'''Rock and roll''' (often written as '''rock & roll''' or '''rock 'n' roll''') is a genre of [[popular music]] that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s,<ref>{{cite web|author=Farley, Christopher John|url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,661084,00.html|title=Elvis Rocks But He's Not the First|date=July 6, 2004|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref><ref name="Dawson and Propes">Jim Dawson and Steve Propes, ''What Was the First Rock'n'Roll Record'' (1992), {{ISBN|0-571-12939-0}}.</ref> from [[African Americans|African American]] musical styles such as [[gospel music|gospel]], [[jump blues]], [[jazz]], [[boogie woogie]], and [[rhythm and blues]],<ref>Christ-Janer, Albert, Charles W. Hughes, and Carleton Sprague Smith, ''American Hymns Old and New'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980), p. 364, {{ISBN|0-231-03458-X}}.</ref> along with [[country music]].<ref name=Peterson>Peterson, Richard A. ''Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity'' (1999), p. 9, {{ISBN|0-226-66285-3}}.</ref> While elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s<ref>Davis, Francis. ''The History of the Blues'' (New York: Hyperion, 1995), {{ISBN|0-7868-8124-0}}.</ref> and in country records of the 1930s,<ref name=Peterson /> the genre did not acquire its name until 1954.<ref>"The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll 1946–1954". 2004. Universal Music Enterprises.</ref><ref>Dawson, Jim & Propes, Steve, ''What was the first rock 'n' roll record?'', Faber & Faber, {{ISBN|0-571-12939-0}}, 1992.</ref>

According to [[Greg Kot]], "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the U.S. in the 1950s prior to its development by the mid-1960s into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known as rock and roll."<ref name="kot-eb">Kot, Greg, [https://www.britannica.com/art/rock-and-roll-early-style-of-rock-music "Rock and roll"], in the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', published [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online|online]] 17 June 2008 and also in print and in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference'' DVD; Chicago : Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010</ref> For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with the first definition.

In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s.<ref name=Evans2002/> The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated [[Backbeat (music)|backbeat]], which is almost always provided by a [[snare drum]].<ref>P. Hurry, M. Phillips, and M. Richards, ''Heinemann advanced music'' (Heinemann, 2001), pp. 153–4.</ref> Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a double bass or string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit.<ref name=Evans2002>S. Evans, "The development of the Blues" in A. F. Moore, ed., ''[[Cambridge Companions to Music|The Cambridge companion to blues and gospel music]]'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 40–42.</ref>

Beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music.<ref name=Altshuler2003p35>G. C. Altschuler, ''All shook up: how rock 'n' roll changed America'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2003), p. 35.</ref> It went on to spawn various genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply "[[rock music]]" or "rock".

== Terminology ==
[[File:Birthplace of Rock 'N' Roll.jpg|thumb|Sign commemorating the role of [[Alan Freed]] and [[Cleveland]], Ohio in the origins of rock and roll]]
The term "rock and roll" now has at least two different meanings, both in common usage. The ''[[American Heritage Dictionary]]''<ref>{{cite web | title = Rock music | work = The American Heritage Dictionary | publisher = Bartleby.com | url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/R0279250.html | accessdate =December 15, 2008}}</ref> and the ''[[Merriam-Webster Dictionary]]''<ref>{{cite web | title = Rock and roll | work = Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary | publisher = Merriam-Webster Online | url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rock%20and%20roll | accessdate =December 15, 2008}}</ref> both define rock and roll as synonymous with [[rock music]]. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', on the other hand, regards it as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as rock music".<ref name="kot-eb"/>

The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_UbAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22rocking+and+rolling%22+ship&q=406#v=onepage&q=rocking+and+rolling&f=false|title=The United Service Magazine|date=October 22, 2017|publisher=|via=Google Books}}</ref> but was used by the early twentieth century, both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals<ref name=hoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoyhoy.com/dawn_of_rock.htm |title=Morgan Wright's HoyHoy.com: The Dawn of Rock 'n Roll |publisher=Hoyhoy.com |date=May 2, 1954 |accessdate=April 14, 2012}}</ref> and as a sexual analogy. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became used more frequently – but still intermittently – in the 1940s, on recordings and in reviews of what became known as "rhythm and blues" music aimed at a black audience.<ref name=hoy/>

In 1934, the song "Rock and Roll" by the [[Boswell Sisters]] appeared in the film ''[[Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round]]''. In 1942, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine columnist [[Maurie Orodenker]] started to use the term "rock-and-roll" to describe upbeat recordings such as "Rock Me" by [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MAwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT101&dq=Billboard+may+30+1942&hl=en&ei=EZ97TqDkEYqp8APzh8zFCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Billboard%20may%2030%201942&f=false ''Billboard'', May 30, 1942], page 25. Other examples are in describing [[Vaughn Monroe]]'s "Coming Out Party" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=HwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT54&lpg=PT54&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&source=bl&ots=dUpRjyrLKr&sig=OdCAOgvBtvWpSfBdJnBOWbBGKxw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=faeHUIHMDYTLhAehhoCYCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBjge the issue of June 27, 1942, page 76]; [[Count Basie]]'s "It's Sand, Man", in [https://books.google.com/books?id=OAwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT62&lpg=PT62&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&source=bl&ots=8z5-VZ_8v2&sig=TZ7kcER2pGmGsux86CtvH3AJGHY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tKaHUODHNMKFhQejg4H4Dg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBjgU the issue of October 3, 1942, page 63]; and [[Deryck Sampson]]'s "Kansas City Boogie-Woogie" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=RwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT66&lpg=PT66&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1943&source=bl&ots=XzXvW_I2Fc&sig=fGbWvxH_OcqGdA5kNAnhL8Tk9Hg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kKmHUMq8Es2FhQeXgoHoCw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22rock-and-roll%22&f=false the issue of October 9, 1943, page 67].</ref> By 1943, the "Rock and Roll Inn" in [[Merchantville, New Jersey|South Merchantville, New Jersey]], was established as a music venue.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=YwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT18&lpg=PT18&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1943&source=bl&ots=BmH_2BRc1J&sig=sbUT1QVjJNMo1pmBcIHMMwrM8Hc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GKiHUL6UBsqYhQfCzID4CA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ ''Billboard'', June 12, 1943], page 19</ref> In 1951, [[Cleveland]], Ohio disc jockey [[Alan Freed]] began playing this music style while popularizing the phrase to describe it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bordowitz|first=Hank|title=Turning Points in Rock and Roll|year=2004|publisher=Citadel Press|location=New York, New York|isbn=978-0-8065-2631-7|page=63}}</ref>

== Early rock and roll ==

=== Origins ===
{{Main article|Origins of rock and roll}}

The origins of rock and roll have been fiercely debated by commentators and historians of music.<ref name=AllmusicR&R>{{harvnb |Bogdanov |Woodstra |Erlewine |2002 |p=1303}}</ref> There is general agreement that it arose in the Southern United States – a region which would produce most of the major early rock and roll acts – through the meeting of various influences that embodied a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation.<ref>M. T. Bertrand, ''Race, Rock, and Elvis: Music in American Life'' (University of Illinois Press, 2000), pp. 21–2.</ref> The migration of many former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as [[St. Louis]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[New York City]], [[Detroit]], [[Chicago]], [[Cleveland]], and [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]] (See: [[Second Great Migration (African American)]]) meant that black and white residents were living in close proximity in larger numbers than ever before, and as a result heard each other's music and even began to emulate each other's fashions.<ref>R. Aquila, ''That old-time rock & roll: a chronicle of an era, 1954–1963'' (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000), pp. 4–6.</ref><ref>J. M. Salem, ''The late, great Johnny Ace and the transition from R & B to rock 'n' roll Music in American life'' (University of Illinois Press, 2001), p. 4.</ref> Radio stations that made white and black forms of music available to both groups, the development and spread of the [[gramophone record]], and African-American musical styles such as [[jazz]] and [[Swing music|swing]] which were taken up by white musicians, aided this process of "cultural collision".<ref name=Bertrand2000>M. T. Bertrand, 'Race, rock, and Elvis Music in American life'' (University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 99.</ref>

[[File:Chuck Berry 1957.jpg|215px|thumb|right|[[Chuck Berry]] in 1957]]
The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in the [[rhythm and blues]], then called "[[race music]]",{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 3, show 55}} and [[country music]] of the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> Particularly significant influences were jazz, [[blues]], [[Gospel music|gospel]], country, and [[folk music|folk]].<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> Commentators differ in their views of which of these forms were most important and the degree to which the new music was a re-branding of African-American [[rhythm and blues]] for a white market, or a new hybrid of black and white forms.<ref>A. Bennett, ''Rock and popular music: politics, policies, institutions'' (Routledge, 1993), pp. 236–8.</ref><ref name = KeightleyR&R>K. Keightley, "Reconsidering rock" S. Frith, W. Straw and J. Street, eds, ''The Cambridge companion to pop and rock'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 116.</ref><ref>N. Kelley, ''R&B, rhythm and business: the political economy of Black music'' (Akashic Books, 2005), p. 134.</ref>

In the 1930s, [[jazz]], and particularly [[Swing music|swing]], both in urban-based dance bands and blues-influenced country swing ([[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]], [[Moon Mullican]] and other similar singers), were among the first music to present African-American sounds for a predominantly white audience.<ref name=KeightleyR&R/><ref>E. Wald, ''How the Beatles Destroyed Rock N Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 111–25.</ref> One particularly noteworthy example of a jazz song with recognizably rock and roll elements is [[Big Joe Turner]] with pianist [[Pete Johnson]]'s 1939 single ''[[Roll 'Em Pete]]'', which is regarded as an important precursor of rock and roll.<ref>[[Nick Tosches]], ''Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll'', Secker & Warburg, 1991, {{ISBN|0-436-53203-4}}</ref><ref>Peter J. Silvester, ''A Left Hand Like God : a history of boogie-woogie piano'' (1989), {{ISBN|0-306-80359-3}}.</ref><ref>M. Campbell, ed., ''Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes on'' (Cengage Learning, 3rd edn, 2008), p. 99. {{ISBN|0-495-50530-7}}</ref> The 1940s saw the increased use of blaring horns (including saxophones), shouted lyrics and boogie woogie beats in jazz-based music. During and immediately after [[World War II]], with shortages of fuel and limitations on audiences and available personnel, large jazz bands were less economical and tended to be replaced by smaller combos, using guitars, bass and drums.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/><ref>P. D. Lopes, ''The rise of a jazz art world'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 132</ref> In the same period, particularly on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] and in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], the development of [[jump blues]], with its guitar riffs, prominent beats and shouted lyrics, prefigured many later developments.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> In the documentary film ''[[Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll]]'', [[Keith Richards]] proposes that [[Chuck Berry]] developed his brand of rock and roll, by transposing the familiar two-note lead line of jump blues piano directly to the electric guitar, creating what is instantly recognizable as rock guitar. Similarly, [[country boogie]] and [[Chicago blues|Chicago electric blues]] supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> Inspired by [[electric blues]], Chuck Berry introduced an aggressive guitar sound to rock and roll, and established the electric guitar as its centrepiece,<ref>Michael Campbell & James Brody, ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=RK-JmVbv4OIC&pg=PA110 pages 110-111]</ref> adapting his rock band instrumentation from the basic blues band instrumentation of a lead guitar, second chord instrument, bass and drums.<ref name=campbell>Michael Campbell & James Brody, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RK-JmVbv4OIC&pg=PA80 Rock and Roll: An Introduction], pp. 80-81.</ref>
[[File:BillHaley.JPG|235px|thumb|[[Bill Haley]] and his Comets performing in the 1954 Universal International film ''Round Up of Rhythm'']]

Rock and roll arrived at a time of considerable technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, [[amplifier]] and [[microphone]], and the [[45 rpm record]].<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> There were also changes in the record industry, with the rise of independent labels like [[Atlantic records|Atlantic]], [[Sun Records|Sun]] and [[Chess Records|Chess]] servicing niche audiences and a similar rise of radio stations that played their music.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to this music that led to the development of what was to be defined as rock and roll as a distinct genre.<ref name=AllmusicR&R/> Because the development of rock and roll was an evolutionary process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously "the first" rock and roll record.<ref name="dawson propes">[[Jim Dawson]] and Steve Propes, ''What Was The First Rock'n'Roll Record'', 1992, {{ISBN|0-571-12939-0}}</ref> Contenders for the title of "[[first rock and roll record]]" include "[[The Fat Man (song)|The Fat Man]]" by [[Fats Domino]] (1949),<ref name="dawson propes"/> [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]]'s "Strange Things Happening Everyday" (1944),<ref>{{Cite news | last = Williams |first = R | title = Sister Rosetta Tharpe: the godmother of rock ’n’ roll | date=March 18, 2015 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/18/sister-rosetta-tharpe-gospel-singer-100th-birthday-tribute }}</ref> [[Goree Carter]]'s "[[:File:Goree Carter - Rock Awhile.ogg|Rock Awhile]]" (1949),<ref name="palmer1992p19">[[Robert Palmer (writer)|Robert Palmer]], "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, ''Present Tense'', [[Duke University Press]], 1992, p. 19. {{ISBN|0-8223-1265-4}}.</ref> [[Jimmy Preston]]'s "[[Rock the Joint]]" (1949), which was later [[cover version|covered]] by [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] in 1952,<ref>{{allmusic|artist|p115739|Jimmy Preston}}</ref> "[[Rocket 88]]" by [[Jackie Brenston]] and his Delta Cats ([[Ike Turner]] and his band [[Kings of Rhythm|The Kings of Rhythm]]), recorded by [[Sam Phillips]] for [[Sun Records]] in March 1951.<ref name=Campbell2008pp157-8>M. Campbell, ed., ''Popular Music in America: and the Beat Goes on'' (Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 3rd edn., 2008), {{ISBN|0-495-50530-7}}, pp. 157–8.</ref> In terms of its wide cultural impact across society in the US and elsewhere, [[Bill Haley]]'s "[[Rock Around the Clock]]",{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 5, show 55}} recorded in April 1954 but not a commercial success until the following year, is generally recognized as an important milestone, but it was preceded by many recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned.<ref name="dawson propes"/><ref name=palmer1980pp3-14>Robert Palmer, "Rock Begins", in ''[[Rolling Stone]] Illustrated History of Rock and Roll'', 1976/1980, {{ISBN|0-330-26568-7}} (UK edition), pp. 3–14.</ref><ref name="unterberger birth">{{Allmusic|class=explore|id=essay/t523|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|label=Birth of Rock & Roll|accessdate=March 24, 2012}}</ref>

Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, [[Bo Diddley]], [[Little Richard]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], and [[Gene Vincent]].<ref name="Campbell2008pp157-8"/> Chuck Berry's 1955 classic "[[Maybellene]]" in particular features a [[distortion (music)|distorted]] [[electric guitar]] solo with warm [[overtone]]s created by his small [[valve amplifier]].<ref>{{Cite book | last = Collis | first = John | title = Chuck Berry: The Biography | publisher = Aurum | year = 2002 | page = 38 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0AgUAQAAIAAJ | isbn =}}</ref> However, the use of distortion was predated by electric blues guitarists such as [[Joe Hill Louis]],<ref>{{cite book|last=DeCurtis|first=Anthony|title=Present Tense: Rock & Roll and Culture|year=1992|publisher=[[Duke University Press]]|location=Durham, N.C.|isbn=0822312654|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsT3RQ9e58kC|edition=4. print.|quote=His first venture, the Phillips label, issued only one known release, and it was one of the loudest, most overdriven, and distorted guitar stomps ever recorded, "Boogie in the Park" by Memphis one-man-band Joe Hill Louis, who cranked his guitar while sitting and banging at a rudimentary drum kit.}}</ref> [[Guitar Slim]],<ref name="Aswell2010">{{Cite book |last=Aswell |first=Tom |title=Louisiana Rocks! The True Genesis of Rock & Roll |year=2010 |publisher=[[Pelican Publishing Company]] |location=[[Gretna, Louisiana]] |isbn=1589806778 |pages=61–5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSHTGsnI8skC&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q&f=false}}.</ref> [[Willie Johnson (guitarist)|Willie Johnson]] of [[Howlin' Wolf]]'s band,<ref name = "Rubin">{{Cite book|last1=Dave |first1=Rubin |title=Inside the Blues, 1942 to 1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0amzAiwBmOcC |year=2007 |publisher=Hal Leonard |page=61}}</ref> and [[Pat Hare]]; the latter two also made use of distorted [[power chord]]s in the early 1950s.<ref name="palmer1992p24-27">[[Robert Palmer (writer)|Robert Palmer]], "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis, ''Present Tense'', [[Duke University Press]], 1992, pp. 24–27. {{ISBN|0-8223-1265-4}}.</ref> Also in 1955, Bo Diddley introduced the "[[Bo Diddley beat]]" and a unique electric guitar style,<ref>P. Buckley, ''The rough guide to rock'' (Rough Guides, 3rd edn., 2003), p. 21.</ref> influenced by [[Music of Africa|African]] and [[Afro-Cuban music]] and in turn influencing many later artists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bo-diddley |title=Bo Diddley |accessdate=October 27, 2008 |publisher=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bo Diddley|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/bo-diddley/biography|work=Rolling Stone|accessdate=April 26, 2012|year=2001}}</ref><ref name="independent_bo">{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Jonathan|title=Bo Diddley, guitarist who inspired the Beatles and the Stones, dies aged 79|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/bo-diddley-guitarist-who-inspired-the-beatles-and-the-stones-dies-aged-79-838868.html|accessdate=April 26, 2012|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=June 3, 2008}}</ref>

=== Rockabilly ===
{{Main article|Rockabilly}}
[[File:Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock.jpg|205px|thumb|upright|alt=A black and white photograph of Elvis Presley standing between two sets of bars|[[Elvis Presley]] in a promotion shot for ''[[Jailhouse Rock (film)|Jailhouse Rock]]'' in 1957]]
"Rockabilly" usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid-1950s primarily by white singers such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Johnny Cash]], and [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], who drew mainly on the country roots of the music.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 7-8}}<ref name=AllmusicRbilly>{{Allmusic|class=explore|id=style/d187|label=Rockabilly|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref> Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as [[Fats Domino]] and [[Little Richard]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 6}} came out of the black [[rhythm and blues]] tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly".

[[Bill Flagg]] who is a Connecticut resident, began referring to his mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music as rockabilly around 1953.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/12/granvilles_bill_flagg_pioneere.html|title=Granville's Bill Flagg pioneered rockabilly|work=masslive.com|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en-US}}</ref> His song "Guitar Rock" is considered as classic rockabilly.{{cn|date=December 2016}}

In July 1954, Elvis Presley recorded the regional hit "[[That's All Right]]" at Sam Phillips' [[Sun Studio]] in Memphis.<ref name=AllmusicElvis>{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p5175/biography|label=Elvis|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref> Many claimed that Presley pioneered the sound of [[rockabilly]] because he assertively fuse country and rhythm and blues music into the style known as rockabilly.<ref>https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elvis-presley-mn0000180228/biography</ref> Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] recorded "Rock Around the Clock". Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'' a year later, it set the rock and roll boom in motion.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 5, show 55}} The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. "Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough for both the group and for all of rock and roll music. If everything that came before laid the groundwork, "Rock Around the Clock" introduced the music to a global audience.<ref name=AllmusicHaley>{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4426/biography|label=Bill Haley|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref>

In 1956, the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like "[[Folsom Prison Blues]]" by [[Johnny Cash]], "[[Blue Suede Shoes]]" by Perkins and the #1 hit "[[Heartbreak Hotel]]" by Presley.<ref name=AllmusicRbilly /> The massive success of Elvis Presley put rock 'n' roll on the map.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=CMpVDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT36&lpg=PT36&dq=elvis+put+rock+and+roll+in+the+map&source=bl&ots=jCLWuaLdp_&sig=YxYHWEr_LCofaNOBUx_P9PRTJ1U&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjH96nmzbXZAhUDQq0KHRe1BLU4ChDoAQgyMAI#v=onepage&q=elvis%20put%20rock%20and%20roll%20in%20the%20map&f=false</ref> For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like [[Buddy Holly]], would be a major influence on [[British Invasion]] acts and particularly on the song writing of [[the Beatles]] and through them on the nature of later rock music.<ref>P. Humphries, ''The Complete Guide to the Music of The Beatles, Volume 2'' (Music Sales Group, 1998), p. 29.</ref>

=== Doo wop ===
{{Main article|Doo wop}}
Doo wop was one of the most popular forms of 1950s rhythm and blues, often compared with rock and roll, with an emphasis on multi-part vocal harmonies and meaningless backing lyrics (from which the genre later gained its name), which were usually supported with light instrumentation.<ref>F. W. Hoffmann and H. Ferstler, ''Encyclopedia of recorded sound, Volume 1'' (CRC Press, 2nd edn., 2004), pp. 327–8.</ref> Its origins were in African-American vocal groups of the 1930s and 40s, like the [[Ink Spots]] and the [[Mills Brothers]], who had enjoyed considerable commercial success with arrangements based on close harmonies.<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop>{{harvnb |Bogdanov |Woodstra |Erlewine |2002 |pp=1306–7}}</ref> They were followed by 1940s R&B vocal acts like [[the Orioles]], [[the Ravens]] and [[the Clovers]], who injected a strong element of traditional gospel and, increasingly, the energy of [[jump blues]].<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop/> By 1954, as rock and roll was beginning to emerge, a number of similar acts began to cross over from the R&B charts to mainstream success, often with added honking brass and saxophone, with [[the Crows]], [[the Penguins]], [[the El Dorados]] and [[the Turbans]] all scoring major hits.<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop/> Despite the subsequent explosion in records from doo wop acts in the later '50s, many failed to chart or were one-hit wonders. Exceptions included [[the Platters]], with songs including "[[The Great Pretender]]" (1955){{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 5, track 3}} and [[the Coasters]] with humorous songs like "[[Yakety Yak]]" (1958),{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 13}} both of which ranked among the most successful rock and roll acts of the era.<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop/> Towards the end of the decade there were increasing numbers of white, particularly Italian-American, singers taking up Doo Wop, creating all-white groups like [[the Mystics]] and [[Dion and the Belmonts]] and racially integrated groups like [[the Del-Vikings]] and [[the Impalas]].<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop/> Doo wop would be a major influence on vocal surf music, soul and early Merseybeat, including the Beatles.<ref name=Bogdanov2002DooWop/>

=== Cover versions ===
{{Main article|Cover version}}
Many of the earliest white rock and roll hits were [[cover version|cover]]s or partial re-writes of earlier black rhythm and blues or blues songs.{{sfn |Gilliland|1969 |loc=show 4, track 5}} Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, [[R&B]] music had been gaining a stronger beat and a wilder style, with artists such as Fats Domino and [[Johnny Otis]] speeding up the [[tempos]] and increasing the [[beat (music)|backbeat]] to great popularity on the [[juke joint]] circuit.<ref>Ennis, Philip H. (1992), ''The Seventh Stream – The Emergence of Rocknroll in American Popular Music'', Wesleyan University Press, p. 201, {{ISBN|978-0-8195-6257-9}}</ref> Before the efforts of Freed and others, black music was taboo on many white-owned radio outlets, but artists and producers quickly recognized the potential of rock and roll.<ref>R. Aquila, ''That old-time rock & roll: a chronicle of an era, 1954–1963'' (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 6.</ref> Some of Presley's early recordings were covers of black rhythm and blues or blues songs, such as "[[That's All Right]]" (a countrified arrangement of a blues number), "[[Baby Let's Play House]]", "[[Lawdy Miss Clawdy]]" and "[[Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog]]".<ref>C. Deffaa, ''Blue rhythms: six lives in rhythm and blues'' (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996), pp. 183–4.</ref> The racial lines however are rather more clouded by the fact that some of these R&B songs originally recorded by black artists had been written by white songwriters, such as the team of [[Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller]]. Songwriting credits were often unreliable; many publishers, record executives, and even managers (both white and black) would insert their name as composer in order to collect royalty checks.{{cn|date=April 2017}}

[[File:Little Richard in 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Rock and roller [[Little Richard]] performing in 2007]]
Covers were customary in the music industry at the time; it was made particularly easy by the [[compulsory license]] provision of [[United States copyright law]] (still in effect).<ref>J. V. Martin, ''Copyright: current issues and laws'' (Nova Publishers, 2002), pp. 86–8.</ref> One of the first relevant successful covers was [[Wynonie Harris]]'s transformation of [[Roy Brown (blues musician)|Roy Brown]]'s 1947 original jump blues hit "[[Good Rocking Tonight]]" into a more showy rocker<ref>G. Lichtenstein and L. Dankner. ''Musical gumbo: the music of New Orleans'' (W.W. Norton, 1993), p. 775.</ref> and the Louis Prima rocker "Oh Babe" in 1950, as well as [[Amos Milburn]]'s cover of what may have been the first white rock and roll record, [[Hardrock Gunter]]'s "Birmingham Bounce" in 1949.<ref>R. Carlin. ''Country music: a biographical dictionary'' (Taylor & Francis, 2003), p. 164.</ref> The most notable trend, however, was white pop covers of black R&B numbers. The more familiar sound of these covers may have been more palatable to white audiences, there may have been an element of prejudice, but labels aimed at the white market also had much better distribution networks and were generally much more profitable.<ref>R. Aquila, ''That old-time rock & roll: a chronicle of an era, 1954–1963'' (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 201.</ref> Famously, [[Pat Boone]] recorded sanitized versions of Little Richard songs. Later, as those songs became popular, the original artists' recordings received radio play as well.<ref>G. C. Altschuler, ''All shook up: how rock 'n' roll changed America'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2003), pp. 51–2.</ref>

The cover versions were not necessarily straightforward imitations. For example, Bill Haley's incompletely [[Expurgation|bowdlerized]] cover of "[[Shake, Rattle and Roll]]" transformed Big Joe Turner's humorous and racy tale of adult love into an energetic teen dance number,{{sfn |Gilliland|1969 |loc=show 4, track 5}}<ref>R. Coleman, ''Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll'' (Da Capo Press, 2007), p. 95.</ref> while Georgia Gibbs replaced [[Etta James]]'s tough, sarcastic vocal in "Roll With Me, Henry" (covered as "Dance With Me, Henry") with a perkier vocal more appropriate for an audience unfamiliar with the song to which James's song was an [[answer song|answer]], [[Hank Ballard]]'s "Work With Me, Annie".<ref>D. Tyler, ''Music of the postwar era'' (Greenwood, 2008), p. 79.</ref> Elvis' rock and roll version of "Hound Dog", taken mainly from a version recorded by pop band [[Freddie Bell and the Bellboys]], was very different from the blues shouter that [[Big Mama Thornton]] had recorded four years earlier.<ref>C. L. Harrington, and D. D. Bielby., ''Popular culture: production and consumption'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2001), p. 162.</ref>{{sfn |Gilliland|1969 |loc=show 7, track 4}}

== Decline ==
[[File:Buddy Holly & The Crickets publicity portrait - cropped.jpg|upright|thumb|right|[[Buddy Holly]] and his band, [[the Crickets]]]]
Some commentators have suggested a decline of rock and roll in the late 1950s and early 1960s.<ref>D. Hatch and S. Millward, ''From blues to rock: an analytical history of pop music'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press ND, 1987), p. 110.</ref><ref>M. Campbell, ''Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes on: Popular Music in America'' (Publisher Cengage Learning, 3rd edn., 2008), p. 172.</ref> By 1959, the deaths of [[Buddy Holly]], [[The Big Bopper]] and [[Ritchie Valens]] in [[The Day the Music Died|a plane crash]] (February 1959), the departure of Elvis for service in the [[United States Army]] (March 1958), the retirement of Little Richard to become a preacher (October 1957), the scandal surrounding [[Jerry Lee Lewis]]' marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin (May 1958), the arrest of [[Chuck Berry]] (December 1959), and the breaking of the [[Payola]] scandal implicating major figures, including [[Alan Freed]], in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs (November 1959), gave a sense that the initial phase of rock and roll had come to an end.<ref name=Campbell2008>M. Campbell, ed., ''Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes on'' (Cengage Learning, 3rd edn., 2008), p. 99.</ref>

Some music historians have pointed to important and innovative developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including [[multitrack recording]], developed by [[Les Paul]], the electronic treatment of sound by such innovators as [[Joe Meek]], and the "[[Wall of Sound]]" productions of [[Phil Spector]],{{sfn |Gilliland |1969 |loc=show 21}} continued desegregation of the charts, the rise of [[surf music]], [[garage rock]] and the [[Twist (dance)|Twist]] dance craze.<ref name="KeightleyR&R"/> [[Surf rock]] in particular, noted for the use of reverb-drenched guitars, became one of the most popular forms of American rock of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/surf-ma0000002883|title=Surf Music Genre Overview - AllMusic|website=AllMusic}}</ref>

== British rock and roll ==
[[File:Tommy Steel 1957.jpg|thumb|[[Tommy Steele]], one of the first British rock and rollers, performing in Stockholm in 1957]]
{{Main article|British rock and roll}}
In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture.<ref name=Unterberger>{{Allmusic|class=explore|id=essay/t571|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|label=British Rock & Roll Before the Beatles|accessdate=June 24, 2009}}</ref> It shared a common language, had been exposed to American culture through the stationing of troops in the country, and shared many social developments, including the emergence of distinct youth sub-cultures, which in Britain included the [[Teddy Boy]]s and the [[Rocker (subculture)|rockers]].<ref name="D. O'Sullivan, 1974 pp. 38–9">D. O'Sullivan, ''The Youth Culture'' London: Taylor & Francis, 1974), pp. 38–9.</ref> [[Trad Jazz]] became popular, and many of its musicians were influenced by related American styles, including boogie woogie and the blues.<ref>J. R. Covach and G. MacDonald Boone, ''Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 60.</ref> The [[skiffle]] craze, led by [[Lonnie Donegan]], utilised amateurish versions of American folk songs and encouraged many of the subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat musicians to start performing.<ref name=Broken2003>M. Brocken, ''The British folk revival, 1944–2002'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), pp. 69–80.</ref> At the same time British audiences were beginning to encounter American rock and roll, initially through films including ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'' (1955) and ''[[Rock Around the Clock (film)|Rock Around the Clock]]'' (1955).<ref>V. Porter, ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 192.</ref> Both movies contained the [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] hit "[[Rock Around the Clock]]", which first entered the British charts in early 1955 – four months before it reached the [[Billboard Hot 100|US pop charts]] – topped the British charts later that year and again in 1956, and helped identify rock and roll with teenage delinquency.<ref>T. Gracyk, ''I Wanna Be Me: Rock Music and the Politics of Identity'' (Temple University Press, 2001), pp. 117–18.</ref> American rock and roll acts such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Little Richard]], [[Buddy Holly]], [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Carl Perkins]] thereafter became major forces in the British charts.{{cn|date=August 2017}}

The initial response of the British music industry was to attempt to produce copies of American records, recorded with session musicians and often fronted by teen idols.<ref name=Unterberger/> More grassroots British rock and rollers soon began to appear, including [[Wee Willie Harris]] and [[Tommy Steele]].<ref name=Unterberger/> During this period American Rock and Roll remained dominant; however, in 1958 Britain produced its first "authentic" rock and roll song and star, when [[Cliff Richard]] reached number 2 in the charts with "[[Move It]]".<ref>D. Hatch, S. Millward, ''From Blues to Rock: an Analytical History of Pop Music'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1987), p. 78.</ref> At the same time, TV shows such as ''[[Six-Five Special]]'' and ''[[Oh Boy! (TV series)|Oh Boy!]]'' promoted the careers of British rock and rollers like [[Marty Wilde]] and [[Adam Faith]].<ref name=Unterberger/> Cliff Richard and his backing band, [[the Shadows]], were the most successful home grown rock and roll based acts of the era.<ref>A. J. Millard, ''The electric guitar: a history of an American icon'' (JHU Press, 2004), p. 150.</ref> Other leading acts included [[Billy Fury]], [[Joe Brown (singer)|Joe Brown]], and [[Johnny Kidd & the Pirates]], whose 1960 hit song "[[Shakin' All Over]]" became a rock and roll standard.<ref name=Unterberger/>

As interest in rock and roll was beginning to subside in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was taken up by groups in major British urban centres like [[Liverpool]], [[Manchester]], [[Birmingham]], and [[London]].<ref name=Harry>[http://www.triumphpc.com/mersey-beat/about/founders-story2.shtml Mersey Beat – the founders' story].</ref> About the same time, a [[British blues]] scene developed, initially led by purist blues followers such as [[Alexis Korner]] and [[Cyril Davies]] who were directly inspired by American musicians such as [[Robert Johnson]], [[Muddy Waters]] and [[Howlin' Wolf]].<ref name=Allmusic700>V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, S. T. Erlewine, eds, ''All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues'' (Backbeat, 3rd edn., 2003), p. 700.</ref> Many groups moved towards the [[beat music]] of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from skiffle, like the [[Quarrymen]] who became [[the Beatles]], producing a form of rock and roll revivalism that carried them and many other groups to national success from about 1963 and to international success from 1964, known in America as the British Invasion.<ref name=AllMusicBI>{{Allmusic|class=explore|id=style/d379|label=British Invasion|accessdate=August 10, 2009}}</ref> Groups that followed the Beatles included the beat-influenced [[Freddie and the Dreamers]], [[Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders]], [[Herman's Hermits]] and [[the Dave Clark Five]].<ref name=Britannica>{{cite web|author=Ira A. Robbins |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/80244/British-Invasion |title=British Invasion (music)|publisher=Britannica.com |date=February 7, 1964 |accessdate=April 14, 2012}}</ref> Early [[British rhythm and blues]] groups with more blues influences include [[the Animals]], [[the Rolling Stones]], and [[the Yardbirds]].<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Unterberger
| first = Richie
| authorlink = Richie Unterberger
| editor-last = Erlewine
| editor-first = Michael
| editor-link = Michael Erlewine
| encyclopedia = [[All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues|All Music Guide to the Blues]]
| section = Blues rock
| year = 1996
| location = San Francisco
| publisher = [[Miller Freeman, Inc.|Miller Freeman Books]]
| isbn = 0-87930-424-3
| page = 378
| ref = harv
}}</ref>

== Cultural impact ==
{{Main article|Social effects of rock music}}
Rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language.<ref>G. C. Altschuler, ''All shook up: how rock 'n' roll changed America'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2003), p. 121.</ref> In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music.<ref name="Altshuler2003p35"/>

Many early rock and roll songs dealt with issues of cars, school, dating, and clothing. The lyrics of rock and roll songs described events and conflicts that most listeners could relate to through personal experience. Topics such as sex that had generally been considered taboo began to appear in rock and roll lyrics. This new music tried to break boundaries and express emotions that people were actually feeling but had not talked about. An awakening began to take place in American youth culture.<ref name="Schafer, William J 1972">Schafer, William J. ''Rock Music: Where It's Been, What It Means, Where It's Going''. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1972.</ref>

=== Race ===
In the crossover of African-American "race music" to a growing white youth audience, the popularization of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white musicians performing African-American music.<ref>M. Fisher, ''Something in the air: radio, rock, and the revolution that shaped a generation'' (Marc Fisher, 2007), p. 53.</ref> Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were entering a new phase, with the beginnings of the [[civil rights]] movement for [[Racial segregation|desegregation]], leading to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] ruling that abolished the policy of "[[separate but equal]]" in 1954, but leaving a policy which would be extremely difficult to enforce in parts of the United States.<ref>H. Zinn, ''A people's history of the United States: 1492–present'' (Pearson Education, 3rd edn., 2003), p. 450.</ref> The coming together of white youth audiences and [[African American music|black music]] in rock and roll inevitably provoked strong white racist reactions within the US, with many whites condemning its breaking down of barriers based on color.<ref name=Altshuler2003p35/> Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding the way for desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and shared experience.<ref>M. T. Bertrand, ''Race, rock, and Elvis'' (University of Illinois Press, 2000), pp. 95–6.</ref> Many authors have argued that early rock and roll was instrumental in the way both white and black teenagers identified themselves.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Carson
| first = Mina
| title = Girls Rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music
| publisher = Lexington
| series =
| edition =
| year = 2004
| page = 24
}}</ref>

=== Teen culture ===
{{Main|Youth subculture}}
[[File:True Life Romance 3.jpg|thumb|upright|"There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" made the cover of ''True Life Romance'' in 1956]]
Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group.<ref name="padel" /> It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone.<ref name="padel">{{cite book |last=Padel |first=Ruth |title=I'm a Man: Sex, Gods, and Rock 'n' Roll |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=2000 |pages=46–48}}</ref> Rock and roll is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first [[baby boomer]] generation, who had greater relative affluence and leisure time and  adopted rock and roll as part of a distinct subculture.<ref name=Coleman2007>M. Coleman, L. H. Ganong, K. Warzinik, ''Family Life in Twentieth-Century America'' (Greenwood, 2007), pp. 216–17.</ref> This involved not just music, absorbed via radio, record buying, jukeboxes and TV programs like ''[[American Bandstand]]'', but  also extended to film, clothes, hair, cars and motorbikes, and distinctive language. The youth culture exemplified by rock and roll was a recurring source of concern for older generations, who worried about juvenile delinquency and social rebellion, particularly because to a large extent rock and roll culture was shared by different racial and social groups.<ref name=Coleman2007 />

In America, that concern was conveyed even in youth cultural artifacts such as [[comic books]]. In "There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" from ''True Life Romance'' (1956), a defiant teen dates a rock and roll-loving boy but drops him for one who likes traditional adult music—to her parents' relief.<ref>Nolan, Michelle. ''Love on the Racks'' (McFarland, 2008) p.150</ref> In Britain, where postwar prosperity was more limited, rock and roll culture became attached to the pre-existing [[Teddy Boy]] movement, largely working class in origin, and eventually to the [[Rocker (subculture)|rockers]].<ref name="D. O'Sullivan, 1974 pp. 38–9" /> Rock and roll has been seen as reorienting popular music toward a youth market, as in  [[Dion and the Belmonts]]' "[[A Teenager in Love]]" (1960).<ref>Lisa A. Lewis, ''The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media'' (Routledge, 1992), p. 98.</ref>

=== Dance styles ===
From its early 1950s beginnings through the early 1960s, rock and roll spawned new [[Novelty and fad dances|dance crazes]]<ref>[http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/dance.shtm sixtiescity.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324225234/http://www.sixtiescity.com/Culture/dance.shtm |date=March 24, 2012 }} ''Sixties Dance and Dance Crazes''</ref> including the [[Twist (dance)|twist]]. Teenagers found the syncopated [[backbeat]] rhythm especially suited to reviving Big Band-era [[jitterbug]] dancing. [[Sock hop]]s, school and church gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched [[Dick Clark]]'s ''[[American Bandstand]]'' to keep up on the latest dance and fashion styles.<ref>R. Aquila, ''That old-time rock & roll: a chronicle of an era, 1954–1963'' (University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 10.</ref> From the mid-1960s on, as "rock and roll" was rebranded as  "rock," later dance genres followed, leading to [[funk]], [[disco]], [[house music|house]], [[techno]], and [[hip hop]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Campbell
| first = Michael
|author2=James Brody
 | title = Rock and Roll: An Introduction
| publisher = Schirmer Books
| series =
| edition =
| year = 1999
| location = New York, NY
| pages = 354–55
}}</ref>