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First Came the Blues
The Blues was its own genre long before jazz developed. Originating on Southern plantations in the 19th Century, the Blues is deeply rooted in various forms of African American slave songs such as field hollers, work songs, spirituals, and country string ballads. -
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The Rise of Jazz
Jazz rose from New Orleans as “Dixieland,” blending together the uniquely African American sounds of Blues, Ragtime, and Afro-Caribbean music. The Jazz Age was an important period in America’s music history due to the significant cultural shift taking place in a post-World War I society. Jazz was about celebration, joy, rebellion, and dancing! It brought an element of freedom back into people’s lives after the hard times of the war. -
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Rock & Roll Royalty: Sister Rosetta Tharpe
She spent her early years performing in churches with an evangelist group that travelled around the United States. Her big break came with a record called "rock Me." She was a female guitarist in a male-dominated genre at a time when female musicians rarely took center stage. She was the first gospel performer to play the whites-only Cotton Club and Harlem’s Apollo Theater. “Strange Things Happening Every Day” became an early model for that distinct rock and roll sound. -
sad beginnings
Teenagers were instrumental to the rise of Rock and Roll in the United States. This new generation of young people was much larger than any in recent memory, and the prosperity of the time gave teens money to spend on records. Music executives saw an opportunity to capitalize off the sudden popularity of this youthful sound, but the racism of the era made it difficult to get any African American artists on mainstream radio or secure record deals. -
The beginning
Many southern African Americans moved to the bustling big cities of the north to find better jobs. They brought the dance-able sounds of R&B and Rock and Roll with them, and this new music immediately struck a chord with suburban teenagers. -
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Rock & Roll
While it has its roots in gospel and country – Rock and Roll’s most direct influence is the Blues, a style of music that originated on the plantations in the Deep South in the early 19th century. From the Blues came Rhythm & Blues (R&B), and as R&B became more uptempo – it evolved into Rock and Roll. -
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Rock & Roll Royalty: Jimi Hendricks
Widely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Jimi was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in Seattle, Washington. After an honourable discharge from the US Army jimi began performing under the stage name Jimmy James as a session musician for B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Little Richard and others. He then went on to form The Jimi Hendricks Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. -
The LP or Long Playing Vinyl Record
Columbia Records introduces the 33 & 1/3 rpm 12 inch LP (long play) vinyl record album which allows over 20 minutes of playing time per side. The LP would soon replace the 78 rpm record, the standard format of the time, which allowed only 5 recorded minutes per side. -
Big Mama Thornton "Hound Dog"
Ariton, Alabama blues shouter Big Mama Thornton enjoys seven weeks at #1 R&B with the single "Hound Dog", the first song written and produced by the Los Angeles songwriting duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. -
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley and His Comets, a former western swing band from Chester, Pennsylvania writes a song based on teen slang called "Crazy Man, Crazy" which climbs to #12 on the US Pop Charts. Haley and His Comets are the first white band to succeed with rock & roll. -
R&B Backlash
Hank Ballard (shown at right), Big Joe Turner and other R&B stars are attacked in the press for their suggestive lyrics, although cleaned up versions of their songs continue to score hits for white artists including The Crew Cuts, Pat Boone, Gale Storm and many others. -
Top 40 Radio
As home entertainment options increase, dramatic radio programs move to television, opening space for more music on radio. Disc Jockey's, who can attract an audience spinning records on radio, are in demand. The Top 40 emerges as a radio format that focuses on playing current hits. -
Elvis Presley "That's Alright"
Sun Records in Memphis, TN releases the debut single from local discovery Elvis Presley, a cover of Mississippi Delta bluesman Arthur Crudup's 1947 recording "That's Alright", The single is a regional hit in the mid-south, with support from Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips (with Presley at left), but fails to gain national attention.