Rock & Roll: A Brief History

Origins to the late 70’s

Beginnings

• Mixing of jazz, blues, gospel, country, and folk music

• Migrant African Americans took cultural music with them north

• Settled in cities such as Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and New York

• With the ending of World War 2 rock and roll began to take stage and emerge as popular music

The Early Years

• No one artist “invented” rock & roll

• “melting pot” of many different genres

• Acts like Jackie Brenson and Bill Haley are contenders for first rock albums (1951 & 54)

• Many early artist were African American

• Music way of retaining their unique cultural identities

Rockabilly

• As rock became more mainstream, white artists began to dominate

• Acts like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis emerged from the South

• Grew out of these singers country music roots

• Buddy Holly was a major influence on future artists from “across the pond”

The Electric Guitar

• Gibson Les Paul• 1952

• Fender Stratocaster• 1954

Across the Pond

• American Rockabilly became quite popular in England

• Early acts like Tom Steele and The Quarrymen tried to imitate the style

• Cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and London became centers for British Rock

• The Quarrymen would evolve into one of the most popular and well recognized bands in history

The Beatles• Formed in 1962 in

Liverpool• Brought rock to a new

level of popularity “Pop Rock”

• Sold more records than anyone in history

• Shifted rock from popular “rockabilly” to deeper more drug infused subjects

The Rolling Stones

• Formed in 1962 in London

• Took more of a “bluesy” approach to rock and roll

• Hugely influenced by African American music in the south

• Response to the “pop” image of The Beatles

Americas Response

• The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan• Represented the growing wave of social change and reform • Cultural reactions to the Vietnam War• Woodstock 69’

From Rock to Hard Rock

The Who• Formed in London in 1964• Captures the feelings of

teenage angst• Anger and rebellion towards

parents and authority figures

Led Zeppelin• Formed in London in 1968• Also captures this angst, but

more focused on teenage love and sex

• Connection to mystical figures and legends

The End of Legends

• Excessive drug and alcohol use led to the demise of rock’s greats

• Keith Moon• John Bonham• Jimi Hendrix• Brian Jones• some suffered death at

the hand of others• John Lennon

• With the deaths, many of these bands like…

• Led Zeppelin• The Who• Decided not to carry on

without their band members

• Others replaced members and decided to carry on like…

• The Rolling Stones