Rock and roll is the name of a Music style which came from the expression “rocking and rolling”, which means “swing and roll”. This expression could mean "dancing" or "having sex". Its main influences are: Blues, boogie-woogie, country, folk, gospel and African rhythms.
This expression designates a heterogeneous set of musical styles that emerged from the 1940s onwards. youth circles in the United States and England and which are among the most commercial sector of the song pop and the so-called cultured music.
The music rock born from a small number of people (ensemble, group or band), with a common instrumental base (guitar electric, electric bass, percussion and keyboards), although it sometimes joins other instruments (like violins, saxophones, etc.). Lyric compositions are usually brief and independent of each other. Still, there are more complex compositions, which imitate symphonies (symphonic rock).
O rock it has a predominantly Anglo-Saxon cultural base, although sometimes with Latin or Caribbean contributions.
O rock and roll it constituted one of the main means of dissemination of the Anglo-American way of life and, by extension, was one of the most important vehicles of Western culture in the world (in Japan, for example). English is the natural language, although not exclusive to the rock.
This musical genre is linked with an awareness on the part of the performers and the public, who use music as an instrument of claim (for example, in concerts in favor of groups or countries in difficulties).
O rock is linked to a search for new musical trends, which makes the rock one of the most active fields of experimental music (use of electronics, audiovisual means, approach to classical music, etc.). It has become an industry of transnational proportions, being an important source of income for many countries.
After the success of Bill Haley, people pointed Elvis Presley as the greatest representative and "king of rock and roll". This new musical style easily penetrated the UK, where there was a social situation close to that of the US. In the late 1950s, American interpreters had great success. At that time, the most interesting British set was The Shadows.
1962 was an important year in rock history, when the first album of the The Beatles "love me do", followed right after the first LP "Twist and Shout". The worldwide success of the Liverpool quartet made England the great producer of rock (The new trends came from the British and not the more conservative Americans). The most famous groups that emerged at that time were: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, between others.
In California appeared the pop rock within a society marked by pacifism, the contestation of the war in Vietnam (movements hippies, yippies, etc.). In the second half of the 60s these trends were lost thanks to the versatility of great interpreters such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Rod Stewart, Simon and Garfunkel, The Doors, etc. This was a time of big concerts for crowds (woodstock, wight).
The mature stage of rock came in the 70s, when old groups were consolidated and soloists emerged from groups that ended up as Lou Reed and Neil Young. At that time, the rock symphonic prospered and gave the rock an elaboration and grandiosity typical of classical music. It was the time of pink Floyd, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Yes, etc. The hard rock, whose compositions were supported by a strong, blunt and unrestrained sound: deep purple, Led Zeppelin, black Sabbath.
O glam rock revealed a sexual ambiguity as a new aesthetic, through David Bowie and Mark Bolan.
Still in the 70s, the strong commercialization of rock and the fatigue of the new generations before the old performers caused the first rupture: in 1977 the punk, characterized by pessimism and fatalism of the lyrics, aggressive music and strong latent violence. The movement punk it was ephemeral, but it deeply marked later music.
After that, new trends appeared: the "new wave" (Elvis Costello), the new romantics (Duran Duran), the techno (Kraftwerk). Meanwhile, some artists were recovering traditional values from the rock, like Bruce Springsteen. The calls for heavy, who called themselves the heirs of hard rock.
From the 1980s onwards, the rock was strengthened through audiovisual means (with video clips) has finally become a stable phenomenon appreciated by the masses.
Origin of rock and roll
Arising from an adaptation of the "rhythm and blues", O "rock and roll" gained a strong acceptance from the youth, very critical of the North American adult society of the post-war period.
O rock born from an "anti" attitude on the part of the youth towards the values of their ancestors, it constitutes one of the most important socio-cultural movements of the 20th century. Like rock, music is no longer the "property" of the ruling classes and becomes the people's. Despite being the music par excellence of youth, it is not exclusive to it (many of its performers are over 40 years old).
It is one of the pillars of youth contestation, but it has simultaneously become one of the instruments for the integration of young people when the social system assimilates or "commercializes" its protests.
Although the expression "rock and roll" appeared in 1951, only in 1955, with the theme "Rock Around The Clock", in Bill Haley, the new musical style conquered emancipation.