I'll weigh in despite the possibly unintentionally hilarious OP:
Rock and Roll's beginnings have been debated ever since it all kicked off, really. Influences came in from jazz, blues, R&B, big band, skiffle , bluegrass, country, boogie woogie etc.
Most people generally acknowledge "Rock Around the Clock" to be the first rock'n'roll single and it evolved out of a genre loosely called jump blues which had come from swing. The music was characterised by increasing the dominance of the rhythm section to create a big-sounding, pounding beat.
The best precursors of rock and roll were songs like Louis Jordan's classic "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and Big Joe Turner's "Shake Rattle and Roll", both of which had that swing / big band / bluesy sound strong on rhythm and light on melody.
"Rock Around the Clock" went one further and stripped down the big band sound to a core of guitars, double bass and drums.
Elvis was by no means among the first true rock and rollers. Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard deserve major credit for their contribution to making rock music wild, raucous and dangerous. On a personal level I've always thought Elvis was rather conservative (despite parents' protestations at his "demonic" hip gyrations haha).
And as for the OP's assertion of Frank Sinatra's place in rock and roll...well that defies all logic. Sinatra referred to rock and roll artists as cretinous goons, so he clearly wasn't a fan.
I tend to agree with the idea that Rock N'Roll doesn't have one inventor but this wonderful lady Sister Rosetta Tharpe who worked in the 30s and 40s would have a better claim than most.
A common trait in people is this desire to have one simple and singular answer to more complex scenarios: a person or group as being responsible for originating something (or being the singular best at something) but nothing evolves from a void and people will argue whether records have enough attributes to be incorporated into a specific genre or sub-genre and even describe things as 'proto-'.
A record often cited as the first Rock and roll Record is one by Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm but credited to the featured vocalist Jackie Brenston; "Rocket 88".
Pity it was a joke thread actually as the essential question is a decent enough thread starter. I do hope it was a joke/wind up as I would like to think that no-one is that dumb.
Not entirely sure if Skiffle had a direct effect on the origins of RnR though, which was a US invention. Skiffle was esssentially a British movement..although it a was a good grounding for home grown rock n rollers.
Personally I'd put it down to the early Blues men, Robert Johnson being a good starting point.
Personally I'd put it down to the early Blues men, Robert Johnson being a good starting point.
I'd agree that he influenced rock, but not rock & roll. Bands such as Cream and Led Zeppelin were obviously influenced by the blues, but that is a long way away from rock & roll.
I do agree that Sister Rosetta Tharpe is somewhere in the mix, although I'm not sure if on some of the recordings I've seen, she was actually influenced by rock & roll. There's so date evidence on the first clip, but if it dates back to the early 1950s I'd say she had a very strong case. If the playing style shown there was her own invention then it absolutely seals it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVzm86oB1Y
I'd agree that he influenced rock, but not rock & roll. Bands such as Cream and Led Zeppelin were obviously influenced by the blues, but that is a long way away from rock & roll.
I do agree that Sister Rosetta Tharpe is somewhere in the mix, although I'm not sure if on some of the recordings I've seen, she was actually influenced by rock & roll. There's so date evidence on the first clip, but if it dates back to the early 1950s I'd say she had a very strong case. If the playing style shown there was her own invention then it absolutely seals it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVzm86oB1Y
Sister Rosetta was playing her unique style of gospel/blues music back in the 30s and 40s but I've never seen any clips, they probably don't exist on video but the recordings do. The railway track stuff is from the early 60s.
Sister Rosetta was a big influence on Chuck Berry and Little Richard. It's her guitar style and singing that predates all the famous rock n'roll artists that cements her position as a key influencer in Rock N'Roll. It's only relatively recently that she has got the recognition she deserves.
Blues music is not a long way from Rock N'Roll at all. Rock N'Roll was a term used as far back as the 30s and in the early 40s but was popularised in the 50s. And Rock N'Roll is essentially a particular type of Blues riff.
Another key influencer would be Bo Diddley (an artist I was lucky enough to once see) who played both Blues and Rock N'Roll. He was a huge influence on Elvis, The Stones, Jimi Hendrix and countless others.
Are The Stones an R n'B group or a Rock Group, it's hard to know but they did write 'It's Only Rock N'Roll'......
[QUOTE=mgvsmith;73400884Are The Stones an R n'B group or a Rock Group, it's hard to know but they did write 'It's Only Rock N'Roll'......[/QUOTE]Whatever they are, they're certainly not a rock & roll group.
Whatever they are, they're certainly not a rock & roll group.
depends what you mean by 'rock n roll'. like 'pop' it appears to have two meanings or uses. its all pop music, but theres a genre now of pop.... rock n roll might refer to a style of music popularised in the 50's but its also used to describe rock music.
i dont think that when jagger/richard composed 'its only rock n roll' they were referring to the 50's style, but rock per se.
Comments
Rock and Roll's beginnings have been debated ever since it all kicked off, really. Influences came in from jazz, blues, R&B, big band, skiffle , bluegrass, country, boogie woogie etc.
Most people generally acknowledge "Rock Around the Clock" to be the first rock'n'roll single and it evolved out of a genre loosely called jump blues which had come from swing. The music was characterised by increasing the dominance of the rhythm section to create a big-sounding, pounding beat.
The best precursors of rock and roll were songs like Louis Jordan's classic "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and Big Joe Turner's "Shake Rattle and Roll", both of which had that swing / big band / bluesy sound strong on rhythm and light on melody.
"Rock Around the Clock" went one further and stripped down the big band sound to a core of guitars, double bass and drums.
Elvis was by no means among the first true rock and rollers. Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard deserve major credit for their contribution to making rock music wild, raucous and dangerous. On a personal level I've always thought Elvis was rather conservative (despite parents' protestations at his "demonic" hip gyrations haha).
And as for the OP's assertion of Frank Sinatra's place in rock and roll...well that defies all logic. Sinatra referred to rock and roll artists as cretinous goons, so he clearly wasn't a fan.
A record often cited as the first Rock and roll Record is one by Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm but credited to the featured vocalist Jackie Brenston; "Rocket 88".
I do agree that Sister Rosetta Tharpe is somewhere in the mix, although I'm not sure if on some of the recordings I've seen, she was actually influenced by rock & roll. There's so date evidence on the first clip, but if it dates back to the early 1950s I'd say she had a very strong case. If the playing style shown there was her own invention then it absolutely seals it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuVzm86oB1Y
Fabulous track.
Sister Rosetta was playing her unique style of gospel/blues music back in the 30s and 40s but I've never seen any clips, they probably don't exist on video but the recordings do. The railway track stuff is from the early 60s.
Sister Rosetta was a big influence on Chuck Berry and Little Richard. It's her guitar style and singing that predates all the famous rock n'roll artists that cements her position as a key influencer in Rock N'Roll. It's only relatively recently that she has got the recognition she deserves.
Blues music is not a long way from Rock N'Roll at all. Rock N'Roll was a term used as far back as the 30s and in the early 40s but was popularised in the 50s. And Rock N'Roll is essentially a particular type of Blues riff.
Another key influencer would be Bo Diddley (an artist I was lucky enough to once see) who played both Blues and Rock N'Roll. He was a huge influence on Elvis, The Stones, Jimi Hendrix and countless others.
Are The Stones an R n'B group or a Rock Group, it's hard to know but they did write 'It's Only Rock N'Roll'......
depends what you mean by 'rock n roll'. like 'pop' it appears to have two meanings or uses. its all pop music, but theres a genre now of pop.... rock n roll might refer to a style of music popularised in the 50's but its also used to describe rock music.
i dont think that when jagger/richard composed 'its only rock n roll' they were referring to the 50's style, but rock per se.