The Social and Economic Factors That Influenced the Development of
Hillbilly, Blues, and Rock and Roll
The origin of blues music can be traced back to the South side of America, to lives of
hardship in rural areas. Creators lacked education, property, and political power in a segregated
society, but their songs contained an iron attitude towards their situation. Blues music started
out just orally, with some accompaniment by instruments like the guitar to provide harmony
and rhythm. Blues music is very spontaneous, and thus, writing down a blues song as sheet
music kind of goes against its very nature. W.C. Handy was one that wrote blues songs down,
dressing them up a little to turn them into sheet music, yet, without him, blues might have
never been brought into the commercial mainstream. In 1920 the record industry was changed
forever as they mainly began using the 78-rpm single discs, and in 1925 the electronic
microphone was introduced and sound quality on the discs improved immensely. Previously,
there had been few black dance bands recording records, and those were sold to the same
audience buying white dance bands. That changed when Mamie Smith recorded Crazy Blues for
the Okeh Label, and it was advertised in black newspapers. 70,000 copies sold in the first
month, and this success created more demand for race records. Black record buyers, though far
poorer than their white counterparts, out bought white record buyers by “50 to 1”, showing the
high value placed on these records. It would go on to affect nearly every kind of music
produced afterward.
Once Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues was found to be successful, the hunt was on for more
blues music anywhere it could be found. Thus, Ralph Peer enters the picture when he’s hired to
hunt for blues musicians by setting up temporary studios throughout the south. While
recording blues musicians, Peer was persuaded to record an old white man named “Fiddlin
John” Carson. Peer thought his singing was awful and didn’t see any commercial value in the
recording, but an Atlanta Record Distributer told him to make 500 copies for sale. He did, and
the copies were sold out within days, they made more and went on to sell several thousand.
This new music, in contrast to blues, was created by and marketed for rural white southerners.
Ralph Peer mockingly called the music: Hillbilly Records, and this label stuck. Hillbilly music
found its strength in it’s variety in the beginning. At this time, the main way to spread music
around was by sheet music, though ineffective due to musical illiteracy and not many people
owning instruments; medicine shows, in which a salesman would get people to come to his
advertisement by offering free entertainment; and tent-repertory shows, where groups would
come to an area to perform for a few days before leaving again. This all changed with the
invention of the radio, which allowed people to buy an inexpensive means to listen to music
played by radio stations. In the summer of 1927, Peer toured Georgia and Tennessee looking
for more talent for Race Records and Hillbilly records when he set up another temporary studio
in Bristol. Here, the legendary Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers both came to record for him.
The popularity of their records redefined the small specialty market of country music into a
major segment of the American music industry.
After world war II, music in the market was increasingly being influenced by teenagers,
and this is evident in the success of rock and roll. In 1951, Disc Jockey Alan Freed learned that
young white people were buying records that were previously thought to be “Negro music”. He
then created The Moondog Show, a program centered on rhythm and blues records and
broadcast across the Midwest. It was an immediate success, and Freed soon became nationally
famous for introducing white teenagers to rhythm and blues, and for labeling the music Rock
and Roll, an African American slang term used to describe intercourse. Many song titles were
then named with discreet sexual references in them, which teens loved to decode. One of the
most appealing parts of rock and roll to teenagers, was it was an easy way to offend their
parents. Perhaps one of the most famous and influential entertainers for rock and roll is Elvis
Presley. Early on in childhood, he loved every kind of music, and sought it out in every form.
This love pushed him into an obsession to become a singer. He started off his career by going to
Sun Records to be recorded, where he sang to his own guitar accompaniment. His career was
put on hold for a year after that, until Scotty Moore came looking for a singer to record with,
and Sam Phillips, from the recording company, suggested Presley. After their first recording
session, Phillips had seen potential in Elvis as a white performer that could perform in a similar
manner to black performers. He released a string of covers, recordings of black songs
rerecorded by a white artist, and the covers always sold more than the original recording.
Presley rose to fame rather quickly after this, he began touring with a troupe headlined by Hank
Snow, he appeared on radio shows The Grande Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride, and his
onstage performances encouraged him to shed his early shyness. He then left Sun Records to
record for a major label, RCA Victor, and under a new manager. He also appeared on national
television a lot, and the records, radio, television, and press coverage had made him a national
star. One crazy phenomenon was records crossing over charts, for instance one record being on
top in the pop charts and appearing in the rhythm and blues chart. A big piece of evidence that
rock and roll was interracial, was Elvis’s Heartbreak Hotel topping both the pop and country
charts while also rising to number 5 on the rhythm and blues chart. What made this such a big
deal is that at this point, black Americans were working on fighting for their rights and for
equality. And although white teens bought the music more for the love of the music rather than
to fight for racial equality, it showed that white teenagers could support something that used to
be considered “Negro music”.