Big Blog no. 1: Early American Rock 'n' Roll

I chose to do my blog on early rock and roll music. Rock and roll music is such a collaboration and a melting pot of American subsets that I wanted to learn more about it. I am very familiar with rock and roll, I listen to it on long car rides or when I need to get motivated to workout, but I do not know the roots that grew into this beloved genre. Rock and roll is a type of music that we call syncretic. The word syncretic basically means a mix of different musical genres and styles. The syncretism of rock and roll music is much like America’s cultural “syncretism” which we can see from the melting pot of culture, religion, and history. It makes sense that such a syncretic country would birth one of the most well known forms of syncretic music.

Rock and roll is a melting pot of musical styles that intertwine to make one of America’s most beloved genres. The first component of Rock and roll is the blues. The blues have been deemed the quintessential American musical form, and they have a long and rich history dating back to their beginning on plantations in the deep south. African-American spirituals and rhythms were combined with lower-class Scotch-Irish plantation overseers words to create the unique tunes. Despite rampant racism, the blues were something both races could relate to. The blues are a medium for lamenting the harder aspects of life and can be sung by everyone and anyone. Similar to the African griots, the blues tells stories of both the present and the past. The second component of rock and roll is rhythm. Rhythm and blues also comes from African-American culture. With featured rhythmic sections, this historically black popular music became what we know today as rock and roll. 

The first song we will be looking at is “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”. This song was written in 1954 by Jesse Stone known by his songwriter name of Charles Calhoun. The famous blues singer Big Joe Turner was the first to sing this song in 1954, followed by Bill Haley and The Comets in 1954, and finally by Elvis Presley in 1955. Per the title, this song serves as an introduction to rock and roll, almost like the soft-launch before a company's grand-opening. The song faced a lot of backlash due to its more risqué lyrics.

Looking at all three versions I found that the harmony is very consonant and the melody is conjunct. There is a steady beat maintained throughout the song, and the rhythm is fast-paced.

Despite the three versions' similarities, a notable difference is the pace of the song. Presley’s version is much faster than he's predecessors. The timbre of each singer's voice is different as well. It is interesting to see how each singer excels in their own unique vocal timbre. Turner maintains the classic blues vocals while lengthening the notes of the song while Presley shortens the duration of some notes while maintaining the modern rock and roll tone. Presley’s version also contains heavier use of the guitar. 

Another song we will take a look at is “Blue Suede Shoes”. This song was written by Carl Perkins in 1955, and a year later was recorded by Elvis Presley. The song was released by Sun Records who was owned by Sam Phillips. I want to take a slight detour to talk about Sam Phillips, the producer and founder of Sun Records. According to a Washington Post article Phillips, “Aiming to show how the music of black and white Southerners could bring down racial and social boundaries, Phillips oversaw a series of recordings that made Sun Records a central player in the rock-and-roll revolution of the 1950s” (Hughes). Phillips was on a mission to integrate music and make music accessible to all races.

Phillip's one wish for Sun records was that they, “would help knock down the wall between black and white musicians and markets” and contribute to the fall of racial segregation” (Hughes). Phillips used the gift of music and his ownership of Sun Records as a tool for racial and social justice. Now that we know the history behind Sun Records, and Sam Phillips, we can go back to the rousing tune of “Blue Suede Shoes”. 

The tempo of this song is fast, and there is a clear beat behind the quickly moving rhythm. The song much alike “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” is heavy on the guitar. Believe it or not the inspiration for this song came from Johnny Cash. Cash accidentally stepped on an airman’s shoes to which the airman responded “Hey man, don’t step on my blue suede shoes” and “when Cash protested saying that the shoes were black, White responded, “Tonight, they’re blue suede.” Cash told Perkins that he ought to write a song using the lyric” (Killian). This small interaction sparked a hit song that is still known today. 

We can see aspects of blues, rhythm, and gospel in the above songs as well as early rock and roll in general. The story-telling feature is strong in blues and that transfers to rock and roll, we have seen that in blue suede shoes. The difference here is the story material. Blues suede shoes tend to be deeper and more solemn while rock and roll tend to relate to less serious subject matter. However, the musical format does change. AAB is the blues format we discussed in class, with two repeated verses and one verse that rhymes with the two before. Rock and roll while continuing the rhyming theme does not always follow that format.

Early rock and roll not only had profound impact on the culture of music but also on society at large. An article brought about by the New York College at Brockport, “In the 1950s, rock In' roll was able to do what jazz couldn't when it created a common culture amongst white and black teenagers” (Vaillancourt). 

In conclusion, rock and roll has a deep history of breaking cultural boundaries and healing societal wounds. Music is a powerful tool and we can see its profound impact on our culture. Today, we might attend a concert and not think much about it, but in later years concerts attended by multiple races were a rarity and helped to break down stigmas or racism and inequality. We can be thankful for early rock and roll musician's contributions to the music industry as well as our American society and culture.

Citations

Hughes, Charles. "The Man Who Brought Down Racial Barriers Through Music." November 2015.

Killian, Aaron. "Blue Suede Shoes". January 2015.

Vaillancourt, Eric."Rock 'n' Roll in the 1950s: Rockin' for Civil Rights". 2011.