If you wanted to understand the thoughts and attitudes of a group of people, you simply must look at the music they are listening to and creating. Music has always been shaped by the events and attitudes of our society, whether they are positive or negative and that very music can then go on to shape another group of people. It is tragically ironic that one of the most profound influences on the early development of rock and roll music in America was born not out of American creativity, but out of the injustice, suffering and hardship of the people from another nation. We are, of course talking about the influx of African slaves into America, which began in the 19 in the 1600s. Along with their broken dreams and grief over the loss of their Liberty and Homeland, they also brought with them, their music.

Although slavery was abolished in America in 1865, the influences of African culture in music remain today. Slaves developed work songs, many of which were in the call and response form, to enable them to work at the same pace and to past the time. Singing was also a comfort in an otherwise terrible life and it gave them some hope that their life would get better period this style of singing would eventually evolve into many different genres, including soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Doo-Wop, and later on, Hip Hop. 

The two most notable soul record labels are Motown and Stax records Motown. Motown Records was started by Berry Gordy, Jr. in Detroit, Michigan. The word Motown is a combination of the words motor and town, as Detroit was the US base of the auto industry and often referred to as Motor City. The Stax label comes from the combination of the name names of the two original owners of the label Jim Stewart and his sister Estelle Axton. 

The sound of Soul depended on its location. Think of different urban areas as different people, each having their own soul. Detroit Soul (Motown) was more pop in style, with lots of hand clapping, small percussion instruments, melodic basslines, orchestral strings. Philadelphia, or “Philly Soul” featured Doo-Wop vocals and orchestral string parts. Memphis soul (Stax) incorporated more organ and horns in contrast with Motown's traditional trademark vocal harmonies. New Orleans and Chicago were also major urban areas were soul music flourished. 

Some of the most notable soul artists include Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Ray Charles, Isaac Hayes, Patti LaBelle, The Supremes, the Temptations, and Curtis Mayfield. Aretha Franklin's well-known song I Never Loved A Man, Respect and Do Right Woman, Do Right Man are classics of the soul genre. Soul music was highly influential in the development of various genres such as Disco, House Music and contemporary R&B.

The British first invaded the United States during the American Revolution in nineteen 1775. Almost 200 years later, the British invaded again! Except this time, it was not with guns, but with music in the form of a band called The Beatles. Their emergence into the world stage began a trend that saw British bands dominate the charts in the US for several years. 

The Beatles made their American debut in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show, a variety show that ran from 1948 to 1971. An appearance on the Ed Sullivan show usually guaranteed a successful career. Although widely popular in the United Kingdom, there had been a reluctance to release The Beatles records in the US. Partially because of their record company was not sure how the American public would take to their mop top haircuts exclamation and international news report on the Beatle mania sweeping the UK changed all of that and just two weeks before their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, they became overnight sensations in America, with their hit I Want to Hold Your Hand reaching number one on the Billboard charts. Thousands of screaming hysterical fans met them at the airport and within months, not only did they occupy the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but everything including their hairdos was being copied! 

The Beatles became a voice for young people, many of whom were disillusioned by the assassination of President John F Kennedy and the controversy over the war in Vietnam. Their popularity also began a sudden rush of interest in other bands from the UK such as The Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Hollies, the Troggs, the Zombies, Herman’s Hermits, The Who, the Bee Gees, the Kinks, and Dave Clark five were also highly successful in America and dominated the charts there. 

The Rolling Stones were also ridiculed for their haircuts during their first US tour, but their rebellious image was a hit with young people. This reputation tended to create chaos, and their debut performance on the Ed Sullivan show was such a debacle, that Ed Sullivan himself vowed to never have them on the show again period of course, their popularity prevailed, and they did in fact reappear five more times. 

Although the style of each band varied, the British invasion bands generally played it type of rock music that was heavily influenced by Blues or a mix of rock and pop music that was dominated by the use of guitars. 

The incredible success of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones led them to being both named in the top ten of billboard's top 100 artists of all time. In fact, not only did The Beatles come number one in the list, but they also rated a mention in the Times Magazine list of the 20th century's most important and influential people.

On February 3, 1959 a small charter plane took off from an airport in Iowa, USA. On board, on their way to a scheduled tour destination, where three of the 1950s great American rock and roll stars, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Tragically, the plane crashed soon after takeoff, leaving no survivors. It was a dark day that Don McLean later referred to as “The Day The Music Died”, when he sang of the event in his song American Pie. 

Buddy Holly, with his characteristic black rimmed glasses, appeared on the music scene in the late 1950s. In one sense he was filling the hole left by some departing stars, including Elvis Presley, who had joined the army, and Little Richard, who had become a minister. He had really only been singing Rock and Roll for two years before his tragic death. However, in that time he had already produced several hit singles including Peggy Sue and That Will Be The Day. He was also responsible for standardizing what is now considered the typical rock band formation of two guitars, bass and drums. Although his life was short, but he how he managed to have a tremendous impact on the development of rock and roll music . It was a legacy that would influence many later artists including The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. In fact, The Beatles derived their name partially in honor of Buddy Holly, whose own band was named the “Crickets”.

Jiles Richardson (the Big Bopper), was well known for his sense of humor and bigger than life personality as he was for his music. His biggest hit Chantily Lace made the top 10 list on the charts in 1959. The new kid on the block, 17 year old Ritchie Valens was also making waves with his hits Donna and reworking of a traditional Mexican song La Bamba. His recording career lasted eight months before his untimely death.T

he plane crash of February 1959 left the country in a morning and a music industry wondering whether it could possibly recover from such a tragedy. However, the industry would indeed bounce back and there would be countless others to carry on the unstoppable evolution of rock and roll.

On July 4th, 1954 when a young truck driver with a tough exterior, slightly long hair, flashy clothes and a crooked half smile entered Sun Records to record a Christmas song for his mother. Sam Phillips head of the Sun Records knew he had found what he was looking for. He believed that if he could find a singer who identified with a huge audience of teenagers, but could move and sound like a rhythm and blues singer, then he could make millions and even billions of dollars. He certainly found what he was looking for in Elvis Presley, a star who even to this day is referred to as “The King of Rock and Roll”. During his lifetime, is believed that he sold over 1 billion records and earned more awards and chart-topping positions than any other artist in history. 

It all began during a recording break at an impromptu rendition of an old R&B song by Al Crudup called That's Alright Mama. When Phillips realized that it was the sound he was looking for, he asked if he could re-record it, and within days of playing it on air at a local radio station, it became one of Elvis’s first overwhelming successes.

Elvis then began appearing regularly in local venues with two other musicians. It is said that his first shows, Elvis’s legs shook uncontrollably with nerves, causing teenage girls to “go crazy”. These moves became an Elvis trademark and along with some other cowboy antics, were incorporated into his shows.

By 1956 -57, Elvis had become a national star and teen Idol. He sang in primetime television shows, debuted on popular local radio stations, and performed with unprecedented riot-filled success. His first movie called Love Me Tender made $1,000,000 within three days of being launched. All the singles in that year went gold and included such hits as Heartbreak Hotel which sold more than $1,000,000 in just a few hours, Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, My Baby Left Me, Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock and Hound Dog. 

Between 1958 and 1960 Elvis joined the US army and served in Germany. His fans were still able to see him in many films he had made prior to leaving. When he came back he had recorded a number of other hits such as Are You Lonesome Tonight, Can't Help Falling In Love, Return To Sender And Suspicious Minds. 

As Elvis aged, he became increasingly more unfit on stage and died in 1977 of a drug overdose. Today, even more than 40 years after his death millions of people from all over the world still pay homage to his memorable artists at his former residence called “Graceland”.

Just imagine what life would be like without any Rock and Roll or pop music . What would we play on our iPods, car radios and other devices, or watch on videos? What would we sing along with or dance to when we are hyped, excited, or inspired? It's so hard to imagine life without Rock and Roll these days, because it's everywhere. 

Did you know that Rock and Roll music didn't even exist until the 1950s? Much of the music that existed before that was Classical, Folk, Jazz, Blues, or big band with singers like Frank Sinatra! People would do ballroom or couples dancing but they didn't sing or dance quite like we do now.

In 1954, a band called Bill Haley and the Comets launched a smash hit called Rock Around the Clock. This is often referenced to as the beginning of Rock and Roll. Halley's song rose to number one in 1955 when it was included as a soundtrack of Blackboard Jungle, a movie about juvenile delinquents, with Bill Haley portraying a young rebel. The teenagers watching a movie couldn't help but get up in the aisles and dance as soon as they heard the music. Rock Around the Clock was a new type of music which appealed especially to teenage kids who could dance clap and sing along while having fun watching the band perform crazy antics like performing acrobats on the saxophone and riding the double bass as a pony By 1956 Bill Haley had become one of the most popular Rock and Roll performers in the world. Within two years he had 12 Top 40 records which included songs such as Shake Rattle and Roll, See You Later Alligator and Razzle Dazzle. 

In 1956 he also starred in two of the earliest full-length Rock and Roll movies called Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock. By 1957 other crazier and wilder acts such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard (who sang Tutti Frutti) started to dominate the American scene, so Bill Haley's band looked for fame in other parts of the world, preferring the first Rock and Roll group to tour the world.

While Bill Haley was introducing the teenage population to this new Rock and Roll craze artists such as Chuck Berry were introducing it to the American population as well. This early style of Rock and Roll music is sometimes referred to as Rockabilly because these pioneers of rock combined Blues and Country music. Many of the themes and lyrics were about girls and cars.

Chuck Berry is best known for his witty lyrics, his trademark sound of the double string guitar lick, and his unique “Duckwalk” . His best-known songs were written and recorded in the mid to late 50s with his first number 1 smash hit, Maybelline in 1955. By 1958 Berry had a string of hits which included Johnny Be Good and Rock and Roll Music. He also appeared in feature films such as Go Jimmy Go.

Today Chuck Berry's music is still a source of inspiration for many rock bands worldwide and over the years, hundreds of films, artists, and songwriters have used his songs and lyrics as inspiration for their own work.