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NAME:
PERIOD:
Rock n’ Roll
“When the defiant beat of Rock n’ Roll burst onto the American Scene in the mid-1950s, few
people remained impartial about its sound or impact.”
BRAINSTORM – What are characteristics of Rock n’ Roll?
WHAT IS ROCK N’ ROLL?
Rock n’ Roll grew out of
but is a combination of many styles of music.
It often has a driving beat and
can
.
It is musical
. It has
- People are more likely to like things they
. It often includes:
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
During the
, many white Americans enjoyed listening to African-American
.
They often
to that music if it was performed by the original black musicians but found it
acceptable when it was performed by
.
SAM PHILLIPS
Sam Phillips was a
who started the Memphis Recording Service in 1950.
Memphis Recording Service later became
.
From 1950-1954 he recorded black R&B artists that included
“Little Junior” Parker, Rufus “Hound Dog” Thomas.
, Little Milton, Herman
Sam Phillips was concerned his black artists would not be able to break through into the
.
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He began searching for a white artist “who could play and sing in this same
A few black
singers were able to break through this
.”
but most were unsuccessful
Rock and Roll had to fight
.“
” is a folk song popularized by an African-American
blues singer. It did not become famous until it was covered the white group,
. It has since
been covered by ABBA, Van Morrison, and
.
ROCK N’ ROLL
Using your iPad, can you find who coined the term “Rock n’ Roll”?
ALAN FREED
In
, Alan Freed began playing this type of music for a multi-racial
audience.
He is credited with creating the phrase “
Music
” to describe this “
” R&B
ELVIS PRESLEY
Elvis received his first guitar at
.
. His early influences included
In 1947 his family moved to
R&B. In 1950 he began hearing
at Sun Studios.
and he began listening to blues and
. In 1953 he paid $4 to record
During a break in a 1954 recording session Elvis began singing a blues
song, “
.” It was released 2 weeks later with and caused a sensation.
Two months later he released “
entertainer in the mid-south.
” and in less than a year he became the most popular
In 1955 Colonel Tom Parker arranged for RCA to buy out Elvis’ contract for $
Many adults believed Rock n’ Roll would be destructive to the
.
.
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In 1956, Elvis appeared on the famous
. While they loved his music, they thought his
dancing was immoral so they only showed him from the
.
LITTLE RICHARD
Little Richard was born
.
Producer Bumps Blackwell was looking for a “
” for Specialty Records. On
September 13, 1955 Richard recorded “
.” They wanted Richard to be
popular so he was forced to change many of lyrics to meet the
.
Little Richard’s vocal style influenced
,
, and many more.
In October 1957 he left show business to enroll at a
as popular.
. He returned in 1959 but was never
In 1962, he toured the UK supported by
who were big fans.
and
CHUCK BERRY
Chuck Berry was born in St. Louis. His influences included
Walker, and
.
, T. Bone
In 1955 Waters discovered him at a
in Chicago and introduced him
to Leonard and Cliff Chess of Chess Records.
In September ’55 he recorded “
,” (a remake of the country hit, “Ida
Red”) which reached
on the pop charts and
on the R&B charts.
Some of his hits include “
Sixteen.”
,” “School Days,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and “Sweet Little
Chuck Berry influenced numerous guitarists including
and
He had legal troubles in 1960 and would never regain his popularity.
.
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BUDDY HOLLY
Buddy Holly was born
.
Buddy Holly was working with Bob Montgomery to bring elements of
They were influenced by
to give their music a “harder rhythm and
blues edge.”
.
In October 1955,
wanted only Holly for a record deal. He recorded
“Love Me” and “Modern Don Juan,” which were modest hits. He called it quits with Decca in
1956.
Holly rerecorded “That’ll Be the Day” which reached
He was the first white performer to use the
on the R&B charts.
on a popular recording.
In 1958 he toured England, where he had an influence on
.
“THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED” – FEBRUARY 3, 1959
Holly participated in a 2-week tour of the northern Midwest. The tour featured Dion and the
Belmonts, Frankie Sardo,
, and
.
After a performance in Iowa, Holly chartered a plane to
. The plane crashed shortly after
takeoff killing the pilot, Holly, Richardson, and Valens. The three singers are immortalized in
Don McClean’s 1971 anthem, “
.”
BRITISH BANDS DISCOVER ROCK N’ ROLL IN THE EARLY 60S
In 1961, Brian Epstein discovered The Beatles. They were doing
and roll standards.
Early influences were
,
, and
of 1950s American rock
.
The “Liverpool sound” is “…the same as the rock from five years ago.”
In 1962 drummer Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best. Around the same time, the band began to do
original songs by
.
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BEATLEMANIA
In January 1963 “I Want to Hold Your Hand” reaches
charts.
In February 1963 The Beatles debuted on
on the pop
.
The Beatles quickly became popular in America. The sensation was called
The influenced Bob Dylan,
, Frank Zappa, and
.
THE WHO
The Who were led by
Pete Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey.
They were known for wild antics in their live performances such as
.
In 1969 they released “Tommy,” the first commercially successful
Their song, “Who are You?” is the theme song for
.
THE ROLLING STONES
Most successful of the hard rock,
British bands.
They were known for pushing the envelope of what was acceptable
in lyrics.
(1968) was a deliberate attempt to offend their critics.
FIGHTING THE BRITISH INVASION
Many American musicians wanted to respond to the “
”
,
,and Frank Zappa created new personal styles that would have an enormous
impact throughout the rest of the 60s.
BOB DYLAN
.
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He was born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941- ). He took name from
Thomas.
He arrived in New York in 1961, determined to become a
Dylan
.
His debut album that year contained folk standards “In My Time of Dying,” “Man of
Constant Sorrow,” and “
.”
Bringing It All Back Home (1965) was recorded with rock and roll and
musicians playing electric instruments.
Folk purists were offended, but the album was his first to sell a
.
THE BEACH BOYS
The Beach Boys were formed in 1961 by
and his cousin Mike
Love. The band also included younger brothers, Dennis and Carl
Wilson, and Al Jardine.
The were known for their
drag-racing and
.
Early hits: “
“
.”
. Many of their songs were about
,
,” “Little Deuce Coup,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” and
The Beach Boys did not want to be outdone by
. Competition with The Beatles inspired
Wilson to produce
in 1966 which would raise the standard of the quality of artists’
recordings. Songs included: “
” and “Sloop John B.” This album influenced Lennon and
McCartney to write “
.”
ERIC CLAPTON
Eric Clapton began his career as a
for the Roosters and Casey Jones
and the Engineers. He abandoned performing to study guitar techniques of
blues masters
, Skip James, and
. H was determined to transfer
King’s style into
.
In 1966 Clapton formed
with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Cream
combined “aggressive covers of blues standards” like “
” and “I’m So
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Glad” with their own “off-beat, drug-inspired tunes.”
In concert Cream was “thunderously loud” and would expand “3 minute songs into 20-30
minute
.”
THE LATE 60S AND EARLY 70S
Young people who earlier believed that rock and roll music could be used to fight racism and
injustice, to stop war, and to change the status quo, became less confident and more
introspective.
“Intensely personal”
began to replace the “hard, aggressive protest songs.”
In early 1970 folk music regained popularity – This played a strong role in the
.
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS
While the majority of Americans were listening to folk and soft rock artists like James Taylor,
Carole King and Neil Young, musicians playing “
,” “
,” “art rock,” and “glam rock”
were becoming popular to fans who missed the “energy, spectacle and sheer volume of late
1960s rock and roll.”
LED ZEPPELIN
Led Zeppelin was fronted by “squealing tenor” Robert Plant and
guitarist
. They borrowed a lot of music and lyrics from old
By 1970 they had released
very successful albums. The
influenced
, Aerosmith, AC/DC,
, and
.
.
“ART ROCK”
Rock and Roll began to attract artists with backgrounds in
From the late 60s bands such as
called “art rock.”
, Jethro Tull, and
and
.
represented what some have
“Art Rock” intended to use the music as a more sophisticated form of art –
.
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PINK FLOYD – THE WALL
The Wall is the 11th album released by Pink Floyd. It was performed
with elaborate
and was later adapted into a
.
It is a concept album that deals largely with themes of
and
. The main character, Pink, experiences a series of negative
events (death of his father, bullying, failed marriage). Each experience
becomes a metaphorical
that he builds to isolate himself from
human contact.