Rock and
roll like all genres has almost as many definitions as it has fans. Rock and
Roll generally refers to rock music recorded around the 1950s including mostly
southern artists like Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Rock generally is used to
refer to any popular rock music recorded since the early 60's.The word rocking
was first used by gospel singers in the South as a slang term for spiritual
rapture. A double 
meaning became
evident in 1 414s186e 947 blues artist Roy Brown's song Good Rocking Tonight which
he claimed was about dancing was in fact a synonym for sex. Rock music much
like blues was limited to jukeboxes and racially mixed clubs and apparently
censors were fooled allowing the song to later be played on the radio to huge
success.
Many
other blues artists followed suit including Wild Bill Moore who recorded a song
called rock and roll in 1949. Since rock and roll albums were only sold in
racially mixed music stores very few white audiences had heard of them. In 1951
disc jockey Alan Freed of
Rock and
Roll usually combines a vocalist, an acoustic drum kit
played with a strong beat, usually a back beat and features electric guitars,
acoustic guitars or saxophone. Blues records of the 20s were the
inspiration for
much of the early rock and roll sound. Early artists combined jump blues,
boogie woogie, r&b, jazz, and gospel music to form a new genre that would
become a driving force in music for the next 50 years and beyond.
According
to music historian Peter Guralnick the first rock and roll artist was by Jackie
Brenston and his Delta Cats who recorded Rocket 88 for the Sun Records label in
1951. The first to achieve commercial success with white audiences were Chuck
Berry's with Maybellene and Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and the Comets.
Fats Domino recorded blues songs in 1949 that to most are indistinguishable
from rock and roll combining the same influences that
will be later cited as the ones that gave birth to rock and roll. Racial
tensions in the 
other
mistreatment. The "separate but equal" rule of law was overturned in
1954 allowing for free coexistence of all races and laying the foundation for a
genre of music which would combine white and black musical genres into one of
the most controversial music styles ever. A style which had
parents in the 50' cringing in fear, rock and roll.
Despite
the efforts of Alan Freed and early rock and roll bands what had been labeled
as "black music" by critics was still to controversial drawing
protests from some very conservative or racially biased whites. From the
beginning the
style was
attacked as being too overtly sexual which only seemed to fuel the interest in
the style.
White performers began to be hired to record and play the songs often doing a poor job. Still the music began to take hold with fans as white owned stations began to play the music. Artist Pat Boone recorded versions of Little Richard songs while Ricky Nelson recorded Fats Domino tunes. As the songs became popular producers would re-release the original recording often without paying the original artist a dime. On March 21, 1952 in Cleveland Ohio Alan Freed orchestrated the first rock and roll concert. The audience and the performers were racially mixed and after one song thousands of fans broke into the sold out venue causing the show to be shut down but the die was cast for rock to become the driving force in music.
In 1954 Elvis Presley would come into Sun Records with a request to record a record for his mother. Stunned by his sheer raw talent owner Sam Phillips asked Elvis to record with professional musicians. Elvis' first record released for Phillips' Sun Records was called That's All Right Mama. It became a huge hit and propelled Elvis into history as the first true rock and roll star. Rock and roll inspired more genres than any other style of music to date. To learn more about the movement click here to go back to the main page and discover the many faces of rock.
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