"I wasn't in a lot of rock 'n' roll bands, " Wainwright says, reflecting on his earlier years in music.

NPR: Loudon Wainwright's 'Charlie Poole Project'

You can't be a banjo player in a rock 'n' roll group.

BBC: Looking back at the birth of The Beatles

He didn't invent rock 'n' roll, but he helped, mingling in his music black rhythm- -and-blues, white country, gospel, everything.

CNN: How and why Elvis has changed us all

In case you haven't been following the virtual rock and roll scene lately, videogame publisher Red Octane recently revealed that there would be no wireless ax for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II -- even though owners of a "last-gen" console, PlayStation 2, will be able to jam out sans tether.

ENGADGET: Report: Microsoft not down with third-party 360 wireless peripherals

Well, of course, in the same sense that rock 'n' roll still would have gained momentum if Elvis hadn't come along in the 1950s.

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