Module 2

R&B becomes Rock & Roll

Alan Freed

In 1951, Alan Freed, a disc jockey for the independent radio station WJW in Cleveland, Ohio began hosting The Moondog Rock and Roll Party. The show followed his classical music program and introduced rhythm and blues by black artists to a primarily white, Midwest, teen listening audience. To avoid any negative response, Freed replaced the rhythm and blues moniker with “rock and roll.” By the mid-1950s, “rock and roll” was used to describe various music styles by both black and white performers. In September 1954, Freed moved to the much bigger New York radio station WINS and began airing The Rock and Roll Party nationally and eventually internationally. Freed also promoted some of the first national rock and roll shows and produced several rock and roll films including Rock Around the Clock (1956) and Don’t Knock the Rock (1957). Freed was not directly involved in creating rock and roll music, but his contribution confirmed the importance of the disc jockey as a major component of the dissemination of rock and roll in the 1950s. Many in the music industry consider Freed the person who coined the phrase “rock and roll.” Consequently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Cleveland, Ohio.

Rock & Roll & Integration

In 1935, Elvis Presley was born to sharecroppers in Tupelo, Mississippi. His family represented the poor, white demographic of the American South. When Elvis was thirteen years old, after several years of struggling to find steady work his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. In Memphis, Presley was exposed to an eclectic range of music styles and traditions that helped to shape his growing musical artistry. On Beale Street, He discovered a burgeoning blues scene and frequented the local clubs. He and his family were members of the local Assemblies of God church where highly energetic music rooted in black gospel was the typical mode of worship. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, radio in the south increasingly featured rhythm and blues and country music, which further broadened Presley’s artistic range. As a teenager, Presley performed locally and began to develop a unique fashion style, modeling himself after celebrities like Clark Gable.

Elvis Presley

In 1953, Presley visited Sun Records, a small independent label in Memphis owned by Sam Phillips. Phillips advertised that customers could pay a small fee to record a song in the recording studio. Elvis responded and recorded a song for his mother’s birthday. The following year, Phillips invited Presley to return and audition to become a recording artist for Sun. After several failed attempts to record the songs provided by Phillips, Presley began singing “That’s All Right (Mama),” a popular rhythm and blues hit written and recorded by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup. Presley’s performance impressed Phillips, so they recorded Crudup’s hit song along with a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” An acetate was pressed and sent to Dewey Phillips, a disc jockey at Memphis-based WHBQ. As soon as Phillips played the record on radio, the phones began to ring with calls from mostly teens looking to purchase the record. Within days, Sun Records received over 5,000 orders for the record. “That’s All Right” became the best-selling record for Sun Records and the first by a white artist. The record’s immediate success launched Presley’s career. He began to tour and play regularly on live radio shows, namely the locally popular Louisiana Hayride show. By the end of 1955, RCA Victor offered Sam Phillips the unprecedented sum of $35,000 for Presley’s contract. Phillips accepted, and Elvis began recording what would become a series of number one hits for his new label beginning with “Heartbreak Hotel.” The record reached number one on both the pop and country and western charts, and number five R&B, confirming the crossover potential of Elvis. In 1956, Presley covered “Hound Dog” for RCA, a cover version originally recorded in 1953 by Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wrote “Hound Dog” and went on to write future hit songs for Elvis.

Watch the following breakdown of "That's All Right."

Just before Elvis signed with RCA Victor, he had signed an exclusive contract with Colonel Tom Parker. Parker was an experienced promoter and manager and put together a promotion campaign for Presley that would capitalize on the popular new medium of television in America. Throughout 1956, Presley appeared to a national audience on several variety shows. His most memorable appearances included a performance of “Hound Dog” on the Milton Berle Show in June 1956. Parents and older adults criticized his performance as overtly sexual and inappropriate for general audiences. An appearance on the Steve Allen Show immediately followed and presented Presley in a formal tuxedo singing to an actual hound dog in a much more conservative performance. On September 9, 1956, Presley made the first of six appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Almost fifty-four million viewers, over eighty percent of the television viewing audience, tuned in to watch the show that evening. The fairly new medium of television exposed Presley to an unprecedented number of people, and Presley capitalized on the visual element of television with his signature fashion and demeanor. His record sales flourished and Elvis went on to become an icon of rock and roll and one of the top-selling recording artists of all time.

Rock Around the Clock

After Sun Records as a small, independent label reached unprecedented success with rock and roll records, major record labels began to build their own catalog of rock and roll artists. In 1955, Bill Haley and His Comets recorded “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” for Decca Records. The record became the first rock and roll record to top the pop charts. Haley’s recording was featured in Blackboard Jungle, a film released that same year that dealt with juvenile delinquency. After watching the film where “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” was played over the opening credits, many youths in America and especially in the U.K. were introduced to rock and roll for the first time. In the 1970s the hit song was introduced to a new generation as the theme song for Happy Days, a nostalgic television show set in the 1950s. “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” continues to be associated with the birth of rock and roll in the 1950s.

Watch the following breakdown of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock."

Chuck Berry & Little Richard

Charles Edward Anderson Berry (1926-2017), better known as Chuck Berry, was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Berry’s environment exposed him to various popular music styles including blues, R&B, and country and western. Several radio stations began broadcasting these music styles that were considered outside of the mainstream. Berry’s location in St. Louis provided him many radio stations to choose from. As Berry began to develop as a musician, his broad range of influences contributed to a uniquely original and groundbreaking style, and he would go on to become a pioneer of rock and roll. He is considered by many to share the title “King of Rock and Roll” with Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Berry has also been one of the most influential artists on future rock acts including the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, and countless others. Berry not only developed a unique and often mimicked electric guitar style, he also established himself as a prolific songwriter and master of lyrics. In 1955, Berry first recorded “Maybellene” for Chess Records. The song was loosely based on the country and western standard “Ida Red” and featured many musical characteristics of country music beginning with the fast paced “boom-chick” style rhythm. The relentless rhythm is the foundation of the country two-step dance and provides a strong foundation for an upbeat rock and roll dance number. Berry also developed a strong blues-influenced electric guitar style that became his musical trademark. As a songwriter, Berry’s lyrics often tell a story, a tradition found in several grassroots traditions including country, folk and blues. Berry’s lyrics also feature witty, double-meaning phrases and metaphors. “Maybellene” topped the pop charts, a first for a Chess Records artist and one of the first bonafide rock and roll records to accomplish the feat. Berry went on to pen several more Top Ten hits including “Rock and Roll Music” (1957), “Sweet Little Sixteen” (1958) and “Johnny B. Goode” (1958). “Johnny B. Goode” is one of Berry’s better-known songs that is generally associated with 1950s rock and roll. One example is the scene from the 1985 film Back to the Future, where Marty McFly, the main character, travels back in time thirty years and performs the song for his future parents’ school dance. The song also begins with the legendary electric guitar intro that would be copied and recorded by future rock artists, most notably on the record “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys in 1964.

Little Richard

Richard Wayne Penniman (b. 1932), better known as Little Richard, burst onto the rock and roll scene in late 1955 when his song “Tutti Frutti” reached number two on the rhythm and blues charts and crossed over to number seventeen on the pop charts. In September 1955, while doing a recording session for the small, independent Specialty Records, Little Richard began performing his song with seemingly nonsensical lyrics during a break. The producers decided to record it. When it was released, it sold 200 thousand copies within the first couple weeks. Little Richard went on to record a series of Top Ten songs on both the pop and R&B charts including “Long Tall Sally” (1956), “Keep a Knockin’” (1957) and “Good Golly, Miss Molly” (1957). Little Richard also impacted the rock and roll world with his outrageous live performances. As a piano player, Richard mastered the boogie-woogie piano style at fast tempos and would often play while standing up and dancing. Richard was raised in the Pentecostal church where typically the music is lively and upbeat, participants are demonstrative and singers are known to perform “whoops and hollers.” Richard incorporated these vocal styles and outward behaviors into his performances. He also dressed up in a flamboyant style complete with heavy make up and a prominent pompadour hairstyle. In late 1957, due to his religious background Little Richard felt convicted and quit rock and roll to enter the ministry. He would eventually return to rock and roll, though his first two years was enough to establish him as one of the Kings of Rock and Roll.

Rock & Roll Diversifies

Wanda Jackson

Wanda Jackson was born in 1937 in Oklahoma and began her career in country music. Encouraged by Elvis Presley to pursue a career in the rockabilly style, she recorded “I Gotta Know” in 1956, the same year Elvis burst onto the scene with several number one hits for RCA Victor. “I Gotta Know” features many characteristics of country music, including fiddle and a slower country waltz feel, but it is the choruses that stand out in an upbeat, rockabilly style. The song also features poignant lyrics written by Wanda Jackson that address issues of love and romance from the female perspective. Between 1956 and 1958, Jackson recorded several rockabilly songs including “Fujiyama Mama” and “Let’s Have a Party,” Jackson’s only pop Top Forty hit for Capitol Records. As of this writing, Jackson continues to perform live for devoted audiences.

Latin American music traditions have been a major contributor to the evolution of rock and roll. Possibly the most direct contribution was the music and career of Richard Valenzuela (1941-1959), better known as Ritchie Valens. Valens was born and raised in Pacoima, California. His parents represented the working-class Mexican-American demographic of 1950s Southern California. Valens learned guitar and at age sixteen joined his first band, the Silhouettes. After playing local house parties and high school dances, he was invited to audition for Del-Fi Records owner Bob Keane. Keane signed Valens to his label, managed him personally, and recorded his debut single, “Come On, Let’s Go.” The song reached Number 42 on the pop charts and Number 27 R&B. Valens followed with “Donna” and “La Bamba.” Both records were almost immediately Top Ten pop hits. “La Bamba,” a remake of a Spanish folk tune, or son jarocho from Vera Cruz, Mexico, was sung entirely in Spanish and featured many characteristics of traditional conjunto music mixed with rock and roll. On February 3, 1959, Valens was killed in a plane crash along with J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Buddy Holly. The date has gone down in history as “the day the music died.” Valens’ career was cut short after only eight months. Within that short span, Valens produced four hit records, a feat that stands alone to this day.