There was a ’60s party band called The Swingin’ Medallions, a great name says this medallion lover, but a quick search turned up no photos of them wearing medallions. Other “Goatee Rock” bands of the second half of the ’60s surely wore medallions, but rock ‘n roll and medallions were never as closely related as I would argue they should have been. Urge/Overkill wore medallions, but similarly they never caught on as part of rock fashion in the early ’90s.
Rock fans have long been ready to adopt the Look of a favorite rock star, and rock ‘n roll artists have a long history of dressing up for both the stage and photo/video shoots. However, for all the influence rockers have had on fans in the areas of hairstyles, clothing, and makeup, I believe there is a dearth of rockers who can make a claim for inspiring any fashion trends around jewelry.
Think of rock ‘n roll and jewelry, and who’s the first rock artist that comes to mind? I asked a couple of colleagues in the Halls of Rock before drafting this piece, and one suggested this guy.
After he said this, I immediately knew that Ringo’s nickname came from his pre-fame prediliction for wearing rings, but by the time The Beatles hit and his nickname had transcended its derivation, did anyone think of Ringo as a trend-setter for ring wearing? Maybe so, but as a boy drooling over any image of the Fab Four that I could get my eyes on, I never thought I should start wearing multiple rings the way I dreamed of growing cool facial hair and wearing orange velvet bellbottoms and paisley shirts with Nehru collars.
As I pondered this subject the first rocker that came to mind was this guy:
Keith Richards‘ skull rings and pirate earrings have influenced a number of rockers and rock fans beside Johnny Depp. But past Keef, who are the most influential bejeweled artists in rock?
I next thought of Stevie Nicks, whom I’ve always associated with feathered roach clip earrings, as worn by countless stoner girls in the ’70s. However, a search of about 300 photos of Stevie on the Web turned up exactly 0 shots of her wearing feathered roach clip earrings. Lots of lace wraps and some flowers in her hair, but maybe she wasn’t an influential, bejeweled rocker after all, just a favorite artist of a certain breed of bejeweled ’70s girls.
Madonna introduced our culture to the wearing of multiple rubber bracelets, those things that look like ring washers. Today they’ve morphed into LiveStrong bracelets. Although not much of a rocker, Madge was very influential in the spread of jewelry trends through music.
Perhaps one of the reasons jewelry has never played much of a role in rock, I thought, was that rock has usually been a male-dominated form of entertainment and art, and until the advent of punk rock-influenced piercings, jewelry was taboo for dudes. Hell, Little Richard wore makeup and a bouffant hairdo, yet even he went low-key on the bling. Punk rockers and their piercings and safety pins have to be given credit for finally introducing jewelry into rock culture, and rappers busted down the doors in that scene once and for all with the status signifying bling that Little Richard was too shy to bust out.
Even among punk rockers, however, who really took the lead in wearing jewelry? Richard Hell and then Sid Vicious and his Malcolm McLaren bondage shop buddies, like Siouxsie Sioux, incorporated safety pins as a kind of rebel broche, but did they go as far as leading the way to multiple piercings? What rockers first made piercings a key part of their Look, those Throbbing Gristle types?
Am I missing anyone or any type of jewelry? Were there influential wearers of beads, bangles, or even hair pins that I have not recognized? As always, in these style pieces, I’m sure I’ve made some embarrassing oversight, but let me know what you think. Is jewelry among rock’s unfulfilled fashion ideas?
An argument could be made for the rap/hip hop guys and their respective “bling”. Run DMC come to mind as does Flava Flav and his enormous clocks. I recall kids stealing VW logos off the front of vehicles so they could look like Mike D of the Beasties. Alas, those are certainly not rockers per se (like Madonna).
Elvis Presley was known for shiny jewelry, but I don’t know that I would even offer him up.
One of my personal jewerly moments came on Conan. I just found the clip (albeit a very very poor quality):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-WMjNQNtzs
Check out Graham Maby! It makes the case for medallions…
TB
In black music it is still about jewelry (grillz, ice, chains) but not with whitebread rock and roll.
somehow piercings are the exception for rock bands…
I recently saw a Black Crowes concert on one of the HD channels, so I recorded it and watched it later with one ear. There was some jewelry on display there of the post-hippie variety, especially those kind of necklaces made out of shells and beads. I believe there were rings too, though I wasn’t paying attention for that at the time. I’ve never understood how guitarists can stand to wear rings on their fretting hand. I always found it got in the way, and a ring doesn’t feel right on my right hand either.
Keith was ahead of the curve on wearing earrings. When did that become more common for straight men, the mid 80s?
I always thought that Exene Cervenka was a pioneer in this category. Check out this picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v438/kjv31/7782/Exene_Cervenka_1981.jpg
Which category would this be, Berlyant, women singers wearing big necklaces? Are there a lot of women doing this? Were everyday women not wearing those kinds of necklaces before Exene? Maybe this did inspire a fashion trend, but I need more examples. Thanks.
Aren’t those necklaces called pukka shells, or something like that, BigSteve? Keef was a little ahead of the curve on earrings. I remember in the early ’80s, when we were piercing our ears, it was a big deal that a straight guy knew which ear was the “straight” ear and which was the “gay” one. Jeez! Keef just wore hoop earrings and said, The hell with it!
It seems to me that Keef is still the main man when it comes to being a rare, influential figure in rock jewelry.
I think Springsteen’s earring in the early 70’s might have been the breakthrough that made earrings acceptable on straight working class men. It took a while to sink in but I think he was the inspiration.
Good one, Geo! That’s the kind rock jewelry breakthrough I was certain I’d overlooked.
Yeah pukka shells, but I’m talking more extravagant:
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-blender/files/2008/07/chrisrobinson.jpg
Also the guitarist, who I didn’t realize at the time I watched the concert film was new member Luther Dickinson, was wearing a shorter necklace that was like a series of large enamel or turqoise amulets held together by thick metal links. I don’t have the vocabulary for what I saw, but it was something more like this:
http://www.2dollarsjewelry.com/images/N282-14.JPG
Or this:
http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/measas-turquoise-necklace-hal-sharpe.jpg
Mod, are you saying you once wore an earring? I can’t picture it, having only seen you as a mature adult.
I am also reminded that Ian Dury’s signature earring was a tiny razor blade. Ouch.
I love that shot of Chris Robinson’s necklaces! Seriously, that’s some good hippie rock jewelry.
Yes, sophomore year in college I pierced my ear, or should I say a girlfriend did the job. I wore a little earring or stud on and off for a year or so. It never really became part of my Look, but I experimented with it. I think a friend and I, the same friend who pierced his ear the same night I did, later had our other lobes pierced. I think I was really out of it, but I recall being able to wear Keith-like pirate hoops for a day or two. The slightest trace of one of my pierced ears must still exist. My boys always point at it. Honestly, I can’t tell.
Long story short, I was once a very immature adult.
Mod: I still remember the rule for earrings and the ears in which they were supposed to be inserted, lest ye be considered, you know, GAY:
“Left is right, and right is wrong!”
Sheesh.
On a different wavelength, I’d like to give Tom Jones the honor of instigating the chest medallion movement of the late 60s. Mind you, as a smarter guy than me once observed: Tom Jones was responsible for instigating the (masculine) chest movement of the 60s — in general, I mean; with and without medallion.
That pic of Chris Robinson tells me that we need to examine the progress of the weedy man in rock. There was a time when rock front men were proudly weedy and weak-looking; now we get buff front-dudes in tight jeans, from Glenn Danzig to Bruce Springsteen. Why the change, and (speaking as a decidedly weedy front-guy) can we go back to the days when Marc Bolan was the rock body-type beauty ideal?
I don’t think music can get credit for the earring breakthrough for the “average” straight guy. That probably has to go to Michael Jordan. Similarly, the earring was made uncool when Harrison Ford started wearing one.
LDB mentioned Elvis, who I think deserves some extra, ahead-of-his-time credit for outfitting his whole crew with the TCB rings and/or necklaces. What with having the Memphis Mafia, outfitting them with specialized jewelry and taking inspiration from comic books, Elvis was laying down a ton of groundwork for the hip-hop world to come.
In The Stones’ camp, there was also Mick’s dalliance with chokers for several years from the late 60s to mid-70s. He also had a diamond embedded in one of his teeth in the 70s.
Also, Dr. John, in his Night Tripper persona, wore all manner of beads, boas, necklaces, amulets, talismans & other voodoo,hoodoo related gear.
1st props to Mr. Berlyant & The Big Takeover… & anyone who know’s where they got that ZINE’s name… Newbie here but an OG represent’n NJHC, CB’s punk-ROCK all that & even worse since b4 it began O.G…
Rob Vomit on facebook, http://www.Myspace.com/MiddleClassUprising (my old band etc.)
http://www.pUNKrOCkCeNTraL.com (an attempt to enlighten fans of good charolette & the like, haven’t updated it in years, I’d, like to make it an some kind of open-source-thing like this site but haven’t a clue how, so if any web saavy punkers got a plan it’s a free for all and my definition of punk is pretty broad anything from the heart with passion & balls, folk art to beat poets, offbeat freaks with somthin’ to say as long as it’s not racist, masoginistic etc… even Keef’s was punk until he did that louis vutton AD… but I found this site lookin for a skull ring just like his.
punk’s weren’t into jewlery or fashion…more like anti-fashion & just being young poor thrifty eventualy some armour & self Defense/offense/creativity… no hot topic shops/mall punks back then just thrift shops, army navy stores & what ever you could beg, borrow or steal & diy with magic markers paint etc…most punk bands didn’t have mechendiding tour busses big record deals they lived in shitholes drove around with four dudes in a van packed with equiptment & made no money…suppose had Malcolm Mclaren spotted me, instead of Richard Hell I’d be like the Macguyver of punk for duct taping my boots? instead of the saftey pin craze
I got my ear pierced in 78′ when I was 11… though I probably passed Bruce in the hood often & had his early 8-tracks, The earing in the left ear as well as bandana in left back pocket usually beat up Levi’s was a “tribal” stoner thing to help identify each other…definitly not Micheal Jordan inspired trend,(penelty on Magic BS Jock-jibberjabber in Rockzone & foul for stating the king of ROCK N ROLL had anything to do with Hip-Hop bling-bling gangsta nonsense, bad enough everyone knows he died on the crapper in 77 mind you…gold chains & the 70’s was a pretty universal thing w/ masses of asses, but Liberace was the king o’ Bling…his homees were very sparkly too, so there ya go… anyway, as I got into real punk & hardcore piercings in the mosh pit or fight are a bad Idea & stopped wearing my earing when one more tug would have split my earlobe, so at 40+ years old I still have a slit in my ear big enough stick a #2 pencil through.
over the past few years there’s been a resurgence of the old punk & hardcore bands I grew up with & a new young energetic fan base, alongside us few remaining geriatric old schoolers, I still feel the urge to thrash/mosh/slam but it’s just not the same, none of my friends are in the pit + I gotta sit down after about 30 seconds. So I’ve resorted to being a buffer between the kids thrashing and the people watching, I still feel part of the action & sort of provideing a service for people who don’t want to be hit by stray slammers and also overtly helping an old friend about 10 years older than me who used be in the pits back in the day & now often singlehandedly books bands, works the door & does crowd control. So if I know there’s gonna be slammin I wear my steel toe biker boots & a spiked wrist band… it’s not a fashion statement it keeps my toes from getting broken & blocking with the spikes on one arm works a little like an electric fence & I can still hold a beer with my other hand. Another example of how the punk “look” is/was more out of necessity I learned very well when I grew my hair long again in the mid/late 80’s metal/crossover era… a big old skinhead pal dropped by very drunk & on angel dust… we played some quarters one thing led to another & I had to kick him out & beat him with a closet pole which being young & poor, my closet was completly empty so it was either that or only other possesion in my 1st apt. a plastic ace of spades wastebasket which might have been better selection, once on his head he’d be blind & disoriented, smack his head and push him every few seconds & he’d be too busy trying to keep his balance to get the wastebasket off his head & eventully fall then start kicking (kick when down skinhead stanard move #1)… I’d also had good results with this what I call the “bugs bunny” technique using an empty 12 pack box during a ninja attack… the 1 1/2″ wooden closet pole broke after 2 or 3 wacks & didn’t faze the giant dusted skinhead in the least, so we engaged in hand to hand combat, more accurately hand to hair combat, he dragged me around by my hair banged my head on the sidewalk a while… good times. Which leeds me to what I actually came to Talk about the Great late Stevie Ray Vaughan who was big on Jewerly his famous necklace & big ass Rings…April 20, 1986 My friend Donny calls me very excited & Inform’s me Stevie Ray Vaughan is playing tonight @ monmouth college (a frequent hangout just down the street) $8 general addmission ….I grew up on classic rock eg;HENDRIX,Led Zep,Beatles,Kinks,The Who,Sabbath, lots of blues based stuff & so on… I was 18 had been playing guitar for 8 years still liked classic Rock but during that 8 years witnessed & imerssed myself the newer sounds of Angus Young, The Nuge, EVH, Randy Rhoades, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, NWOBHM, Motorhead, Black Flag, The Bad Brains DRI, Metallica etc, ect. I’d heard “Little Sister” & “Pride n’ Joy” every now & then on the Radio when told of the SRV concert I replied so what 12 bar blues big deal, yeah think Bill Haley, Chuck Berry & everyone since has already did that shit like a bazillion times over, Donny says “Rob your stupid he’s awesome you haven’t heard him” I said yeah I have badabadabededadoo hey, hey hey I’m her little lover boy, yeah yeah…badadedeewah… He told me I was stupid again & that He had weed & tequilla… Ok I’ll meet you there. I said.
We got our tickets hung outside for most of the Fab T-Birds, poured the remaining Tequilla into four or so water pistols & easily found floor seats about 12 rows or 35 feet from the stage. Five minutes into SRV we just looked at each other like holy fucking shit and mooched up closer eventually to the front row center standing on our seats 6 feet from SRV while angry frat boys threw plastic beer cups at us, we could care less it was indeed the most amazing guitar playing I’ve ever seen up close in person… Then about 3/4 into the set Stevie calmly took off all his big rings, set them on neatly on the drum riser, stepped right up in front of us (to the mic) & much to my surprise chickchuckchuckachicachuckchuckchik—-whahwahwahwewwahweewow…yup VOODOO CHILE!!! I was completly blown away… during the solo I could hardly contain myself… he was further back from the stage at this point & looking down just as calm as could be, that was what was so amazingly cool about him to me. Most guitarist that play half as good as him would be jerkin all around grimaceing, like BB King, Buddy Guy right? I’ve heard it said many times from band members and interviews that it was like he was channeling some higher power or?, Just pulling shit out of nowhere “how the hell’s he gonna get outta this one” but he always does… anyway seeing that he liked big rings, wanting to show my appreciation & I was wearing a big ass biker ring, I just instictivly tossed it at his feet it landed perfectly rightside up dead center facing him, it was too cool also a little freaky in retrospect as you’ll soon find out… but me & donny were like wow excellent stevie saw it glimmering there, then stepped over to the Bass player and nodded, come check this out.. so he did they both just looked at each other & raised an eyebrow like ok? I guess…? after Voodoo Chile(slight Return)SRV picked up the ring gave it a once over & set it beside his other rings, did 2 more hendrix tunes & a few originals finished the show picked up the rings including mine & & left the stage. After the show I knew I just saw the most incredible Guitar Player I would ever see & Donny told me a friend of ours works at the Hotel he was staying at… So I was like I’ve got to meet this guy. I don’t know why just to tell him he’s was great? see what a person that plays like that is like & hope some rubs off on me??? I drove to the hotel saw the bus not a creature was stirring drove around for a good 20 minutes driving by to see any sign of anything but no such luck… being a punk like I said OG b4 there was punk I was use to people treating me like shit at school, as far back as I could remember kids parents told me to go away I’m not allowed to hang with their kid I’m a bad influence… hasseled by cops, banned from entire towns, driven out of towns by police, followed by security in stores, imediatly confronted with contempt at most any public establishments like I’m bad for buisness or sure to start trouble? or to quote John Lydon “No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs” So there I was my biker/engineer boots, bleach splattered jeans, american flag shirt bandana around my head fucked up hairdo, either some army jacket/trench coat? leather &/or denim(w/ patches pins painted back) just imagining walking in this big hotel
being young & nieve thinking I’d get the usual BS I’d excuse me young man do you have reservations or get arrested for trespassing or something? Think I went the next morning too but they were gone… come to find out. Every person working that night The Bartender Cleaning crew, girl at the front desk were all good friends of mine & Stevie Ray was alone at the bar all night & a super nice friendly guy…everyone I talked to was like dude you coulda just walked right in the back door & sat down at the bar.
Oh well… saw him in concert agian at the garden State art center lawn seats, pretty close to before he died & found out later he almost died at that show when a curtain snagged the massive pa tower came crashing down crushed SRV”s #1 strat & almost SRV himself… also found out after he died that he had some kind of Deathpahobia/premonision???
So back to the Jewlery…
not too long before that SRV show and a while before the closet pole incident… aforementioned skinhead friend had given me the Huge Biker Ring which are usually supposed to be scary looking this one just happened to be in the shape of the GRIM REAPER… who’s original owner was a guy we knew, John the singer for a band called Doc Marten (who a few years later (late 80’s)tragicaly hung himself AND slit his wrist in his Girlfriends backyard)… so what was once & still is a very fond SRV memory… the ring part has kind of took on a weird guilt/saddness?? “Superstion ain’t the way” but yeah SRV rocked some jwelery & As far as punks, saftey pins aint jewlery Richard hell used them to hold his ripped shirt together (ever been to the Bowery in the 70’s/erly 80’s) after Malcolm Mclaren ruined the NY Dolls with his commie “fashion” falure he went back to the UK & tried to cash in on what he saw real people in NYC wearing which became punk…people who bought into it & actually went shopping for punk clothes are “poseurs” in the UK they actually stood on the street Posing & tourist would pay to get there picture taken with them. Go see most any reputable Punk/Hardcore band from the late 70’s/early 80’s they dont dress up, maybe some goth/rockabilly bands do but new “punk” bands like the Casualties “looks” wise are just silly posers IMO…
retrorelix wrote:
My man, not since those Hobbits got it in their head to protect that ring has any quest for a ring led to a better story!!! I’m glad the skull ring led you here. Keep the good rock tales coming! I’ll see that Townsman Berlyant gets word of your approval for his work. He’s among the founding Townspeople here, and he’s an all-around excellent egg! The Big Takeover has long been one of my favorite rock ‘zines. Jack Rabid is also a tremendous egg.
I found you remembering the early days of Stevie Ray Vaughn, late 1970s. As far as I can remember, all the young dudes were wearing the roach clip feathers in their hats like him, and all the cool chicks were wearing silver spoons. good daze!