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Rock ‘n’ Roll & Rockabilly

When: 1953

Super Genre: Rock ‘n’ Roll / (country)

Description:

“Rock ‘n’ Roll was musically speaking not a great step forward; its origins in Boogie Woogie and R&B were obvious. It was mainly a racial thing: young, attractive, white singers bringing black music into the living rooms of white people (especially girls), and turning heads by shaking their pelvis and/or standing on pianos. At the same time, Hillbilly Country musicians became influenced by early Country Blues and created uptempo Country with a strong beat, slapped upright bass, and stuttering vocals: Rockabilly. Both genres, as well as some Country music, originated on the famous Sun Records label in Memphis. Rock ‘n’ Roll often overlaps with Rockabilly’s simple, uptempo blues with three chords, a boogie back beat, and the holy instrument trinity of rock: drums, guitar and bass. As one can see, early Rock ‘n’ Roll was difficult to separate from early Rhythm ‘n’ Blues. However, the often overlooked effect of amphetamine (used heavily by many Rock ‘n’ Roll stars) changed the sound into the sociocultural revolution that it was: with their trembling voices, exuberant behavior, unbridled energy, and sexual innuendo, they introduced something new, something unheard of and “bad to the bone”. The later “mod” subculture of the fifties (sometimes mistaken for a music genre), were also very drawn into a similar world of bikes, speed, and rock ‘n’ roll. White teens went crazy around the world and soon Rock ‘n’ Roll became so popular that the term was used for anything rebellious, and often Rock music in general.” - Musicmap

Sample Song: Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Maggie’s Notes: There were many songs on this playlist that Papa said most people would recognize. I find it interesting that this genre was so popular, because the description on Musicmap’s starts out as “Rock ‘n’ Roll was musically speaking not a great step forward”. I enjoy this music, but it’s not super impressive or my all-time favorite.


Up next…Horror Punk & Psychobilly 

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