50's Essay

General
The 50’s was the decade that gave us the still well known and well loved music genre of Rock’n’Roll.
Other than Rock’n’Roll country music, traditional pop, and rhythm and blues were the main genres of the 50’s.
Rock’n’Roll
Bill Haley & His Comets, a group that was founded in 1952, were some of the first to play this specific genre
In 1954 the Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” became the first song ever used for a movie’s soundtrack.
Is believed to be a mix of rhythm, blues, and country music.
It was quite a controversial genre of music as it was believed that Rock’n’Roll negatively influenced the youth.
Traditional Pop
The music that was popular between the big band era and the Rock’n’Roll era is known as Traditional Pop
In traditional
pop songs the human voice is the most important part
Well known artists of this genre include Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra
Traditional pop has throughout the years involved into what we call pop music
Instruments
Saxophone and piano were the main instruments heard in songs from the early 50’s
The later part of the decade’s music was dominated by guitar, drums, bass.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8th, 1935
He’s known worldwide as “The King of Rock’n’Roll”
He was active as a musician and actor for 24 years (1953-1977) and produced a lot of hits during those years
Some of his biggest hits include “Hound Dog” (1956) (that has been named the second best song of the 50’s by the website NME), “Jailhouse Rock” (1957), “Don’t be Cruel” (1956), and “Mystery Train” (1956).
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis, also known as “The Killer” was born on September 29th,1935
He’s been active since 1954 and has been a big part of the “Rock’n’Roll” community throughout these years
One of his most famous songs is “The Great Balls of Fire” (1957), a song featured on the movie Top Gun’s soundtrack.
Some of his other hits include “Wild One!” (1958) and “Sweet Little Sixteen (1958)
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25th, 1917
Fitzgerald was an American singer also known as “First Lady of Song” that sang a lot of different genres including traditional pop and jazz and that was active between
1934-1993
Fitzgerald has, to name a few, sang “My Funny Little Valentine”, “Love for Sale”, and “How Long Has This Gone One”
The “First Lady of Song” was also a part of the jazz movie “Pete Kelly’s Blues”
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12th, 1915
Sinatra was a producer, actor, and singer active 1935-1995
Some of his songs include “April in Paris” (1958) and “Castle Rock” (1951)