History of Rock Music

Following World War II, many soldiers, sailers, and airmen made use of the GI bill to further their education, and many started families. Like many generations, America's youth had questions about authority and society. The young adults of the era were no longer interested in listening to the crooners their parents favored, like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and Judy Garland. Instead, they listened to black rhythm and blues artists, like Muddy Waters...

...and Ivory Joe Hunter.

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...and Ray Charles.

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A disc jockey from Cleveland, Ohio, Alan Freed, is credited with coining the phrase, "Rock 'n' Rock."

In 1954, black artist Big Joe Turner recorded the tune, Shake, Rattle, and Roll, written by Daryl Bosteels. A few months later, the same song was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets. The white group got more money, received more radio play, and sold more records than their black counterparts.

Bill Haley and His Comets are most known for their rendition of Rock Around the Clock.

In Chicago, the rhythm and blues scene was going strong. Some of the notable performers from there during the fledgling era of rock were:

Bo Diddly.

* Little Richard.

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Chuck Berry.

This is Big Mama Thornton performing the song she wrote, Hound Dog.

Early in the course of rock history, Sam Phillips, of Sun Records, was quoted as saying that if he could find a white boy who could sing like a black man, he could make a million dollars. Not long after he signed on Elvis Presley, his prediction became a reality. This is Elvis' version of Hound Dog. Which do you like better?

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In those early days, if you wanted to listen to black Rhythm and Blues, you had to tune into weak powered AM stations because the FM disc jockeys were threatened with blacklisting and being fired if they played the original versions of the music. Instead, they were forced to wait for white performers to cover the songs.

Alan Freed dared to play what his young listeners wanted. He gained much notoriety, but he also took a fall for this policy, losing his career.

Many performers, such as Elvis, were limited to playing covers of other musicians' songs. That was not true of Buddy Holly. In addition to singing, he could write music, play lead guitar, and produce his own records.

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Jiles Perry "J.P." Richardson Jr., known as The Big Bopper, had a light-hearted hit with Chanilly Lace.

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Ritchie Valens, a California boy, was the first of Hispanic descent to make it big on the rock and roll scene.

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In New Orleans, Fats Domino was arguably the most popular singer to be considered rock and roll.

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Elvis Presley's first records sent him on his way to his title "The King of Rock."

Sam Phillips was signing up quite a list of talented musicians.

By this time, Elvis became so big and popular that Sun Records could no longer afford to record or promote him, so his contract was sold to RCA Victor Records, a much bigger company. His first single with RCA, Heartbreak Hotel, became a nationwide number one hit, the first of 30.

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Many people thought his gyrating hips were vulgar and wanted him to tone it down. In fact, for his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, they only recorded him from the waist up!

Motown Records, originally called Tamla Records, was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit. The name comes from "Motor Town" because Detroit was the car producing capital of the country at the time.

Some of the early performers from Motown include:

Smokey Robinson.

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The Marvettes.

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Later, he signed on The Four Tops, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and The Temptations, all of whom had top hits with Motown.

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Bob Dylan, who started out as a folk singer-songwriter, transitioned to rock. He lost some of his following but gained new fans. He was the first musical artist to earn a Nobel Prize for Literature for his lyrics.

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Then, the music died.

Elvis was drafted. Chuck Berry was imprisoned for violating the Mann Act. Jerry Lee Lewis was banned from the radio for marrying his 14-year-old cousin. But the biggest blow was when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and "The Big Bopper" were killed in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 after doing a show together in Iowa. This event was what inspired the famous song by Don McLean, written to honor his idol, Buddy Holly.

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America wasn't the only country to produce great rock music. What became known as the British Invasion brought many performers from the UK to the US. The first to find huge success were The Beatles. I Want to Hold Your Hand was their first American hit.

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The Rolling Stones were also wildly popular.

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The Who was a band which also gained popularity in the states for many years.

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The Animals were another group from the first wave of British rockers.

Rock and Roll had some bumps during its development, and there were more to come, but its stamp on music history had been assured.