Only rock 'n' roll? radio killed the Soviet star.

• Author: Turner, Brandon
• Position: Citings - Brief Article

THE FALL OF communism has been attributed to many factors, from the system's economic failings to the hard line taken by Ronald Reagan. Hungarian ambassador Andras Simonyi, who in November spoke at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, believes at least some credit is due to the influence of bloc-rocking beats.

Simonyi first encountered rock 'n' roll in Denmark in the 1960s, a time when Hungary was in the middle of nearly haft a century of Communist rule. "Rock music represented freedom to me," Simonyi says, "freedom I first experienced in Denmark and missed very much after returning to Hungary."

One of few young people on his block who spoke English, he embraced the message of rock culture. "Given that rock already carried a revolutionary message in the free West," he says, "you can imagine what effect that music had in the un-free East."

The message of rock was heard even by those who didn't understand...