What are the origins of rock and roll?

How do you define rock and roll? Each year, with the announcement of the next class of nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a debate swirls as to what music is considered "rock and roll. read more

"Rock 'n' roll was an inevitable outgrowth of the social and musical interactions between blacks and whites in the South and Southwest. Its roots are a complex tangle. Bedrock black church music influenced blues, rural blues influenced white folk song and the black popular music of the Northern ghettos, blues and black pop influenced jazz, and so on. read more

Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s from African American musical styles such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues, along with country music. read more

Without exploring the history of black popular music, country and western music, race relations, technical developments, and the music business one can be led easily to the conclusion that rock and roll was some new and different music which appeared suddenly. read more

Rock and roll is a form of popular music that emerged in the United States in the late Forties and early Fifties. But rock and roll's roots can be tracked back centuries to drum beats in Africa and Celtic folk music in Europe. read more