Where did rock and roll come from?

Question

Who put it out there and who was the first to think of it.

Answer 1

Rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in America in the 1950s, though elements of rock and roll can be seen in rhythm and blues records as far back as the 1920s. Early rock and roll combined elements of blues, boogie woogie, jazz and rhythm and blues, and is also influenced by traditional folk music, gospel music, black and white, and country and western. Going back even further, rock and roll can trace a foundational lineage to the old Five Points district of mid-19th century New York City, the scene of the first fusion of heavily rhythmic African shuffles and sand dances with melody driven European genres, particularly the Irish jig [citation needed].



Origins of the name rock and roll
Rocking was a term first used by gospel singers in the American South to mean something akin to spiritual rapture. A double, ironic, meaning came to popular awareness in 1947 in blues artist Roy Brown's song "Good Rocking Tonight" (also covered the next year by Wynonie Harris in an even wilder version), in which "rocking" was ostensibly about dancing but was in fact a thinly-veiled allusion to sex. Such double-entendres were nothing new in blues music (which was mostly limited in exposure to jukeboxes and clubs) but were new to the radio airwaves. After the success of "Good Rocking Tonight" many other rhythm and blues artists used similar titles through the late 1940s including a song called "Rock and Roll" recorded by Wild Bill Moore in 1949. These songs were relegated to "race music" (the music industry code name for rhythm and blues) outlets and were barely known by mainstream white audiences.

In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed would begin playing this type of music for his white audience, and it is Freed who is credited with coining the phrase "rock and roll" to describe the rollicking R&B music that he brought to the airwaves. The term, with its simultaneous allusions to dancing, sex, and the sound of the music itself, stuck even with those who didn't absorb all the meanings.

Originally Freed used the name Moondog for himself and any concerts or promotions he put on. This arose from the fact he used a piece of music called "Moondog Symphony" by the street musician Moondog as his repeated opening music for his radio show. Moondog subsequently sued Freed on grounds that he was stealing his name. Since Freed was no longer allowed to use the term Moondog he needed a new catch phrase. After a night of heavy drinking he and his friends came up with the name "The Rock and Roll Party" since he was already using the phrase "Rock and Roll Session" to describe the music he was playing on his radio show. Since his show was extremely popular the term caught on and the subsequent public used it to describe a certain form of music.


First record
Main article: first rock and roll record

According to some, notably music historian Peter Guralnick, the first rock and roll record was "Rocket 88", by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (written by 19-year-old Ike Turner, also the session leader) and recorded by Sam Phillips for his Memphis Recording Service in 1951 (the master tape being sold to and later released by Chess Records).[1] But this may be the result of shameless self-promotion on Phillips' part, as many other records recorded in the same time period or earlier are equal, or better, contenders for this title. Wynonie Harris' 1947 cover of Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight" is probably the most legitimate claimant for the title of first rock and roll record, as the popularity of this record led to many answer songs, mostly by black artists, with the same rocking beat, during the late 40's and early 50's. (Roy Brown's original had a shuffle blues beat, not quite rocking, but Wynonie Harris changed the rhythm to a rocking gospel beat with hand clapping on the backbeat, which distinguishes it from previous records). Others have pointed to the later broad commercial success with white audiences of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" or "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and his Comets as true starting points. Still others point out that performers like Fats Domino were recording blues songs as early as 1949 that are indistinguishable from later rock and roll, and that these blues songs were based on themes, chord changes, and rhythms dating back decades before that. Rhythm and Blues sax player and band leader Louis Jordan actually broke into the pop charts in the mid-forties with the rocker "Caldonia". In 1947 Jack Guthrie and his group The Oaklahomans had a hit with "The Oakie Boogie", basically a mix of boogie woogie with hillbilly and an electric guitar thrown in (a fairly new invention in 1947). Benny Carter, a co-author of "Cow Cow Boogie" (Capitol Records first gold single) back in 1942, wrote the jazz-swing song "Rock Me to Sleep" with Paul Vandervoort II in 1950
-wikipedia-

Answer 2

It is basically impossible to give you a precise answer.
Rock is derived from 1) The Blues 2) Jazz 3) Bebop 4) Swing
5) Dixieland 6) ***** Spirituals 7) Big Bands.and any other type of music that preceded it to some extent.

It is my belief, however, that rock n' roll was truly born on the day that Les Paul invented the Electric guitar in Waukesha Wisconsin back in the late forties or early fifties. Artists like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, great blues musicians in their own rite, took off with this new instrument, and Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis,and Buddy Holly among others gave rock its place, and the Beatles, Beach Boys, Doors, Kinks, etc. have ensured that Rock and Roll will never die. (Hey, Hey, my, my)

Answer 3

It descended from the Blues, which came from sing alongs African slaves sang in the fields of the south while working. As time evolved it changed to blues which then changed to rock and roll. The earliest rock and roll single is "Rocket 88" by Jackie Berenson and the first innovators were Fats Domino, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. It only took on a wider audience when white people, such as Elvis Presley, began performing it.

Black blues musicians that weren't getting the attention they deserved in America began performing in Britain, where they had a better reception, inspiring artists like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Answer 4

Rock'n'Roll was actually a combination of various types of music... it first began pulling from the blues and other southern music styles such as Jazz, Country, and others...

most people credit Elvis with starting it when it took the old blues song "Hound-Dog" and sang it in his style... others say that it was Carl Perkins (the guy that actually wrote and first sang Blue suede Shoes)

Elvis Personafied it, but it was an amalgam of many people jaming together and put various types of music together starting in the late 40's and moving into the 50's

Answer 5

Rock and a roll. Just kidding. Rock and rool come from R&B. Its said that it didnt really get teenagers attention som they put a little hard music into it and did there own little thing.

Answer 6

a radio host put the phrasing out there it all started in the fifties with ppl like chuck berry, elvis, and jerry lee lewis

Answer 7

it evolved from American Blues, Jazz and British Pop

Answer 8

i think some kind of a music lover cud hav donnit.

Answer 9

didnt it evolve from blues

Answer 10

from the black