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Doo Wop--Rhythmic Singing

1951: Alan Freed first uses the term "rock and roll" to describe a musical revolution!

  • Another very popular type of music that emerged in this era was Doo Wop.
  • Doo Wop gets its name from the singing of rhythmic nonsense words as background to the actual song lyrics.
  • The term "rock and roll" had been used for several years by black musicians to describe gospel, swing, and blues music.
  • Alan Freed, a radio DJ in Cleveland, Ohio began referring to the music he played as Rock and Roll.
  • For the time, Mr. Freed was very brave to be a white DJ playing black music.

So, what was the first rock and roll song?

To this day, music historians argue about which song was actually the first "rock and roll" song. Many agree, however, that the number 1 hit, "Rock Around the Clock" recorded in 1954 by Bill Haley and the Comets, was THE song that brought rock and roll into mainstream culture.

Ritchie Valens

Two of the most influential African-American musicians in the 50s: Chuck Berry and Little Richard

A Latino Pioneer of Rock and Roll

Where does rock music come from?

  • Chuck Berry, with his Gibson ES-355 guitar and his crazy "duck walk" stage style, brought Chicago blues into the rock and roll scene, and cemented the importance of the electric guitar in rock music.
  • Little Richard, the original "rock and roll wild man", made the piano a legitimate rock instrument and sang songs that made mothers blush!

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley of LA, Ritchie Valens dreamed of rock and roll stardom. At age 17, he began recording and churned out several hits during his very short career. Less than 10 months later, he would die in an airplane accident. Although he was only around for a short time, he inspired other Latinos, such as Carlos Santana and Los Lobos, to record music.

Modern rock, pop, R & B, rap, and hip hop can all be traced back to the folk music of Africa. The songs the slaves sang evolved into blues, folk, and bluegrass music--the ancestors of today's popular music.

Coming up next week:

Sun Records and the birth of rockabilly

Black Performers, White Audiences

  • Sam Phillips opened the Sun Records recording studio in 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee. It quickly became the go-to recording studio for blues and country musicians.
  • These two music styles quickly merged to form one of the most popular forms of music in the 50s: rockabilly.
  • Sun Records attracted now-legendary singers, such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and someone you may have heard of--a little ol' boy from Tupelo, Mississippi...
  • The music of early African-American blues and jazz artists was very popular with young white people, especially in the 1940s and early 1950s.
  • White parents, however, were worried about their children listening to "black" music.

The 1960s: Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution

The King of Rock n Roll: Elvis Presley

  • Sam Phillips discovered Elvis when he came to Sun Records to make a record as a gift for his mother.
  • An instant hit on the radio, Elvis has earned the title "the king of rock and roll", with 17 Number One songs and 10 Number One albums, dozens of Top 20 singles, and several hit movies featuring his songs.

The History of Rock and Roll

The 1950s

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