I think that as Rock was ‘reinvented’ in the 80’s (new wave, punk, alternative) the early connections to Pop music weakened. It got progressively weaker in the 90’s with grunge. To make matters worse a lot of the popular acts from the 60’s & 70’s got somewhat cartoonish or became Vegas lounge acts (Barry Manilow anybody?).
The Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame should properly be called the “American Music Hall of Fame. That name would seem to better match its induction criteria. But then I guess we’d run afoul of the “Country Music Hall of Fame” and who knows what else.
Fair assessment.
I always felt "Rock" died in the early 90's, peaking from 1972-1980. Then came disco, and a few good years from '80-'87 and then the bottom of "rock" dropped out.
I also thought Manilow "came and he gave without taking...but then he sent us away." ;-)
I just ran into a lady (mid-50s?) at the drug store who told anyone who would listen she was on the way to the airport afterward...to see Barry Manilow. I asked, "Vegas??" Yep.
Eh. There are those who will tell you that rock and roll was always kid-stuff. But it wasn't. Ike Turner and Roy Brown were writing songs for juke joints, not sodd-Y shops full of babyboom rugrats.
That was Leiber and Stoller doing their take on the hep sounds.
Big Mama Thornton's biggest hit may have been Hound Dog but what she did before and after that sound nothing like it.
And even then Elvis' hit had even more toned down lyrics.
Rockabilly was a barebones sound, but those songs were rockers. No more big bands. No more heavy production.
RCA had to try to duplicate the Sun Studio "echo".
Garage bands and later punk/new wave/post-punk/no-wave bands didn't have the luxury recording situations or need to play the "arena rock sound" with 5 minute solos while the audience sat on their hands.
Every generation tears it all down and returns to basics again.
It's the pop faux-rock that kills it. Grunge was the last gasp of a music industry that would take something that's growing a following a put it on radio to see what sticks.
After the canon was codified, the public was force fed a steady diet of poster idol pop singing groups (NSync, Britney, Christina, et al). Happened in the 1980s too (New Kids, Menudo, Paula Abdul...). Happened in the 1970s too (Osmonds, Leif Garrett,...). Happened in the 1960s and 1950s too.
Jerry Lee Lewis was interviewed for the documentary "All You Need Is Love" and had to laugh. He'd been shut out of radio/tv/movies after his scandal (and after the other stars had been jailed, died, drafted, or shamed into retirement). He said all you had left were a bunch of Bobbies. Bobby Vee, Bobby Vinton, Bobby Darin, Bobby this... He said that the Beatles sure changed their game.
That grunge and punk/new wave history is the real lineage of rock and roll. Bill Graham wasn't a friend of rock.