History of Rock and Roll Overview of Rock and Roll Rock and roll, although said by many historians to have its first true emergence in the mid-1950’s, has musical origins that trace back to the early 1920’s. The rock and roll musicians of the middle of the twentieth century were influenced by many of their predecessors who specialized in a variety of different musical genres. Early rock primarily consisted of three of the most popular musical genres of the time: mainstream popular music, country and western, and rhythm and blues. Shortly after its emergence, rock and roll began to “crossover,” or become hits on these three previously mentioned top hits charts, yet it eventually, as some claim, died in 1959. However, with the combination of these three forms of music, along with the rise of television and a new, more experimental youth culture, rock and roll became one of the most influential and popular forms of music in American history. (Source) Roots of Rock and Roll The roots of rock and roll lay in African AmericanBLUES and GOSPEL. As the Great Migration brought many African Americans to the cities of the north, the sounds of RHYTHM AND BLUESattracted suburban teens. Due to segregation and racist attitudes, however, none of the greatest artists of the genre could get much airplay.Disc jockey Alan Freed began a rhythm-and-blues show on a Cleveland radio station. Soon the audience grew and grew, and Freed coined the term “rock and roll.” Early attempts by white artists to cover R&B songs resulted in weaker renditions that bled the heart and soul out of the originals. Record producers saw the market potential and began to search for a white artist who could capture the African American sound.Chuck Berry’s songs about girls and cars hit a nerve with American teens and sent his star rising high in the early days of rock and roll.SAM PHILLIPS, a Memphis record producer, found the answer in Elvis Presley. With a deep Southern sound, pouty lips, and gyrating hips, Elvis took an old style and made it his own.From Memphis, the sound spread to other cities, and demand for Elvis records skyrocketed. Within two years, Elvis was the most popular name in the entertainment business.After the door to rock and roll acceptance was opened, African American performers such as Chuck Berry, FATS DOMINO, and LITTLE RICHARD began to enjoy broad success, as well. White performers such as Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis also found artistic freedom and commercial success. (source) The Controversy of Rock and Roll: Rock and roll is the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression — lewd, sly, in plain fact, dirty — a rancid-smelling aphrodisiac and the martial music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth.– Frank Sinatra (1957) ROCK AND ROLL was everything the suburban 1950s were not. While parents of the decade were listening to FRANK SINATRA,PERRY COMO, and BIG BANDS, their children were moving to a new beat.In fact, to the horror of the older generation, their children were twisting, bumping, and grinding to the sounds of rock and roll.This generation of youth was much larger than any in recent memory, and the prosperity of the era gave them money to spend on records. By the end of the decade, the phenomenon of rock and roll helped define the difference between youth and adulthood. Rock and roll sent shockwaves across America. A generation of young teenagers collectively rebelled against the music their parents loved. In general, the older generation loathed rock and roll. Appalled by the new styles of dance the movement evoked, churches proclaimed it Satan’s music. Because rock and roll originated among the lower classes and a segregated ethnic group, many middle-class whites thought it was tasteless. Rock and roll records were banned from many radio stations and hundreds of schools. But the masses spoke louder. When Elvis appeared on TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show, the show’s ratings soared. The commercial possibilities were limitless. As a generation of young adults finished military service, bought houses in suburbia, and longed for stability and conformity, their children seemed to take comfort for granted. They wanted to release the tensions that bubbled beneath the smooth surface of postwar America. (Source) Follow the Transformation of Rock: Task: Check out Rock Music Timeline Website and Rock and Roll timeline pdf. Complete this webquest with a partner. The Challenge!! In the comments below write a well thought out paragraph from the perspective of a parent. If you were the parent, would you let your child attend a rock concert? What concerns would you have and why? Resources: Rock Music Timeline Rock N’ Roll Timeline Rock and Roll History Rock Hall of Fame Museum
