This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio # 1234 (2025)

FAQs

Why was rock and roll controversial? ›

In general, the older generation loathed rock and roll. Appalled by the new styles of dance the movement evoked, churches proclaimed it Satan's music. Because rock and roll originated among the lower classes and a segregated ethnic group, many middle-class whites thought it was tasteless.

Sam Philips, the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio, and many writers have suggested that "Rocket 88" has strong claims to be called the first rock'n'roll record.

But in 1955, no one was talking about the rock pantheon. Bill Haley & His Comets had no rivals. They were the first rock'n'roll band, and Rock Around the Clock was the first international rock'n'roll No 1.

In the 1950s rock 'n' roll could be defined as rhythm and blues. In the 1960s it was partial to new musical styles such as folk rock and soul. And in the 1970s hard rock was born.

It was also the sound. “Rock 'n' roll corrupted because the music itself was sonically bad and innately immoral,” Nekola explains. These leaders believed music should be harmonic and uplifting, and rock was loud, brash, and harmful to the spirit.

It seems to me that one must decide to either play gospel music or rock and roll. The two are totally incompatible. The profound sacred and spiritual meaning of the great music of the church must never be mixed with the transitory quality of rock and roll music.

She was the queer Black woman who literally invented rock 'n' roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She gave Little Richard his first gig outside the church. She opened the doors for Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, and before the 1990s, almost no one into rock 'n' roll had heard her name.

IWD: SISTER ROSETTA THARPE - THE GODMOTHER OF ROCK & ROLL.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles helped to lead the charge for rock music and many of its famed sub-genres like pop-rock and even psychedelic-rock. To put it simply, The Beatles changed music forever and their legacy and world wide adoration is far from dwindling.

Who is the best rock band in history? ›

Often referred to as the “King of Rock 'n' Roll”, Elvis's influence on the music industry and beyond is vast and enduring. While he wasn't the first artist to perform rock and roll, he became its most pivotal and influential figure during his time. How tall was Elvis Presley? Elvis Presley's height was 6 feet 1 inch.

The first rock'n'roll record was 'Rocket 88', recorded by Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

ROCK 'N' ROLL. Through a series of interesting personalities and promotions, rock 'n' roll had its main market birth in Cleveland in the early 1950s.

To them, “everything about Rock & Roll clearly spoke of the “Devil's Music” – from its roots in African-American culture to its hip-shimmying rhythms and less-than-pious lyrics. Many saw rock music as a sign of cultural and moral decline, and some even believed to hear hidden satanic messages in its lyrics.

Rock signified rebellion and young people's rejection of their parents' music, attitudes, and expectations. It also offered a bridge between races, classes, religions, and cultures.

The rock and roll lifestyle was popularly associated with sex and drugs. Many of rock and roll's early stars (as well as their jazz and blues counterparts) were known as hard-drinking, hard-living characters.

One of the moral panics associated with the first wave of rock 'n' roll was the fear of race mixing - that young black and white kids would get together over this music that had a rhythmic, primitive, sensuous beat.