Overview
Introductory Lessons: How to Study Rock and Roll, Thematic Lesson: Love Songs
In the mid-1950s, Rock and Roll slammed into the consciousness of the American people. Whether you liked it or not, there was no denying that Rock and Roll had arrived. It was the first American musical tradition constructed from the many musical traditions that animated life in the 20th century, including Gospel, Blues, Country, Jazz and R&B. In bringing together these musical bloodlines, Rock and Roll also brought people together, from across regions, across race and class lines, and, finally, across oceans. It was the beginning of a historical turn that would change daily life in the modern world. This first section, The Birth of Rock and Roll, explores the roots of Rock and Roll, its emergence and its entrance into the cultural mainstream of America.
Units
Unit:
The Roots of Rock and Soul
Of the American musical traditions that provided Rock and Roll with its source materials, none is more commonly celebrated than the Blues. Over the course of time, the figures of Bluesmen such as Robert Johnson and Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leadbelly, have taken on an almost mystical...
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Rock and Roll Emerges
The lessons in this chapter focus on four artists commonly associated with the Birth of Rock and Roll: Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry. The absence from the History of Rock and Roll of any one of these musicians would change the character of that...
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The Genesis of Soul Music
If the Blues is arguably the most celebrated "root" music of Rock and Roll, Gospel is perhaps the one that most deserves greater celebration. In some times and in some places, pre-Rock and Roll Gospel sounds as much like Rock and Roll as anything that came before Elvis. To...
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Rock and Soul in Popular Culture
The first few years of the Rock and Roll story, during which such artists as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis exploded onto the scene, were enormously important to the musical revolution that would follow. But that doesn’t mean that Rock and Roll’s takeover would...