Originally Posted by Minstrel

I don't think the Who, as a band, were punk. But I think that song definitely fit the aesthetic.

As for Elvis, Chuck Berry and the rest...they were considered rebellious and edgy not for actually expressing anti-establishment themes but because their style was sexual and a departure from the buttoned-down pop stars before rock & roll. So, in that way, rock began as anti-establishment, but the themes really weren't.

"My Generation" was directly challenging the authority lyrically (and the music matched the aggression) and that was fairly new (though, you do have a point about The Crickets recording "I Fought The Law"...I didn't know they did the first version of that). I think that sort of sneering individualism was the aesthetic of punk, through the Stooges, Modern Lovers, New York Dolls right on through the Sex Pistols.

I think that aesthetic was largely absent from music before that.