Baby Boomers And The Greatest Musical Revolution In History

Why humanity will probably never see anything like it again

Led Zeppelin, perhaps the greatest Rock-n-Roll band ever. Much of their music was born in the cottonfields of the Mississippi Delta. (source)

In the past few years, “OK Boomer” became the insult du jour by Millennials and Gen-Xers towards us Baby Boomers, we who were born between 1946 and 1964. The sometimes-sincere jibe has been used to blame us for all society’s ills, from global warming to nuclear proliferation to white privilege. It’s like we’re the world’s husband — no matter what it is, it’s our fault (and it usually is).

But you know what? There’s one thing we Baby Boomers did better than any other generation in humanity’s history or future: music. Here’s why:

Factor 1: The Blues

To be sure, the revolution started a generation before with the great Blues musicians that sprang from the Mississippi Delta juke joints like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters. Led Zeppelin’s “Travelling Riverside Blues”, Cream’s “Crossroads” (led by Eric Clapton), and the Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water” clearly show the indelible influence of the Bluesmen who lifted the hearts of sharecroppers after long days in the cottonfields under the hot Delta sun. They did so by giving melody and verse to the hardship, adversity, and heartbreak of Black men and women whose families had spent generations under the yoke of…