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Megadeth Tour Shirt 2008

5 Authentic Rock T-Shirts for Your Rockstar Partner

Like the music itself, the history of rock has often been volatile and unpredictable. 

Since its emergence in the late 1940s, the genre has been constantly redefined and reinvented, making it difficult to pin down. 

What we know for sure however, is that rock and roll has served as a means of expression for cultural and social movements, giving rise to major subcultures such as the mods and rockers in the United Kingdom, the hippie counterculture that sprang up in California in the 1960s, and the 1970s punk scene. 

Rock music has long been associated with political activism, particularly with changes in social attitudes to race, sex, and drug use, and is often seen as an act of rebellion against the establishment and mainstream conformity.

The good news is that, wherever you’re from, and whatever your particular brand of rock music, Band-Tees.com has classic rock t-shirts for everyone—from the many iterations of David Bowie, to the folk-infused rock of Bob Dylan. 

Choose from a huge selection of high quality, hard to find, officially licensed band t-shirts and other items, that ship around the world.

Jimi Hendrix T-Shirt

Still an iconic figure in the music industry, Hendrix sadly died at the tender age of 27, just as his career was getting started.

His seminal performance at Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 transformed him from a relative unknown to the very personification of rock. 

As Rolling Stone magazine put it at the time— 

“With the Rainbow Shriek of his flaming Stratocaster at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, Jimi Hendrix dramatically announced the arrival of the new Aquarian age of peace, love and spiritual aspiration.”

Jimi Hendrix
Image courtesy

Did You Know?

  • Hendrix was a self-taught musician who (unbelievably) could not read music and learned to play by ear.
  • Another iconic performance of his, this time ‘Star Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock in 1969, was not in fact, a symbol of national pride, but rather a scathing attack on America’s continued occupation of Vietnam.

This colorful tee features the white Jimi Hendrix logo against a bright, tie-dye background. Die-hard Jimi fans can wear it while making the pilgrimage to Greenwood Memorial Park and Cemetery in Seattle, where he was laid to rest.

Pink Floyd T-Shirt

Often referred to as the biggest band of all time, this British group popularized the concept album for mass rock audiences in the 1970s.

Their ‘The Wall’ tour reinvented the rock concert. In its 2 March 1980 edition, The New York Times concluded that—

The Wall’ show will be the touchstone against which all future rock spectacles must be measured.”

This is in no small part due to the fact that they were the first rock band to pioneer live surround sound, in the form of the Azimuth Coordinator quadraphonic sound system.

Pink Floyd The Wall Live 1980/81
Source: forums.stevehoffman.tv

Did You Know?

  • The band’s name came from two of Syd Barrett’s favourite Carolina bluesmen, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
  • ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ is the third best-selling album of all time.

Make like a true Crazy Diamond and wear your t-shirt while taking a trip to Cambridge’s Grantchester Meadows (if you know, you know), or pay a visit to Gohil’s Leather Shop in London’s Borough of Camden (as referenced in the song ‘Nobody Home’), where rock royalty got their boots made in the 1960s and 70s.

Rolling Stones T-Shirt

Nothing epitomises classic rock quite like the Rolling Stones, and they continue to influence and inspire today.

Waaay back in 1975, Jagger declared he wouldn’t be in the band for long when he said: ‘I’d rather be dead than sing ‘Satisfaction’ when I’m 45.’ And yet here he is, well into his 70s and still belting out the hits.

Did You Know?

  • One of the most recognisable images in music history, the band’s famous logo was created by John Pasche, who designed art for other famous musicians in the 1970s.
  • Initially, Mick Jagger requested the likeness of the Hindu goddess Kali, often depicted with a very pronounced mouth with the tongue sticking out, but Pasche ended up using the front man’s own mouth as his template for the signature logo, which debuted on the ‘Sticky Fingers’ LP in 1971.
  • Poor Ian Stewart, one of the Stones’ founding members, was fired before the band took off because he didn’t fit into their rockstar image.

Wear your vintage-look Stones tee when you pay a visit to the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where they recorded superhits, ‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Wild Horses’.

Grateful Dead T-Shirt

So much more than a band, the Grateful Dead were at the very heart of the countercultural movement.

Did You Know?

  • Jerry Garcia lost the middle finger on his right hand in an accident when he was only 5 years old. You’d never know it from the way he played guitar though.
  • Grateful Dead shows were inclusive! There were specifically designed areas where the hearing impaired could sit next to the speakers and could watch someone translate the lyrics into sign language.
  • The Dead got very little radio play and did not sell many albums, BUT they are one of the top-grossing concert acts of all time.

What else but tie-dye and dancing bears for the Grateful Dead? Transport yourself back to the summer of love and wear your t-shirt when you walk around Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco – specifically 710 Ashbury Street, AKA the Grateful Dead House.

CBGB T-Shirt

Gone but never forgotten, this legendary club in downtown Manhattan opened in 1973 in yet-to-be gentrified Soho, and is widely considered to be the birthplace of punk rock in the United States.

Did You Know?

  • Its full name of CBGB & OMFUG stands for Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers.
  • The Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith and Blondie (to name a few), played their first shows at CBGB.
  • HiIly Kristal, the bar’s manager had two rules for bands that played at the venue, first they had to carry their own equipment, and second, they had to play mostly original songs. 

This unisex black tee features a distressed CBGB logo. Show off your rock credentials and wear it with some distressed jeans while you stroll around New York’s East Village, home to the 1970s United States punk scene.

Choose From Classic Rock Tees and More

Rock music takes many different forms; it can be something very personal or something you want to share with thousands of others. 

Luckily, Band-Tees.com has something for every type of rock fan. Browse alphabetically and discover an amazing assortment of vintage classic rock t-shirts and concert t-shirts with artists ranging from AC/DC to ZZ Top.

And, if you’re in search of more than rock tees, then check out the hoodies and caps too.

Because all their tees are authentic and officially licensed, as well as buying an amazing gift, you’ll be supporting your favorite bands and artists as they receive royalties every time you purchase their products on Band-Tees.com.

Featured Image from: Flickr by Ted Traikovski

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