Music Rock and Roll

Music involves either playing instruments, producing vocal sounds or combining both in a harmonious manner that produces the beauty of form and expresses emotion. However, its importance is broader than that simple definition. Music is an expression of the occurrences in society. Long ago, musicians used to sing songs that would motivate soldiers during battles, there were songs for cultural ceremonies like weddings, duels, and harvests and there were political songs that mostly praised the rulers of the land at that time.

Each song addressed a matter of interest to society and that is the case even today. Music has been used to help people carry out some of the most powerful revolutions throughout time. People express their desires or dissatisfaction using music.

One of the notable genres that influenced one of America’s greatest movements is the 1950’s rock and roll music. Music played an important role in the civil rights movement as it was something that was shared by white and black people.

In fact, it is the rebellious, soulful sounds of Rock and Roll created that challenged white people in America to see African Americans in a different light. The genre of rock and roll originated in the United States during the 1920s. It is during this period that record labels were trying to tap into the “race market”. The first notable label to make sales of the music was Paramount records in Wisconsin. The advent of radio also assisted the spread of this type of music further as disk jockeys could spin these records in the late night.

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The music remained underground for those early periods and only came to make a significant impact in late 1940s to early 1950s. The origin of rock n roll was in the states that had a great intermingling between the black race and the white race. After the abolishment of the slave trade, many former slaves and their descendants were migrating to major metropolises like Detroit, New York, Buffalo, Cleveland among others. This meant that blacks and whites were living at closer proximity than ever. As it is normal for humans to socialize, they started intermingling, copying each other fashion and music cultures. Rock and roll emerged from the combination of European instrumentation and the African traditional music culture.

It was more a combination of blues and rhythm that was previously known as race music and white country music. Prior to rock music, it was not very common for black folks to perform before predominantly white audiences and neither was the vice versa. The earliest people to cross that line were the likes of Moon Mullican and Jimmy Rodgers. Rock and roll embraced both white and black cultures and therefore became very popular among both races.

Something else that contributed to the success of the type of music across race boundaries is the fact that its onset was during a time when technology was advancing very fast. It was during this time that the electric guitar was invented and it was immediately incorporated into the genre. The music produced had a wildness that appealed to teenagers and adults all over. They simply and sincerely enjoyed the music. The dissemination of the music was fast as during that time radio was becoming a key accessory in American households and therefore its effect spread very fast.