Bill Graham: Founder of Rock & Roll

Some believe that without Bill Graham, there would be no rock and roll today. His honorary actions paved the way for the “hippie” genre of music that began in the 60’s. During his lifetime, Bill traveled from Germany to France and then to Poland in order to escape the terrible oppression of the Holocaust. After fleeing, Bill worked as an “impresario and rock concert promoter”. This period of time can be referred to as the “Rock and Roll Revolution”. Additionally, he had many accomplishments within his career which even resulted in him receiving a shiny, silver MTV moon man award. This award is displayed within a colorful exhibit inside the American Jewish History Museum in Philadelphia.

Graham also worked to help try to maintain respect for the Jews. This can be seen in a letter he wrote titled “A Personal Plea”. Bill was no journalist, but once he learned of President Reagan’s plans to visit a cemetery for Nazi soldiers, he felt the need to speak up and try to stop this travesty of an act from occurring. In order to do this, he wrote an ad in the newspaper. However, this did not please many in the public and resulted in many of his personal memorabilia being destroyed in a fire bombing, “including gold and platinum albums and hundreds of original Fillmore posters,” according to the museum’s exhibit. This was devastating but his deed did not go unnoticed. Nowadays, it is regarded as an act of bravery, and his plea is recorded in history.