Rock and roll

This article is about the 1950s style of music. For the general rock music genre, see Rock music. For other uses, see Rock and roll (disambiguation). "RnR" redirects here. For other uses, see RNR (disambiguation).

Rock and roll
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsLate 1940s – early 1950s, United States
Derivative forms
Regional scenes
United Kingdom
Other topics

Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, rock 'n' roll, rock n' roll, Rock n' Roll or proto-rock) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s.[1][2] It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and blues, boogie-woogie, electric blues, gospel, and jump blues,[3] as well as country music.[4] While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s[5] and in country records of the 1930s,[6] the genre did not acquire its name until 1954.[7][2]

According to the journalist Greg Kot, "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll."[8] For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with the first definition.

In the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. These instruments were generally replaced or supplemented by the electric guitar in the mid-to-late 1950s.[9] The beat is essentially a dance rhythm[10] with an accentuated backbeat, almost always provided by a snare drum.[11] Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or more electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm) and a double bass (string bass). After the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars ("Fender bass") and drum kits became popular in classic rock.[9]

Rock and roll had a profound influence on contemporary American lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language, and is often portrayed in movies, fan magazines, and on television. Some people believe that the music had a positive influence on the civil rights movement, because of its widespread appeal to both Black American and White American teenagers.[12][13]

  1. ^ Christopher John, Farley (July 6, 2004). "Elvis Rocks. But He's Not the First". Time. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference dawson propes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Considine, J.D. (December 5, 1993). "The missing link in the evolution of rock and roll JUMP BLUES". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Larry Birnbaum, Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll, Scarecrow Press, 2013, p.vii-x.
  5. ^ Davis, Francis. The History of the Blues (New York: Hyperion, 1995), ISBN 0-7868-8124-0.
  6. ^ Peterson, Richard A. Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity (1999), p. 9, ISBN 0-226-66285-3.
  7. ^ "The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll 1946–1954". 2004. Universal Music Enterprises.
  8. ^ Kot, Greg, "Rock and roll" Archived April 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, in the Encyclopædia Britannica, published online 17 June 2008 and also in print and in the Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference DVD; Chicago : Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010
  9. ^ a b S. Evans, "The development of the Blues" in A. F. Moore, ed., The Cambridge companion to blues and gospel music (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 40–42.
  10. ^ Busnar, Gene, It's Rock 'n' Roll: A musical history of the fabulous fifties, Julian Messner, New York, 1979, p. 45
  11. ^ P. Hurry, M. Phillips, and M. Richards, Heinemann advanced music (Heinemann, 2001), pp. 153–4.
  12. ^ G. C. Altschuler, All shook up: how rock 'n' roll changed America (Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2003), p. 35.
  13. ^ McNally, Dennis (October 26, 2014). "How Rock and Roll Killed Jim Crow". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 6, 2022.