history of rock and roll essay

History of Rock and RollINTRODUCTION Rock and Roll started after the year 1955 with its roots being in Blues, Gospel, and Jazz.. In the mid 50's, Chuck Berry and Little Richard were pop

History of Rock and Roll

INTRODUCTION

Rock and Roll started after the year 1955 with its roots being in Blues,

Gospel, and Jazz This influenced vocal music, which was popular with the

African American population Hep Harmony which added rhythm and harmony was

sung by groups such as The "Mills Brothers" and the "Ink Spots"

Small Swing Bands or Jump Bands featured saxophone

soloists and repeated

phrases These city style blues featured singers such as Joe Turner, Dina

Washington, T-Bone Walker, and composer-singer Percy Mayfield

During this era, country blues traditions of the south became

influential in the North as well Blacks moved from the South to the North and

Chicago became the center of blues recordings This emphasized electric

guitars, harmonicas, and drummers who emphasized after beats (beats 2 and 4 of

the measure) Black gospel music was very popular and given the label of

rhythm and blues (R&B) This music was carried on radio and popular with the

disc jockeys

In the mid 50's, Chuck Berry and Little Richard were popular and changed

the face of music, which was named rock and roll by the D.J.'s

1956-1962

At age 21, in 1956, Elvis Presley was introduced to the public with his

rockabilly style of music His first record, "Heartbreak Hotel" was recorded

It was the first of a consecutive 14 records to sell over one million copies

He inspired other country singers to sing rock and roll This started a

trend for "cover" recordings This was when white singers

simplified versions

of Black recorded songs White singers were played on more radio stations and

became very popular

Young listeners became their largest audience Young singers were hired

to record songs featuring adolescent issues "Young Love", "16 Candles", and

"Teenage Crush" Such singers as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry

Lee Lewis became famous and popular

Love ballads also became more popular, with the musical audience looking

for sentimental and honest expression This turned some of the more popular

music from rock to folk ballads Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and

Peter, Paul, and

Mary were the more popular folk singers

1963-1969 During this period, the Beatles became the most popular band of the

1960's In the 1950's, the Beatles were also known as Johnny and the Moondogs

and then the Moonshiners They first became known as the Silver Beatles They

brought about the renewal of rock and roll, starting in

Liverpool, England

John Lennon (10/9/40-12/8/80), led the Beatles as the lead singer and

songwriter Also writing the songs for the Beatles was Paul

McCartney

(6/18/42-present) George Harrison (2/25/43-present) added to the sounds

of the Beatles

In 1962, Ringo Starr (7/7/40-present) became the drummer for the band They

were now known as The Beatles, (the Fab Four)

Their first song "Love Me Do" was recorded in 1962, after Ringo joined

the band In 1964, the Beatles 'invaded' the United States, by bringing their

music here and driving the crowds wild The Beatles bridged the generation gap

and language barriers They were trend setters, with their style

of dress and

hair changing the face of the young people They also influenced the use of

hallucinogenic drugs, Indian music, and Eastern mysticism

The Beatles last concert was in San Francisco in 1966 The band broke

up in 1970 Lennon went on to record solo albums and with his wife, Yoko Ono

McCartney went on to form Paul McCartney and Wings, with his wife, Linda

Harrison and Starr also went on to do solo albums Ringo also starred in some

films Rumors of a reunion were believed until the murder of John Lennon in

1980

Some of the groups influenced by the Beatles were The Who, Cream with

Eric Clapton, and Chicago Blues They brought out sounds such as loud music,

guitar screeches, and on stage smashing of instruments During this time, rock

operas and rock musicals became popular, such as Tommy, The Who and Hair

Formed in 1962 the Rolling Stones started becoming

popular In 1964,

The Rolling Stones were first known as Muddy Waters They had

wild stage

antics and brutal lyrics The group consisted of 5 members from London Mick

Jagger led the group as the lead singer Keith Richards on

guitar, Brian Jones

(replaced in 1969 by Mick Taylor) Mick Taylor was replaced in

1976 by Ron

Wood (from Rod Stewart's band) Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer, Charlie Watts

made up the rest of the Stones By the late 60's they called themselves the

world's greatest rock band

The Stones were number one on both sides of the Atlantic, with their hit

"Satisfaction" in 1965 The Stones put out more than 35 albums Many of their

lyrics covered taboo subjects ( for their time), such as sex and drugs In the

1980's, thier image mellowed and they went on to other endeavors

In 1985,

Jagger recorded a solo album, "She's The Boss" Following this album, he did a

hit remake with David Bowie of "Dancing in the Streets" The Stones reunited

in 1989, for a 4 month, 40 city tour, which was seen by over 3 million people

They rolled in over 70 million dollars from ticket and

merchandise sales

Motown became popular during the late 60's with the

emergence of female

singers such as Diana Ross and the Supremes Other Motown

singers such as the

Temptations used dance and music together to enhance their

popularity Stevie

Wonder was also another Motown great This started the trend of soul music

During the 1960's hippies, drugs (LSD and Acid), and protests filled the

air of this time Groups such as The Mamas and The Papas,

Country Joe and the

Fish, Jefferson Airplane, and the Greatful Dead were influenced

by these trends

The Woodstock Festival that took place in August 1969, showed that by

this time that music was an important element in the life of America's youth

This brought about a whole different look at the music industry

1970-1979 This decade saw the division of rock into subdivisions beyond the

general categories of hard rock (extremely loud and electrically amplified) and

mellow rock (softer, and with acoustic instruments) Rock

blended with reggae,

which emerged from Jamaica around 1972, and is a mix of rock, soul, calypso,

and other Latin rhythms

Other styles emerging in the 70's were punk rock, bubble gum music, and

heavy metal rock which continued the hallucinogenic approach of acid rock, but

using loud volume, electronic distortion, and vulgar stage

antics Some bands

expressing these feelings were Kiss, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin, who is a British rock group was most

popular during 1970s

The members were: lead singer Robert Plant (born 1948), guitarist Jimmy Page

(born 1944), bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (born 1946), and drummer

John Bonham (1948-80) Led Zeppelin was founded in1968 by Jimmy Page They

released their first album, Led Zeppelin, in 1968 Other popular albums

included Led Zeppelin II (1969), III (1970), and IV (1971),

Houses of the Holy

(1971), The Song Remains the Same (1976), and In Through the Out Door (1976)

Their most famous song was `Stairway to Heaven' (1971) With the death of

Bonham in 1980, the band was at a great loss, and band members (Plant and Page)

went on to solo careers The reunion of the remaining band members was in

1985, for a Live Aid benefit concert in Philadelphia Another reunion took

place in 1988 for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary celebration (John Bonham's

son, Jason, played the drums)

SUMMARY There were many other bands not mentioned in this report that influenced

music in the 60's, 70's, and the 80's Some of these bands

include Pink Floyd,

The Doors, Eagles, Genesis, CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and

Young), The Monkees,

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, Jackson

Browne, Michael

Jackson, and many others

Rock and Roll has been an important part of young peoples lives for

decades and decades to come Music is a way of expression for some and a way

of relaxing for others