Contributions of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley to Rock and Roll - Term Paper Example

"Did Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry or Bill Haley have more impact on the early history of Rock n Roll? Introduction Rock and roll music originated from the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It has its roots in mainly Folk, Country, R&B, Blues and Gospel music. Many people are not conversant with the time that rock and roll started. Some of them argue that it started in the 1910s when the term "rock and roll” came into recognition for the first time. Some people are of the opinion that it started in the USA in 1950s, with the first wave of rock rollers musicians like Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. This essay will look specifically at the contribution of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley Bill Haley on the early history of rock and roll music. Later the essay narrows down to Chuck Berry’s contribution to the history of rock and roll music. Contributions of Bill Hayley to the early history of rock and roll music: Bill Hayley (1925-1981) was among the first American rock and roll musicians. He was the son of a banjo-picking father and a piano-playing mother. His family was firm, religious and a musically inclined family in a suburb of Detroit. He owned a guitar at 13 and was playing in country bands by the age of 18 with ultimate dreams of being a singing cowboy. At 21, disappointed with the life that a traveling country singer lives, he quit, but after doing a series of jobs related to the music, he came back to his performance, this time organizing a "western swing" band in the early Fifties (Kotarba 2002 p. 398). He was a singer, guitarist and also a slap bassist. His band, the comets, made Bill immensely famous, and he was the first rock and roll artist to stir the American charts with his song ‘Crazy man, Crazy’. Hayley became a particularly significant influence on the other artists as he was both a gifted singer and a talented song writer. His contributions to the early development of early rock and roll were quite tangible. He was the first musician to take rock and roll into the top 40. He also integrated Western Swing with Jump Blues to develop a new style. He was among the first white entertainers to appeal to the black audience (Burkett 2010 p. 423). He was significant in bringing the first rock music performance to the UK. He was instrumental in the creation of a self-contained band, The Comets. He was the first rock performer to appear on network television. He owned his own publishing company and label. His performance led to teen rebellion. Many artists respected Bill, and he influenced their thoughts on Rock and Roll music. The sound of his music especially ‘Rock around the clock’ respected by many to the extent that other rock and roll musicians emulated it (Burkett 2010 p. 424). Contributions of Elvis Presley to the early history of rock and roll music Elvis Presley grew up as a poor, white, country boy who drove trucks to earn a living. One author describes Presley’s’ emergence in the mid fifties as so instantaneous, his music very fresh, his personality so outstanding that he could not be labeled (Henke 2009 p. 102). People became confused; there has never been a wave like it. Although there is no exact date or time that history tells us is the birth of rock n’ roll, July 5, 1954 is the most probable according to the studio of Sun Records. Elvis Presley is the single most outstanding figure in the history of rock and roll. Presley totally changed the music, and he revolutionized the entertainment industry forever. In the 1950’s, the South was tremendously racially segregated, but Elvis’s music broke these past racial barriers. He was also significant in allowing the African American music to reach the white American youth who had never been exposed to it. Presley also challenged the social and moral values as his music and the provocative dance moves brought an entirely new generation. By 1955, Presley had started making a significant appeal the whole nation. The people instantaneously loved Elviss incredible voice and the pelvic thrusting hips he had. Many critics both loved and hated Elvis while many girls got attracted to him as well, (Buswick 2010 p. 260). His popularity made the older folks to sideline him this; made many controversies besiege him, attributed to the fact that he shook his lips and his passionate dances on the stage. He posed a significant threat to the morals that the white American society strongly believed. Presley set the motion of a style of music that ruled the world for the entire century. Elvis truly paved the way and opened the door for white Americans to listen to African American music. His popularity increased opportunities for the Africans (Hamelman 2003 p. 203). Contributions of Chuck berry to the early history of rock and roll music Chuck Berry was born in October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father was a contractor as well as a deacon of the neighbouring Antioch Baptist Church. He was a third born, and he grew up in The Ville, north of downtown St. Louis. This was one of the regions where blacks could be allowed to own property. In the later years, 1920s and 30s, The Ville became renowned with the Black prosperity (Mosher 2006 p. 96). He is the most significant black artist in rock and roll music. Berry argued as the most influential music figure, regardless of his race, in history of rock music (Henke 2009 p. 103). The monumental rock and roller, Berry melded blues, country, and a witty, arrogant teen outlook into songs that influenced every rock musician in his wake. Some of The Chucks outstanding achievements include; he was the first guitarist singer to reach the charts. He was the first rock and roller to write words that were relevant. He was significant in entertaining his young white audience without discriminating his core black audience. He was also the first songwriter cum performer in 1955. He achieved the above with a driving rock and roll rhythm that was brand new and unique enough to be recognized. These are the main reasons that made his music more popular than any of other artists. During his performance of any material, Berry ensured that he enunciated distinctly, sang beyond the conventional blues realm, and improvised his lyrics. All these captivated his audience, making him prosperous in his career. Later, Chuck became a star when he sang Jay McShanns "Confessin the Blues" in the All Mens Review in 1941; this was a song that he was to record on the 1960 album Rockin at the Hops. At that time, he had shifted his focus on music (Shumway 2010 p. 485). Many people see Chuck as the father of guitar-based rock and roll. He came up with many riffs on the guitar that had never been done by anyone up to date (Burkette 2010 p. 423). He was a vital influence on the Rolling Stones, and also many other English bands, who later appreciated his music even before Americans did. He was also a gifted lyricist as his lyrics were fast, always poetical in meter, funny, complicated and grammatically correct. Most boys discovered they could play an electric guitar together with an amplifier and then learn to play these songs by themselves. This grew day by day, and later garage bands came up. Berry demonstrated rock and roll as the first of the new musical development in the 1950s. His ability to fuse rhythm and blues, country music, a defiant attitude, unflagging energy, and the hip lyrics about girls and cars stirred the music scene during the early days of rock. The star rock bands like Beatles and Rolling Stones portrayed his tremendous influence in their own music. This made the industry recognize him with some of its outstanding honors in the late 1980s, including his introduction into Rock and the Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and his stardom on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987. Chuck still maintained a frequent touring programme well past the age that most artists retire while playing such music as "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode" for the appreciative audiences. Although scandal frequently dogged his successful career, Chuck managed to overcome his personal challenges to maintain his prestigious place in rock and roll history (Kotarba 2002 p. 397). Conclusion Rock n Roll did not modify the world. However, the genre continued to dominate people’s lives for many decades until the music itself became nothing more than a mere background noise for the young people. In the 1950s, teens wanted the music to be theirs and the early rock stars provided them with it. The youth market drove the rock music, which dissatisfied the older generation. It was too black and overtly sexual for people too set in their ways.　 References List Burkett, L. E., 2010. How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music. Popular Music and Society, 33(3), pp. 423-425. Buswick, T., 2010. Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock N Roll Pioneers. Oral History Review, 37(2), pp. 260-262. Hamelman, S., 2003. "But Is It Garbage? The Theme of Trash in Rock and Roll Criticism. Popular Music and Society , 26(2), pp. 203-223. Henke, J., 2009. "From Journalism to Exhibits: The Public Classroom of Rock and Roll. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 21(1), pp. 102-07. Inglis, I., 2007. Sex and Drugs and RocknRoll": Urban Legends and Popular Music. Popular Music and Society, 30(5), pp. 591-603. Kotarba, J. A., 2002. Rock n Roll Music as a Timepiece. Symbolic Interaction, 25(3), pp. 397-404. Mosher, C., 2008. Ecstatic Sounds: The Influence of Pentecostalism on Rock and Rol. Popular Music and Society, 31(1), pp. 95-112. Shumway, D. R., 2010. How the Beatles Destroyed Rock n Roll. An Alternative History of American Popular Music, 29(3), pp. 485-488. Read More