As Neil Young sang it, “hey hey my my, rock and roll will never die.” And yet, it was certainly born, and in the USA at that, even if no one can produce the exact date on the certificate. The stories of its origin vary widely in the telling, though we can recognize some common elements. It began, all agree, somewhere in the American south in the late 40s or early 50s. Its mother was the electric, post-war blues practiced by such Chicago greats as Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters; its grandmother, the earlier blues music which had flourished in Texas, the Piedmont, and, most famously, the Mississippi Delta. Aunts and Uncles included African-American field songs, spirituals, and gospel music, as well as a piano-driven genre of dance music known as “boogie-woogie.” Added to this mix were the “hillbilly” genres of bluegrass, country, and folk, and even the popular jazz and swing music of 1930s and 1940s.
While we know much about rock and roll’s lineage, it is harder to pinpoint the moment when it was born. While some would like to go all the way back to the new rhythms introduced into blues music by artists like Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson in the 1930s, most agree that rock proper started within a few years on either side of 1950, and became a major commercial force by 1955. Among the most commonly cited examples of the first rock and roll record are:
While we know much about rock and roll’s lineage, it is harder to pinpoint the moment when it was born. While some would like to go all the way back to the new rhythms introduced into blues music by artists like Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson in the 1930s, most agree that rock proper started within a few years on either side of 1950, and became a major commercial force by 1955. Among the most commonly cited examples of the first rock and roll record are:
- Goree Carter - Rock Awhile (1949): While musically this has much in common with the blues records being produced in this era (indeed it is difficult to draw the lines between early rock and blues), Carter’s guitar work on this record strongly anticipates the guitar sound made famous by Chuck Berry several years later, and the use of the phrase “rock” is certainly evocative.
- Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm - Rocket 88 (1951): This is perhaps the most commonly cited “first rock and roll record.” Ike Turner, who would later gain notoriety for his highly publicized abuse of his wife Tina, was just 19 when this record was cut. It features many of the hallmarks of later rock and roll including an early example of guitar distortion - allegedly the product of accidental damage to the amplifier incurred during transportation to the studio.
- Bill Haley and His Comets - Rock Around the Clock (1954): While few would seriously maintains that this was the first rock and roll record, it was certainly one of rock’s earliest big hits, and helped to introduce the genre and its name to a wide commercial audience.
In truth, rock and roll was not the product of any one moment or any one record. It was the convergence of a half-century or more of American tradition. What is certain is that once it was born, there was no looking back. The music we call simply “rock” today has changed and mutated in innumerable ways from the relatively narrow genre of the 1950’s, but the basic attitudes and the core instrumental format of even the most alternative rock music today owes something to its heritage in these early recordings.
- Will Dingee
- Will Dingee