In the beginning of Rock ‘n’ Roll it was common for white musicians to cover songs that were originally produced and recorded by African American musicians. To cover a song means to reproduce the song by a different artist, other then the original. For example, Hound Dog was originally by Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton but Elvis Presley largely popularized it, through his cover. The song, although sung by two different artists, shares several similarities, such as having a similar lyric pattern and similar instrumental techniques. As for differences, when the song is sung by Willie Mae it has more of a blues feeling/rhythm. When Elvis Presley sings the song, it has more of a Rock ‘n’ Roll feeling/rhythm. Also when sung by Elvis, there is a faster…
A few years after World War 2, the music genre Rock N’ Roll was created. It originated from Rhythm and Blues and Country. In the early 1950’s there was three musicians that joined the world of Rock N’ Roll. Their names were Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. They each had their own style of Rock N’ Roll. But some individuals couldn’t decide who the true king of Rock N’ Roll was. In my opinion, Elvis Presley was the true king of Rock N’ Roll because, of his crazy dance moves, how he broke the social barrier between the black folk and the white folk, and today’s generation knows who Elvis Presley was.…
The creation of rock and roll (shortened to rock ’n roll) happened over several generations. It was created from different races, religions, and musical rebels. In the early 1900’s African Americans in the southern United States played blues and spiritual music. Robert Johnson began playing blues on his guitar in the 1930’s. This was a great influence on rock ’n roll generations later. In the first half of the 1900’s many white musicians were playing and listening to country music. This music, along with the blues in the south, had a great influence on rock ’n roll. In 1951 what is now known as the first rock ’n roll song was recorded. Rocket 88 was recorded by a group of African-American musicians in Memphis’ Sun Studio. By 1952 Alan Freed,…
Early rock and roll music absorbed a lot of elements of African-American music, such as blues and jazz. These black popular music elements appeared frequently in early rock and roll songs, and were favored by white youth during 1950s.…
Although there are many more artists that had major contributions towards the growth and prosperity of Rock ‘N’ Roll, those major artists mentioned really helped shaped the genre into what it is today. For example, the most notable Elvis Presley combined different types of music in order to form a new style of rock ‘n’ roll called “rockabilly”. This intern (in turn?) became one of the key and essential sounds within rock ’n’ roll. Elvis created rockabilly by fusing the already popular rhythm and blues sounds of African Americans, the country-western sounds of the South, with the pop musical style genres that dominated the recording industries and mainstream radio8. (Altschuler 51) The combination of these respective musical genres and sounds into a new style of music and rock ‘n’ roll was one of Elvis’s main contributions to popular culture and mainstream society. This integration of these musical styles took place just preceding the civil rights movement, foreshadowing social integration, Elvis made this moment in pop culture history even more historic. His music was not the only part that captured a multitude of audiences across the United States, but also the incorporation of his gyrating hips and the shaking of his legs.9 (Altschuler, Glenn Page107) These signature moves commonly associated with Elvis are still seen in teen rock today. Additionally, Elvis would also sing close to the microphone and jump up and down with his…
s major influences were Gospel and the Blues: predominantly African American genres [2]. So here we have this young white performer, often called the "King of Rock and Roll", who is loved by many white Americans, using genres that have their roots in the black community. So basically Elvis, "whose musical and visual performance idiom owed much to African American sources achieved the cultural acknowledgment and commercial success largely denied his black peers." [2] So while Elvis himself was said to be very supportive of the black community, many white Americans still shunned the black community. Hence, the indirect message was 'your contribution only matters if it benefits white Americans.' Not far from a slave owner's mentality: we'll…
Elvis Presley: The King of Rock’n’Roll "Behind closed doors I sat and waited, remembering our life together - the joy, the pain, the sadness, and the triumphs - from the very first time I heard his name" (3, 15). Priscilla Presley wrote these words as she recalled the life of her husband. The early life, later life, and achieve of Elvis Presley made a long-lasting impact on the whole world. Elvis Aaron Presley had a very interesting early life. His childhood was pretty typical.…
Thirty six years after his death, Elvis Aaron Presley, known as the King of Rock and Roll, is thought of as much as if he was yet alive and still successful and making progress. Millions of people pay tribute to Elvis, The King of Rock and Roll, every year during the anniversary of his death, August 16, 1977. Throughout the world, Elvis Presley’s talent, good looks, and compassion have earned the admiration of millions of fans. According to Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., because of his huge success during his career, his image and work are constantly repeated in people’s lives through his impersonators and music by various music artists. John Lennon said, “Before Elvis, there was nothing.” (Logan). Therefore, he had a huge impact for people’s way of life through his determination to succeed through rock and roll music, television experiences, and legacy that he left behind that has inspired others to follow his footsteps that still make him successful today.…
The article “When America Was Rocked” tells about how the American culture was changed and shaped throughout the 1940s and 1960s. One of the biggest changes was the amount of young people in America and the music they listened to. Young people at this time were being called reckless or rebellious. However most teenagers found out that they could express themselves better through music. Music at this time was sang only by white people, but a new genre called “race music” was becoming very popular. Race music, or as we know now as rock and roll, was a mix of blues, country and white gospel. Although Race music was very popular, it was hard to find a white person who sang this type of music. Until one day Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records to record two songs. Elvis became an…
Elvis Aaron Presley, a Rock-N- Roll icon, was born on January 8, 1935. His parents are Vernon and Gladys Presley. Presley was born a twin, but his identical brother was stillborn. Elvis’s original middle name was Aron to resemble his stillborn twin’s middle name, but he legally changed it to Aaron as a biblical and traditional spelling. In 1953, Elvis cut his first demo at Sun Studio; he also began touring all over America. Born in rural Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew to become one of the most famous icons in Rock-N-Roll history (Petersen page 1-2).…
On January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Aaron Presley was born. While his brother was stillborn, he was an only child to mother and father Gladys and Vernon Presley. Elvis' family was poor because his dad couldn't find a job to hold down. Elvis' mom and him lived with his grandmother because his dad was in prison for 8 months. While Elvis was growing up he was close to his mom and was a very shy child.…
In the late 60s he started to struggle with his weight and depended a lot on drugs (Benson et al). Elvis was the first rock and roll star and teen’s parents despised him. He moved his hips in a very sexual manner, danced around with a microphone, combed back his hair in a very specific way (Newman). June Bundy, a feminist author reports that rock and roll music began to drive some teengaers wild as they listened and danced to the rhythm of the music in public places while unaware of the consequences to come. Also it influenced kids to speak their minds, try, and experience new things that would also cause them trouble later on (Bundy).Juny also reports that “teenagers’ sometimes rowdy manners during these events made them easy prey to arrest.” Teenagers would not care of the actions they were partaking in which would get them in huge trouble especially since their parents didn’t want them to listen to rock they would do it anyway. Even though Elvis had his ups and downs, he still maintained his popularity and fame, remaining at the top of the…
Elvis Presley is considered a legend by many people today. He is commonly referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll.” Elvis has sold over one billion records and has 151 albums and singles (Kemp). Elvis is the artist with the largest number of gold, platinum, and multiplatinum certificates (Kemp). Elvis has performed in many arenas in the United States. Elvis Presley changed the culture of the United States by changing fandom, views on segregation, music, stardom, and fashion. Without Elvis, we would not live in the world we know today.…
This was a time of change in music and even lifestyle. The rise of rock and roll developed through this time. Who would not want to live during this era. As the late fifties gave way to the early sixties, the famous rock stars such as The Everlys, Elvis, Roy Orbison, were still making historical hits, but the older music stars were losing popularity as they struggled to find musical material that would connect with this new and energetic generation of kids. Rock music became controlled by new young groups, taking their power from a combination of the performer's charisma along with the songwriting talents of the production team, who worked behind the scenes( "A BRIEF HISTORY OF POP AND ROCK MUSIC IN THE 1960'S."). The music we have today can be reflected off the music during this time. The music during WWII was old and boring, but the sixties gave rise to rock and roll which became very popular for a few decades. You cannot even deny that The Beatles are a bad band, do you wish you grew up with…
It was often associated with rebellion and a rebellious period, particularly among the youth population. Rock n Roll, first attempted by artists like Elvis Presley and Jimmie Hendrix in the early 1960’s, was unusual and was one of the first influences of the rebellious life style teenagers were seeking. The introduction of drugs and swearing in music, alike TV shows, In the modern era has changed the face of our music, and just about every song nowadays would be rejected in the 50’s and previous decades, including styles just like, rap. The music of that time explored the concerns and interests of the ongoing social changes and a number of social influences changed what popular music was and gave birth to the diversity that we experience with music today. Musicians experimented with what was considered “black music” which made more and more black musicians popular throughout the decade, reflecting the social issue of civil rights. That has had an effect in our era because, most popular artist are of an african-american culture. R&B, Rock n Roll were two popular genres in the mid 60’s, they promoted freedom which helped form the hippie movement, promoting freedom, sexual liberation and drug use as well as the rebel against previous norms. Although the style of music is different to the 60’s today, their are still a…