwaway line that in the end was too useful to throwaway.
I still think of the bands/songs you mention as more proto-metal, with Sabbath being the band who kind of consolidated the sound and introduced the lyrical content and imagery the genre would be known for. This song was quite a career opener and statement of intent.
One faces these kinds of decisions all the time in trying to make a story out of the history of one thing or another. I have neither the expertise nor the interest in either metal or Sabbath to try here. So have at it; I won't argue... I have provided my testimony, don't see anything of great value in my opinion...
Several years back I read a history of rock music that was written sometime in the late 60’s. It was a trip to see somebody creating a narrative long before that act became omnipresent and the common storylines were set in stone. Wish I could remember what it was called.
If it comes to you, post it. Not long ago, I read the first book of film criticism ever published, written by my Illinois homey, poet Vachel Lindsay, published in 1915 (revised in 1922). Most of the movies are long gone and hard to find (well, lost, really). He digs D.W. Griffith, except for the racism. My favorite part: he predicts that, soon, every city bigger than Topeka, KS will have a community of filmmakers. Someday, maybe. The Art of Moving Pictures, I believe.
I went looking for the book after posting that, but I think it may not have made the cut when we moved last year and so was gifted to a thrift store.
Coming back to TV Nov 7. Heavy Trip. It’s worth a watch. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15BRQvYJUu/?mibextid=UalRPS Turo tries to face his fears by leading the “Impaled Rektum,” an unknown heavy metal band in Finland, to a metal festival in Norway. The journey consists of grave robbing, heavy metal, Viking heaven, and an armed conflict between Norway and Finland How to Watch Heavy Trip Right now you can watch Heavy Trip on Fandor Amazon Channel or Screambox Amazon Channel. You are able to stream Heavy Trip by renting or purchasing on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Fandango At Home. You are able to stream Heavy Trip for free on Kanopy, Hoopla, and Plex.
The thing is, I'll take a band that isn't that technically proficient with music that is full of emotion and soul over a band that is technically proficient every time. Probably why my number one fave is Neil Young. His technical limitations -- exacerbated by polio -- are somewhat meaningless when you listen to his music and what it has to say.
Too Drunk to F*ck is a classic. I had to go to extraordinary lengths to prevent my Mom from discovering the 45 I bought at Tower Records in SF, LOL
Ultimately, people define emotion and soul in different ways. They do that with technical proficiency as well. Neil was and is far more proficient than Kurt was. I've been a Neil fan for decades. Heart Of Gold, Sugar Mountain, After The Gold Rush, Old Man... he should have subbed White Man for Southern Man (there's no diff until you start to account for color. I'm a Southern man).
Very possible, it’s been around for over 50 years. I ended up with it back when I was working for a high volume online used bookseller. We could take home any books that didn’t have enough value to be worth selling and were just gonna get tossed. I ended up with a bunch of obscure treasures during that period.