Rock 'n' Roll (1950's)

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The launch of rock 'n' roll

  • - Music that engaged the teenage generation like no other music had done before
  • - Older generation considered the genre controversial
  • - Combines elements of rhythm and blues music and aspects of country music (combining the music of the black and white American populations)
  • - Rhythm and blues brought an edgy sound (drums and electric guitars) to popular music

Musical features of rock 'n' roll

- Rhythmic drive and energy

- Swing or boogie-woogie rhythms

- Emphasis on primary chords (I, IV and V) 

- Often 12 bar blues chord structure

- Walking bass line (played by bass guitar or pizzicato on the double bass)

- Instrumental solo sections

- Beats 2 and 4 emphasised by the snare drum (backbeat)

- Intense "shouty" vocals (e.g. The Beatles' Twist and Shout)

Instruments often used are:

- Electric and/or acoustic guitar

- Double bass (or bass guitar)

- Drum kit

- Piano

- Saxophones (only really in the 1950's)

- Lead vocals, sometimes accompanied by backing vocalists singing in close harmony


Famous Artists

- Elvis Presley (Hound Dog)

- Bill Haley and His Comets (Rock around the clock)

- The Beatles

- The Beach Boys

- Little Richard



Technology used in rock 'n' roll

- Electric guitars played through amplifiers

- Guitar amplifiers were often overdriven (turned up too loud) to create a slightly distorted sound

- Basic technological effects; reverb and echo