Rock & Roll

When did Rock ’n’ Roll begin? This question has been debated with great passion for decades now, and is no closer to a definitive answer. What we can say, however, is that rock and roll grew out of a number of styles of music popular in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s. In particular, rhythm and blues, country music, boogie-woogie jazz and even uptempo gospel music were all part of the "race music" mix in the Southern states where rock and roll was born.
The artists who helped the style cross over to a white audience, thus expanding its influence massively, were four of the biggest names of the 1950s: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. And who were those artists listening to? Etta James and Little Richard, Ruth Brown and Fats Domino. A key tune, most historians agree, was "Rocket 88" by Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm (recording under a pseudonym).
Stars of the early rock and roll scene included Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Eddie Cochrane, and of course the eternal genius of Chuck Berry.
In the UK, the arrival of 78 RPM sides and later 7" singles from America, often in the luggage of US servicemen, led to an explosion of new music there too, especially in the early 1960s with acts such as Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Tommy Steele, and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates.
Rock ’n’ Roll. It’s simple, direct, and guaranteed to get your feet tapping.