Rock & Roll 50!

[Borderstone]

As incredible and almost unbelievable as it may sound,the upcoming week of Sunday July 3rd through Saturday July 9th marks the 50th anniversary of what Billboard magazine (and anyone who was paying attention at the time)dubbed as the dawn of the Rock & Roll era.

50 years ago,"Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley & The Comets hit #1 on all of Billboard's then current charts for pop music. Spending 8 weeks at #1 on "The Best Sellers in Stores" chart and also #1 on "Most Played by (Disc) Jockeys & "Most Played In Jukeboxes". (What did they do?...go to every juke-joint & malt shop in the U.S. and ask??!! ) :D

Anyhow,it's incredible for me to look back in my Top 40 & #1 hits books,as well as having heard & seen a lot in just the past 30 years,and seen and heard all that has been on our record/tape/8-track & CD players. As well as radio & video!

I'd tell you what my most favorites have been overall in the rock era,but it would be to time consuming! [img]tongue.gif[/img] *whew!*.

Happy Birthday Rock & Roll! (Whatever the definition may be!)

[Auburn Annie]

Good golly Miss Molly! I'm older than rock and roll?

[ELizabeth]

Borderstone,
What about Bo Diddley? I would give him the place of honor in 'birthing' R&R. Possibly, Bill Haley and the Comets were the beginning of white R&R. I thought for years that BH was the beginning of R&R. Later I realized the BO D. counted. Bonnie Riatt must have realized the same thing as she has worked diligently to repay BD (and others) who didn't have the money, or the knowledge to obtain copywrites. Just my opinion - YMMV.

[Borderstone]

I agree with you Elizabeth. Not just Bo Diddley but Little Richard,Bill Black's Combo,Chuck Berry,Fats Domino & many more were there before caucasions started "diggin'" R & B.

The unfortunate racism so strong in the 1950's at that time,made it almost 100% impossible for an African American artist to be played on the radio. (Good thing there were jukeboxes & records for the kids to buy! ) (Thank radio DJ Allen Freed also who "coined" the term Rock & Roll & dared to played the music on the air!) :D

Because the industry was as divided as the country,it took caucasion acts like Bill Haley,Buddy Holly,Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis to push R & R into the mainstream and change the way music was made and listened too. If not for them...who knows? No Beatles??

So to all who had a hand in it,thank you-thank you-thank you!

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

well most of the black artists did get reconition as i'm sure you know and Berry and didley did come about in 1955 though you're right about the racisim part. in a way R&R might of begun in the early 50s though it was probably just called R&B i heard and i can't think of his name but some say he recorded the 1st R&R song in 1951 called Rocket 88. but of course it took Elvis to put it on the map and as you said Freed called it was it was to make it more acceptable.

[charlene]

me and rock and roll turning 50 - who'd a thunk it? who'd a thunk it that i'd be spending my 50th with the ultimate singer songwriter of any genre, in his hometown! heck i was there for my 45th too! i think Gord I have a "thing" going on!
lol
Char

[Jim Nasium]

(Thank radio DJ Allen Freed also who "coined" the term Rock & Roll & dared to played(sic) the music on the air!)

I am going to have to take issue with you Borderstone, Alan Freed found the term Rock & Roll, probably at same place I did. In my case it was some time later.


That's How Rhythm Was Born

Rock And Roll
Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
Louisiana Hayride
Shuffle Off To Buffalo
Sophisticated Lady
Song Of Surrender
Sleep, Come On And Take Me
That's How The Rhythm Was Born
The Sentimental Gentleman From Georgia
Coffee In The Morning And Kisses In The Night
Forty-Second Street
Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day
The Darktown Strutters Ball
If I Had A Million Dollars
It's Written All Over Your Face
Charlie Two-Step
Trav'lin' All Alone
St. Louis Blues
Dinah
The Object Of My Affection

These accompanied songs were recorded in the early 1930's, when the Boswell Sisters enjoyed a devoted following - unexpected, given that they were three classically-trained women singing New Orleans blues-flavored jazz! This recording's quality, incidentally, is very good, with every attempt to preserve the integrity of the original analog masters, but using today's digital technology for clarity. The CD's opening track, "Rock and Roll," though having nothing to do with its current meaning, shows that the term predated Alan Freed by over twenty years! Uptempo numbers, such as "Louisiana Hayride," with its swerving instrumental break and riffing clarinet, are interspersed with ballads, such as Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," and "Song Of Surrender," from the film Moulin Rouge. The Boswells close harmony sound is much more blues than classically oriented - not refined or shrill, but punchy and full.

[The Rez]

Rocket 88 was Ike Turner.

Lots of critics cite Sh-Boom also as the "first."

But, the American consciousness didn't get it till Bill Haley - and he was a country singer. I figure the film The Blackboard Jungle had as much to do w/ breaking Rock Around the Clock as the song itself. Talk about in your face.

But, Little Richard was there all along, and Ike Turner, and Big Joe Turner, and Ray Charles, and so on and so on. Y'all are right. They called that "Race Music."

Out here on the Coast, it was Hunter Hancock who first championed all the "Littles" & "Bigs" above. He and Alan Freed were kindred - and both white. Made this little white boy buckle.

Just like Rap - it ain't really new these last 20yrs. A guy named Louis Jordan did what he called Rap Jazz in the 30s & 40s.

Actually, it's all just a wonderful chain of "begats." Right on, Miranda - Beethoven Bombast.

The Rez

. . . Alle Menshen Werden Bruder

[ELizabeth]

Yes! Yes! Rez! In all honesty Beethoven is considered the great grandfather of R&R. If you have ever walked into a Beethoven concert you will notice, depending on the program, 1,2 or 3 kettle drums. Although I don't know for certain, I think he was one of the first if not the first composer to use kettle drums so prominently in his compositions. He, and later Wagner, became the first over the top composers - loud, racous,and according to Beethoven's bio. overwhelming to the audience. They left stunned but couldn't get enough of it. This is not to say that all of Beethoven's music was loud and over the top - hear the 3rd movement of his 9th Symphony - serene and most beautiful. And to think that he was stone deaf when he wrote the 9th - amazing.

[ July 21, 2005, 19:04: Message edited by: ELizabeth ]

[Borderstone]

Well Jim & Co. ...I just mentioned Alan Freed because tha's the way i heard about it growing up. Thanks for the insight though!

By the way,did you know that Bill Haley had his #1 hit with Rock Around The Clock,the same week as his 30th birthday? Also,if he had lived...he would have turned 80 back on July 6th and been the olest living rocker!

Right now,Chuck Berry is going to be 79 this year in Oct. and then be 80 in 2006. He's waaaaay up there and still going at it on stage.

[The Rez]

The Boswell Sisters, Rocket 88, Sh-Boom - even Ludwig Van still add up to that "public consciousness thing."

And in the Public's Perception, Alan Freed gets the nod, as does Bill Halley.

What year was Kay Starr's Rock & Roll Waltz? (well, it was a waltz . . .)

As a wise man at The Smitsonian once told the lovely Miranda, Rock and Roll began w/ Grog, a log, and a big stick. Same formula, I believe, as Metallica's drummer.

Rock occured, as Gary Larson once pointed out, in the days before Paper and Scissors.

Don't it make you feel aw-rite!

The Rez

. . . "Dang! Tied again."

[Borderstone]

Hey Rez! "Rock and Roll Waltz" by Kay Starr was in 1956 and yeah..it was a waltz,not rock & roll. I think it was meant to kind of make fun of the new music.

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone out there that...I have that song! (No! Really B???!!!) :D It's on a cassette with many other Kay Starr songs. My tastes run very eclectic.

[Affair on Touhy Ave.]

we've been talking about how in so many cases whites would often get the notoriety of songs black artists did. If i'm not mistaken some other lady did Roll With Me Henry with was 1st done by Etta James. I assume this because in the movie Back to The Future when Marty was entering the cafe the lady singing on the jukebox sounded different. who was it?

[The Rez]

I may be gettin' corfid-fused here, but was it Georgia Gibbs? This "free range" thinking gets me in trouble.

I know Hank Ballard did Rock With Me Annie, followed by Annie Had a Baby (which didn't set to well w/ the white folks.)

I think that's where Georgia Gibbs came in with the Roll w/ me Henry thing. But Etta James - ooo, my soul (thus sayeth Richard the Little) - a ton of soul even now. I'm glad she regularly plays the House of Blues near Disneyland. When she's there that's where you'll find me.

Listened today to a live cut of Ray Charles "Yes, Indeed" which is about Rock & Roll. The cut was live at Newport Jazz '58, but don't know when the tune was penned.

Good Night Touhy, Farewell Borderstone, Sweet Li'l Miranda, i'm goin' to sleep right now.

The Rezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ELizabeth]

Rez, Wasnt G Gibbs called'Her Nibs'?

[Jim Nasium]

Right now,Chuck Berry is going to be 79 this year in Oct. and then be 80 in 2006. He's waaaaay up there and still going at it on stage.

Didn't John Lennon say, "If you have to try and give rock 'n' roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry"?

With all those great songs CB has written, what is his biggest hit?

My Ding a Ling.

Is there any justice?

[Borderstone]

I can't believe that's his biggest either but then again,in the 1950's radio programmers sometimes leaned on their DJ's not to play black artists. That's why all the great ones who were there first never had a #1 hit.

Things were different almost 15 years later,which is most likely the reason for this #1 success (despite the obvious edit at the start of the 45!)
The only really bad thing is keeping Elvis from getting his 18th #1 hit. Burning love sat at #2 and then along came MJ with "Ben"!
Song about a rat.(I think America truly was "out of it" then!

[The Rez]

Elizabeth:

Indeed - "and now, here she is "Her Nibs" Miss Georgia Gibbs" Intro by Arthur Godfrey (as I recall)

And, for the record: Rats is Bad!

Later Gator,

The Rez

. . . My My Hey Hey - Rock & Roll is Here to Stay

[Borderstone]

Sometimes i think "Ben" was the first sign of "oddness" from Michael ever! I stil think he's okay,he just has quite a # of personal problems.

Nevertheless,he is still an integral part of Rock & Roll (and/or pop music) History. That'll never change.

[The Rez]

Borderstone - how true!

The Twist and The Moonwalk are forever indellible (or however you spell it) in rock.

As I recall, I could do The Twist. Don't know 'bout now.

The Rez

[johnfowles]

hrmmph hrmmph at the risk of ridicule due to my advanced years.Here are some observations
by a Brit who was a teenager during those exciting early days of Rock and Roll.
in the early 50's I became an inmate of an English boarding school, this possessed one solitary radio monopolised by the
older boarders and from which one could typically hear such long forgotten gems as "Jezebel" by Frankie Laine and "Cry" by Johnnie
Ray.Then the film Blackboard Jungle opened to bring riotious behaviour in the cinemas and rocking all round the clock.
At this time the BeebBeebCeeb had a monopoly on radio broadcasts and the UK musician's Union not only severely limited
the needle time the BBC could use to play actual records but also restricted the appearance in the UK by non-UK artists unless a reciprocal arrangement could be set up with equivalent UK acts touring America. oh come on there were none back then the states was where it was all happening!! (all to conserve employment for live British musicians). hence it was quite a while before any of the new American acts could
tour the UK (I believe Bill Haley was the first quickly followed by "the killer" Jerry Lee who was soon sent packing when the tabloid press found out that his new wife was in fact his teenage cousin.
At about the same time there was a revival of New Orlean jazz initiated by one Ken Colyer who spawned the
Chris Barber Band of which a sub group was formed to play the newly popular Skiffle music led by the ebulliant Lonnie Donegan (at first I thought he was a woman!!)
No doubt people here have heard about his father being a dustman (garbage collector) and his question about the flavo(u)r retaining capacity of chewing gum.This lasted until a Memphis truck driver erupted on the scene plus the son of Ozzie and Harriet
(Nelson) escaped from his television show.
In the summer of 1957 there was an explosion of great new sounds beginning with Paul Anka's Diana and the Everly's Bye Bye Love and reaching a crescendo with Buddy Holly's That'll Be The Day
One of my life's biggest regrets is that due to the restrictions placed on the boarders I was unable to get to the concert by Buddy and the Crickets at Salisbury a mere 36 miles east of my school. Then in february 1959 another blow when a planned follow up UK tour did not happen due to his unfortunate death.So Rock and Roll grew in popularity and Britain created its own R and R
stars beginning with Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde, Duffy Power Billy Fury Dickie Pride etc. (all pale shadows of the original US variety). talking of
"Shadows" in 1958 Harry Webb/Cliff Richard and his group The Drifters ( renamed The Shadows) urged us to "Move It" and UK
R and R found its voice still going strong nearly 50 years later.
Around that time my father made me a fine crystal set and after I became the head boarder I found that the position of my
bed near a window gave access to the building's lightning conductor and this plus an old under floorboard gas pipe we found
enabled reception of a steady stream of highly distorted pop from the commercial radio station based in Luxembourg a
lamentable situation not assuaged until the Auntie Beeb woke up to reality in 1967 with their radio 1 replacement for the
by then burgeoning pirate radio transmitters
John Fowles
The radio is playin’ a soft country song
frtom:-
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Gor...of-Coffee.html

[The Rez]

Johnny,

I loved reading your post about those heady days of R&R in England.

Seems like a lot of those players found out about the music anyway though. Was it those legendary Pirate Radio Stations off shore?

Speaking of The Shadows, In '60, I had a buddy from The Netherlands. We played in a garage band together. He had all these cool records by The Shadows & them w/ Cliff Richard.

So guess what we called our garage band?

Bingo! No. The Shadows. I loved this one tune of theirs called "Blue Star" All these fine, fine, instrumentals.

The Rez

. . . occassional Batchelor Boy

[johnfowles]

Originally posted by The Rez:
Johnny,

I loved reading your post about those heady days of R&R in England.

Seems like a lot of those players found out about the music anyway though. Was it those legendary Pirate Radio Stations off shore?

Speaking of The Shadows, In '60, I had a buddy from The Netherlands. We played in a garage band together. He had all these cool records by The Shadows & them w/ Cliff Richard.

So guess what we called our garage band?

Bingo! No. The Shadows. I loved this one tune of theirs called "Blue Star" All these fine, fine, instrumentals.

The Rez

. . . occassional Batchelor Boy

yes and no Rex there were two offshore Radio Carolines and land based pirates stations like Radio London where Al Stewart's old band leader Tony Blackburn started as a Disk Jockey.
Regarding "blue star". I do not remember that instrumental only "Stars Fell On Stockton" which was a great song
John Fowles
But until then I'll be a bachelor boy
And that's the way I'll stay
Happy to be a bachelor boy
Until my dying days
Looks like Cliff meant it
Olivia Johnton Newt and Sue Barker notwithstanding!!

[Borderstone]

I was amazed 20 years ago when I discovered that Cliff Richard had bee around since the 1950's!

When he had the duet hit with ONJ,"Suddenly" (from the "movie" XANADU),I thought he was a new singer.

Hey John,boarding school aye? I bet you are familiar with the 1971 Jack Wild film "Melody" then aren't you?

[Jim Nasium]

John, some interesting names from the past. You forgot the wonderfull, organ pounding, Cherry Wainer. Seen here with a very young Cliff Richard.


And don't forget Lord Rockingham's XI. Seen here with, well, Cliff Richard.



You mention Marty Wilde. Last year Marty and Joe Brown toured together and were GREAT. They are at it again and my wife and I have tickets to see them again. If some of todays acts are still packing em in 40+ years down the line, I will be very surprised. I will be 105, but we live in hope.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Joe. He is an outstanding Guitarist and good singer. He was a close friend of George Harrison and did an outstanding version of "I'll See You in My Dreams" accompanying himself on ukulele, on the George Harrison memorial concert.



I don't beleive it! When I previewed the post, up came all 3 pictures.

[ July 26, 2005, 12:08: Message edited by: Jim Nasium ]