That's Alright Mama is considered by most to be the first rock and roll song. Any valid debate on this?

Question

Elvis is the King of Rock and Roll and That's Alright sprang from Southern Gospel music. Does anyone debate this? Some say black singers predated Elvis ... but I don't see the transition from Gospel to Rock as Elvis did!

vim vam vamoose came out in 56 long after that's alright in 54!

Answer 1

You might like to check out "Vim Vam Vamoose" sung by Chuck Miller.It predates Elvis by at least 4 years.

Answer 2

Rock Around the Clock was recorded a little before it. Also, many consider Rocket 88 to be the first Rock and Roll song. Here's a link:

http://oldies.about.com/cs/oldieshistory/a/firstrocksong.htm

Answer 3

Elvis was one of the first but there were others way before him...Some more information is on the following links.........
Apparently there is some debate on all R&R when, who, what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_rock_and_roll_record

Wild cards from the 1920s and 1930s that seemed then to have come from nowhere but now clearly foreshadow rock and roll:

"My Daddy Rocks Me (with One Good Steady Roll)" by Trixie Smith (1922). Although it was played with a backbeat and was one of the first "around the clock" lyrics, this slow minor-key blues was by no means rock and roll in the modern sense. On the other hand, the title certainly underscores the original meaning attached to those two words (both of four letters), rock and roll.
"Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" by Clarence "Pinetop" Smith (1928) was one of the first hit "boogie woogie" recordings, and the first to include classic rock and roll references to "the girl with the red dress on" being told to "not move a peg" until she could "shake that thing" and "mess around".
"Tiger Rag" by the Washboard Rhythm Kings (1931) was a virtually out of control performance with screeching vocals, a strange tiger roar, and rocking washboard. This recording is standing in for many performances by spasm bands, jug bands, and skiffle groups that have the same wild, informal feel that early rock and roll had.

http://www.history-of-rock.com/
Rock-and-Roll (räk'n roll') n. first so used (1951) by Alan Freed, Cleveland disc jockey, taken from the song "My Baby Rocks Me with a Steady Roll". The use of rock, roll, rock and roll, etc., with reference to sexual intercourse, is traditional in blues, a form of popular music that evolved in the 1950's from rhythm and blues, characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_roll
Rock and roll began to emerge as a defined musical style in America in the late 1940s as a part of African American culture, when it was called Rhythm and blues, or R&B.