I kinda stumbled upon this site by accident earlier and some pretty crazy and racist stuff being posted in some thread I came across about rap music.I don’t know what’s the reason for it but I’ve seen numerous threads comparing Rap and Rock music.In these threads I see numerous trollish like posts describing rap music in a stereotypical (from an outsider POV who only knows what they hear on the radio and TV) way and even posts attacking black people but putting Rock music on a pedastal as if they have forgotten where Rock music originated from.Some of these racist rants are exactly the way white americans described Rock music back in the 50’s when it first came out of black america and onto white american airwaves.The same thing even happened when Black ragtime,jazz and blues first penetrated white america.Im going to post some info/videos so people can remember where Rock music came from and how it was once percieved by white america.
First I’ll start with this trailer about Blues and it’s impact which is directly related to Rock music
Want to know exactly makes up Rock music?You’ll pften hear that Rock music is a mix of Blues and Country but this is actually false.There was actually a Country influnced Rock but it wasn’t the original.The original Rock when it first burted on the air waves of white america was Rhythm and Blues.Rock and Roll was the name it was given by a Dj of the name of Alan Freed.More on that...
http://www.classicbands.com/alanfreed.html
Alan Freed is often credited with coining the term “rock and roll” to describe the rhythm-and-blues records he played, however that expression had been around for years among the black musicians of the day. The phrase “rockin' and rollin'" referred to having sex, as in " we were rockin' and rollin' ". Freed, however, attached the term to the music he played on his radio program and soon, his listeners were using the phrase too.
Leo Mintz, a local record store owner, saw an increasing number of white teenagers buying rhythm and blues records at his store. Based on these observations Mintz suggested to Freed that he should begin playing these records. On July 11, 1951, calling himself “Moondog," Freed went on the air and became among the first to program rhythm and blues for a white teenage audience. Other small stations followed eventually forcing the larger stations to join in.freedyoung2.gif (12451 bytes)
Due to the prejudices of the times Freed began calling the rhythm and blues records he played Rock “n” Roll. What is ironic that term Freed was using to make rhythm and blues more acceptable to a white audience, was slang for sex in the black community.
http://www.history-of-rock.com/freed.htm
A video explaining the origin of Rock and Roll music
Rock and Roll has two lineages which are Rhythm and Blues/Jump Blues and Delta and Chicago (electric) blues.Early Rock and R&&B are 100% indentical.Now you might be wondering where and when did the Country influence come in.The answer is that this came much later and was no part of early Rock.This type of Rock came to be known as Rockabilly.Rocabilly is a combination of Black Rock n Roll (aka Rythm and Blues) + White Hillbilly/Country music.A nice video detailing the origin of Rocabilly music
Bluesman Robert Johnson records his first record
2.
Pete Johnson and Joe Turner cut their first boogie records in Kansas City
3.
Boom of boogie woogie in Chicago
4.
Telefunken helps develop magnetic tape for use with tape recorders.
5.
John Hammond’s 'Spirituals to Swing' concert in NYC
6.
Saxophonist Louis Jordan leaves Chick Webb’s sax section to form his Tympany Five. This might well mark the beginnings of what we know as Rock and Roll
The real first Rock and roller was jumpblues artist Louis Jordan.A video about him and his impact on the creation of Rock...
My upcomming post is about how white americans in those days viewed Rock music which is very similar to how some people with very trollish behavior were acting in a thread I read on here earlier about Rap music as compared to Rock.Rock,like Jazz and Blues was once considered low class Nigger music.Music that whites shouldn’t create or listen to.
Now,modern rock is more of a descendant of Delta and Chicago blues rather than R&B and I’ll explain why in a few.
Early Rock didn’t have the guitar doing the lead...
The heart of rock and roll is the rhythm, which is basically a boogie woogie blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, almost always on snare drum. Rock and roll is typically played with two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Keyboards are a common addition to the mix. In the rock and roll style of the early 1950s, the saxophone was often the lead instrument, replaced by guitar in the mid 1950s. In the earliest form of rock and roll, during the late 1940s, the piano was the lead instrument, and indeed, among the roots of rock and roll is the boogie woogie piano of the big band era that dominated American music in the 1940s.
Boogie Woogie influence on Rock
Little Richard’s words on it
Little Richard said:
“Everything I play is boogie woogie...rock and roll is just up-tempo boogie woogie!“
In a 1990 interview, Little Richard also offered this explanation for the birth of rock:
“I would say that boogie-woogie and rhythm & blues mixed is rock and roll.“
Jerry Lee Lewis about the music that came to be called Rock and Roll
“They called it blues. They called it Boogie Woogie. Then they changed the name of it to Rock and Roll.“
So now you might be wondering when the change up occured?Answer to that,it all started with the king Chuck Berry!
1. Chuck Berry cuts his first rock and roll records, the first ones to have the guitar as the main
instrument, and invents the descending pentatonic double-stops (the essence of rock guitar
In the mid 50’s,Rock & Roll music began to be guitar lead rather than piano and horn driven.The person to change this all would be Chuck Berry.He set the standard for the modern sound of Rock and Roll with his lyrics and innovative guitar riffs.
Musically, the real event of 1955 was Chuck Berry’s first recording session. His songs were the first ones to have the guitar as “the” lead instrument, and introduced the descending pentatonic double-stops (the essence of rock guitar). His music was the meeting point of the guitar technique of T Bone Walker, the vocal technique of the “shouters” and the rhythm of boogie-woogie (with help from his pianist Johnnie Johnson). His songs also told a story that teenagers could relate to, that emphasized the generation gap, and hinted at taboo subjects such as adolescent love, notably in School Day (1957) and Sweet Little Sixteen (1958). The riffs of his three masterpieces, Roll Over Beethoven (1956), Rock And Roll Music (1957) and the mythological Johnny B. Goode (1958), electrified millions of white kids. Last, but not least, his songs were... “his”: Berry was the first major composer of rock’n'roll (not just an interpreter). But Berry was black, and blacks did not get the same airplay as white musicians. He remained a cult item.
In Eric Claptons own words on Chuck
“He’s really laid the law down for playing that kind of music.If you wanted to play rock and roll you would end up playing like CHUCK , or what you learned from CHUCK becausse there wasnt any other choice!! He really laid down the law!“
Berry’s take on Boogie Woogie
“The nature and backbone of my beat is boogie and muscle of my music is melodies that are simple. Call it what you may: jive, jazz, jump, swing, soul, rhythm, rock, or even punk, it’s still boogie so far as I’m connected with it. When I can’t connect to it, I have no right to dispute its title. When its boogie, but with an alien title, the connection is still boogie and my kind of music.”
3 video that pertain to Chuck’s influnce on Rock music.No Chuck no modern rock as we know it.
Pt 1
Pt 2
Pt 3 (In this video they also mention the impact of Blues musicians on Rock guitar)
When Rock became more guitar based this is where the Delta/Chicago blues artists influences began to show even more.People ranging from Chuck Berry,Eric Clapton,Hendrix,Beck etc.. all were influenced by Delta and Chicago bluesmen.
It was bluesmen like Robert Johnson that layed the deep roots of Rock music as far as the guitar aspect goes
Finally,everyone should know about the British invasion and the rockers it produced.You should also know that they were also inspired by the bluesmen like Robert Johnson,Leadbelly,Son House,Muddy Waters etc...
Videos on how bluesmen inspired the britsh rock scene
I hope everyone reads this informative post of mine and looks at those videos I posted.This all you need to know about the origins of Rock and Roll music and the people who made it possible.No spamming allowed in this threadI hope we can have some positive feedback on this topic.
yah, white peoples stole it from tha blacks. so black saw whites coverin there songs an said “psh these guys suck man. rock sucks now.lets start rap”. so then they started rap an white peoples were too dumb to stole it.
an now lots of white kids are sayin rap sucks but thas jus cuz they cant rape.
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I hope we can have some positive feedback on this topic.
