This web page attempts to explore the roots of rock in such
a way as to illuminate the natural progression of musical styles. Too often
the study of rock begins with Bill Haley and His Comets and includes scant
information about the blues and rhythm records that he, and others, used
as a model. A musical genre does not simply appear, it gradually evolves
to a point in time when some event-performance, publication, or recording
allows listeners to perceive its unique qualities and apply a label. Wyonnie
Harris' 1947 recording of "Good Rocking Tonight" was one of many "rhythm
records" made during the late 1940s, however when it was recorded by Elvis
Presley in 1954 it seemed like a new and different approach. What made it
seem new and different was its context. Without exploring the history of
black popular music, country and western music, race relations, technical
developments, and the music business one can be led easily to the conclusion
that rock and roll was some new and different music which appeared suddenly.
This page begins with the African musical traits brought
here beginning in 1619 and attempts to trace their fusion with the European
music brought here by the colonists. The story of this musical interaction
is also the story of American popular music and includes the plantation
songs of Stephen Foster, the ragtime
of Scott Joplin,
the blues of Bessie
Smith, the jazz
of Count Basie,
and the jump bands of Louis Jordan. The knowledge of the stream of American
popular music allows one to understand that rock and roll was a natural
result of the combined forces that affected the music.
Changing
the World: Rock and Roll Culture and Ideology
Race, Class and Rock
and Roll
Birth of
Rock and Roll and the Teenager
Journey
of Sound
Roots
 The Majors |
The Founders |
The Indies |
More Indies |
The Music Room