.This website successfully gives a summary of the evolutionary stages of rock and roll. It neatly and concisely outlines the events and artists that were known in each stage of rock and roll history including the 1960s, the British Invasion, mop-tops etc. The site also juxtaposes each stage in rock music with the historical context that was occurring during the same time period. It clarifies how influential history was on the development of rock and roll music. The times changed and because of this, the music also was transformed. Although the website was published in the 1990’s the author is very reliable. As a professor of the history of rock and roll that has conducted many studies one the correlations between history and music, the information is sure to be accurate.
Martin, Christopher R. "The Naturalized Gender Order of Rock and Roll." Journal of Communication Inquiry (1995): 53-74. 23 Mar. 2008.
This scholarly journal explores the facts of gender in the history of rock and roll. It is much too obvious that women are often left out of the traditional summary of the history of rock and roll. This affects the history greatly, because even though there were female rock and roll artists, it was not until in the nineteen-seventies that women began to receive credit for their music. This article explores the reasons why this occurred, taking a focus on the social circumstances surrounding the time frames. This article is only somewhat recent and could probably be built upon, however the author is very credible because of his background as a professor with a focus on the crossroads of media and culture. Therefore the understanding of rock and roll and its effects on popular culture during the time is very accurate.
Moon, Tom. (2004, JULY 3). Rock -and- roll had many fathers, and . . . that's all right. The Philadelphia Inquirer, D01.
This article gives great insight into the debatable history of rock and roll. The author debates the earliest recognizable roots of rock and roll music, bringing about many other situations that could have been credited with being the earliest starting point of rock and roll music in the United States of America. It goes over the most popular forms of rock and roll music and includes the idea that the first songs of rock and roll fit into different genres rather than the single one they were originally placed in. The author is very reliable although he may have some bias as he is a music critic. He has been writing about all genres of music since 1983. His longevity in the field gives him a lot of credibility due to his time spent studying music, as well as his personal experience of growing up during its evolution.
Peterson, Richard A. Why 1955? explaining the advent of rock music. New York City: Routledge, 1994.
This book thoroughly examines the history of Rock and Roll throughout the world. The global context is very helpful in understanding the development of the musical genre in America. Even better are the various chapters that talk solely about the phenomenon in America. They are very in depth, providing a good sampling of the earliest influences on rock and roll music in the United States of America. Although, it is not the most recent of documents, it is extremely reliable because it is a published book and the author is a university professor with a well known background in music. He is known for his knowledgeable lectures on the history of music, specifically in America, as well as other social issues, making him a very plausible source for discussing the history of rock and roll.
Pruter, Robert. "A History of Doowop Fanzines." Questia 21 (1997). 25 Mar. 2008.
This journal article focuses on the lifestyle that evolved with spread of mass popular culture during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Consequently, the fad at the time focused on the American obsession with the newly discovered and continuously evolving genres of rock and roll music. The music influenced various people along with the social issues during the time. It was a time of outspoken liberals promoting a revolution. Rock and roll music became a new expression of freedom and standing for what one believed in. The article is somewhat reliable due to its date. It could be more recent, but the qualifications of the author are undoubted as he is a professor in music education. He has spent years writing, reviewing, and teaching about the evolution of music and its effects on the masses.
Peneny, Dk. "The History of Rock and Roll." This History of Rock and Roll. 5 Aug. 2007. 22 Mar. 2008 .
This web site is a good source to use for quick verifiable facts. It manages to cover the history of rock and roll including facts about the eras, the music industry, the instruments, the most famous figures, and the social occurrences at the time. It also maintains an easy to use navigation system made of links and clean graphics. It is visually appealing and keeps interest of the reader. The web site has also been recently updated meaning that it is still an up-to-date source, constantly building up its material. The author of the site is particularly reliable because of the proof of his input on various articles and sites about facts of the history of rock and roll and music in general. It is somewhat imprecise, that his professional background is not available.
Piazza, T. (1990). The roots of rock. (cover story). Scholastic Update, 122(18), 6.
This scholarly article discusses the early history of rock and roll music, placing emphasis on the melding of white, rural, country music and African American, bluesy, gospel music. It also includes various references to the political and social events in American history that allowed for the outlet of emotion in the form of music. This useful article documents the rise of rock and roll, not only utilizing the strictly musical foundation, but also includes how the events of American history influenced the formation of the Rock and Roll genre. The author is a reliable source since he is a well-acclaimed music critic, jazz musician, and lecturer. He has a profound background in music and its history, particularly jazz, which is one of the main foundations of Rock and Roll.
Scaruffi, Piero. A History of Rock Music, 1951-2000. New York: Iuniverse (2003).
This book takes a look at the history of the development of Rock and Roll music from its very beginnings, all the way up to modern times in the year 2000. Therefore, it gives a comprehensive summary of the developments made over time. Not only does it manage to show all the dimensions of rock and roll music, but it also manages to explore all of the most influential artists. The book is not repetitively discussing only the major album sellers, but all of whom had artistic differentiation. The complete summary and how up to date it is, makes this a very good source to use. The author is credible to the utmost degree since his career title is a music historian and his focus is on rock, jazz, and popular music. With rock and roll being rooted in early jazz and evolving to a form of popular music, the article has a high reliability.
Wikipedia Contributors. (2008). Rock and roll. Retrieved February 4, 2008, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_and_roll&oldid=188997127
This internet source goes through all of the verifiable styles of Rock and Roll. It follows the process of evolution of the genre, chronologically identifying all the branches that have been devised. This clarifies the diversity of the genre. It shows that rock and roll music is not simply just thrashing metal, driving guitar melodies, or ballads. The article provides a good general overview of the largest Rock and Roll subtypes. Thus it makes summarizing the history of the subject easier. The authority of the author is not completely reliable, since it is based on the input of various online, anonymous editors. However, the citations that they have used are reliable. The article has also been recently updated making it slightly more reliable. The anonymous authors make this work less favorable for utilizing it as a source.
Wikipedia Contributors. (2008). American popular music. Retrieved February 4, 2008, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_popular_music&oldid=188488279
This internet article explains the growth of American popular music, consequently dissecting some important points on the evolution of Rock and Roll music in America. This makes it helpful in pinpointing when Rock and Roll music emerged and what influenced its emergence, however this article focuses on a variety of the musical genres from American history. The sections on Rock and Roll are far too general to formulate a deep understanding on the history of Rock and roll. The authority of the author is also not completely reliable, since it is based on the input of various online editors, but it is made for feasible for use because the citations the authors used as sources are reliable. The anonymous authors make this work less favorable for utilizing it as a source.
Zak, Albin. The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records. Berkeley: Berkeley University of California P, 2001. 25 Mar. 2008.
This book takes a “behind the scenes” look at the evolution of rock and roll music. The focus is on the writing and the production of the music that influenced the mass popular culture of America forever. It explores how studios were able to meld and interpret the sounds of soul, blues, and country music to form the sound that people recognize as rock and roll today. This writing covers the topics that most people are unaware about. It is evident that rock and roll music developed over the decades, but the studios and writers also had to learn to produce it and write it in a format that was still acceptable for records. This work is extremely credible as the author lived through the times of the revolutionizing sound technologies and was heavily involved in the music industry as an artist and a producer.
Excerpt formed from the specifically from the sources of the annotated bibliography:
When one brings about the topic of Rock and Roll today, most people think about Metal Rock or Pop Rock. Although these are verifiable types of Rock and Roll music, it is important to remember where the beginnings of Rock and Roll music are actually rooted. The beginnings of Rock and Roll in America started in the South and the earliest roots can be traced back to African American jazz and blues music, as well as country music.African American slaves developed the basis for what has today become a plethora of varieties of Rock and Roll music. The earliest influences can be found in plantation songs. African American slaves made up songs to help get them though tiresome days of grueling work. It was a way of releasing emotions in disguise, so as they would not be punished. However,the earliest documented first classification of Rock and Roll music was in the year 1955. Evidently there was music, more specifically rock and roll music, that existed before this date,but it did not gain any radio airplay due to the fact that most white Americans categorized it as "race" music because of the African American artists that performed it. However, after the baby boom following World War II, the birth of a mass teenage culture embracing the musical genre emerged. Alan Freed became the first disc jockey to air rock and roll music and, in fact, is credited with coining the term. He did this strategically to allow for the acceptance of this music by white Americans.As rock and roll music started becoming widely accepted, the music industry started tapping white performers to do covers of the rock and roll songs written and previously performed by African Americans. From that time on, rock and roll music started to branch off in different directions. Consequently, it was associated with an increase in teenage independence and the acceptance of a less apprehensive society. Different genres started to flouf rish as the notion of rock and roll also came to represent a specific lifetsyle, and started to reflect many anti-war sentiments during the Vietnam War catastrophe. The music became an escape from worries and fads revolved around a number of unique artists.Some of the most notable artists of rock and roll music are Led Zepplin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Velvet Revolver etc. Rock and roll music has had the ability to cross over to pop music and country music, proving just how felixible it is and how it can appeal to wide audiences. Rock and roll music lives on today with much of the younger generations, unfortunately, omitting to realize the importance of the genre and ignoring its roots because it has evolutionized in so many directions. More than 130 subgenres can be indentified, causing people to forget the roots of rock and roll. One is about the roots of rock and roll, and that is that the genre of music revolutionized not only what Americans listen to on the daily basis, but also the society they live in.
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