Rock and roll
From its early-1950s inception through the early 1960s, rock and roll music spawned new dance crazes. Teenagers found the irregular rhythm of the backbeat especially suited to reviving the jitterbug dancing of the big-band era. "Sock-hops," gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched Dick Clark's American Bandstand to keep up on the latest dance and fashion styles. From the mid-1960s on, as "rock and roll" yielded gradually to "rock," later dance genres followed, starting with the twist, and leading up to funk, disco, house and techno.
[
British rock and roll
The trad jazz movement brought blues artists to Britain, and in 1955 Lonnie Donegan's version of "Rock Island Line" began skiffle music which inspired many young people to have a go. These included John Lennon and Paul McCartney, whose group The Quarrymen, formed in March 1957, would gradually change and develop into The Beatles. These developments primed the United Kingdom to respond creatively to American rock and roll, which had an impact across the globe. In Britain, skiffle groups, record collecting and trend-watching were in full bloom among the youth culture prior to the rock era, and colour barriers were less of an issue with the idea of separate "race records" seeming almost unimaginable. Countless British youths listened to R&B and rock pioneers and began forming their own bands. Britain quickly became a new center of rock and roll.
In 1958 three British teenagers became Cliff Richard and the Drifters (later renamed Cliff Richard and the Shadows). The group recorded a hit, "Move It", marking not only what is held to be the very first true British rock and roll single, but also the beginning of a different sound — British rock. Richard and his band introduced[citation needed] many important changes, such as using a "lead guitarist" (Hank Marvin) and an electric bass.
The British scene developed, with others including Tommy Steele, Adam Faith and Billy Fury vying to emulate the stars from the U.S. Some touring acts attracted particular popularity in Britain, an example being Gene Vincent. This inspired many British teens to begin buying records and follow the music scene, thus laying the groundwork for Beatlemania.
At the start of the 1960s, instrumental dance music was very popular in the UK. Hits such as "Apache" by The Shadows and "Telstar" by The Tornados (produced by Joe Meek), form a British branch of instrumental music.
At the same time, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, R&B fans such as Alexis Korner promoted authentic American blues music directly in London clubs, and elsewhere, at a time when this music was declining in popularity back in the USA. This led directly to the formation of such groups as The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds in London, The Animals in Newcastle, and Them in Belfast. In the USA, such groups became known as part of the "British Invasion".
[
Further reading
- The Fifties by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam (1996) Random House (ISBN 0-517-15607-5) provides information and analysis on Fifties popular culture exploring major social and cultural changes including television, transistor radios, the phenomenon of Elvis Presley and the rise of rock-and-roll.
- The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll : The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music by editors James Henke, Holly George-Warren, Anthony Decurtis, Jim Miller. (1992) Random House (ISBN 0-679-73728-6)
- Rock Chicks:The Hottest Female Rockers from the 1960’s to Now by Stieven-Taylor, Alison (2007). Sydney. Rockpool Publishing. ISBN 9781921295065
- The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll by Holly George-Warren, Patricia Romanowski, Jon Pareles (2001) Fireside Press (ISBN 0-7432-0120-5).
- Rock and Roll: A Social History, by Paul Friedlander, Westview Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8133-2725-3
- Anna Oxa and Amir Hoxha, two parallel singers in the same rock, by Fatmir Hajdari - Dituria publisher - Tirana, pp.143
- "The Rock Window: A Way of Understanding Rock Music" by Paul Friedlander, in Tracking: Popular Music Studies, Volume I, number 1, Spring, 1988.
- The Sound of the City: the Rise of Rock and Roll, by Charlie Gillett, New York: E.P. Dutton, 1970.
[
See also
- List of rock genres
- List of rock and roll albums
- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- Rock music
- 20th century music
- First rock and roll record
[
References
- ^ Origin of dances at Radio Canada (French)
- ^ http://www.littlewonderrecords.com/music-library.html and click record number 158 to hear it
- ^ Bill Haley & The Comets
- ^ The Sisters
- ^ Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934)
- ^ Go, Cat, Go! by Carl Perkins and David McGee 1996 page 76 Hyperion Press ISBN 0-7868-6073-1
- ^ Scott, Tommy (RCS Artist Discography)
- ^ Elvis Presley at Sun Studios in 1954
- ^ CD Baby: How to Legally Sell Downloads of Cover Songs
[
External links
- Rock Before Elvis, the early rockers from 1946 to 1952
- The History of Rock'n'Roll 1954–1963
- The 1950s–2000's Week-By-Week A concise look at the music of these decades - pop, albums plus factoids and history. Complete weekly summaries.
- Piero Scaruffi's history of rock
- The Camp Meeting Jubilee 1910 recording
- Rock and Wiki A wiki project for rock music
- Vintage Rock Vintage Rock
|
||||||||
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy.