History of Rock & Roll 10 th Grade Music Appreciation Mr. David Lee

Where Does Rock Come From? Rock & Roll is derived from bluegrass, which evolved from African culture. Many historians believe bluegrass was adapted during the 1600’s when settlers who were coming to America, wrote about their journeys in song form.

More About The Settlers Their songs reflected their experience on farms and in the hills as “ordinary people”; therefore the music was called: -Mountain Music -Country Music

Listening to Bluegrass Since the internet, television and c.d.’s were not readily available at this time, this type of music was spread simply by playing in front of an audience. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that Americans could enjoy this music in their own privacy with the inventions of the phonograph and the radio

Instruments Used In Bluegrass Banjo Guitar Fiddle Drums Any other tools they could use as instruments, such as a washboard.

Folk Music While Bluegrass influenced Rock & Roll, it also influenced another genre before called Folk music. Folk music began to shape in the late 1800’s, but continues to be performed and recorded today by many artists.

Social Aspects American Folk Music was used often in the 1950’s and 1960’s to make a statement against many issues occurring in the country such as -Racism -Vietnam War

Influences of American Folk Woodie Guthrie (1930’s & 1940’s) Pete Seeger (1950’s & 1960’s) The Kingston Trio (1960’s) Joan Baez (1960’s) Phil Ochs (1960’s) Bob Dylan (1960’s to present)

Rock & Roll Is Born

Rock & Roll? The term “Rock & Roll” came from a Cleveland disc jockey named Allan Freed in This music was first described as mixing country music with the music of rhythm and blues.

Instruments Used Electric Guitar Stand Up Bass Electric Bass Drums Piano or Keyboard Some horns, as in early 1950’s Rock and Roll.

Early Influences of Rock & Roll Chuck Berry (1950’s) Little Richard (1950’s and 1960’s) Elvis Presley (1950’s through 1970’s) Jerry Lee Lewis (1950’s and 1960’s) The Beatles (1960’s) The Rolling Stones (1960’s and 1970’s) The Doors (1960’s) Janis Joplin (1960’s) Jimi Hendrix (1960’s)

UH OH! Many parents found Rock & Roll to be dangerous and rebellious when first discovered, due to it’s wild and expressive sound. However, Rock and Roll is believed to be one of the factors of socially integrating different races at a time when civil rights was a very big issue.

Combining Folk and Rock & Roll During the 1960’s, artists such as Bob Dylan, combined the unique sounds of Rock & Roll and American Folk music to create a new sound that is still experimented with today.

Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay As you students have learned today, Rock & Roll of the decades before played a very big role on many aspects of our world today, both musically and socially. There will be a test on Wednesday on the information just given, so be sure to study.

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