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The Influence of Rhythm and Blues on Rock and Roll 2


As mentioned in an earlier lesson, in 1949, Billboard magazine renamed its record chart directed at Black consumers, replacing the older term "race records" with "rhythm and blues records." The new rubric quickly caught on as a way of distinguishing the rawer, more Southern-inflected style from the older swing dance band and the work of sophisticated northern performers such as Nat "King" Cole. While rhythm and blues remained primarily a race-based designation, sometime in 1952 or 1953, a Cleveland disc jockey named Alan Freed began using "rock and roll" as a substitute that would better suit his growing audience of White teenage listeners. As stated earlier, the term "rock and roll" had been used as early as 1938 by Black musicians. Freed moved to New York City in the fall of 1954 to work at WINS, one of the city's major radio stations. Sparked by his new on-air prominence and the series of concerts he promoted around the New York area, his rubric was soon widely used in both the music industry and the mainstream press.

Concert poster for the Coronation Ball

Concert poster for the Coronation Ball

At first, there was no musical differentiation between rock and roll and rhythm and blues. There continues to be a good deal of disagreement as to whether-at least up to the late 1950s-the two terms denote different musical styles or simply different marketing approaches. Freed himself continued to favor African American performers throughout his career. However, his programs became more racially and musically mixed as fashions shifted. As stated earlier, many people insist that rock and roll was simply rhythm and blues relabeled to attract White teenagers. However, as more White listeners and performers became attracted to it, the style inevitably took on different qualities. The process was gradual, and there is no way to date the shift firmly, but three markers are frequently cited by historians. The first factor is the success of a cheerful vocal group number called "Sh-Boom," composed and recorded in 1954 by a Black New York group, The Chords. Shortly after the success of The Chords' "Sh-Boom," The Crew-Cuts-a White group from Toronto, Canada-successfully covered "Sh-Boom" .

Bill Haley and The Comets in 1956

Bill Haley and The Comets in 1956

The second marker of the shift from rhythm and blues to contemporary "rock and roll" is the impact of Bill Haley and His Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” featured in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle and the third is Elvis Presley’s arrival on the national scene in 1956 with his early hits “That’s Alright Mama” (originally recorded by Arthur Crudup in 1946) and “Hound Dog” (originally recorded by Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in 1953). Another notable landmark was the success of Chuck Berry’s "Maybellene" in 1955, the first Black rhythm and blues record that reached the pop Top 10 without significant competition despite the existence of several White cover versions. His 1956 hit "Roll Over Beethoven,"   that included the line "I need a shot of rhythm and blues", was marketed as rock and roll, which clearly shows he and other Black musicians like Little Richard and Fats Domino initially used the terms rhythm and blues and rock and roll interchangeably.

Sh-Boom

Oh, life could be a dream
(Sh-boom)
If I could take you up in paradise up above
(Sh-boom)
If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love
Life could be a dream, sweetheart

Sweet Lorraine

Just found joy
I'm as happy as a baby boy,
baby boy
With another brand new
choo-choo choy
When I met my sweet Lorraine, Lorraine, Lorraine