Rock And Roll History

Music is so much more than just sound. It is the way that we feel; the way that we can reminiscence, a part of our culture, a direct line to our heritage. The roots of the music that we listen to come from all parts of the world, probably from not where we think. My focus overall in the musical experience I will be drawing my attention to rock and roll. There are so many different forms of this genre of music and the era where it became noticeable- the twentieth century. To begin with, the original sound of rock and roll is much different from some of the rock songs that we hear today. The sounds of rock and roll in current times sound loud, sometimes harsh, at times not at all able to hear or understand the lyrics. There are also some beautiful

Due to segregation and racist attitudes, however, none of the greatest artists of the genre could get much airplay.” (America Rocks and Rolls) Then, rock and roll made its way to suburbia, many people did not know how to react. The popular music of the time were artists such as Frank Sinatra, different times of big bands and swing, rock and roll took this decade by storm. The parents and the older generations were appalled at this type of music. Some, even thought it was directly related to Satan or everything that the good “Leave It to Beaver” style family was not. Frank Sinatra was even quoted as saying this about rock and roll in 1957: “Rock and roll is the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression — lewd, sly, in plain fact, dirty — a rancid-smelling aphrodisiac and the martial music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth.” (America Rocks and Rolls) This did not stop younger people from dancing and moving to the unique music, much to the dismay of their parents. Then, came a disc jockey, Alan Freed, who loved the sound so much, and wanted it to be heard nationwide, is credited the term rock and roll on his Cleveland radio station. Everyone was finally able to hear what rock and roll was. Since, early rock had so much soul because of the rhythm and blues and even jazz influence, white singers had a hard type producing the sound, without it sounding fake or even forced. That was, until Elvis Presley. He is one of the most famous singers and performers of all time. He performed rock and roll on The Ed Sullivan show, and people went crazy. His looks, charm, dance moves and his soulful voice reached everyone and they fell in love. He has many rock and roll hits in the 1950s when rock and roll was still tabooed, but he was