History

Origins

Rock and Roll in its various guises came from a fusion of musical cultures, and in turn its influence fed back to these cultures, a process of borrowings, influences and new ideas that continues to develop rock music.

Rock 'n' Roll diversifies

Rock 'n' Roll had runaway success in the U.S. and quickly brought sanitised rhythm and blues influenced music to an international audience. Its success led to a dilution, as promoters were quick to attach the label to other commercial pop, and original stars such as Elvis Presley were diverted into ballads more in keeping with previous ideas of pop. The excitement and drive of the music was not forgotten, and there was a widening diversification of styles.

Early Rock 'n' Roll

Rock 'n' Roll started off in the early-to-mid 1950s in the United States of America . African-American artists such as Chuck Berry , Little Richard , Bo Diddley and Fats Domino played predominantly to African American crowds. While these key early rockers were indisposed to racism, local authorities and dance halls were very much divided upon racial lines. Mainstream acceptance of rock and roll in the mid-1950s when what Bo Diddley describes as 'au fait dudes' (or Caucasians) signed to major labels and started covering their material. Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets are the biggest examples of such stars to achieve early mainstream success. Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens , The Big Bopper , Jerry Lee Lewis and the more rockabilly Johnny Cash are also early innovators of the genre. These artists were 'tight' and often toured and played together in dance halls and clubs across America and Britain.

Arguably, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley are two of the most influential guitarists in Rock and Roll history, particularly to British group the Rolling Stones . Berry was known for his guitar riff orientated style and soloing, and Diddley for his experimentation with tremolo and rhythm.

Towards the end of the 1950s "chessboard" crowds (both black and white patrons) would emerge at Rock and Roll concerts as fans would discover the original artists of the songs they knew from television and the radio, such as Little Richard's Tutti Frutti .

The genre ignited British enthusiasm for rhythm and blues and the development of British rock . The 1960 name The Fabulous Silver Beatles was partly a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets , and was later shortened to The Beatles .

Surf music

The rockabilly sound influenced the West Coast development of a wild, mostly instrumental sound called surf music , though surf culture saw itself as a competing youth culture to Rock and Roll. This style, exemplified by Dick Dale and The Surfaris , featured faster tempos, innovative percussion, and processed electric guitar sounds with a British equivalent at the same time from groups like The Shadows , which would be highly influential upon future rock guitarists. Other West Coast bands, notably The Beach Boys , Mr. Shears and the Wavettes , and Jan and Dean , would capitalize on the surf craze, slowing the tempos back down and adding harmony vocals to create the "California Sound."

British rock

In the United Kingdom the Trad jazz movement brought visiting blues music artists and Lonnie Donegan 's 1955 hit " Rock Island Line " began Skiffle music groups throughout the country, including John Lennon 's " The Quarry Men " formed in March 1957 as a precursor to The Beatles . Britain was quick to become a new centre of rock and roll, without the color barriers which kept "race records" or Rhythm and Blues separate in the U.S.. Cliff Richard had the first British rock 'n' roll hit with " Move It ", beginning the different sound of British rock .

At the start of the 1960s his backing group The Shadows was one of a number of groups having success with Surf music instrumentals. Rock 'n' Roll' was fading into lightweight pop and schmaltzy ballads, but at clubs and local dances British rock groups were starting to play with an intensity and drive seldom found in white American acts, heavily influenced by Blues-rock pioneers like Alexis Korner . By the end of 1962 the British rock scene had started, with groups drawing on a wide range of American influences including Soul music , Rhythm and Blues and Surf music , playing for dancers doing the Twist . The music quickly evolved and developed to dominate pop music world-wide. First reinterpreting standard American tunes, these groups then infused their original rock compositions with an industrial-class sensibility and increasingly complex musical ideas.

The Beatles rose to the fore, bringing together an appealing mix of image, songwriting, and personality. In late 1963 the Rolling Stones started, as one of a number of groups increasingly showing blues influence such as The Animals and The Yardbirds , and in late 1964 The Kinks , followed by The Who , represented the new Mod style. The increasing musical adventurousness of the groups is exemplified by the Beatles' Rubber Soul of 1965. Drug references increased as music moved towards the birth of Psychedelia.

British invasion

After their initial success in the UK, The Beatles launched a large-scale US tour to ecstatic reaction, a phenomenon quickly dubbed Beatlemania . Although they were not the first British band to come to America, The Beatles spearheaded the Invasion, triumphing in the US on their first visit in 1964 (including historic appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show ). In the wake of Beatlemania other British bands headed to the U.S., notably the Rolling Stones (who disdained the Beatles' clean-cut image and presented a darker, more aggressive image), and other acts like The Animals and The Yardbirds . Throughout the early and mid-'60s Americans seemed to have an insatiable appetite for British rock. Other British bands, including The Who , had some success during this period but saved their peak of popularity for the second wave of British invasion in the late 1960s.

 

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