Roots of Rock: 50's Rock and roll

Chuck Berry

The foundations of rock music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its origins lay in a melding of various black musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country and western.

The name "rock and roll" comes from the song gospel performers 40s, being in fact a call to dance. First expression appeared in the song «Good Rockin Tonight» by Roy Brown in 1947. Among the performers who laid the roots of rock and roll as a full-fledged genre, the most important performers are Fats Domino, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry began to seriously study music in 1953, and in 1955 he already recorded his first single. Chuck Berry pioneered the rock style in lyrics, image and guitar playing.The era also saw the growth in popularity of the electric guitar.

At first, rock and roll was considered a specific kind of music, typical only for an African American audience. However, the first white artists appeared to perform rock and roll. The breakthrough of rock and roll into the mainstream was Bill Haley's song "Rock Around The Clock". Another white artist, Elvis Presley, was named King of Rock and Roll, because he became the first to record rock and roll on par with African American artists.

Elvis Presley

Rock's influence spreads quickly, impacting radio, movies, TV, fashion, attitudes and language worldwide. Teen culture drives the music industry, from record and jukebox sales, to radio airplay.