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History of Rock & Roll - The 1950s | JTCurtisMusic | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: History of Rock & Roll - The 1950s
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Late on me, Daddyo. I'm JT Curtis, and
this is the history of rock and roll,
on rock and roll music, and why I preach
against it. And I believe with all of my
heart that it is a contributing factor
to our juvenile delinquency of today. I
100% believe it. Why I believe that is
because I know how it feels when you
sing it. I know what it does to you and
I I know uh the evil feeling that you
feel when you sing it.
Well, that evil feel-good rock and roll
hit America in the 1950s and changed
music forever. The postw World War II
generation loved rock and roll. It was
fast. It was fun. And it was controversial.
controversial.
What is this? This is Dela music.
And 60 years later, rock and roll is
[Applause]
Well, holding on for dear life. But
where did it come from?
Well, the roots of rock and roll are
pretty complicated and fiercely debated.
through the window. [Music]
[Music]
No, no, no. The the first rock and roll
record was not that
you make your big head so hot.
I'll settle for that. This is Lewis
Jordan performing his 1946 hit Calonia.
One of the first songs to be referred to
as rock and roll. Walking with my baby.
She got great big feet. She's long,
lean, and lank and ain't had nothing to
eat. But she's my baby and I love her
just the same.
Crazy about that woman cuz her name.
You see, groups like Lewis Jordan and
his Tony 5 were really
Sorry. Hold on a second.
Come on, man. Rock and roll is about
guitars and drums and Axel Rose
screaming. Yeah. and Nikki 6 drinking
heroin out of a fire hose and MTV. And
don't go, I'm so lonely. Okay, maybe I
wouldn't go as far as to call Lewis
Jordan the first rock and roller, but
his influence on the genre should not be
forgotten. In its simplest form, rock
and roll is a melding of blues, country,
gospel, and jazz. from Africa to the
black church and over the gospel which
turned into blues and jazz and country music.
music.
The 1940s were still dominated by big
band jazz, but their days were numbered
when artists like Lewis Jordan started
performing with smaller groups. In 1949,
Lewis Jordan recorded a two-part single
called Saturday Night Fish Fry, which
and features some electric guitar licks
that would later be coped by numerous
rock and roll guitar players.
Well, the term rocking was originally a
religious term and it was also a
euphemism for sex.
Well, that's a bit of a contradiction there.
there.
I know how it feels when you sing it. I
know what it does to you.
Quiet you. Getting back to the topic at
hand. What was the first rock and roll song?
song?
Well, I don't know about this one
either. This sounds more like a 40s big
band shuffle. I'm not sure. [Music]
[Music]
Now we're talking. This is Winoni
Harris's Good Rocking Tonight.
Originally written by Roy Brown. It's
considered to be one of the first rock
and roll songs. Probably the most
obvious reason is because it has the
term rocking in it, but it's also the
melding of musical elements. Those
familiar blues changes, that boogie
wookie piano, and that strong emphasis
on the backbeat augmented by those
gospel style hand claps.
The song was later covered by a number
of rockers in the ' 50s, though at the
time it was being marketed as jump
Take an old Delta Blues song, Robert
Johnson song. Yeah, there
in my kitchen is going to be raining in
our room.
Take the same song played up tempo and
it's completely different. Come on in my
kitchen. It's going to be raining outside.
outside.
Rock and roll is nothing but rhythm and
blues up tempo. And rhythm and blues up
tempo is boogie wiggy. Other contenders
for first rock and roll song include
Jimmy Preston's 1949 hit Rock the Joint,
producing an exciting party atmosphere. Rock
[Music]
and roll.
I want to roll and rock. Yes.
Yes.
Gory Carter's Rock a while was another
song to feature a distorted electric guitar.
guitar. [Music]
[Music]
Feeling good this morning. I feel like I
want to rock a while.
Sorry. Hello.
Hello.
Yeah. Hi. Isn't this an episode about
the 1950s?
How did you get this number?
It's a YouTube video. It doesn't matter.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, give me that phone.
I got to call my account.
Account. You don't have an account. Hey,
get out. Hey, Bernie. Bernie made off.
Yeah, that joke would have been funny in
2007. It's not
Get out of here. Get out of here. It's a
public phone. It don't mean you.
Well, as the 1950s opened, Fats Domino's
piano driven blues record, The Fat Man,
became a huge hit, featuring his smooth
voice and drummer Earl Palmer's strong backbeat.
backbeat.
Where would they call Roger now? Grizzly
blues. I've been playing 15 years in New
Orleans. Piano and horns were still the
dominant instruments by this time.
Jackie Brenston recorded Rocket 88
produced by Sam Phillips for Chess Records.
Records.
You would have heard of if you heard the
noise they make, but let me
rocket 88
featuring Ike Turner's band with Willie
Kizard on guitar. [Music]
[Music]
A very, very distorted electric guitar.
Knowing I Turner, he probably kicked the
amp so badly it just ended up sounding
like that.
Stupid, stupid gift. Why won't you make
me sound better?
The song was a huge hit and widely
considered to be the first rock and roll
song and thus the electric guitar became
the main instrument of the decade. The
hollow body electric guitar had been
around since the big band era played by
Charlie Christian and the like. But it
was the 1950s where the instrument
became a star in its own right and
manufacturers Leo Fender and Les Paul
[Music]
Well, if anybody asks about me, well,
you tell them I walked out.
You won't listen to me.
Blues artists in particular found the
distorted sound really appealing.
You ain't nothing but
Man, listen to that voice. That's Big
Mama Thornton singing her 1953 hit Hound
Dog, written by renowned composers Jerry
Lever and Mike Stler. And she's got more
balls than most modern-day male singers.
You never get to hear a woman like this
today. Yeah, Katie Perry is hot, but her
voice sounds like a computerized 2-year-old.
2-year-old.
Imagine Big Mama's voice coming out of
[Music]
I know.
You ain't nothing but [Music]
Chicago, Illinois was really the hot
spot for electric blues artists. Got my [Applause]
[Applause]
I mentioned Chess Records already
founded by Phil and Leonard Chess which
housed many influential blues artists.
Money Waters, Alen Wolf, John Lee
Bo Diddley released his hit Bo Diddley
which popularized a new beat called the
Bo Diddly beat. Yeah, he really liked
that name, didn't he? [Music]
[Music]
It's all one chord. The lyrics allude to
a nursery rhyme. It's totally unique.
In New York City, Ahmed Erdigan founded
Atlantic Records and signed rhythm and
[Music]
I've ever seen.
Hey, R.
And a young Ray Charles singing his
They doing the mess around.
They doing the mess around. Everybody
All of these artists have become huge
influences on the genre. And while most
of these artists I've mentioned are
rhythm and blues artists, a Cleveland DJ
named Alan Frerieded began calling this
new musical genre rock and roll.
This is Alan Freed, the old king of the
Moond Doggers. And it's time again for
another of your favorite rock and roll
sessions, blues and rhythm records for
all the gang in the Moond Dog Kingdom.
His Moond Dog show attracted teenagers,
both white and black, and launched rock
and roll into popularity. Here is the
vocal group that had the first number
one rock and roll song in America. The
Earth Angel,
the one I adore.
Little known fact, the guitar player for
the Penguins was some unknown kid named
Marty McFly.
Whoa, this is heavy. Alan Frerieded
organized the first rock and roll
concert which quickly became over
And soon after, older generations spoke
out against rock and roll, including
religious groups who considered it to be
the work of the devil.
I know what it does to you.
Mostly because it came from black people.
people.
We came along, the whole thing changed.
All of a sudden, we became a no no. What
is this? This is devil music. I put a
spell on you.
This is a very crucial point, not just
for the history of rock and roll, but
American history. At this point in time,
it hadn't even been a century since
slavery was abolished. And even then, it
didn't seem like much had changed.
America was still highly segregated,
especially in the South.
This vulgar animalistic rock and roll bot.
bot.
That's really where Rhythm of Blues came from.
from. [Music]
[Music]
These guys didn't just sing the blues.
They lived the blues. Whether singing in
the cotton fields or singing in church,
the oppressed African-American culture
found solace in music.
I still say that there's such a fine
[Music]
It was uplifting. It was soothing. A
form of spiritual healing. And I think
that's why the younger generation, white
kids included, found rock and roll so
appealing. Apart from it being fun to
dance to and rebellious in nature, rock
and roll and rhythm and blues was just
pure emotion. Real authentic human
emotion of people who channel the
injustices of society to create art.
There's no black or white in this music.
You feel it in your soul.
You've got to be colorb blind other than
whatever moves you moves you.
I don't know if I go as far to say that
rock and roll broke down the racial
barrier, but it certainly played a
pivotal role in American civil rights.
It was 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to
sit at the back of a segregated bus. And
it just happened to be the same year
that Richard Pennyman released Tutti Frutti.
Yeah, critics of rock and roll probably
had Little Richard in mind when they
started calling it devil's music. Known
for his soulful voice, his hard driving
piano, and for being completely crazy. [Laughter]
Man, Bo Diddley looks scared out of his
mind right there. But Tutti Frutti is a
classic rock and roll record. It also
[Music]
My god, he looks like he's having an
orgasm on the piano. Yeah, Bill Hilly
looks into it. While the song was a big
hit, Pat Boon covered the song and
achieved greater success with his version.
booty. Wow.
Wow.
This is so freaking white.
And here this man came and took my song.
And not only did he take two fruit, but
he going to even take long sle. [Music]
And that basically is where the problem
lies. Because of the controversy
surrounding it, a lot of radio stations
were reluctant to play race records as
they were known.
I remember hearing Phil Chester saying,
"You know what? If we could get a white
kid to play this song, we could get it played."
played."
In the early 50s, a country and western
group called Bill Haley and the Comets.
I recorded spirited covers of Rocket 88,
Rock the Joint. And in 1955, they made
music history with Rock Around the Clock.
Clock.
Tonight we're going to rock till
going to rock tonight.
The song was not a huge hit right away,
but its inclusion in the landmark Sydney
Pier film Blackboard Jungle shot the
single to number one.
You are now listening to Rock Around the
Clock. This is the theme music from
MGM's sensational new picture,
Blackboard Jungle.
Compared with a lot of its
contemporaries, the track is much
cleaner, as is Paley's voice. But he
sings the song with a lot of energy and
guitarist Danny Sedron plays a cool solo.
Actually, the song sounds an awful lot
like Hank Williams. Move it on over.
Came in last night at 10. That baby of
Because of its success, rock and roll
was now the music of the decade. and no
one could stop it. Beep.
I haven't talked much about country, but
it is a big part of rock and roll's roots.
roots. [Music]
Maybe nowadays you wouldn't think of
someone like Johnny Cash being a rock
guy, but back then his music was being
marketed as rockabilly. I keep the ends
out for the tie that finds because
you're mine. I walk the line.
They all come out of what? That Sun
R&B became what we was doing and rock
and roll became what the white kids was doing.
doing.
The title of it is Maybelline.
Oh yeah. Chuck Berry. Oh, Maybelline.
Can't you be true? Oh,
why can't you be true?
You started back doing the things you
used to do.
The St. Louis born guitarist was also
influenced by country music. And in
1955, he recorded Maybelline for chess
records. The story driven lyrics of a
car and a girl struck a chord, no pun
intended, with younger audiences.
I was motivating over the hill. I saw me
in a cool field. Cadillac roll over the
road. Nothing but run my vehicle.
Maybelline sounds just like I red rhythmically.
rhythmically.
He was writing intelligent lyrics in the
50s when people were singing, "Oh baby,
See, Chuck would just take these boogie
[Music]
Throughout the decade, Chuck Barry would
become a driving force for rock and roll
and one of the most influential guitar
players in history. [Music]
[Music]
A year earlier, Sam Phillips, who was
now managing Sun Records, discovered a
Memphis singer named Elvis Presley.
Some of you might have heard of him. His
first recording for Phillips was a cover
of Crudeup's 1946 blues number, That's
All Right.
Well, that's all right, mama. That's all
right for you.
Elvis had what Phillips was looking for,
a soulful voice coming out of a young,
handsome white guy. They were so shocked
they had to listen to see what brutality
is taking place.
He would also record a rockabilly
version of Good Rocking Tonight before
signing with RCA and recording his first
number one. The rest is rock and roll
history. Well, since my baby left me,
well, I found a new place to dwell.
Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street.
From then on, it was hit after hit after
hit with this guy.
Well, they said you was high class.
It was his performance of Big Mama
Thornton's Hound Dog on the Milton Burl
show that solidified him as king of rock
and roll. [Music]
Well, of course, we all know where he
really got those dance moves from.
This is not for children's eyes.
There's a lot of controversy surrounding
Elvis Presley. Probably his most famous
are his dance moves, which aroused young
girls. I watched him gyate his legs and
swivel his hips. And our parent teachers
group feels he should not be on television.
television.
And now here is Elvis Presley.
Ed Sullivan was very reluctant to have
him on his show. And even when he did
appear, he would only shoot Elvis
I mean, it's like showing David Lee Roth
from the waist up. I mean, what's the
point? How do you keep getting into my
house? Well, you know the funny thing
about that is I'm going to steal your
goldfish. Bye.
Is there a trap door back there? No.
The other controversy surrounding Elvis
is the idea that he stole a lot of black
truth.
A good amount of his songs were written
by prolific R&B composer Otis Blackwell
who wrote songs like Little Willie
John's Fever [Music]
[Music]
through the night.
I mean Otis Blackwell wrote songs for
Elvis like Return to Sender. All shook up.
up.
But will I bless my soul? What's wrong
with me? I'ming like a man on a fuzzy
street. My friends say I'm acting wild
as a dog. I'm in love.
I'm all shook up.
But he really never got the credit that
he really deserved. Another example was
guitarist Carl Perkins who was also
discovered by Sam Phillips and Sun
Records. At this time they were turning
out a lot of bigname acts like Johnny Cash,
Cash,
the fantastic Mr. Carl Perkins.
Hey Carl, it's one for the money for the
show. Free to get ready now. Go
for my blue shoes.
You can do anything. They offer my blue.
Perkins released his signature tune,
Blue Suede Shoes, at the beginning of 1956.
[Music]
My name. [Music]
Out of all the rockabilly guitarists,
He would become a huge influence on
George Harrison and a number of other
guitarists through the years. But
shortly after the record came out, Carl
Perkins was in a car accident, leaving
Elvis Presley to perform the song live
on TV.
Well, you can do anything. [Music]
[Music]
And thus, everybody thought it was
Elvis's song. Now, the later years of
the 1950s were the peak of rock and roll
music. There's a lot to talk about here.
Fats Domino had achieved his greatest
success with Blueberry Hill, which he
performed on the Ed Sullivan show. I
Blueberry Hillberry. [Music]
Little Richard was still rocking and
rolling with his hit Lucille highlighted
I woke up this morning loose was not in
sight. I asked for the bottom but all
that was
Give it up for the man. He's pretty much
the reason rock and roll is what it is today.
today.
I have never received nothing. You never
gave me no Grammy and I've been singing
for years.
I am the architect of rock and roll. You
1957 saw the release of Jerry Lee
Lewis's signature tune, Great Balls of
Fire, originally written by Otis
Blackwell. You take my nerves and you my brain
will [Music]
[Music] fire.
fire.
Great balls of fire is just pure rock
and roll. Jerry's piano playing really
earns him the nickname the killer. We're
And once again, all the parents at home
watching Leave it to Beaver criticize
the son's strong sexual undertones.
Well, yeah. The song is called Great
Balls of Fire. And Leave it to Beaver. Wow.
Wow.
That same year, Texans Buddy Holly and
the Crickets released their number one
hit, That'll be the day. That'll be the
That'll be the day when I die.
That'll be the day. Very exciting
record. You didn't know if they were
black, white, it didn't really matter.
Just a very sort of electric sound on
the radio. That'll be the day when I die.
die.
Buddy Holly was one of the most
influential figures at the time. His
discoraphy of classic songs like Peggy
Sue Every Day and Rayon is impressive. Peggy,
Peggy,
is one of the first rockers to write,
produce, and even perform his own material.
material.
Make a totally self-contained unit out
of the band. thought he was streets
ahead of his time.
How old are all of you fellas?
Well, there's 218, 120, and I'm 21.
Everyone was influenced by Buddy Holly. [Music]
[Music]
Except him. The Crickets tooured the
same year with the Everly Brothers.
Their smooth harmonies gained notoriety
with hits like
[Music]
And in 1957, Elvis Presley released his
No, he didn't write it. It was written
by Liieber and Stellar. No, he didn't
arrange it or play an instrument on it.
But Elvis sings the hell out of this song.
song. 47.
You do realize it's all men in the jail
house, right?
Yeah. Yeah. The the song is about prison love
love
years before Shaw Shank Redemption or Oz.
Oz.
So the song is very ahead of its time.
I guess it was. Yeah.
Goldfish. Visualized by the Jailhouse
Rock sequence from the movie. It's still
to this day considered to be the
greatest rock song of all time. But
there's another contender for that title.
Louisiana
way back up in the woods ever. Not only
was this song immortalized by Michael J.
is Marvin, your cousin Marvin Barry. You
know that new sound you looking for?
Well, listen to this. Go
down and go. This song is on the Voyager
Golden Record, a disc on the Voyager
spacecraft that represents Earth music
to aliens. Johnny be Good is on the same
record with Beethoven's fifth symphony
and Stravinsk's Ride of Spring. How can
this not be one of the greatest rock
songs ever made? Like Jailhouse Rock,
this is Chuck Barry at his finest. Every
note coming out of his guitar is
perfectly placed. [Applause]
As a guy who's been playing guitar since
he was 8 years old, I can really relate
to Chuck's story about a young guitar slinger.
slinger.
Seriously, is there any rock and roll
song more recognizable than this? Lamba.
Lamba.
Yeah. Yeah. All right.
Abama by Richie Valance. An incredible
Richie Valance. We're talking about the
Los Lomo song. Who's Richie Valins?
I had such high hopes for you.
Labomba is another anthem which writer
Richie Balance adapted from Mexican folk
lyrics. It became one of the first pop
And yes, it was covered by Los Lobos in 1987.
1987.
These goldfish are stale.
In the summer of 1958, Eddie Cochran
released his teen anthem, Summertime
about a working all summer just to try
to earn a dollar.
It's really well recorded for the time
featuring some early experiments and
layering guitars and overdubbing. But
it's really the lyrics that single this
like son, but you're too young to vote.
Man, that line alone says so much about
the tension between older generations
and younger generations. Don't forget at
this time the legal voting age was still
at least 21. And ironically Eddie
Cochran would die in a car accident at
[Music]
So now that brings me to the fall of
rock and roll. What happened? Well, it
seems like a perfect storm of incidents
happened in the late 50s. Elvis Presley
was drafted into the army in 1958. When
he came back, he was never the same.
Jerry Lee Lewis, thought to be Elvis's
successor, was blacklisted from radio
when he married his 13-year-old cousin,
who was later played by Winona Ryder.
Chuck Barry was arrested for a similar
scandal involving a minor. He served a
year and a half in prison. Little
Richard briefly gave up his rock and
roll career to become a preacher. Alan
Frerieded was fired from his show at
WABC for the Piola scandal. And on
February 3rd, 1959, a plane crash took
the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valins,
and the Big Bopper. It was later
referred to as the day the music died.
Time goes by, I'll still you.
you. [Music]
[Music]
One of the things we're very, very proud
of here on the Dick Clark show is
introducing some very, very big records.
This young man we introduced several
weeks ago, his record has now sold and
he doesn't know anything at all about
this 1 million copies of Bobby Darren Flick.
I was taking a
Saturday night.
1959 saw the rise of pop idols like Paul
Anka, Connie Francis, and Bobby Darren.
And by this point, rock and roll songs,
mainly written by Liieber and Stler,
were becoming a lot more gimmicky and tame.
tame. [Music]
It seemed like the rock and roll craze
was over and the genre had bitten the
dust. But that didn't stop other R&B
artists from taking up the reigns. [Music]
[Music]
Mama, don't you treat me wrong. Come and
love me daddy all night long. All right. [Music]
[Music]
Ray Charles two-part single, What I Say,
pointed to the future. The song features
Ray's smoky woriter piano, some
suggestive lyrics, and is later
augmented by a horn section to close
One more time,
man. Talk about a progressive song. This
was the single that made Ray Charles a
household name. And while it's more of
an R&B tune, this unmistakable groove
would be a huge influence on rocks on to come.
come.
Ray Charles is without a doubt, as they
say, a genius. To me, he is even more so.
so.
Well, that brings us to our end
question. Did the 50s rock hard?
Well, yeah. Let's face it. The 1950s was
the birth of rock and roll. The hard
driving backbeat, the unmistakable
guitar lines, the rockous vocals, very
thought-provoking lyrics. That's what's
laid the foundation for rock music for
the past 60 years. I mean, compared to
more contemporary music, these songs may
seem softer, more tame, or even dated.
But it obviously left a mark on American
society and even overseas, inspiring
future British rockers. Songs like
Johnny Be Good, Long Tall Sally,
Jailhouse Rock, and What I Say just as
exciting and fresh today as they did 60
years ago. It was loud. It was
rebellious. It was the music that the
young people listen to that your parents
absolutely hated. And that continues
today in one form or another. I think
because of the controversy and the
racial tensions, they can only push the
envelope so far.
I know how it feels when you sing.
No, for God's sakes, shut the hell up.
And it's also noteworthy that this music
played a part in the civil rights movement.
movement.
Chuck Barry said to me one time, "You
know, Carl, we might be doing as much
with our music as our leaders are in
Washington to break down the barriers."
He was right.
So without rock and roll music of the
50s, there would be no rock and roll
today at all.
So that's the 1950s. Will rock and roll
be resurrected in the 1960s?
You know it's going to be
Yes, I know that. But I was trying to
end this episode on a cliffhanger.
That was actually a good Stallone movie.
Yeah, it was. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was great. Yeah, with all the
Yeah, I know. Would you get out of my house?
house?
Yes, sir.
Hey, who's your favorite 50s rock
artist? Did we forget somebody? What '
60s artist or band do you want us to
talk about next? Comment below and let
us know.
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