ABSTRACT
Historical developments in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) have decreed both as a retrospective review and a swan song: The GDR is the only communist country that has had to pay for its successful and bloodless revolution, its democratization, with its existence. For musicians in the GDR, rock was an art form that came from outside and that had arisen under entirely different, even foreign, conditions, namely, conditions of capitalism. Rock music was an official and therefore subsidized part of approved culture, located within the subcategory of "entertainment art." In the founding years of East German rock, the young combos and beat bands were persistently encouraged to sing in the German language. Even before the revolution of 1989, famous rock stars such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Joe Cocker had performed in the GDR. In late summer 1990, the Rolling Stones were given the green light to come to the GDR, on public demand.
