Early Rock and Roll
The year is 1960. You walk into the crowded concert, and take your seat as the sound of guitar riffs fill your ears. The crowd cheers, as the singer struts onstage with his guitar and starts to wave a tale with music as he sings along to his strumming guitar. This is early rock n’ roll. In this paper I will first tell you about the history of early rock and roll. Then I will tell you about the famous composers of this music style and the way it has impacted our society, in the past and present.
Rock and roll is nicknamed American music. This style of music arrived in the hearts of composers in the mid 1950’s. It is speculated that the first early rock and roll song was Jimmy Preston’s “Rock this joint”. Rock and roll was combined with many styles of music to make it what we hear of today, and some of those styles are boogie woogie, the rhythms of R&B, country, gospel and blues. It mostly just evolved from the 1950’s early rhythm and blues. The words “rock and roll” and concept of rock and roll was first used by Alan Freed, a Cleveland DJ, who used it when playing the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". This music
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In the 1960’s, rock and roll became an active voice of America’s anti war movement. Rock and roll changed dancing, and instead of only fancy dances, where you had to look and act your best, this music offered a fun way to dance and have fun with your friends. The twist was one of the most popular dances, and it was one that most everyone used. Also, the crazy rock and roll artists had crazy clothes that affected the way people dressed in some cases. Although, some songs impacted societies in the wrong way, especially the songs that encouraged sex, violence, drugs, and drinking. But, not all songs were like that, and instead offered new hopes in times of danger, including WWII. Those are some ways how early rock and roll has affected our
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n ' roll) is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States. The music we know as rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in the mid 1950s, even though a form of it had been on the horizon for at least a decade or so. A quarter of the American population moved during World War II, and that is what brought southern, rural, sacred and secular traditions into contact with urban-based music and its audiences. Rock and roll drew on many different styles. It derived most directly from the rhythm and blues music of the 1940s, which it developed from earlier blues, boogie-woogie, jazz and swing music. It was also influenced by gospel, country, western, and traditional folk music. With the combinations of all of these genres of music, that help to create this new style of music excited a worldwide generation of young listeners. Even though it had the attention of young listeners it started to upset the already established social, cultural and musical authorities. With this new music style coming into full affect along with new dances and people having voicing out their own opinion caused a lot of turmoil. Many people began to question this new genre of music and labeled it as the devil music while other loved it and couldn’t help but dance
Rock and Roll was the start of a new revolution in America. It introduced the world to many of the famous artists that continue to be a part of our lives today. "Artists who became popular in the 1950s such as Elvis, began to pave the way for others such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly" (The History of Rock 'n' Roll until 1960). With the introduction of rock 'n' roll, there came many new changes to the lives of many Americans. Rock and Roll was a major contributor for the change in teens' behavior in the 1950s because it encouraged new freedoms for teenagers, encouraged new fads among teenagers, and caused a generation gap.
During the 1960s Music was heavily influenced by the political and social events happening at the time. At this time civil rights movements were common as many people were trying to spread the emancipation of racism and segregation. As a result the music of the time tended to reflect this counterculture of peace. This “culture” encompassed civil rights, anti-establishment and, inciting revolution. This was a vital time in history for civil rights activists as well as anti-war revolutionaries and the music industry. From folk music to rock music, everyone was affected by the war and chose to express it through the most international form of art, music. Anti-war activists and counterculture enthusiast craved the music that truly expressed
Rock ‘N’ Roll’s birth came after the Great Depression and World War II. It was in the 50’s called the baby boomers that started it all. It expanded the teenage population with 3.4 million babies born. The 1950’s scrap the ideology of a conservative family, where the father is the bread winner and the mother was a stay home mother. The young adults found an escape and enjoyment in Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Music has always affected the society in which the notes are played. Times of class contained dignified pieces pleasing to the ear while times of upheaval produced performers with a bit of an edge. The arrival of rock and roll in the 1950s, at a time often deemed as a decade of concerns, does not fit the long thought pattern. This class will delve into the arrival of rock and roll and the decade that did not know what to do with the new sound.
Rock N Roll played the most important role in the communities creation, without it the community wouldn’t exist. Rock N Roll is a combination of R&B, Rhythm and Blues, and other forms of guitar, piano, saxophone, and drums. Rockabilly was born as one of the earlier styles of rock and roll music. Its place in Memphis music history was created from a combination of country, blues, jazz, and rock and roll (“Memphis Music History”). The first Rock N Roll song produced was “Rocket 88” By Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats on March 5, 1951 at Sun Records Studio In Memphis Tennessee.
Rock ‘n’ roll has played a major role in some known historical developments post World War 2. Music plays a significant part in America 's Cold War culture. Music gave us a sense of new technologies and helped the world to prosper. It also is linked with African Americans living in the South. Music was known for shaping the lives of the people during the 1950s and 1960s. Music was geared towards the youth, race, ethnicity, gender and class. “All Shook Up: How Rock ‘n’ Roll Changed America” by Altschuler, Glenn C, tells us the story of the birth of rock and roll during the concrete years of 1955 to 1965. Altschuler gives us a overview of how rock ‘n’ roll has an historical context. “ For two years the Times printed dozens of
#2 compare and contrast the nature, role, and impact of rock n roll with that of beat poetry and the avant-garde. how were these artistic expressions similar, and in what ways did they significantly diverge?
Rock ‘n’ roll, an era in which started the expansion of music to what we now know today. Music is such an important part of the world that we live in. Music is everywhere, on TV and radio, in the stores in our car. We use music within our educational systems and also used for therapies dealing with disorders. But where did Rock and Roll come from and what is the story of how it began?
Rock ‘n’ roll music has widely influenced music and society and continues to do so today. Rock ‘n’ roll emerged in the 1950’s a time where whites and blacks were heavily segregated. Rock and roll music not only changed the nation’s current musical norms, but indicated the joy of the emerging youth culture of the generation. It influenced artists whether black or white to come into the mainstream music. Famous artists still remembered today also influenced rock and roll. Those pioneers helped change the musical norms and the overall history of music. White rock ‘n’ rollers helped build a ladder for black artists to come into the scene. It was certain that rock ‘n’ roll made it possible for greater acceptance, appreciation and a wider
Rock ‘n’ roll and 20th Century Culture According to Philip Ennis, rock ‘n’ roll emerged from the convergence of social transformations which resulted from World War II (Ryan 927). Despite its pop culture origins, rock music is arguably one of the strongest cultural factors to develop in this century. Artists such as Lennon, McCartney and Dylan defined the emotions of a generation and, in the last decade, it as even been acknowledged by members of the establishment which it hoped to change as a major influence in the country. In order to understand how rock went from a sign of rebellion to a cultural icon, it is necessary to understand where it came from. According to Albert
Folk rock in the sixties inherited the tradition of country and western. In the 1960s, the main representatives of folk rock were Joan Baez, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and so on. However, the most important folk rock singer is Bob Dylan, who was the first and the most important folk rock music creator. Known as the “protest song singer”, for the entire 1960s, Bob Dylan 's music strongly affected young people that were in the wandering and confusion. It was like a banner, a totem, and a pioneer, helped the the youth from the 1960s generation of found the sustenance of their ideals.
Many artists created a new form of music through the influence of the black artists. The first signs of this influence appeared in the music of Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. It carried on to artists like Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and various other musicians.4 A new form of music emerged, rock and roll. This new style of music was fueled by emotion. One of the first stages in the development of rock and roll was sacrificing musical complexity for the sake of capturing an audience. The jazz and blues songs that were popular before rock and roll emerged, consisted of several chords and elaborate rhythms, while rock and roll songs are comprised of only three or four chords and very simple rhythms.5 More direct expressions of emotions were used, and lyrics of personal and political significance were brought into the mix. The relationship between artists and their audiences changed. Fans related to the musicians’ opinions rather than simply the style of the music. As a result of the bold lyrics, a general respect for musicians
By changing stigma it allowed many more younger teens who felt oppressed to voice their opinions through fashion which could simply being done by wear a leather jacket and growing out their hair. Rock changed fashion which then changed the younger generation forever by allowing more creativity and more voices to be
Rock music originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and spread out all over the world in a short term. At that time, some African-American musicians played Blues music, they used the techniques of playing Church music and local folk music to play Blues, and created Rock music. In fact, the word “Rock and Roll” was created from Alan Freed, and the immediate origin was