Rock and roll are one of the brightest phenomena in the history of music. This musical area is popular to this day, and some artists are diligently working on the development of the genre. The term rock and roll was first used by Alan Freed. He used the name for commercial and generational purposes, describing the recordings he performed on the late-night Moondog Show (Larry and Waterman 249). After that, the genre began to develop rapidly, but not without difficulties. For example, an important problem was cover versions, which sometimes copied the original too similarly to achieve the same commercial success. This violated copyright and did not satisfy the creator musicians.
One of the most famous rock and roll singers is Elvis Presley. It is no coincidence that he is called the representative of the countryside of rock and roll: his musical taste was formed under the country music on the radio and gospel in the church. This had a significant impact on the work of Elvis and his followers. However, the genre could not help but develop in different directions, so another side of rock and roll appeared: R&B. Its representatives were Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Chubby Checker and other famous musicians. They combined modern musical trends with the already familiar rock and roll and thus opened up completely new facets of this genre. This allowed them to attract a significant audience among rock and roll and r&b fans.
Most musicians wrote and released their own songs. This is why the audience identified them with the material and clearly distinguished them from the rest of the artists. However, some songwriters and producers did not take the stage: for example, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They wrote songs from a young age and worked with many famous singers, even Elvis Presley. Their role was to enhance the quality and variety of rock and roll. Thus, the genre became even richer and more popular.
Work Cited
Starr, Larry, and Christopher Alan Waterman. American Popular Music from Minstrelsy to MP3. Oxford University Press, 2010.