Overview
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.
Chapters
chapter:
Why Rock and Roll?
This first chapter focuses on some general themes that will recur in this study of Rock and Roll’s history, while also introducing a range of teaching tools and media resources that will help educators explore those themes. Here we get into the practical issues surrounding the study of Rock...
chapter:
Country Blues
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...
chapter:
The Blues Goes Electric
The Great Migration is at the heart of this chapter. The lessons that will be introduced in the second phase of the RRAS project will explore the experiences of the southern African Americans who made their way north to settle in cities like Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Chicago, and others....
chapter:
The Forties Transition
Before Rock and Roll, there were a host of artists and recordings, in a few different genres, that shared the spirit and feel of Rock and Roll. Big Mama Thornton's guitar-driven Gospel, Hank Williams' lean, story-driven Country, Howlin' Wolf's rough Blues: all have strong ties to the music that...
chapter:
Elvis
Among the many artists who are at the center of the Rock and Roll story, only the Beatles share Elvis's stature. Elvis Presley was the young man who helped turn Rock and Roll's quiet beginnings into something that shook mainstream America's foundation stones. Not that he meant to. Rock...
chapter:
Doo Wop
Doo Wop, a name that not all of the music's devotees embrace, was music made by vocal groups. In the age of early Rock and Roll, the vocal groups connected with Doo Wop were turning out some of Rock and Roll's most enduring and successful music. In cities like...
chapter:
The Pioneers
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...
chapter:
Gospel Music: The Birth of Soul
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...
chapter:
The DJs
It would be hard to tell the story of Rock and Roll without also telling that of Pop radio and its personalities. From Rock and Roll pioneers like Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry to the U.K. artists, such as the Beatles and the Kinks, who heard American music and reinterpreted it...
chapter:
Rock and Roll Becomes Pop
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 be either...