The Evolution of Rock and Roll Music

1240 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: how has technology affected music in society

Rock and Roll has the most incredible history. Before there was rock and roll, there was blues. Most people think rock music started with Elvis Presley, but he didn’t record his first single until 1953. The first recorded song described as “Genuine Rock-and-Roll” was “Rocket ’88” by pianist Ike Turner and singer Jackie Brenston in 1951. Rock-and-Roll music in the 1950’s was described as a mixture of jazz, blues, country, and has a stronger guitar, bass, and drums. (A&E Biography Channel UK “SAM PHILLIPS The man who Invented Rock & Roll”. 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013) Over time what was first described as “Rock and Roll” has changed drastically, and will continue to change over time. Even though some people feel Pop has the best history, Rock and Roll really does. It has actually impacted more people’s lives than any other genre, it unites people from all over the world in a positive way, and influenced media culture by breaking down walls no one else had.

In the year 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, Sam Phillips opened Sun Recording Company. Their slogan was “We Record Anything, Anywhere, Anytime." They were the first recording studio to record African American musicians. African American musicians played black jazz and blues that inspired Ike Turner to write and record “Rocket ’88.” (A&E Biography Channel UK “SAM PHILLIPS The man who Invented Rock & Roll”. 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013)

Now everybody knows Elvis Presley as the King of Rock-and-Roll. In 1953 Elvis Presley walked into Sun Recording Company and recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" on a two sided record. But, Elvis went unnoticed until 1954 when he recorded “That’s alright (Mama)” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” (A&E Biograph...

... middle of paper ...

...er. World's First Rock-and-Roll Song Identified. 19 Nov. 2010. Discovery News. 5

Dec. 2013. http://news.discovery.com/human/worlds-first-rock-and-roll-song-identified.htm

Wenner, Jann. Jann S. Wenner (Creator of Rolling Stones Magazine) Biography. Rock & Roll

Hall of Fame. 5 Dec. 2013. http://rockhall.com/inductees/jann-s-wenner/bio/

Woog, Adam. The History of Rock and Roll. California: Lucent Books, 1999.

Editors of Life-Time Books. Rock & Roll Generation. Virginia: Life-Time Books, 1998.

A NewsStand: CNN & Entertainment Weekly report. MTV changed the music

industry on August 1, 1981. 31 July 1998. CNN. 9 Dec. 2013 http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9807/31/encore.mtv/

Memphis Vic (Originally A&E Biography Channel UK Documentary). “SAM PHILLIPS The

Man who Invented Rock & Roll (PART 1)”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 1 Feb. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013

Show More
Related

  • The Influence Of African-American Rock N Roll

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ roll was a controversial yet fashionable genre of popular music that emerged in the early 1950s (America in the World, 1776 to the Present : A Supplement to the Dictionary of American History: Mâ€'Z, Index. 2016, p896-899.). Its origin is also started from the revolution of bourgeois. The younger generation had gone through the Second World War, though, the older generation had treated kids. Two generations that had each world war had divided. A lot of the pain and anger felt by the younger generation made them to resist against the social establishment. As a result, the war had created a gulf between generations but further reduced the gap between blacks and whites. The youth of the 1950s felt unconnected to their society and began looking at the world more globally, and also began looking for new role models who reflected their ideas and beliefs. They knew that ideas of old generation would no longer work in a modern society. Thus several young leaders stood out and took center stage that setting the pace for the direction of society and its music form that point on. At this time, technical innovations had emerged such as electric guitar and electric bass. This is the impetus of creation of music including rock ‘n’

    Read More

  • Elvis Presley Influences

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the age of nineteen years old Presley began his music performing at the “Hillbilly Cat.” After being discovered Presley signed with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee in 1954. Then his contract was sold in 1955 to RCA Victor. His musical influences were a mix of multiple genres. He was influenced by gospel threw church; black R&B threw Beale Street in Memphis. He combined all the genres to create the early rock n roll that would arouse many people around the world.

    Read More

  • Chuck Berry: The Rise Of The King Of Rock & Roll

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is without a doubt that the 1950s saw the rise of the King of Rock 'n' Roll, known as Chuck Berry. His musical take on rhythm and blues was a large influence on many successful artists that rose the following decade, but most notably The Rolling Stones. This paper examines the earlier musical career of Chuck Berry and how The Rolling Stones modeled themselves upon him and then expanded themselves further.

    Read More

  • All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...

    Read More

  • Rock and Roll in the Early Fifties

    1698 Words  | 4 Pages

    This book provides a very detailed outline on how and where rock and roll originated. It places much emphasis on the transition from Black to White rock artists and how society reacted to this change. Szatmary also presents sufficient information on the many aspects of rock and roll, ranging from what the lyrics are about, to the beginnings of rock and roll and new age rock.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Rock 'n' Roll on the Civil Rights Movement

    1581 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rock 'n' roll came from a type of music called rhythm and blues (R&B), which consisted of doo-wop and gospel music. It was popular mostly in the south during the 40’s but it soon grew to urban cities. It was Les Paul’s invention of the electric guitar in 1952 that added a new sound and made rhythm and blues into the rock 'n' roll we all know and love today. Most of the artists from R&B were African American, and in their song they would reference sexual matters. So together it gave a bad connotation towards the music and their race, therefore both were never fully accepted in the north. The term “rock” was slang mostly used by African Americans meaning a form of music that was easily danced to. Meanwhile “roll” was usually a euphemism for sex, such as “a roll in the hay”. It was Alan Freed who first popularized the term “rock and roll” for this gen...

    Read More

  • History of Rock and Roll

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    1 Gass, Bryan "A History of Rock Music: The Rock and Roll Era" World Book. Ed. 6. 1994.

    Read More

  • Music Gives Me the Blues

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    Newfield, Jack. “Who Really Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll?” New York Sun. New York Sun, 21 Sep. 2004. Web. 28 Nov. 2010

    Read More

  • How Rock and Roll Changed America

    1919 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The History of Rock and Roll Until 1960." The History of Rock and Roll Until 1960. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • The History Of Rock And Roll

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that the history of rock and roll demonstrates a link between culture and social class race, and age; by the way a genre brings all the people in these different categories into one big group. When rock and roll began to emerge people from different cultures and social classes started to come together as a group by the way they dressed. It was not only the music but also the fashion it brought along with it. People from this era changed the way they dressed, styled their hair and their means of transportation. This brought together people from different cultures and social class, race and age all together.

    Read More

  • History of rock and roll music outline

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    II.     Second I will tell you with more detail the numerous events of the 60’s that shaped the way the music industry was ran and the way rock music sounded.

    Read More

  • Revolution of music in the 1960s

    1658 Words  | 4 Pages

    Music has continued to change throughout each decade, but the 1960s was the most influential decade in the history of music. Starting in the early 1950s, rock music was first introduced. Major record labels were releasing new “cover songs” which were originally made by black artist, but now by white artist (Rock and Roll). These cover songs changed a few lyrics from the original songs to avoid copyright issues and to also make the song more appropriate for the white listeners. The biggest star of the 1950s was Elvis Presley, who was known as the “King of rock n’ roll”.

    Read More

  • Cultural Impact Of Rock And Roll

    2071 Words  | 5 Pages

    While going through our history of rock and roll course, one thing has become apparent, and that is that music brings people together. Sometimes it takes music to get a point across, and our world has endured a lot of social and a cultural change, which is how we music today. Just like our world is evolving, music is the same way. When a baby is born until the day it dies, it has evolved internally and externally and that is the same way I view the history of rock “n” roll. For instance, the great wars and the civil rights movement help influence to history of rock and roll. It gave people a purpose to listen to music and let artist express themselves through their songs. I’m not saying by any means that all the struggles we as a nation have

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Rock And Roll Today And 1950's

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    The rise of rock and roll into the limelight is to a large extent attributed to the teenagers of the 1950’s. Early rock music listened to by teenagers during the 1950’s was formed by blending together Rhythm and blues with country music. This kind of ...

    Read More

  • Rhythm and Blues- R&B

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Rhythm and blues is a combination of soulful singing and a strong backbeat” (Cahoon, 2004). Rhythm and blues was created by and for African Americans between the ends of World War II. By 1946 the style of swing music started to fade away where early R&B artists started breaking away from using big bands and emphasizing using blues-style vocals and song structures. “Billboard magazine coined the term rhythm and blues to rename its’, “race records,” chart in 1949, reflecting changes in the social status, economic power, and musical tastes of African Americans” (Cahoon, 2004). Rhythm and blues was like a stepping stone for the popularity of Rock and Roll. There were several focal points for rhythm and blues music, but the main focal point for early R&B originated in Atlanta, Georgia. The first radio station to play rhythm and blues was in 1949. Even though the R&B late night show on WGST was a big hit in the African American community, it featured a white disc jockey named Zenas “Daddy” Sears. (Cahoon, 2004)

    Read More

More about The Evolution of Rock and Roll Music

Open Document