First-Generation Rockers: Who’s Still With Us?

RIP Jerry Lee Lewis (Photo via his Facebook page)

With the death of Jerry Lee Lewis on October, 28, 2022 we lost the last of the initial inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When Little Richard died on May 9, 2020, we lost one of the greatest inventors of the 20th century.

In 2021, Don Everly of the Everly Brothers  passed, as did Lloyd Price. We previously lost Chuck Berry on March 18, 2017.  And on Oct. 24, 2017, Fats Domino died at 89. Their deaths got us thinking: How many of the first-generation rock ’n’ rollers are still with us? Certainly, a scroll through the list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees—particularly those who made it into the first few classes—is sobering. We lost Buddy Holly all the way back in 1959, of course, and since then, Elvis, James Brown, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison and so many others. Each of them left so much behind that future generations will savor.

But the good news is that a few of the founders of the music still walk this Earth. They’re all getting up there in the years, so let’s honor them now. After all, they gave us rock ’n’ roll!

A few criteria: We restricted the list to individuals who made their mark as recording artists under their own names. Hence, folks who are chiefly songwriters, producers, studio musicians, etc.—albeit all-important behind-the-scenes movers and shakers—are not being considered for this mini-survey. Secondly, each artist has to have recorded his/her first hit in the 1950s. And finally, we kept it to artists who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; there are, thankfully, quite a few other worthy elders who qualified for the list.

Here’s our salute to the survivors, in alphabetical order…

Dion (July 18, 1939): If you ask a youngish listener today their favorite song by Dion, chances are they’ll think you’re talking about Celine Dion. No, silly. We’re talking about the single-named guy from Da Bronx (no one ever called him by his last name, DiMucci) who, whether working with his group the Belmonts or on his own, was the picture of cool. He’s even cooler now, mostly playing the blues, his first love. He released a new album in 2024, Girl Friends. The duets collection includes songs with Carlene Carter and Susan Tedeschi. Hits: “Runaround Sue,” “The Wanderer,” “A Teenager in Love,” “Ruby Baby,” “Abraham, Martin and John”

Related: Our feature on “Abraham, Martin and John”

Ronald Isley (May 21, 1941): Along with founding siblings O’Kelly Isley, who died in 1986, and Rudolph, who died in 2023, they were among the most malleable of R&B teams, adapting to the changes in the music as the decades rolled on. There’s still a version of the group in action today, too. Hits: “Shout—Part 1,” “Twist and Shout,” “It’s Your Thing,” “That Lady (Part 1)”

The Isley Brothers’ music is available here.

Wanda Jackson (October 20, 1937): Even today, we still tend to think of the early rockers as guys. And for the most part that’s true. But there were plenty of young women cutting raw, nothing-held-back rockabilly tunes and this Oklahoman was one of the finest. She was actually successful in Japan before she hit here, and when she finally got noticed in her home country in 1960 it was with a two-year old track. She later had much more success in the country field, but those early Wanda Jackson rock ’n’ roll sides for Capitol Records were the real deal. In 2021, at age 83, she released a new studio album, Encore. Hits: “Fujiyama Mama,” “Let’s Have a Party,” “Mean Mean Man,” “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad,” “Honey Bop”

Jackson’s recordings are available here.

Brenda Lee (December 11, 1944): Like fellow Southerner Wanda Jackson, Brenda Lee had to work just a little bit harder to find her way into the male-dominated rock ’n’ roll world. And she, too, later had much greater success in country music. But for several years, she was all over the best-seller charts, with both stone rockers and emotional ballads. In December 2023, Lee set a record when her “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” topped the Hot 100 for the first time ever, 65 years after the song’s debut. Hits: “Sweet Nothin’s,” “I’m Sorry,” “I Want to Be Wanted,” “All Alone Am I”

Lee’s recordings are available here.

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Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for more than four decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan.

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