The words rock and roll were first used when12/24/2022 He allegedly said: “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.” Regardless of whether he said those words verbatim or even said them at all, there is truth to the sentiment. According to The New Yorker, there is a story - albeit a disputed one - about comments Phillips made about finding black-sounding white artists. Sam Phillips, a record producer and the founder of Sun Records, was at the forefront of the race to find white artists who could sound like black artists. But they did not want the authentic, original black artists they wanted marketable artists, ones who could be televised and proudly promoted: white artists. Soon after, record labels took notice of the “new” style of music and wanted to capitalize on it. Elements of rock ‘n’ roll can be found in nearly every jazz, blues and R&B song - even those dating back to the 1920s.īy the 1940s, R&B had established itself as a black genre, with artists like Fats Domino and Arthur Crudup leading the way. These styles were derived from the call-and-response vocal patterns of the early African slaves. The genre evolved from the African American musical styles of gospel, blues, jazz and R&B. However, the history of rock ‘n’ roll goes back even further. Later that year, Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner released the song “Rocket 88.” With its distorted electric guitar and heavy backbeat, “Rocket 88” is often cited as the first rock ‘n’ roll record, according to an article published on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website. The lyrics “I rock ‘em, roll ‘em all night long,” inspired the term “rock ‘n’ roll.” To avoid the stigma attached to R&B and to gain white acceptance of black artistry, he needed a new term to label the style of music he played.įreed’s answer came from the 1951 single “Sixty Minute Man,” by all-black group Billy Ward and his Dominoes. He defied this industry standard and played R&B records - a style of music that was dominated by black artists - on his radio show. Freed worked for a major radio station during a time when large stations were known to only play music by white artists to cater to their white audience members. The term “rock ‘n’ roll” was coined in 1951 by a Cleveland radio DJ named Alan Freed. The history of rock ‘n’ roll is deep, marred by a dishonest origin and is hardly told. With many big names like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Elvis Presley who made their careers through this style of music, it would be easy to believe that rock ‘n’ roll music is a genre by whites, for whites. Rock ‘n’ roll as we know it today is usually attributed to white artists and acts.
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