Rock ‘n’ RollRock ‘n’ Roll

““It used to be called boogie-It used to be called boogie-woogie, it used to be called blues, woogie, it used to be called blues,

used to be called rhythm and used to be called rhythm and blues …. It’s called rock now.” blues …. It’s called rock now.”

Chuck BerryChuck Berry

The Times1900-1909 Model T, First Flight, Einstein1910-1920 WWI, Russian Revolution, Prohibition1920-1929 Women’s Suffrage, Mussolini, Edgar

Hoover, Charles Lindbergh 1930-1939 Great Depression, German Nazi Party,

Gandhi 1940-1949 WWII, Hitler, Pearl Harbor, Manhattan

Project, Apartheid 1950-1959 Hydrogen bomb, McCarthyism, Korean

War, Color TV, Rosa Parks, Sputnik 1960-1969 JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Cuban

Missile Crisis, Draft Protests 1970-1979 Vietnam War, Watergate 1980-1989 AIDS, Personal Computers 1990-1999 Internet, Operation Desert Storm, Y2K,

Oklahoma City Bombing

2000s War on Terrorism

Sept.11, 2001 Islamic terrorist attack on DC and NYC

Oct. 7, 2001 US attacks Taliban and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan

Feb. 1, 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia explodes

March 19, 2003 War in Iraq begins

Aug. 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans

Oct. 17, 2006 Population of US reaches 300 million

June 1, 2009 H1N1 deemed a global pandemic by the World Health Organization

BeginningsBeginnings

TimeframeTimeframe AppealAppeal ““Rock ‘n’ Roll”Rock ‘n’ Roll” First HitsFirst Hits

TimeframeIn the mid-50s a mixture of rhythm and blues, soul, jazz,

boogie-woogie, black and white gospel, country and western music appeared.

Sound enticed the listener with strong rhythms, backbeats, energy and a “tribal” passion

AppealInitial appeal was to white, middle class teens

Parents of these teens responded negatively --- “race music” was censored as being too rebellious, sexual, and anti-social

Term “Rock ‘n’ Roll”The term “rock ‘n’ roll” was first coined by

the disc jockey Alan Freed in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 50s.

“Rocking” was first used by black gospel singers to indicate spiritual rapture

By the 1940s the term became a double entendre: dancing and sex

Alan Freed

(1921-1965)

First Hits

The first rock ‘n’ roll record debate:

• Rocket 88 (Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats)• Maybelline and Johnny Be Good (Chuck Berry)• Bo Diddley (Bo Diddley), • Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley and the

Comets)

Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats

“Rocket 88”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFIj8OuIEI

Chuck Berry

“Maybelline”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RAfxiyMKAk

“Johnny Be Good”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ofD9t_sULM

Bo Diddley

“Bo Diddley”http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=sgBbmuD_LQw

Bill Haley and the Comets

“Rock Around the Clock” provided the impetus to take rock ‘n’ roll to the top of national and international charts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG974H1BQ0Y

Social ContextSocial Context

African-American CultureAfrican-American Culture Post-War GenerationPost-War Generation Economic ClimateEconomic Climate

African-American Culture• Blues, originating in the work songs of American slaves, provided

the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll.• As Southern African-Americans migrated north, Chicago became a

center for rock. Here they created an urbanized, electric rhythm and blues (models for Little Richard and Chuck Berry).

• Motown in Detroit became a center for soul music explosion in the 60s.

• Disco in the 70s and Hip Hop in the 80s; both originating in the African-American culture.

• These new styles coincided with and reflected the African-American struggle for equality.

• Throughout its development since the 1950s until today, rock music has helped to integrate white and black America

Influences of the Post-War Generation

“I love the rhythm and beat of good

rock and roll music and I think most

people like it too. After all, it’s a

combination of folk or hillbilly music and

gospel singing.”

Elvis Presley

“ I hope someday that somebody will say

that in the beginning stages of the birth of

the music of the Fifties, though I didn’t contribute in terms of

creativity, I helped keep it alive.”

Dick Clark

• The development of rock was greatly influenced by the dramatic population growth that occurred during the

post-war era.

Economic Climate During the Post-War Era

• Favorable economic times during the post-war era allowed rock ‘n’ roll to flourish.

• Previous generations had been raised during a severe economic depression.

• Baby Boomers lived in relative affluence; thus, they possessed the ability to purchase records.

• The 1970s saw worsening economics (especially in England). During this decade we see the development of punk rock in response to the worsening economics.

• During the 1980s America witnessed worsening economics. During this decade styles such as hardcore punk, industrial music, grunge and rap revealed the worsening economics.

Advances in Technology

• Advances in technology has always shaped the sound of rock and roll.

• The development of the electric guitar in 1931(to reduce feedback and increase gain). Around 1940, Les Pol (Lester Polfus) developed the first solid body electric guitar. In the 1950s, Leo Fender further developed the electronic guitar and gave its distinctive sound.

• Later technologies helped to popularize rock by making it more easily and inexpensively accessible: TV, portable transistor radio, portable cassette tape player/recorder, 45 rpm record (1940), 33 1/3 rpm record (1960s)

• Other technologies advanced the sound quality of rock: high fidelity, stereo, component stereo systems, CD, MP3

Development of the Music Industry

• Rock music has always been a business, a commodity

• Movement has been from small independent companies to major record companies

Small, independent companies (Chess Sun, Modern, King) offered a style of commercially untested rock.

As rock’s popularity grew, major record companies (RCA, Decca, Delta, Capitol) added heavy marketing.

Rock as Rebellion

“We have a private revolution going on.”- A handbill distributed from the Blue Unicorn, a

coffeehouse in the Haight.

• Rock became a major influence on culture, fashion and social activities.

• Rock has consistently represented an avenue for rebellion ……

… in hair styles

… in clothing styles

… in dance styles

… in social activism

The DecadesThe Decades

1950s: R&B, soul, country, rock and roll1950s: R&B, soul, country, rock and roll 1960s: British invasion, Motown1960s: British invasion, Motown 1970s: punk, disco, glam rock1970s: punk, disco, glam rock 1980s: punk rock, new wave, alternative1980s: punk rock, new wave, alternative 1990s: grunge, hip-hop, indie1990s: grunge, hip-hop, indie 2000s: emo, garage, metalcore2000s: emo, garage, metalcore FutureFuture

“Rockin’ in Time: A Social History of Rock-And-Roll” byDavid P. Szatmary(Prentice Hall, 2000)