The History of Rock
The term Rock n Roll was first used in 1951 by a disk jockey by the name of Alan Freed. Born Albert James Freed was known on an international level. He promoted the mixing of multiple genres on the radio in both the United States and Europe.
The term ‘Rock’ Used to describe the particular music genera got its name from songs that had the word ‘rock’ in the title. The music genre evolved throughout the 1950’s pulling in elements from other music types such as R&B, boogie, jazz, and much more. Rock is typically characterized by its use of electric guitars and having a strong rhythm. Rock and roll had a larger audience pull that some of the other musical genres at the time. People of all ethnicities could enjoy it together as it appealed to multiple demographics at the time.
Many people are familiar with the ‘King of Rock” Elvis Presley who topped the charts in April of 1956. While there were many popular rock and roll artists before Presley, he set a new standard for the genre as a whole. Sadly Presley died in 1977.
The 60’s brought forth in a new era in song writing. Songs began to be less about love and more about politics and social issues. Television aided in popularizing rock and roll as a genre. Televising music helped to pull in a younger audience and shows like the Ed Sullivan show helped to popularize rock. In 1967 the first pop music festival started. It was a three-day concert with over 50,000 fans participating each day of the event. The Beatles completely took over the music scene during the 60’s with their closest competitor being Elvis Presley.
Rock continued to evolve when over time into what it is today. Becoming incorporated into big business in the 70’s and gaining popularity via Cd’s and MTV only a decade later.