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YEREVAN, April 13 - News-Armenia. World Rock-n-roll Day is a celebration of like-minded people for whom this trend has become not only music but also a style and way of life.
The holiday is celebrated annually on April 13, although the historical event that served as the basis for it happened a day earlier: on April 12, 1954, Bill Haley recorded the single "Rock Around The Clock", which became a landmark in the new musical direction and flew around all continents, challenging society and traditions.
Before this, back in the middle of the 20th century, in the post-war period, people strived for peace and a measured life. Nobody wanted shocks. The music of that period was a reflection of public sentiment - calm and sentimental, with sweet-voiced vocals.
On the occasion of World Rock and Roll Day, the Novosti-Armenia agency recalls seven immortal hits.
Bill Haley - "Rock Around the Clock", 1954
"Rock Around the Clock" can be called one of the first rock and roll hits. The most popular worldwide hit was written by middle-aged authors Max Friedman and James Myers, and performed by 28-year-old Bill Haley, who looked little like a youth or a rebel. The single was included in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the best-selling.
The song did not achieve success right away - at first few people were interested in it. But a year after recording, the song was featured in a youth film and became a real hit.
Carl Perkins - "Blue Suede Shoes", 1955-1956
The song, which was once covered by Elvis Presley, was written by a poor boy, Carl Perkins, who learned to play a homemade guitar made from a cigar box, a mop and wire.
The song became an instant hit, however, Perkins himself did not enjoy success for long for a number of reasons: a car accident, a long recovery. Then Presley covered his song and the real author was gradually forgotten in the USA.
In England, Perkins was greeted with delight - it turned out that there he was remembered and loved not only by ordinary music lovers, but also by the young, although already wildly popular, Beatles.
Elvis Presley - "Hound Dog", 1956
When talking about rock and roll, the first thing that comes to anyone's mind is the image of Elvis Presley. The singer's producer Sam Phillips believed that the image of the new music would best be expressed by a white musician with "the voice and soul of a black man." He found such a guy in a young truck driver, Elvis Presley.
Elvis himself did not write the music. He was not the first performer of the song “HoundDog” - it was originally written for the blues singer Big Mama Thornton, then covered by several country groups, then performed in a rock and roll manner by Freddie Belland the Bellboys, and only after that he took over the song Presley. It's funny that on all the charts this song was in three categories: "pop", "country" and "rhythm and blues", because the rock and roll category did not yet exist.
Little Richard – "Tutti"Frutti", 1955
Little Richard immodestly called himself the founder, king and architect of rock and roll, leaving Elvis Presley to play the humble role of “builder.”
Little Richard was the perfect rebel - a black singer with an inimitable stage presence and a boisterous stage presence. He sold the song, which became a rock 'n' roll classic, to a record label for just $50.
Jerry Lee Lewis - "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", 1957
Jerry Lee Lewis is a unique person who can sing, play the piano and dance at the same time. His creative biography has seen many downfalls and scandals, which does not prevent the musician from occasionally giving concerts.
The song he recorded, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” topped the charts as both “rhythm and blues” and “country.” And this mixture is real rock and roll.
Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Good", 1958
According to the movie "Back to the Future", this song appeared due to a time loop. Marty played it at his parents' graduation party, and one of the listeners at that moment called on the phone and said to the interlocutor: “Chuck, have you been looking for a new sound? Listen to this!”
This song is one of the most fun and playful on a cosmic scale. Seriously, scientists even sent it beyond the solar system, recording it on the Voyager Golden Record along with other samples of human culture.
The Beatles – "Rock And Roll Music", 1964
For many people in the world, rock and roll is associated with the famous Fab Four. The fact that in the Old World everything comes with some delay has benefited the music. And although “Rock And Roll lMusic” is a cover of a Chuck Berry song, the Beatles performed it with amazing drive and artistry. -0-
Elvis Presley became a star by copying and covering this black musician. James Brown repeated his performances and even impersonated him. His song “Tutti Frutti” seemed to David Bowie to be sung by the voice of God, and Keith Richards said that it seemed to turn the world from black and white into color. Pianist Reginald Dwight, having opened for this musician, changed his name and became Elton John. Bob Dylan and Freddie Mercury began their musical careers with covers of his songs, and Lou Reed and Patti Smith decided to become rock musicians under his influence. We tell the story of the rise to fame and greatness of the first King of Rock and Roll.
Leva Penniman became a mother at fifteen. She was seventeen when she gave birth to her third, the future king of rock and roll, Richard Wayne Penniman, on December 5, 1932. In total, Leva and Bud Penniman had twelve offspring. Bud Penniman was the son of a minister and a deacon in the church and made a good living selling moonshine during Prohibition. Repeatedly encountering the police, he always got away with it. He buried alcohol under the lawn of an elderly neighbor, and to ensure that no one would turn him in, he helped the entire black community with money. The Penniman family was not wealthy, but it was never poor either.
Richard was born with one leg shorter than the other and suffered ridicule from his brothers and peers throughout his childhood because of this. But he was by no means a patient and compensated for the defect with mischief and even hooliganism. He was constantly beaten for his pranks - but if he got it for everything, he would not have survived childhood. One day, little Richard carefully wrapped his poop in gift wrapping, looked like an angel, came to his old neighbor’s birthday party and gave her a gift. When the birthday girl proudly unwrapped the gift in front of her friends, Richard ran away, experiencing unimaginable pleasure. Another time, while helping his mother in the kitchen, he slipped excrement into a box of jelly. He was beaten, of course, but he was freed from household duties forever.
Richard loved his mother very much and wanted to be like her. When she wasn't looking, he put on her dresses and applied makeup, coming to the conclusion that it was a shame that he was born a boy - it would have been better to be a girl. The desire to be a girl intensified when he fell in love with his brother's friend. And although Richard lost his virginity to an older woman, he didn’t particularly like it. Then his first contact with a man happened. It was a family friend whom everyone called Madame Up because of his open homosexuality. Madame Up paid men to let him give them blowjobs. When Richard found out that he could earn money, although he did not like the idea, the money turned out to be more expensive.
The religiosity of African Americans has always been strongly tied to music. At services in churches, in church circles, in Sunday schools - there was music and singing everywhere. Richard began singing gospel music to a children's group organized by old Ma Sweetie. On Wednesdays, he and his brothers would come to her and sing Bible passages, prayers and hymns. Their singing could be heard for three blocks around. No one played instruments; they were accompanied by simple stamps and clapping. Singing accompanied people in all their everyday activities: someone was sweeping the yard and began to sing “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child”, the neighbors picked up - and now the whole street was singing in chorus another church hymn. Richard ran around the city and sang along with everyone at the top of his ability: he liked not just to sing, but to scream with all his might. Richard's whole family also performed as the Penniman Singers. They sang in churches and participated in so-called gospel battles with other family groups. Richard was called the War Hawk because the volume of his thin voice made it difficult for the rest of the choir to sing.
Richard wanted to be a priest and at the age of ten even worked as a healer. He came to the sick, sang a prayer, laid his hands on them and with a sly smile took payment, and the people were slightly relieved of their illness. But Richard's main income was selling Coca-Cola at concerts. It was there that he first heard the best musicians of the time and met his favorite performer, the founder of rock and roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Once, before her performance, Richard demonstratively sang one of her songs, then another. Rosetta appreciated his attempts and offered to sing with her that evening. This is how he earned his first money from music: 35 dollars - a fortune for a boy. Members of the black community in America tried to help each other: difficult conditions and racial discrimination marginalized blacks in the United States - but at the same time united them. Despite the fact that Richard did very poorly at school (which he never completed), his musical abilities were recognized and they began to teach him how to play the saxophone, and then took him to the school band.
Richard's homosexual tendencies progressed with age. This upset his father very much: “My father had seven sons, and I wanted seven sons. You ruined everything! You are only half a son!” - the father moaned and beat Richard. But he couldn’t help himself. At the age of fourteen, he left home and became a traveling musician, gradually gaining popularity until he ended up in the vaudeville show Sugarfoot Sam. There he performed for the first time as a girl - one of the singers fell ill, and Richard was put in as a replacement. He put on a dress and applied makeup, and since he didn’t know how to walk in heels, they simply put him in front of a microphone, the curtain rose, Richard sang in a high voice - and the curtain came down so that he did not have to take a step in front of the audience. Then Richard joined another vaudeville act and again performed as a woman - in this show many men dressed up as women. He became part of the gay community, and more and more people recognized his musical abilities
The heyday of his early career found him in Atlantic City, where Richard successfully performed every night, although without a dress, but with makeup, which later became his signature feature. Richard was proud to wear makeup long before it became commonplace for men in American show business. In Atlantic City, Richard recorded his music in the studio for the first time and one of the songs, “Every Hour,” became a local hit on the radio. However, this did not bring him the expected fame, since soon his senior colleague, Lee Magid, recorded his version of Richard’s song with the same musicians and complete plagiarism of the vocals, calling it “Every Evening”. Magid's version eclipsed Richard's original. In upset feelings, he returned to his hometown to his parents.
Richard continued to perform and one day met a gay musician named Esquerita. Esquerita taught Richard to play the piano - and this skill made Richard a complete musician. Esquerita had huge hands with which he struck the piano keys, producing an extremely deep and powerful sound. Richard, who sang very loudly, liked the equally loud piano playing, and this sonic excess became his signature feature.
The father, who rejected Richard for his sexual inclinations, eventually began to recognize his son's talent and even began to be proud of him - every evening he played his son's record on the jukebox. One day there was a fight in the bar and Richard's father was shot. The killer was never sent to prison because the family did not have money for a lawyer, and Richard had to become the family's breadwinner.
Every evening, the pomaded, eccentric Richard gave concerts in clubs, starting his performances with the words: “This is Little Richard, the King of the Blues,” and then adding: “And the Queen too.” By the age of twenty-one, Richard had become a confident musician, recorded several songs, which, however, failed in the charts - and was waiting for the opportunity to hit his stride. Richard's manager arranged for him to tour, but said that to be completely happy he needed to get a band. Richard found a drummer and two saxophonists. This is how the group The Upsetters appeared, with which Richard’s career took off to a new level. He received recognition from other musicians and the love of the public. Still playing the blues, he began to develop the sound that would become rock and roll. One of the songs Richard wrote during this time was "Tutti Frutti": it became a cornerstone of rock and roll. Initially, the lyrics of this song openly played on homosexual love: “Tutti Frutti is a good ass: if it doesn’t fit, don’t push it - you need to lubricate it to make it easier” ( “Tutti Frutti good booty - if it don"t fit don"t force it - you can grease it, make it easy").
Richard's success allowed him not only to feed his family, but also to buy a black Cadillac and begin to lead a lifestyle worthy of an aspiring star. He did not drink or smoke at that time, but in his sexual life he behaved extremely eccentrically. Richard was a voyeur and often took girlfriends just to watch them have sex with other men. One of his girlfriends got into his car, spread her legs, and they drove around the city in search of willing men. Once in this form they encountered cops at a gas station. Richard was arrested and sent to prison. На суде адвокат добился освобождения Ричарда словами: «Этот ниггер уедет из города и никогда больше здесь не покажется». Fate pushed Richard out of his native place and forced him to take up his career with new enthusiasm.
The Second World War brought several million African Americans from the provinces to large cities: the industrial machine was working at full speed, and factories needed workers. African Americans found decent jobs and salaries for those times, some of which they wanted to spend on entertainment. However, segregation still remained in society: blacks were not allowed into theaters, concert halls and many nightclubs. Blacks wanted to hear music from blacks, so the demand for black musicians grew day by day, and separate music labels were formed. Their owners were still white, specializing in black music. One such label was Specialty Records in Hollywood. A musician named Bumps Blackwell worked for Specialty and scouted talented black musicians across the country, listening to hundreds of demos. He had to find an equivalent to Ray Charles, an aspiring star from Atlantic Records. He came across a demo recording of Little Richard: he didn’t look like Ray Charles, but he still sank into Bump’s soul. Bump tried to convince management that Richard was stellar material and needed to be recorded as soon as possible, but management had strong doubts. Then Richard himself got involved: he started calling the studio every two days and terrorizing management with the question “when will you record me?” After seven months of persuasion, the label gave in and decided to record an album. This is how one of the most important recordings in the history of music of the twentieth century appeared - the 1957 album “Here's Little Richard”.
At the time of recording his first album, Richard was already famous for his performances, but it turned out that without an audience he could not sing as well. Richard played the first half of the six-hour studio session without much enthusiasm. During the break, the whole team went to have lunch at the bar where there was a piano. And there Richard, inspired by the presence of the audience, suddenly played completely differently and sang a song that should not have been on the first album - “Tutti Frutti”. Richard's producer was indescribably delighted and realized that this was the very hit that could make the record gold. The only problem was the words: they were too obscene for the radio of that time. So the producer gave the sheet of paper with the words to a young girl, Dorothy La Bostry, for revision - she needed money and worked part-time at the studio. Fifteen minutes before the end of the studio session, Dorothy returned with a rewritten song. Richard refused to sing because after six o'clock his voice was already breaking. But the manager insisted. “Tutti Frutti” as we know it today was born.
Richard received $600 for recording the album. From the sale of each copy, under the standard contracts for black musicians of the time, the artist received one percent of ninety percent of the cost of the record. However, Richard's contract cut his fee in half: for each record sold, Richard received a shameful half-cent.
“The tragedy for blacks in show business at that time was that, like me, most of the performers were young, inexperienced and uneducated. We just wanted to leave our parents' house and travel around the country. So we were exploited, we were abused, we were cheated and we were just ripped off by the record companies and management who quickly realized the money that could be made in the early era of rock 'n' roll."
Little Richard
"Tutti Frutti" was a runaway hit on the black music charts, but it didn't make Richard much money. Moreover, the song was shamelessly covered by two aspiring white performers - Pat Boone and Elvis Presley. She instantly brought them millions and insane fame.
And yet Richard became more popular and richer. Despite the fact that Penniman received only half a penny for the records, sales volumes were so large that it brought in substantial money. And along with the popularity of the songs came a serious demand for concert performances, which were even more vibrant than the recordings. One day, a sixteen-year-old girl came to Richard's music producer with a song for Little Richard. Her aunt is sick and she needs money to put her aunt in the hospital. The song's lyrics were written on a piece of toilet paper, but the girl "hasn't figured out the melody yet." The song told a real story: a young lady caught her uncle in the park with another woman, and when her aunt appeared in the park, her uncle hid in the bushes. Only three lines came out:
"Saw Uncle John with Long Tall Sally"
They saw Aunt Mary comin"
So they ducked back in the alley."
The story was told to Richard, and he undertook to help the girl. A couple of days later he wrote the music and the song “Long Tall Sally” was born. It became an even bigger hit than “Tutti Frutti”, finally established Little Richard as the king of rock and roll and brought him even more money.
Covers of Little Richard's simple songs and copying of his performance style made stars out of such musicians as Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and a whole echelon of other white performers.
Little Richard's stage performances have gone down in history as the most wild and energetic rock concerts, often ending in mass hysteria. Already in the status of a rock star, Richard constantly competed with other musicians performing at group concerts: who would “fuck” the audience and lead the listeners into a greater frenzy. Jerry Lewis, Janis Joplin, The Doors and all the hottest stars of the time lost the competition and tipped their hats to Richard. When John Lennon refused to give Richard the right to perform last (the most important musicians performed last), Richard gave such a performance that Lennon and Yoko Ono, who came on stage after him, were booed by the audience and began to leave the hall. Richard's concerts were often stopped by the police several times during the evening, because the audience fell into a violent rhythmic ecstasy and began to go wild: girls threw their underwear on the stage, people jumped from balconies
Richard paid a lot of attention to his stage image, costumes, makeup, and wore long hair combed up, which Elvis Presley later copied. Richard opened each show with the song "Lucille", which he wrote in honor of a drag queen from his city - everyone called him Queen Sonja. As the performance progressed, Richard became enraged and undressed, throwing clothes, watches and jewelry into the hall to the delight of the frenzied audience. Due to racial segregation in some states, black and white audiences were seated in different parts of the hall with a partition between them. By the end of Richard's concerts, the audience usually mixed, barriers crumbled. Critics wrote that "Richard's voice naturally sends listeners into ecstasy, as if they had snorted a gram of cocaine, drank a bottle of Jack Daniels and had an orgasm - all at the same time." Little Richard himself acquired bad habits much later than fame. His main dope was sex: on tour, he organized orgies in his rooms every evening, he had lovers and mistresses, and he himself admitted that he masturbated seven to eight times a day.
Richard became the first black rock musician to be featured in a film. He sang in the rock musical “The Girl Can't Help It” with the rising star Jayne Mansfield. For teenagers around the world, Richard became a star on the level of Marlon Brando and James Dean. Richard was swimming in fame and money, which he did not keep track of and distributed to everyone There were many who wanted it: tens of thousands of dollars were simply stolen from Richard by his lovers, mistresses and hangers-on. Despite the wild orgies that he organized, Richard carried the Bible with him everywhere and spent every morning after a night of fun reading the book out loud. , which he felt since childhood due to his sexual orientation, and his religious upbringing made itself felt. One day he was resting after another tour, and Richard from the Church of the Lord of the Ten Commandments called him at home and frankly told him that he felt dirty, not. sees meaning in show business and longs for the salvation of the soul. The pastor brought several more people of God's word into the dialogue, and a few months later Richard shocked millions of fans with the announcement that he was leaving music and devoting himself to serving the Lord. The final point of his musical career was the fireball that Richard saw flying over the stadium during one of the concerts of his farewell tour, on the day the Soviet Union launched the first satellite. After this, he decided to immediately cut off the tour and flew to America ten days ahead of schedule. The plane he was originally scheduled to fly on after the tour crashed over the Pacific Ocean. Richard retired from music and became a preacher.
After several years of preaching, Richard could not stand it and returned to show business. Unbeknownst to the church, he gave two small tours in England. On the first tour he had the young Beatles as his opening act, on the second – the young Rolling Stones. Beatles manager Brian Epstein even offered Richard to own the Beatles in half, but Richard refused because he did not believe in their success. Nevertheless, he communicated very warmly with all the Beatles, especially with Paul McCartney, who literally idolized Richard. When Richard returned to America and recruited a new group, the lineup included a young, unknown guitarist, who later became Jimi Hendrix. Musically and monetarily, Little Richard was a true King Midas throughout his career: everything and everyone he touched turned to gold. Little Richard was and remains the ultimate King of Rock and Roll. More precisely, as he himself said, the Queen.
In the history of music, there are names that the public strongly associates with the genre they glorified. Elvis Presley remains the king of rock and roll decades later. It was this unspoken title that he received at the zenith of his career. Elvis passed away in 1977, but in all the years that the singer has not been with us, no one has been able to eclipse his glory. During this time, over 1 billion discs with recordings of the great performer were sold. Rock and roll chose its king back in the 50s, and has remained faithful to him for more than sixty years.
It all started in 1953, when 19-year-old Elvis decided to record several songs at a music studio in Memphis, the city where the family of the future star had lived since 1948. By paying the established fee, the guy was able to fulfill his dream, and at the same time be remembered by the studio owner, who noted the vocal abilities of the young performer. While still a teenager, Elvis became interested in popular music, played in an amateur group and desperately dreamed of becoming a famous singer. He was fascinated by blues and country music, although Elvis sang in a church choir from the age of 10. The combination of trendy melodies and gospel music formed Presley's special stylistic preferences: his repertoire will always contain echoes of both.
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However, recording at the Sun Records studio did not become an instant pass to the world of big music for the young performer, even despite the fact that his name was remembered by the producer. Six months later, Elvis decided to try his luck again and recorded two more songs. And again the singer’s expectations were not met: there was no job offer. Deciding to take a different path, Elvis tries to get a job at a music club and auditions for a position as a performer in a gospel quartet. But here, too, luck turns away from Presley: refusals follow one after another. Desperate, Elvis is already beginning to think that music is not his destiny. And when the guy was almost convinced that being a driver was the only thing he was capable of, he received a call from the Sun Records studio. Elvis was invited to record the song "Without You". The work was going very badly: studio owner Sam Phillips was dissatisfied with the result. In between recordings, Elvis began playing another composition - the song “That’s All Right” by Arthur Crudup. The musicians who participated in the work played along with Presley. Hearing the melody, Phillips realized that this was exactly what he wanted to hear and had been searching for a long time to no avail.
Having made a full recording, the producer took the song to the radio, where it was played several times a day. It was a success. Calls poured in: everyone wanted to know in more detail who performed the new hit. Offers from clubs began to arrive: the musician was invited to take part in the performance program. Elvis began to be invited to radio shows, where he instantly managed to win the favor of the audience. On the wave of his first success, Presley recorded several more singles, which immediately became popular.
But the real breakthrough happened in 1956, when the debut album under the simple name “Elvis Presley” was released. The record was released by the reputable label “RCA Records”, which shortly before signed a contract with the singer. Elvis Presley was the first true rock and roll album in music history. And although long before this event the genre was successfully developing and had its idols (in this sense, Elvis was not a pioneer), it was Presley’s debut album that became a real standard of style and the quintessence of all previous developments. The album included such great hits as "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Tutti Frutti". In addition, the “Elvis Presley” disc was released simultaneously with the single “Heartbreak Hotel” - one of the artist’s most famous songs, which it was decided to release as a separate record. The album and single immediately soared to the top of Billboard, which meant real full-scale success.
This event was followed by an invitation to television. In just a few months, Elvis went from a local celebrity to a national hero. Presley’s personal charisma also added fuel to the fire of popularity. Instantly, his bright style and unique manner of movement are recognized as true symbols of rock and roll. A general "pursuit" began - young people tried to be like their idol in everything, copying his image in everyday life.
In October 1956, Elvis received his famous title - Variety magazine was the first to call the singer the king of rock and roll, forever securing this title for him.
After the album's release, Elvis was bombarded with offers from film studios. Hollywood was eager to receive its dividends from the singer's fame. One after another, musicals with Presley's participation were released, which immediately became box office hits. Elvis recorded soundtracks for each film - no less popular than his full-length albums.
In 1958, Presley was drafted into the army, and he was forced to pause his career at the very peak. Despite the fact that the singer served in Germany, records that he prudently recorded during his vacation continue to be released in the States.
Returning from the army in 1960, Elvis began to make up for lost time: he was actively recording new songs. The album “Elvis Is Back!” is released, which took second place on the charts. At this time, the producers and the singer himself decided to bet on a film career - films with the singer’s participation were released one after another. In some of them, he performs songs that will forever go down in music history, including the famous “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and “Jailhouse Rock.”
However, despite being in demand, Elvis gradually began to lose his popularity. New names are beginning to appear in music, including such cult names as “The Beatles”. Presley's songs began to be perceived as echoes of the past, and his film works ceased to be profitable. In the late 60s, the king of rock and roll made an attempt to change his style: Elvis filmed a very successful television concert and received an engagement for a series of performances in Las Vegas. Especially for the upcoming concerts, Elvis came up with a new style for himself: he began to appear in a white flared jumpsuit with an elaborate decor of rhinestones and stones. At this time, the king of rock and roll was actively touring, but almost never recorded in the studio. True, over time, endless shows became increasingly difficult for Elvis. Health problems that arose due to addiction to medications began to take their toll. Elvis gained weight, became suspicious, and was tormented by chronic illnesses.
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In 1977, the great singer died suddenly at the age of 42, leaving behind hundreds of beautiful songs and the legend that his death was just staged. To this day, thousands of fans around the world are confident that Elvis is alive. Well, be that as it may, one thing remains obvious: the songs of the king of rock and roll remain popular to this day, which means that Elvis Presley really continues to live in each of his recordings, sounding in different parts of the world.
Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935, into a poor family of Gladys and Vernon Presley. When my father was imprisoned for forging checks, the family situation worsened even more. As a child, Presley showed a talent for singing, so his parents sent their son to the church choir. Religion and music became an integral part of his early life.
At the age of 11, Elvis received his first award for performing the song "Old Shep" at a competition. The parents promised their son to buy a bicycle, but there was not enough money, so they gave him a guitar. He taught himself the chords and was soon playing popular hits.
In 1948, the family moved to Memphis in search of work. Elvis began to take an active interest in popular music. He listened to traditional pop music, country music, and also became interested in African-American music - the blues. Presley often went to listen to black bluesmen play.
In 1953, after graduating from school, Elvis began working as a truck driver. At the same time, he did not give up making music. One day Presley walked past Sam Phillips' recording studio and decided to stop by. For $8, he recorded two songs, which were printed in one copy. For a long time he said that he recorded the record for his mother’s birthday, although he later admitted that he wanted to hear what his voice would sound like in the recorded version.
Presley finally decided to become a musician, but could not decide in which genre to sing. He even thought about singing church hymns, but then discarded the idea. A year later, Phillips needed a vocalist, and he remembered Presley. Together with double bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore, they formed the trio "Blue Moon Boys".
At first, the guys didn't succeed. Their country songs sounded inexpressive, and then the musicians changed the rhythm. Hearing Arthur Crudup's blues song "That"s All Right" in a new sound, Sam Phillips was delighted. He asked to repeat the experiment, only now with Bill Monroe's composition "Blue Moon Of Kentucky". The effect was amazing and, one might say, stunned the musicians Thus rock and roll was born.
Worldwide popularity
Listeners and critics did not immediately accept the new music. She was too revolutionary. In the summer of 1954, Presley began giving concerts in Memphis as part of the Blue Moon Boys, and a little later he began to be played on radio stations. But it was his performances on stage that made the musician famous. His signature choreography, which consisted of frantic swinging of his hips along with emotional movements of his arms, gradually began to gain popularity.
In 1955, Elvis signed a contract with RCA Records, and after the release of the sensual composition “Heartbreak Hotel”, he woke up famous. The single took 1st place in the American charts and sold more than 1 million copies. Next was the release of the album "Elvis" (1956), which for the first time in history also crossed the million mark. Presley's first television performances followed, causing delight among millions of teenagers and shock among the older generation. The music, movements, manners and clothing of the musician - everything was unlike the country singers of that time. With his music and his behavior, Elvis Presley changed the idea of the stage.
Best of the day
Elvis' success in music paved the way for him to Hollywood. His producer Tom Parker immediately took advantage of the musician's popularity and signed a contract with Paramount and 20th Century Fox studios. In 1956, Presley's first film, Love Me Tender, was released, and a year later, Prison Rock and Loving You.
In 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the army. He was sent to Germany, provided with good living conditions. In his free time, he visited Italy and France, bought cars and even recorded in a studio. In Germany, Presley met Priscilla Bouillet, whose relationship soon grew from friendship to love.
After demobilization, Elvis returned to the United States, where he recorded the album "Elvis Is Back!" (1960), considered one of the best in the musician’s work. However, his musical activity gradually faded into the background, giving way to cinema. In the 60s, Elvis practically did not give concerts or record songs, performing compositions mainly in films. The film "Blue Hawaii" (1961) collected a huge box office, making the musician incredibly popular. In 1967, Presley married Priscilla, and a year later their daughter Lisa Marie was born.
The incredible "Beatlemania" that swept America diminished Elvis's popularity. This forced the musician to return to the roots of his work. And, as it turned out, not in vain. The album "From Elvis In Memphis" (1969), performed in the style of blues and soul, returned public interest to Presley.
In 1969, Elvis played a concert for the first time in 8 years, and after some time announced a world tour. His performances in dazzling white suits with embellishments and rhinestones created an image of the musician that remains recognizable and imitated to this day. In the 70s, Presley toured a lot, giving much of his money to charity. Between 1969 and 1977, the musician played more than 1,100 concerts in the United States.
The personal life of the king of rock and roll was not as good as his career. In 1972, Priscilla left Elvis, claiming that he did not pay enough attention to her. Presley made a new girlfriend, Linda Thompson, and in 1976 began dating Ginger Alden.
Seems, no matter how much time passes and no matter how tastes change, a huge number of people will love this music, listen to it and dance to it. Today we celebrate an unusual holiday - World Beatles Day. On this day, I propose to remember the songs that make us spin and twirl. In a word, the most rock and roll songs.
Rock and roll originated in America in the 50s. It was formed from living in the neighborhood, but completely different musical styles: rhythm and blues, performed by black musicians, and country music by white farmers. P The resulting style, like a child from a mixed marriage, turned out to be a talented and attractive child.
Bill Haley - "Rock Around the Clock" 1954
One of the first rock and roll hits was the song "Rock Around the Clock". Although rock and roll was then considered a rebellious youth style, it was written by middle-aged people at that time - Max Friedman and James Myers, and performed by 28-year-old Bill Haley, who looked little like a young man, a rebel, or, especially, a black man. However, who cares if the single was included in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the best-selling.
True, success did not come immediately - at first few people were interested in the song. But a year after recording, it was featured in a youth film and became a real hit. And how could it even be missed?
Little Richard - "Tutti Frutti", 1955
"Little" Richard without undue modesty called himself the founder, king and architect of rock and roll, leaving Elvis Presley the modest role of "builder."
It must be said that Little Richard was an ideal rebel - a black homosexual with an inimitable stage image and violent behavior on stage. He sold the song, which became a rock 'n' roll classic, to a record label for just $50.
Carl Perkins - "Blue Suede Shoes", 1955-1956
Many people are more familiar with this song from Elvis Presley's cover, but it was written by a poor boy, Carl Perkins, who learned to play a homemade guitar made from a cigar box, a mop and wire. He wrote the words on a potato bag - there was no writing paper in his house. TO then how could a not real poor man seriously sing and dream of blue suede shoes?
The song became an instant hit, but Perkins himself did not enjoy the success for long. Car accident, long recovery. Then Elvis covered his song and the real author was gradually forgotten in the USA. But in England Perkins was greeted with delight - It turned out that in the Old World he is remembered and loved not only by ordinary music lovers, but also by the young, although already wildly popular, Beatles.
Elvis Presley - "Hound Dog", 1956
No matter what Little Richard says, Only Elvis Presley could become the king in the kingdom of rock and roll. Everything somehow came together in it: voice, appearance, manner of performance and dancing - all this is so inimitable that for more than half a century it has generated a huge number of imitators. Producer Sam Phillips believed that the image of the new music would best be expressed by a white musician with “the voice and soul of a black man.” He found such a guy in a young truck driver, Elvis Presley.
Elvis himself did not write the music. The song “Hound Dog” was not the first - it was originally written for the blues singer Big Mama Thornton, then covered by several country groups, then performed by the team in a rock and roll manner Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, and only after that he took Presley into his hands. It's funny that on all the charts this song was in three categories: "pop", "country" and "rhythm and blues", because the rock and roll category did not yet exist.
Jerry Lee Lewis - , 1957
Jerry Lee Lewis is a man who can sing, play the piano and dance at the same time. His creative biography has seen many downfalls and scandals, which does not prevent the musician from occasionally giving concerts.
Recorded by him song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" took first place in the charts simultaneously as “rhythm and blues” and “country”. And this mixture is real rock and roll.
Chuck Berry - "Johnny B. Good", 1958
According to the film version Back to the Future this song came out of a time loop. Marty played it at his parents' graduation party, and one of the listeners at that moment called on the phone and said to the interlocutor: "Chuck, have you been looking for a new sound? Listen to this!"
This song is one of the most fun and playful on a cosmic scale. Seriously, scientists even sent it beyond the solar system, recording it on the Voyager Golden Record along with other samples of human culture.
Ritchie Valens - "La Bamba", 1958
The life of this musician was tragic. He didn’t really have time to do anything - his musical career lasted only eight months.Ritchie Valens didn't live to see his 18th birthday- the small plane that was taking him on tour crashed, killing three musicians at once: Wales, Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper . Since then, February 3, 1959 in the United States has been called "the day the music died."
But the rock and roll version of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba", recorded by Valens, is still alive and popular and is included in the ratings of the greatest rock and roll songs.
The Beatles - "Rock And Roll Music", 1964
When rock and roll was already being buried in America, it suddenly returned from England in the persons of the famous Fab Four. The fact that in the Old World everything comes with some delay has benefited the music. And although “Rock And Roll Music” is a cover of a Chuck Berry song, the Beatles performed it with amazing drive and artistry.
Do you like rock and roll?
