The FReeper Canteen ~ History Of Rock & Roll (1900-1959) Pt.II ~ 21 Jan 2006

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Welcome To The FReeper Canteen!
~ Rock *n* Roll History ~

~ Mayhem Music Theme ~
Rock *n* Roll
This section explains what we're doing!

Last week we began our journey through the beginning roots (well some of them anyways) of what the world now knows as Rock *n* Roll. Now that we've done that with little injury, we'll begin our bigger task. We shall move forward to getting to the meat of this discussion. We hope you will find it entertaining, amusing, and fun!

The first few sections we will begin before what is considered the beginning of Rock *n* roll. We will also highlight a few other musical topics of interest for anyone that wishes a distraction from this little journey.

As always, any requests can be taken on the thread, via FReepmail, and email us at musicrequests4u@gmail.com and we'll get busy filling them. If you are a member of our military, you can drop us a line at troopsupport@gmail.com and give us some feedback. We'd greatly appreciate it.

The sources and links used for this particular thread and those in the next few weeks come from the following: (This only a small sampling!) Browse at your leisure!

The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame
Roughstock - History of Country & Western
Roots & Rhythm
Rockabilly Hall Of Fame
The Blue Highway (overview of Blues musicians)
The Blues *One of the best resources online
American Roots Music
Billboard
Sun Records
Rock *n* Roll from Answers.com
Digital Dream Door - Fantastic Online Music Index
The History Of Rock N Roll
History Of Rock Music
Memphis Rock n Soul Museum
MerleFest - (Merle and Doc Watson Festival)
American Routes
Zydeco Music
History Of Jazz Music
The Jubilee Singers
From Jazz To Swing
Big Band Database - The largest online resource for information
Gospel Music
American Folk Music
Popular Songs in American History

You may not agree with everything on these websites. We most certainly didn't. It just gives you a short overview of what we're trying to accomplish.

~ What is rock *n* roll? ~
*Definition Time*

Definition: A form of popular music arising from and incorporating a variety of musical styles, especially rhythm and blues, country music, and gospel. Originating in the United States in the 1950s, it is characterized by electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavily accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure. This definition is according to dictionary.com.

From answer.com:

A great advance in American civil liberties, as well as a revolution in music, took place as a result of the introduction of rock and roll in 1951. The introducer was Alan Freed, a disc jockey in Cleveland, who used the term to undermine the segregation of popular music into black and white. African-American popular music of the day, known as rhythm and blues, was increasingly influential, but radio stations and the record industry insisted on having white performers for white audiences. The only way a song composed and performed by blacks could reach a wider audience was for it to be remade by a white group.

Freed was able to get around the prohibition against African-American music on his radio station by coining a catchy name that was new and therefore all-encompassing. He wouldn't fight to play the forbidden rhythm and blues; instead, he would treat his audiences to what he called rock and roll. And while that term did not end music segregation overnight, it eventually made segregation impossible, as both black and white performers took up the phrase and together developed the new rock and roll. From the beginning it was also known informally as rock 'n' roll. By the mid-1960s the triumph of rock and roll was so complete that the name of the genre, now performed by musicians of all races all over the world, shrank to rock. No longer needed for music, the full phrase rock and roll recently has been used to mean "get going, move along," as in "Let's rock and roll."

Freed, who went on to greater fame and misfortune, is appropriately memorialized in Cleveland's Rock 'n' Roll Museum. But he did not actually invent rock and roll; he just gave it a new definition. Freed probably picked up rock and roll from the lyrics of a 1948 rhythm-and-blues hit called "Good Rockin' Tonight." Before that, both rock and roll had sexual meanings in jazz and blues, as in "My Man Rocks Me with One Steady Roll," recorded by Trixie Smith in 1922, which inspired Bill Haley's famous "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954.

Yes Ma! There are sometimes clever people even in Cleveland. LOL!
(Just kidding!)

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Shall we define other terms of importance?

Rhythm & Blues --> Rhythm and Blues was and still is a term used for a number of post-war American popular music forms. The term is credited to Jerry Wexler when he was editing the charts in Billboard magazine (1947). The term was used in the chart listings from 1949 onwards and the charts in question encompassed a number of contemporary forms that emerged around that time. Credit belongs here.

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Tin Pan Alley --> Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States of America in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when a number of music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan. The end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear cut; some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph and radio finally supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued on into the 1950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll.

Tin Pan Alley was originally a specific place, West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

The name "Tin Pan Alley" was originally derogatory, a reference to the sound made by many pianos all playing different tunes in this small urban area, producing a cacophony comparable to banging on tin pans. With time this nickname was popularly embraced and many years later it came to describe the USA music industry in general. Credit belongs here.

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Funk --> Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African-Americans, e.g., James Brown and his band members (especially Maceo and Melvin Parker), and groups like The Meters. Funk best can be recognized by its syncopated rhythms; thick bass line (often based on an "on the one" beat); razor-sharp rhythm guitars; chanted or hollered vocals (as that of Marva Whitney or the Bar-Kays); strong, rhythm-oriented horn sections; prominent percussion; an upbeat attitude; African tones; danceability; and strong jazz influences (e.g., as in the music of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Eddie Harris, and others).

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Soul --> Soul music is a combination of rhythm and blues and gospel which began in the late 1950s in the United States. Rhythm and blues (a term coined by music writer and record producer Jerry Wexler) is itself a combination of blues and jazz, and arose in the 1940s as small groups, often playing saxophones, built upon the blues tradition. Soul music is differentiated by its use of gospel-music devices, its greater emphasis on vocalists, and its merging of religious and secular themes.

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Doo Wop --> Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. The term was coined by a DJ, Gus Gossert, in the 1970s referring to (mostly) white Rock & Roll groups of the late 50s and early 60s. It became the fashion in the 1990s to keep expanding the definition backward to take in Rhythm & Blues groups from the mid-1950s and then further back to include groups from the early 1950s and even the 1940s. There is no consensus as to what constitutes a Doo-wop song, and many aficionados of R&B music dislike the term intensely.

The style was at first characterized by upbeat harmony vocals that used nonsense syllables from which the name of the style is derived. The name was later extended to group harmony ballads. Examples of doo-wop can be found in the music of The Clovers, The Ravens, and The Larks. Debate continues to rage among aficionados about the start of true doo-wop - the term seems to mean all things to all fans - but while the alternating lead voices of The Ink Spots and the scat singing of the Mills Brothers undoubtedly had an influence on the form, the crucial absence of gospel inflection in the singing style of either group means that they predate the genre. The Orioles, featuring the tremulous lead of Sonny Til, and the Ravens, blessed with the fathoms-deep voice of Jimmy Ricks, are more recognisably part of the style: Ricks' intro to "Count Every Star" (1950), as though imitating the plucking of a double bass, created a template for later groups.

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British Invasion --> The British Invasion was an influx of rock and roll performers from Great Britain who became popular in the United States, Australia, Canada and elsewhere. The classic British Invasion was in 1964-1966, but the term may also be applied to later "waves" of UK artists to significantly impact entertainment markets outside of Britain.

The roots of the first British Invasion were sown with the explosion of American Rock and Roll in 1955. Following the successful export of Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis Presley, and other rock 'n' roll acts in the late 1950s, large numbers of British teens formed bands to emulate their American heroes. They copied both the musical styles and the rebellious images of the Americans, both of which deeply resonated with UK youth at the time. Britain produced a few successful homegrown artists during this time, such as Cliff Richard and The Shadows. But their impact on US and world record charts was limited, with only a handful of #1 recordings (such as The Tornados (with "Telstar") and Mr. Acker Bilk with "Stranger on the Shore", both instrumentals.

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~ Music Timeline ~
*1900-1930*

This section will take us from the beginning of the 20th Century to the 1930s. It is a great way to show how far music has gone. If this section bores you, you can always skip to the other sections.

This period covers the turn of the century and of course, World War I. The neat aspect of this time period is that many of today's popular genres were rooted back to this time. The music was fresh and new and let's not forget the *Roaring Twenties* mixed in as well. Enjoy the music! Some of the music is extremely old. We hope that future generations of Americans will have the opportunity to hear this music! It's our history after all!

J.W Myers *From 1903	You're As Welcome As Flowers In May
Harry MacDonough & John Bieling *From 1907	A Flower From Home Sweet Home
Sterling Trio *From 1919	Friends
Gene Austin *From 1925	Yes Sir! That's My Baby!
Bennie Bernie & His Orchestra *From 1925 This song highlights the Big Band/Swing/Jazz Beginnings	Sweet Georgia Brown
Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians *From 1925	Collegiate
Bing Crosby & Lani McIntyre *From 1937	Sweet Leilani
Benny Goodman & Ella Fitzgerald *From 1937	Goodnight, My Love
Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra *From 1937	Satan Takes A Holiday
Fats Waller From 1937 This song we would consider the beginning roots for jump blues before Louis Jordan.	Smarty
Fred Astaire *From 1937	They Can't Take That Away From Me
The Ink Spots *From 1939	My Prayer
The Andrews Sisters *From 1939	Beer Barrel Polka
Judy Garland *From 1939	Over The Rainbow
Xavier Cugat *From 1939 Latin Jazz flavor!	Night Must Fall
Lionel Hampton From 1939 Another tune before jump blues.	Wizzin' The Wiz
Blanche Ring *From 1911	Come, Josephine, In My Flying Machine
Helen Kane *From 1932	Betty Boop's Theme
Nat Shilkret *From 1927	Lucky Lindy

~ Music Timeline ~
*1940s*

This section highlights the music from the 1940s. As you'll begin hearing, the music tempo and the styles that will someday be emulated by rock *n* roll stars become more apparent and defined. If you happen to find a song that isn't supposed to be in this section, apologies now. This was an extremely long thread.

Delta Rhythm Boys	Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho
Ted Weems Orchestra	Heartaches
Tex Williams	Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)
Johnny Mercer	Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Sam Donahue & His Orchestra	Red Wing
Count Basie	One O'Clock Jump
Andrew Sisters *Who knew there were lyrics to this song!	Sabre Dance
Marlin Sisters	Toolie Oolie Doolie
Ernest Tubb	Forever Is Ending
King Cole Trio	Straighten Up and Fly Right
Louis Jordan	Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
Doris Day	(There's A) Bluebird On Your Windowsill
Earl Hines	Piano Man
Frankie Laine	Mule Train
Various Artists	Well! Git It!
Various Artists	Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone
Various Artists	Slipped Disc
Various Artists	Bijou

~ Music Timeline ~
*Country Music's Influence*

This section takes us to the beginning of country music in this country. One of the best ways to show how well Americans (of different ethnicities) worked together is the highlight the commonality of certain things. For all this talk about rednecks, hillybillies, and Southern blacks, you'll find the beginning roots of country music as one of blending sounds. To take the influence of the Anglo-Celts and mix it with the African backgrounds of Southern blacks and this is what you get. When you listen to the earliest recordings of Country music, you'll find it has more of a Blues feel.

This isn't to say that racism didn't exist and that the problems during the beginning of the 20th Century weren't big, but you may find yourself surprised at what Smithsonian's History Of Country & Western includes in it's tribute to country music. If you ever have the chance to listen to the entire CD collection, you will find that Americans have always found ways to work together. The entire CD compilation is about 75 discs. They have released a little at a time, but it is well worth the price.

Below is our tribute to Americans who not only pioneered country and western music. You will also notice the style changes from the 1920s through the 1940s. The 1920s is more or less country music at its raw form with a definite mixture of country-blues. By the 1940s, you'll find the influence of Western Swing. It is Western Swing for which we believe that Rockabilly emulated to some degree.

Jimmie Rodgers *The Father Of Country Music	Somewhere Down Below
W.M Stepp & Mae Puckett *Great instrumental!	The Old Hen
Kokomo Arnold Considered The Father of Country-Blues Music His song *Milk Cow Blues has been remade by rock musicians numerous times.	The Twelves
Milton Brown Western Swing If we thought that someone outside of MoJo would enjoy an entire tribute to Western Swing, we'd do it.	Mama Don't Allow It
Patsy Montana *Why doesn't anyone yodel anymore? One of MoJo's favorite songs!	I Wanna Be A Cowboy's Sweetheart
Roy Acuff One of Ma's favorite songs! So? Avoid it if you can. Hehe! Warning: A lot of mooing (whiny singing) in this song.	The Great Speckled Bird
Gene Autry *Cowboy music	Rhythm Of The Range
Sam McGee	Railroad Blues
Walker Corbin Ramblers	Ned Went A-Fishing
Joe McCoy & Memphis Minnie *Believe it or not, it's considered one of the first country duets by husband and wife.	Let's Go To Town
Dave & Howard	My Bones Gonna Rise
Hank Williams Sr *MoJo's favorite song of his!	Move It On Over
Red Foley	Freight Train Boogie
Chet Atkins	Canned Heat
Ocie Stockard	Twin Guitar Boogie
Bill Monroe	The Race Horse Song
Merle Travis	Nine Pound Hammer
Bill Haley *Yes, that Bill Haley!	Yodel Your Blues Away
Tennessee Ernie Ford	Rock City Boogie
Bill Boyd *Western Swing	Jitterbug Jive

~ Music Timeline ~
*The Roots Of Rockabilly*

This section takes us to the beginning of Rockabilly from 1940-1953.
If you find that you can't get into Blues Music, then try this section first. Not all Blues music is depressing nor was it intended to be. It was merely a way of storytelling for Southern blacks.

Tommy Scott	Rockin' and Rollin'
Hawkshaw Hawkins	Rattlesnake Daddy
Chet Atkins	Oh By Jingo
Grandpa Jones	Grandpa Boogie
The Carlisles	Is Zat You, Myrtle!
Arthur Crudup	Shout Sister Shout
Baby Face Leroy	Red Headed Woman
Washboard Sam & Big Bill	Shirt Tail
Leroy Dallas	Jump, Little Children, Jump
Joe Hill Louis	A Jumpin' and A Shufflin'
Robert Nighthawk	Kansas City Blues
Muddy Waters	Muddy Jumps One
Robert Lockwood, Jr	I'm Gonna Dig Myself A Hole
Washboard Sam	Diggin' My Potatoes
Luke Daniel	Whoa Boy!
Reece Shipley & His Rainbow Valley Boys	Hillbilly Jive with The Boogie Beat
Zeke Clements & His Western Swing Gang	It's My Life

~ Music Timeline ~
*Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock N Roll*

This section takes us from *Jump Blues* into Rhythm Blues and highlights the sound that would dominate the Billboard charts for decades!

Stick McGhee A song that was penned during his time in Army Boot Camp. It was redone for public consumption*. Hmmm...	Drinkin' Wine Spo Dee O Dee
Pearl Reaves	Can't Stay Here
King Perry	Fat Mama
Floyd Dixon	Wine Wine Wine
Peppermint Harris	The Blues Pick On Me
Harmon Jones	Lookin' For My Baby
H-Bomb Ferguson	Rock H-Bomb Rock
*Bobby Blue* Bland**	You Got Me
Rufus Thomas	Easy Livin' Plan
Mojo Watson	Love Blood Hound
Little Walter	Roller Coaster
Bumps Myers	I'm Clappin and Shoutin'
Scatman Bailey	My Oh My
Cherri Lynn	Your Money Ain't Long Enough
Jimmy Smith	Mama
TV Slim	Flat Foot Sam
Fletcher Smith	Brandnew Neighbourhood
Pee Wee Barnum	Rockin' Rhythm
Duke Jenkins	Duke Walks
Billy Wright	Man's Brand Boogie
Herman Manzy	I'm Your Rockin' Man
Johnny Otis	Court Room Blues
Dorthea Fleming	The Devil Is Mad
McKinley Mitchell	Rock Everybody Rock
The Devilles	Making Tracks
Blanche Thomas	You Ain't So Such A Much
The Victors	Take A Trip
Bunker Hill	Little Red Riding Hood
Sonny Knight	But Officer
Betty James	I'm A Little Mixed Up
Julian Herrera	True Fine Mama
The Valiants	The Tequila Twist
Thunderbirds *One of MoJo's fave songs!	Let's Play House Baby
Millionaires	Arkansas Jane
Wynona Carr	Touch and Go
Big Maybelle *If you like Big Mama Thornton, you'll love her!	Rockhouse
Jimmy Coe	Run Jody Run
Brownie McGhee	Anna Mae
Arthur Crudup *Elvis loved his music and did this song!	That's Alright
Jack Dupree	Shim Sham Shimmy

~ Music Timeline ~
*Rock N Roll--The Early Days*

We're finally there!! Rock *n* roll's early days! Enjoy the music!
Some of the information posted with the songs you may disagree with. We've just compiled this list from the links at the top.

Jackie Brenston & His Delta Kings Some rock historians consider this the first Rock n* roll record! Ike Turner wrote the song! (1951)	Rocket 88
Bill Haley Considered the first rock n* roll song to enter the Billboard charts in 1953.	Crazy Man Crazy
The Orioles *This is the first black hit to top the white pop charts. (1953)	Crying in the Chapel
Bill Haley *This song was the first ever rock song used in a movie soundtrack!	Rock Around The Clock
The Chordettes One of the first two all girl groups that hit the charts under the rock n roll* category. The second group follows below!	Lollipop
The Chantels *The second all girl group!	He's Gone
Carl Perkins *The Sun Sound begins...	Blue Suede Shoes
Ray Charles Considered the first Soul* song! For all of you that like Kanye West's song Gold Digger, this is the song that was sampled.	I Gotta A Woman
Elvis Presley The song that starts Elvis Mania* around the world.	Heartbreak Hotel
Chuck Berry the first one to have the guitar as the main instrument, and invents the descending pentatonic double-stops (the essence of rock guitar) It could be said that Chuck Berry's influence and impact on rock n roll was greater than Elvis Presley. However, that is a matter of opinion and depends on who you ask.	Johnny B. Goode
Eddie Cochran Introduction to overdubbing*.	Summertime Blues

~ Music Timeline ~
*1953-1959*

This section will take us through some of the more popular music from 1953-1959. We aren't going to highlight all of them because we don't have the time to do so. However, many of these songs folks will recognize. If not, click and see if you like it. None of the music that you'll see below is *offensive* with today's standards in music.

*Sidenote: You can't help doing this thread without thinking about TexasCowboy. His input and insight about America and our music would've been right up his alley. Now he's jamming up in heaven with many of the artists that enjoyed sharing with our Troops. In that way, you can't help but smile!

Oh by the way! Have you ever heard a radio station *we play Classic rock* and then proceed to play rock music from the 1970s? When we refer to *classic rock*, the music below is truly *classic*.

The Clovers	Love Potion No.9
Elvis Presley	Don't Be Cruel
Buddy Knox	Party Doll
Danny & The Juniors	At The Hop
Frankie Lymons & The Teenagers	Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Gene Vincent	Be-Bop-A-Lula
David Seville *This was the first novelty song that would hit the rock charts!	Witch Doctor
Kingston Trio	Tom Dooley
Lloyd Price	Stagger Lee
Ricky Nelson	Poor Little Fool
The Everly Brothers	Bye Bye Love
Johnny Horton *Gotta love this history lesson!	Battle Of New Orleans
Johnny & Santo	Sleep Walk
Bobby Darin	Mack The Knife
Roy Orbison	Ooby Dooby
Wilbert Harrison	Kansas City
Silhouettes	Get A Job
The Coasters	Yakety Yak
The Champs	Tequila
The Coasters The best song that describes Rock N Roll* back in the day!	That is Rock N Roll
Bobby Day	Rockin' Robin
Tommy Edwards	It's All In The Game
The Big Bopper	Chantilly Lace
Billy Ward & The Dominoes *This is a prime example of a song that was actually released twice. The second time was to a wider radio audience.	Sixty Minute Man
The Eldorados *You just don't answer the door, duh!	My Front Door
Fats Domino	Ain't That A Shame
Lee Dorsey	Ya Ya
The Bobbettes	Mr. Lee
Guy Mitchell *You might also enjoy Marty Robbins version as well!	Singin' The Blues
Frankie Ford	Sea Cruise
Little Richard	Tutti Frutti
The McGuire Sisters *Okay! This is definitely sappy!	Sugartime
Bobby Freeman	Do You Wanna Dance
Big Joe Turner	Flip, Flop, and Fly
The Flamingos *More sappiness!	I Only Have Eyes For You
*Clarence Frogman* Henry**	Ain't Got A Home
Buddy Holly	Peggy Sue

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