The History of Rock and Roll
April 30, 2011During the early decades of the 20th century the seeds for rock and roll were planted in the southern American states. Country, jazz, gospel and blues were the main genres that blended together in different ways to create a distinct sound in the early 50s that came to be known as rock and roll. Although Elvis Presley is the most famous rock and roll star, whether or not he can be considered the first is up for debate due to the evolutionary nature of the genre.
Rock and Roll in its original form declined at the end of the 50s with the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in a plane crash and a lot of other big artists leaving the music industry temporarily or permanently (such as Elvis who left for the army). In the UK meanwhile, Cliff Richard became the first home-grown rock and roll star to sing original material in 1958.
In the next decade it would be British stars that commanded the stage. The Beatles arrival in America in 1964 is seen as a watershed moment, while other rock bands almost made a huge splash – The Kinks, The Animals and The Rolling Stones being some of the best. Further experimentation with both the sound of music and the appearance of the artist was to come in the 70s with Marc Bolan and David Bowie pioneering what was to be known as glam rock.
Rock and roll would continue to be taken into exciting new directions. While The Sex Pistols and The Clash developed a brand of punk rock Nirvana made grunge. In the 90s more refined commercial sounds were made delivering Britpop in the form of Oasis and Blur as well as bands such as Green Day and Blink-182 who were creating more radio-friendly pop-punk music.
Rock and roll’s legacy doesn’t just lie on the fact that it created some good music to dance to. Lyrics and performances were becoming more sexual challenging traditional boundaries, and because the music had come from sounds originating in Europe and Africa it might even have been influential in questioning issues to do with race. While rock and roll may not posses the same transformative power as it did more than half a century ago, it has left a lasting impression.
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