rock history, rock songs, rock artists
For the general rock music genre, see rock music.For other uses, see rock and roll (disambiguation).Rock and roll is a genre of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to the rest of the world.In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the mid to late 1950s.The massive popularity and eventual worldwide scope of rock and roll gave it an unprecedented social impact.Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and in the new medium of television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language.Origins of the style
2 Origins of the phrase
3 Early Rock and Roll records
3.The immediate origins of rock and roll lie in the late 1940s and early 1950s, through a mixing together of various popular musical genres of the time.However, elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s, and in blues records from the 1920s.Louis Jordan, the Mills Brothers, and The Ink Spots, achieved crossover success, in some cases (such as Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie") with songs written by white songwriters.The Western swing genre in the 1930s, generally played by white musicians, also drew heavily on the blues and in turn directly influenced rockabilly and rock and roll, as can be heard, for example, on Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" (1957).Moon Mullican, whose singing and playing style was steeped in black music, emerged as a honky tonk star after the end of that era and, besides country ballads, he often turned to jump blues like "Rocket to the Moon" and piano blues like "Pipeliner Blues" which bore resemblance to what Jerry Lee Lewis would later record.Freed is credited with first using the phrase "rock and roll" to describe the music.One such record where the phrase was repeated throughout the song was "Rock And Roll Blues," recorded in 1949 by Erline "Rock And Roll" Harris.Before then, the term "rocking and rolling", as secular black slang for dancing or sex, appeared on record for the first time in 1922 on Trixie Smith's "My Man Rocks Me With One Steady Roll".Even earlier, in 1916, the term "rocking and rolling" was used with a religious connotation, on the phonograph record "The Camp Meeting Jubilee" by an unnamed male "quartette".The word "rock" had a long history in the English language as a metaphor for "to shake up, to disturb or to incite".Rocking was a term used by black gospel singers in the American South to mean something akin to spiritual rapture.By the 1940s, however, the term was used as a double entendre, ostensibly referring to dancing, but with the subtextual meaning of sex, as in Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight."Buddy Jones' "Rockin' Rollin' Mama" (1939).Country singer Tommy Scott was referring to the motion of a railroad train in the 1951 "Rockin and Rollin'".This article needs additional citations for verification.One leading contender is "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (in fact, Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm), recorded by Sam Phillips for Sun Records in 1951.Three years later, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" (1954) became the first rock and roll song to top Billboard magazine's main sales and airplay charts, and opened the door worldwide for this new wave of popular culture.His 1939 recording, "Roll 'Em Pete", is close to '50s rock and roll.She scored hits on the pop charts as far back as 1938 with her gospel songs, such as "This Train" and "Rock Me", and in the 1940s with "Strange Things Happenin Every Day", "Up Above My Head", and "Down By The Riverside."His "Pipeliner Blues", first recorded in 1940, swung like Big Joe Turner's "Roll 'Em Pete", and the unreleased 1946 track "Let Me Rock You Baby" went even further.By 1952, he was rocking with such jump blues as "Rocket to the Moon" that were similar in style to "Rock Around the Clock".Other significant records of the 1940s and early 1950s included Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight" and Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" (both 1947); Jimmy Preston's "Rock the Joint" and Fats Domino's "The Fat Man" (both 1949); and Les Paul and Mary Ford's "How High the Moon" (1951).Rock and roll however has a greater emphasis on the backbeat than boogie woogie.Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says "blew the lid off the '50s."However, others before Little Richard were combining these elements, including Esquerita, Cecil Gant, Amos Milburn, Piano Red, and Harry Gibson.Roy Brown did a Little Richard style "yaaaaaaww" long before Richard in "Ain't No Rockin no More."Bo Diddley's 1955 hit "Bo Diddley" backed with "I'm A Man" introduced a new, pounding beat, and unique guitar playing that inspired many artists.Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, came out of the black rhythm and blues tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly".In July 1954, Elvis Presley recorded the regional hit "That's All Right (Mama)" at Sam Phillips' Sun studios in Memphis.His Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock".Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie Blackboard Jungle it really set the rock and roll boom in motion."Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough for both the group and for all of rock and roll music.If everything that came before laid the groundwork, "Clock" set the mold for everything else that came after.Fats Domino and Johnny Otis speeding up the tempos and increasing the backbeat to great popularity on the juke joint circuit.However, savvy artists and producers quickly recognized the potential of rock, and raced to cash in with white versions of this black music.One of the first successful rock and roll covers was Wynonie Harris's transformation of Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight" from a jump blues to a showy rocker.Black performers saw their songs recorded by white performers, an important step in the dissemination of the music, but often at the cost of feeling and authenticity (not to mention revenue).Little Richard once called Pat Boone from the audience and introduced him as "the man who made me a millionaire."The cover versions were not necessarily straightforward imitations.Blues would continue to inspire rock performers for decades.The reverse, black artists making hits with covers of songs by white songwriters, although less common, did occur.While working as a disc jockey at radio station WJW in Cleveland, he also organized the first rock and roll concert, called "The Moondog Coronation Ball" on March 21, 1952.Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were coming to the surface.African Americans were protesting segregation of schools and public facilities.After "The Moondog Coronation Ball", the record industry soon understood that there was a white market for black music that was beyond the stylistic boundaries of rhythm and blues.Even the considerable prejudice and racial barriers could do nothing against market forces.Rock and roll was an overnight success in the U.The social effects of rock and roll were worldwide and massive.Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language.In addition, rock and roll may have helped the cause of the civil rights movement because both African American teens and white American teens enjoyed the music.It also birthed many other rock influenced styles.Progressive, alternative, punk, and heavy metal are just a few of the genres that sprang forth in the wake of Rock and Roll.With the birth of rock and roll, Elvis Presley became one of the greatest teen idols of them all.His success led promoters to the deliberate creation of new "rock and roll" idols, such as Frankie Avalon and Ricky Nelson.In 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper (J.Teen idols of the rock and roll years were followed by many other artists with massive appeal to a teenaged audience, including the Beatles and the Monkees.A, and a list of each idol's "faves" (i.Teen idols also influenced toys, Saturday morning cartoons and other products.At the height of each teen idol's popularity, it was not uncommon to see Beatle wigs, Davy Jones' "love beads", or perhaps even Herman's Hermits lunchboxes for sale.The trad jazz movement brought blues artists to Britain, and in 1955 Lonnie Donegan's version of "Rock Island Line" began skiffle music which inspired many young people to have a go.These developments primed the United Kingdom to respond creatively to American rock and roll, which had an impact across the globe.Britain quickly became a new center of rock and roll.In 1958 three British teenagers became Cliff Richard and the Drifters (later renamed Cliff Richard and the Shadows).Some touring acts attracted particular popularity in Britain, an example being Gene Vincent.Hits such as "Apache" by The Shadows and "Telstar" by The Tornados form a British branch of instrumental music.Rock and Roll: A Social History, by Paul Friedlander, Westview Press, 1996."The Rock Window: A Way of Understanding Rock Music" by Paul Friedlander, in Tracking: Popular Music Studies, Volume I, number 1, Spring, 1988.Rock is Australia's climbing magazine.For the full table of contents for this issue, go
to the Wild and Rock Index.From: Karen Fry, Lonely Planet.Web site to the Supplier Directory.Go to the Rock Diary.The top tracks from classic rock's formative years.Classic rock's second generation, with songs from the late '70s onward.Deeper cuts from classic rock legends.Improvisational, eclectic rock music from today's best jam bands.Spanning the Past, Present, and Future with Adult Album Rock Artists.Hard and heavy classic rock.The latest alternative rock releases, and the best alt rock of the past decade.Alternative rock's pioneering artists and songs.Vintage rock from the big hair '80s.The best Grunge and '90s Alternative Rock Music.The coolest rock 'n' roll records.Channel produced by Little Steven.The heaviest metal on or off the planet, from the ones that created it all the way to the ones that are perfecting it today.It's nothing but vintage and new punk rock music.Escape to Jimmy Buffett's Radio Margaritaville.The place to discover the best in new Canadian indie music first.Canadian music for those who love rock mixed with an eclectic blend of music styles.
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