“ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959
Key Terms and Definitions
a cappella:
Vocal singing without instrumental accompaniment.
A&R (artists and repertoire):
The department of a record company whose
responsibility is to discover and cultivate new musical
talent, and find material for artists to perform.
blue notes:
“Bent” or “flattened” tones lying outside traditional
European-based scale structures; tones that reflect
particular African American melodic characteristics.
boogie-woogie:
Blues piano tradition that sprang up during the early
twentieth century in the “southwest territory” states of
Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In boogiewoogie performances, the pianist typically plays a
repeated pattern with his left hand, down in the low range
of the piano, while improvising polyrhythmic patterns
with his right hand.
cover version:
A version of a previously recorded performance; often an
adaptation of the original’s style and sensibility, and
usually aimed at cashing in on its success.
electric guitar:
An electrically amplified guitar.
reverb:
Short for “reverberation”—a prolongation of sound by
virtue of an ambient acoustical space created by
reflective surfaces. Reverb can occur naturally or be
simulated either electronically or by digital sound
“ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959
processors.
payola:
Illegal practice, common throughout the music industry,
of paying bribes to radio disc jockeys to get certain
artists’ records played more frequently.
producer:
Behind-the-scenes role at a record company. Can be
responsible for booking time in the recording studio,
hiring backup singers and instrumentalists, assisting with
the engineering process, and imprinting the characteristic
sound of the finished record.
R&B (rhythm and blues):
African American musical genre that emerged after
World War II. Consisted of a loose cluster of styles
derived from black musical traditions, characterized by
energetic and hard-swinging rhythms. At first performed
exclusively by black musicians for black audiences, R&B
came to replace the older category of “race records.”
rock ’n’ roll:
Introduced as a commercial and marketing term in the
mid-1950s for the purpose of identifying a new target
audience for musical products. Encompassed a variety of
styles and artists from R&B, country, and pop music.
rockabilly:
Vigorous form of country and western music informed by
the rhythms of black R&B and electric blues.
Exemplified by artists such as Carl Perkins and the young
Elvis Presley.
“ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”: ROCK ’N’ ROLL, 1954–1959
scat singing:
Technique that involves the use of nonsense syllables as
a vehicle for wordless vocal improvisation.
solid-body electric guitar:
Electrically amplified guitar developed after World War
II and first used in R&B, blues, and country bands.
strophic:
Song form that employs the same music for each poetic
unit in the lyrics.