The History of Rock

    The year was 1955. Most adults had just discovered rock ’n’ roll. And they were horrified.

    A movie called Blackboard Jungle came out that March. In the movie, teenagers take over a city high school. Gang members fight with knives. Students throw baseballs at teachers.

    The teens’ music is the first thing the movie audience hears. It starts with a drum beat. Then comes the song “Rock Around the Clock.” There’s a screaming saxophone and a fast guitar solo. And it’s all played at top volume.

    Adults had never heard anything like rock ’n’ roll. And to many of them, it sounded like a bad influence. It turned kids into criminals, they said. And it was spreading like a sickness.

    But it didn’t matter what the adults thought. Before long, rock ’n’ roll was here to stay.

    The year was 1955. Most adults had just heard rock ’n’ roll. And they didn’t like it.

    A movie called Blackboard Jungle came out that year. In the movie, teens take over a high school. Gang members fight. Students throw baseballs at teachers.

    The teens’ music is the first thing the movie audience hears. It starts with a drum beat. Then comes the song “Rock Around the Clock.” There’s a loud saxophone. There’s a guitar solo. And it’s all played at top volume.

    Adults had never heard anything like rock ’n’ roll. Many thought it was a bad influence. It turned kids into criminals, they said. 

    But it didn’t matter what the adults thought. Rock ’n’ roll was here to stay.

    The year was 1955. Most adults had just discovered rock ’n’ roll—and they were horrified.

    A movie called Blackboard Jungle came out that March. In the movie, teenagers take over a city high school: Gang members fight with knives, and students throw baseballs at teachers.

    The teens’ music is the first thing the movie audience hears. It starts with a drum beat. Then comes the song “Rock Around the Clock.” There’s a screaming saxophone and a fast-paced guitar solo—and it’s all played at top volume.

    Adults had never heard anything like rock ’n’ roll, and many of them considered the music a bad influence. It transformed decent kids into criminals, they claimed—and it was spreading like a disease.

    But it made no difference what the adults thought: Before long, rock ’n’ roll was here to stay.

    Rock ’n’ roll—or something like it—had actually been around for a while. It was called rhythm and blues, or R&B for short. And it was played by black musicians. R&B came from blues music and from the gospel music of Southern churches. 

    But this music was not for Sunday morning worship. R&B musicians played electric guitars—loudly. The drums carried a heavy beat. And the songs made you want to dance. 

    At first, record companies didn’t think white listeners were interested in R&B. At the time, many parts of the country were segregated. Black kids and white kids went to separate schools. They couldn’t go to the same concerts.

    But in the early 1950s, radio stations started playing more R&B. Most of the shows came on late at night. The disc jockeys sounded cool. They had nicknames like Hound Dog and Jumpin’ George. 

    Teens everywhere discovered the new sound. They stayed up late to listen to R&B artists like Fats Domino and Wynonie Harris. They used earphones so their parents couldn’t hear. 

    Soon, white kids were traveling to black neighborhoods to buy records. Then white musicians got involved. They recorded their own versions of R&B songs. Sometimes they added a country-western feel. And rock ’n’ roll was born.

    Rock ’n’ roll—or something like it—had actually been around for a while. It was called rhythm and blues, or R&B for short. It was played by black musicians. R&B came from blues music and from the gospel music of Southern churches.

    But this music was not for Sunday morning worship. R&B musicians played electric guitars. The music made you want to dance.

    Record companies didn’t think white teens liked R&B. At the time, many parts of the country were segregated. Black kids and white kids went to separate schools. They couldn’t go to the same concerts.

    But in the early 1950s, radio stations started playing more R&B. They played it at night. Teens liked the new sound. They stayed up late to listen to R&B artists like Fats Domino. They used earphones so their parents couldn’t hear.

    Soon, white kids were going to black neighborhoods to buy records. Then white musicians got involved. They recorded their own versions of R&B songs. Some added a country-western feel. And rock ’n’ roll was born.

    Rock ’n’ roll—or something similar—had actually existed for a while. It was called rhythm and blues, or R&B for short, and it was played by black musicians. R&B evolved from blues music and from the gospel music of Southern churches.

    But this music wasn’t intended for Sunday morning worship. R&B musicians played electric guitars—loudly. The drums carried a heavy beat, and the songs gave listeners the urge to dance.

    Initially, record companies didn’t think white listeners were interested in R&B. At the time, many regions of the country were segregated. Black kids and white kids attended separate schools and couldn’t go to the same concerts. Racism was a problem across the country.

    But in the early 1950s, radio stations started playing more R&B. Most of the shows came on late at night. The disc jockeys sounded cool and had nicknames like Hound Dog and Jumpin’ George.

    Teenagers everywhere discovered the new sound. They stayed up late to listen to R&B artists like Fats Domino and Wynonie Harris, using earphones so their parents couldn’t hear.

    Before long, white kids were traveling to black neighborhoods to buy records. Then white musicians got in on the act, recording their own versions of R&B songs. Sometimes they added a country-western feel. And rock ’n’ roll was born.

    Many adults—white and black—didn’t understand the new music. And they even tried to stop it. Concerts were canceled in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The city of Atlanta banned dancing in public.

    The scariest performer of all seemed to be Elvis Presley. He was the biggest rock star of the time. On stage, he wore tight leather pants. He shook his hips when he danced. 

    In 1957, Elvis performed on a popular TV show. The TV station refused to show him from the waist down because of his dance moves.

    But no one could hide rock ’n’ roll from its fans. Teenagers had chosen their music. 

    It was made specifically for their generation. They knew their parents hated rock ’n’ roll— and that only made them like it more. 

    Many adults, white and black, did not like the new music. They tried to stop it. Concerts were canceled in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The city of Atlanta banned dancing in public.

    The biggest rock star of the time was Elvis Presley. He wore tight leather pants. He shook his hips when he danced.

    In 1957, Elvis performed on a popular TV show. The station would not show him from the waist down.

    But no one could hide rock music from its fans. Teens had chosen their music.

    It was made for their generation. Their parents hated rock ’n’ roll. And that made them like it even more. 

    Many adults—white and black—found the new music baffling. Some even made attempts to stop it. Concerts were canceled in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. The city of Atlanta banned dancing in public.

    The most alarming performer of all seemed to be Elvis Presley. He was the biggest rock star of the time. He wore tight leather pants and shook his hips when he danced. 

    In 1957, Elvis performed on a popular TV show. The station refused to show him from the waist down because of his dance moves.

    But there was no hiding rock ’n’ roll from its fans. Teenagers had chosen their music.

    It was made specifically for their generation. They knew their parents hated rock ’n’ roll—and that only made them like it more.