The History of Modern Music

The History of Modern Music book cover — Music The History of Modern Music Matt Anniss Smart Apple Media

The History of Modern Music — page 1 — CHAPTER ONE THE BIRTH OF MODERN MUSIC At the end of World War II in Joining Together 1945 few would have believed In the early 1950s white musicians began that within 10 years a musical to make music that was heavily influenced revolution would take place in by traditionally black styles such as rhythm and blues and jazz The first genre to fuse the United States In the mid 1950s black and white music styles was rockabilly a new form of music took the This was a combination of the heavy beats world by storm and set in motion and rhythms of blues folk and country music influences an uprising of musical adventure and experimentation This new music was rock and roll Divided Nation 4 In the years following World War II the United States was still a nation divided by strict race laws Black people did not have the same freedoms as white people and were considered by the racist system as second class citizens Because of this the musical sounds and traditions of the country s black and white populations were kept Enter Elvis separate In 1954 Elvis Presley a former trucker from Memphis Tennessee had a worldwide hit with a rockabilly song called That s Alright Mama Teenagers loved the song and Elvis quickly became the headline star of a worldwide rock and roll revolution

The History of Modern Music — page 2 — Rock Around the Clock Rock and roll was slightly different from rockabilly It featured electric instruments and was similar to rhythm and blues It was first made popular by Bill Haley and the Comets whose 1955 song Rock Around the Clock became a worldwide hit The scoop AT Although Rock Around the Clock and That s Alright Mama were huge hits many music historians think that Little Richard's Tutti Frutti was the song that really kick started rock and roll recorded and released in 1955 its simple energy and heavy sound inspired a whole new generation of would be stars ASEAN Bill Haley's fun songs helped to make rock and roll a worldwide phenomenon in the 1950s Revolution in sound Teenage Kicks There were two things about rock and roll that made it attractive to teenagers First it was music they could dance to Second their parents hated it The older generation couldn't understand the music's raw power and loud chords and just made teenagers love rock and roll even more It was something that was theirs and separated them from their parents For the first time ever buying playing and listening to music became an essential part of being a teenager Rock and roll changed the way teenagers dressed spoke and how they spent their spare time Sales of vinyl records soared and organized rock and roll dances often called sock hops became the place to be seen In the future nothing would be the same again Today's bands might not make rock and roll but without these 1950s pioneers we would have no rock music at

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