ROCK N’ ROLL DISCOVERED
Rock and Roll was a cultural revolution and after its birth, music would never be the same again. Originating in America at the dawn of the fifties, rock and roll was an exhilarating fusion of blues, gospel, boogie woogie, jazz and country music. Although in use much earlier, ‘rock and roll’ as a term was popularized by American DJ Alan Freed and his radio show, Moondog’s Rock and Roll Party. Recognizable by its blues rhythm and accentuated backbeat, rock and roll came out of America’s southern states at a time when America was racially segregated. It was popular among black and white teens and broke down racial barriers by introducing black artists to white audiences. The term ‘rock and roll’ was also risqué, emerging from African American slang for sexual activity in early blues recordings. From the very beginning, rock and roll was seen in terms of youth rebellion and was linked to almost every social problem in America, and later in the U.K. Like the blues and jazz music before it, rock and roll was perceived as a threat to established norms, not least of all by other artists. Cellist Pablo Casals described it as, “Poison put to sound”. Frank Sinatra was not a fan either, berating the music for its “dirty lyrics” and describing it as “the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has ever been my misfortune to hear”.Early rock and roll tended to feature a piano or saxophone as the lead instrument. This set up was supplemented with a guitar by the mid fifties. Classic rock and roll music featured one or two electric guitars – one lead, one rhythm – a string bass, but after the mid fifties, commonly featured an electric bass guitar and drum kit. It may have had a rockabilly sound, but this music had a whole new attitude.
The importance of rock and roll as a genre was powerfully articulated by Rolling Stone magazine: “Much has been made of sixties rock as a vehicle for revolutionary and cultural change, but it was mid fifties rock and roll that blew away in one mighty, concentrated blast, the accumulated racial and social proprieties of centuries.” The artists featured in this collection have all been pivotal in the establishment and development of the genre. Not only did they make the music that changed music itself, they lived the rock and roll lifestyle where sex, drugs and bad behavior were all but compulsory. Perhaps that is why Rolling Stone Keith Richards said: “Rock and Roll: music for the neck downwards.”
