After rock and roll cemented itself as the dominant genre of American popular music in

the 1950s, the 60s saw the emergence of a heavier, bass and distortion dominant subgenre

known as Hard Rock.

In 1971, American restaurateurs Peter Morton and Isaac Tigrit took the creative leap

of making it the concept of their London eatery.

Morton came from a chain restaurant legacy being the son of the namesake of Morton's

steakhouse.

Meanwhile, Tigrit had rock music in his bones, later demonstrated when he co-founded House

of Blues with Dan Acroid and even married Ringo Starr's ex-wife.

The duo's London outlet was a success, but it wasn't until almost a decade after its

opening when they added the signature decorative element that would be cribbed by imitators

like Planet Hollywood, music memorabilia decking their walls.

This turned out to be the secret sauce that would build it into a global brand with its

many multinational locations and associated t-shirts and apparel serving as shrines to American

music in cuisine worldwide.

The Seminole Tribe purchased the chain in 2007 for nearly $1 billion and today in addition

to the 150-plus restaurants around the world, the brand includes 21 hotels and 10 casinos.

This week on Doe Boys, Rock Doe Fest 2015 continues with the grandaddy of the mall, Hard Rock

Cafe.

Welcome to Doe Boys, the podcast about chain restaurants.

I'm Nick Weiger alongside my co-host Mike Mitchell, the Spoon Man.

How you doing, Spoon Man?

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