Post World War II American music was ready for a big change. Big Band Jazz bands gave way to Bebop Jazz combos. Boogie-woogie pianos jammed and jived. The Blues turned electric, later morphing into Rhythm and Blues. Doo Wop blasted off. Hillbilly Music and Gospel joined the chorus. You could even say, there was a “whole lotta shakin’ going on.” The delivery room for the Birth of Rock & Rock was Sam Phillips’ Memphis Sun Records studio.
In this course, we will hear some of the earliest Rock & Roll songs. We will examine the factors leading up to the Birth of Rock & Roll and to the singers, the musicians, the radio DJs, the new technologies, the recording studios, all leading to the rise of Rock & Roll. We’ll have plenty of oldies but goodies and video clips to show you – Louis Jordan, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, plus all the big names: Fats, B.B., Little Richard, Haley and His Comets, Chuck, Buddy, Carl, Don and Phil, Jerry Lee, Buddy, and of course, the King, Elvis.
We’ll remind you how Rock & Roll got America – and the World, “all shook up.”