Rock and roll

:For other uses of "Rock and roll", see Rock and roll (disambiguation).

Precursors and origins

Main article: Origins of rock and roll

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Rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in America in the 1950s, though elements of rock and roll can be heard in rhythm and blues records as far back as the 1920s. Early rock and roll combined elements of blues, boogie woogie, jazz and rhythm and blues, and is also influenced by traditional Appalachian folk music, gospel and country and western. Going back even further, rock and roll can trace a foundational lineage to the old Five Points district of mid-19th century New York City, the scene of the first fusion of heavily rhythmic African shuffles and sand dances with melody driven European genres, particularly the Irish jig.

Related Topics:
America - 1950s - Rhythm and blues - 1920s - Blues - Boogie woogie - Jazz - Appalachian folk music - Gospel - Country and western - Five Points - 19th century - New York City - Jig

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Rocking was a term first used by 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 hidden subtextual meaning of sex; an example of this is Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight". This type of song was usually relegated to "race music" (the music industry code name for rhythm and blues) outlets and was rarely heard by mainstream white audiences. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed would begin playing this type of music for his white audience, and it is Freed who is credited with coining the phrase "rock and roll" to describe the rollicking R&B music that he brought to the airwaves.

Related Topics:
Rapture - Roy Brown - Race music - 1951 - Cleveland, Ohio - Disc jockey - Alan Freed

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There is much debate as to what should be considered the first rock and roll record. Candidates include the 1951 "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, or later and more widely-known hits like Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" "Johnny B. Goode" or Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" or Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" or, as RollingStone magazine pointed out, to some controversy, in 2005, "That`s all right", Elvis Presley`s first single for SUN records, in Memphis. Some historians go further back, pointing to musicians like Fats Domino, who were recording in the 40s in styles largely indistinguishable from rock and roll; these include Louis Jordan's "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?", Jack Guthrie's "The Oakie Bookie" (1947) and Benny Carter and Paul Vandervoort II's "Rock Me to Sleep" (1950).

Related Topics:
First rock and roll record - 1951 - Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats - Chuck Berry - Maybellene - Johnny B. Goode - Bo Diddley - Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around the Clock - Fats Domino - Louis Jordan - Jack Guthrie - 1947 - Benny Carter - Paul Vandervoort II - 1950

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Main artists starting to score in the main hit charts from 1955 onward included the influencial and pioneering: Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis.

Related Topics:
Bill Haley - Elvis Presley - Fats Domino - Little Richard - Chuck Berry - Jerry Lee Lewis

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