Rock and Roll History, Part 1

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. This is Ray
Freeman, with Rich Kleinfeldt. Today we begin the story of the first
fifty years of rock and roll.

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VOICE TWO:

Rock and roll combines many kinds of American music -- country
music, folk music, church music, work songs, blues and jazz. Rock
and roll developed in the early nineteen-fifties from a kind of
music called rhythm and blues. Black singers and musicians performed
rhythm and blues. At first, this music was popular only with
African-Americans.

VOICE ONE:

But, during the early nineteen-fifties, the popularity of rhythm
and blues music spread. It became very popular among white young
people. They listened to this music on radio stations that broadcast
across the country late at night. Some teenagers began buying rhythm
and blues records as a form of rebellion. This music was very
different from the music that was popular with their parents.

The music was exciting. It had a very strong rhythm and beat.
Some of the songs were about sex.

Some adults strongly objected to rhythm and blues music. They did
not think young people should listen to it.

VOICE TWO:

Alan Freed had a radio show in Cleveland, Ohio in the early
nineteen-fifties. He is said to be the first person to use the
expression "rock and roll" to describe rhythm and blues music. Alan
Freed was one of the first to play rock and roll music on his radio
show. And he organized the first rock and roll concert in Cleveland
in nineteen-fifty-two.

Songs by black performers like Fats Domino and Little Richard
soon became popular with white teenagers. These singers recorded
their records in the southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

VOICE ONE:

Many experts believe that rock and
roll music was born in the southern city of Memphis, Tennessee. Sam
Phillips was a white record producer there. He produced records by
local black musicians. One day, an eighteen-year-old truck driver
came to his studio to record a song for his mother. The young man
was Elvis Presley. Phillips produced Presley's first real record in
nineteen-fifty-four. Many experts consider it to be the first rock
and roll song. It is called "That's All Right."

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VOICE TWO:

Experts say another song is important in the history of rock and
roll. Bill Haley and his Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in
nineteen-fifty-four. It was not popular at first. Then it was used
in a movie about rebellious teenagers, called "The Blackboard
Jungle." The movie caused a lot of debate. It also made the song a
huge hit. "Rock Around the Clock" became a song of teenage
rebellion.

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VOICE ONE:

Many other rock and roll singers
became popular in the nineteen-fifties. They included Buddy Holly,
Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Each performer created his own kind
of rock and roll. Chuck Berry's music was a mixture of country and
rhythm and blues. In nineteen-fifty-five, his song "Maybellene" was
one of the most popular songs in the country.

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VOICE TWO:

In the nineteen-sixties, black music and musicians became
recognized as an important part of the music industry in America.
This was because a company in Detroit, Michigan, called Motown
Records produced some of the most popular songs in American music.
Berry Gordy started Motown Records. He was the first person to
present black music so it appealed to both blacks and whites. One of
Motown's most successful groups was the Supremes, led by Diana Ross.
Here is one of their hits, "Come See About Me."

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VOICE ONE:

A different kind of rock and roll music was developing in
Southern California. Five young men from Los Angeles formed a group
called the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson wrote, performed, and produced
the group's records. The Beach Boys' songs had complex music and
simple words. The words were about the local teenage culture. The
group sang about riding surfboards on the ocean waves. One of their
most popular songs was "Surfin' USA."

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VOICE TWO:

It was also in the
nineteen-sixties that rock and roll music began to change. The words
became as important as the music. Bob Dylan began writing songs that
many young people considered to be poetry. Dylan was influenced by
folk singers and songwriters like Woody Guthrie. Dylan's early songs
concerned serious social issues. He wrote about war and racial
injustice.

Some of his songs were used as protest songs for the anti-war and
civil rights movements in America. Later, Dylan wrote more personal
songs. Here is one of his most popular songs, "Mister Tambourine
Man."

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-sixty-four, a new rock and roll group from England
invaded America. Some say the Beatles' music shook America like an
earthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll music forever.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Caty
Weaver and Lawan Davis. I'm Ray Freeman. Next week, Rich Kleinfeldt
and I continue the story of rock and roll on THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA
Special English.

Visitors to America can learn more at the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Or visit, on the Internet,
rockhall -- one word, rockhall.com.

We leave you now with one of my favorite rock and roll hits from
nineteen-sixty-one. Ray Charles sings, "Hit the Road Jack."

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