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Samantha Alvarado

Geiser

AP Junior English

26 April 2016

Rock & Roll to Perfection

Rock and roll legend, Elvis Presley once said, “Rock and roll music, if you like it, if you

feel it, you can’t help but move to it. That’s what happens to me. I can’t help it” (Elvis Presley

Quote). Everybody, if not then most people, has a brief view or an idea of what rock and roll is

and how popular it is among today’s society. Today, rock and roll is separated into different

categories such as metal, alternative rock, emo, Christian rock, Southern rock, Indie rock, punk

rock, rock and roll, and many more.

When it first emerged in the 1950’s, it created a new sound for many teenagers to enjoy

and for the older generation to dislike. Popular figures such as Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Janis

Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and many more figures in rock all brought their own taste and

sound to the movement of rock and roll in different periods of time.

In many cases, however, most people don’t really look back on the history of rock and

roll. Of course, people know the common rock and roll figures, but they never really wonder

who or what even started the movement for rock and roll in the first place. The man who started

it all in the early 1950’s was Alan Freed, who was known as “The King of the rock n’ rollers.”

Before he had began his rise to fame, he was a simple disc jockey. Originally going to college to

be a mechanical engineer, he had discovered his love for the radio.

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When he first started playing his music, his rise to popularity and fame skyrocketed

because the sound of his music was so foreign and new to everybody. It was a new discovery in

music that hadn’t been experimented with yet.

At the first known rock and roll concert on March 21, 1952, over 30,000 people had

attended the concert to see Freed play and do a show with famous R&B stars. However, the

concert had taken place at Cleveland Arena, and the capacity of people was 10,000. The

remaining 20,000 crowded around the arena and attempted to break the gates to see the show.

Because of that, the show had to be canceled.

That was only the beginning of things that occurred when Freed had introduced rock and

roll, in which he actually used that term to describe the shows that he would perform. While

many praised his music, others also thought his music was encouraging juvenile delinquency.

Opponents of his music believed his main motive was to encourage teenagers or delinquents to

act out. Not only was his music influencing different opinions, but when he performed his

concerts, it wasn’t just one race that had attended. The white race as well as the black race both

attended his concerts because his music was something foreign that they hadn’t experienced.

While he was seen as the “race-mixer,” many people also lived in fear of that aspect, due to those

times still being racist towards different types of races.

While his music and his concerts seemed to cause positive effects on his listeners and

fans. It also caused a lot of controversy with more of the elders and those who didn’t like the idea

of integration.

Either way, he was able to cause a large impact on the United States of America. With his

introduction to rock and roll, it only provided an opening to more artists that would also impact
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our society, Now that he was performing rock and roll, it gave more influence to other musicians

to create even more breath-taking music and amaze their future fans with it.

Since Alan Freed had opened a portal to a different world of music, many other rock n’

rollers such as Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and, of course, Elvis

Presley, were able to introduce their music to the crowds who craved the new music era.

Elvis Presley became one of the most popular figures in rock n’ roll. He was very famous

towards the mid-1950’s. In 1954, Presley’s first single had come out, “That’s All Right.” With

his new dance moves, his unusual approach towards music, and his smoldering good looks, he

had been able to receive his first hit and his first album just a year later. Not only was he a

popular musical figure, but he also became a famous actor and appeared on television quite

often. Taking a break from music to fight in Germany, he later came back better than ever. He

acted in many movies and came out with even more music hits. He became known as the “King

of Rock n’ Roll.” Rock music wasn’t the only music genre he became well known in. He was

also praised in his approach towards gospel music and country.

Unfortunately, he had developed an addiction to prescription drugs as he rose to fame.

Despite the fact that he was also dealing with the divorce of his wife and his wife winning

custody of their daughter, people were still supportive of him throughout his career. However,

his addiction had caught up to him, leading him to his death on August 16, 1977 of heart failure

at the age of 42.

Like everything else in the world, life must go on. Rock and roll music was still

beginning to thrive. Presley had a large impact on that. He was one of the first people to be in the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also one of many people to also be in the Country Music

Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Association’s Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
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Moving into the 1960’s meant a new path was created for more people, one of those

people being the famous Jimi Hendrix. Born originally as Johnny Allen Hendrix and later having

his name changed by his father to James Marshall, and then going by Jimmy James in the music

business, he learned to play the guitar at a very young age. Forming many bands with different

people like the Rocking Kings (his first band), King Kasuals, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames,

the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Band of Gypsys, he was quick to also become an influential

rock n’ roller.

“Although Hendrix did not consider himself a good singer, his vocals were nearly as

evocative as his guitar playing” (Jimi Hendrix Biography). Hendrix had become famous through

his hits such as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” and “The Wind Cries Mary.” Not only was his music

a huge success, but his performances were also some of the best that anyone can ask for. He

would perform crazy acts with his well developed guitar-playing skills such as playing the guitar

with his own teeth, and he even lit his guitar on fire as a closing to one of his most famous

performances at Monterey Pop Festival in June, 1967. He also did an exceptional show singing

“The Star-Spangled Banner” as one of his opening sets.

Unfortunately, his life was short lived. He had died at the age of 27 from complications

with drug use that he had been experiencing throughout his life and career. During the time that

he was alive, he was praised for his amazing talents as a guitar player. In the Berkeley Tribe, a

journalist wrote that Hendrix, “...could get more out of an electric guitar than anyone else. He

was the ultimate guitar player” (Biography: Jimi Hendrix Lifetime). Even though he may not be

with us physically, I would still think he was still with us in spirit along with each and every rock

n’ roller to ever live. As Hendrix once sang in his song, “Angel,” he said, “Forever I will be by

your side” (Jimi Hendrix-Angel).

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Not only were men making history in the music genre of rock n’ roll, but there were also

women that rose to fame in that area as well. Janis Joplin certainly fit that category, receiving the

nickname, “First Lady of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

Born in Texas, Janis Joplin had grown up under musical figures such as Bessie Smith,

Big Mama Thornton, and Leadbelly during her years as a teenager. While she didn’t have the

best experience in high school due to being bullied, it didn’t prevent her from pursuing what she

loved.

Going to college for only about a year and then dropping out, her musical career was

what was the most important to her. At first, people weren’t really interested in her and the bands

that she was in. However, at the time, her raspy voice was nothing like the other singers during

her time.

On the other hand, like Jimi Hendrix, she had a life full of drug problems. There was

even a point in her life when she even tried to live the straight-edge lifestyle, but her love for

music and her addiction to drugs and alcohol lead her back to where she originally was. She was

also someone who craved the acceptance from everyone around her. Joplin said herself in her

last interview that “It was really important...whether people were going to accept me or not”

(Final Interview).

On October 4, 1970, she had died from an accidentally overdosing on heroin, which had

been one of her long-time addictions, at the age of 27. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame in 1995. She was also made part of the 27 Club, which consists of famous people

who have died at the age of 27 like Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, and more.

Lastly, she was one of the most influential figures of rock n’ roll in the late 1960’s, even making

it more important since she was a female.

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The 1980s certainly had a large advance in the musical figures of rock n’ roll. Stevie Ray

Vaughan, was definitely one of those influential people in the history of rock n’ roll.

Stevie Ray Vaughan grew up in Texas along with Janis Joplin. Picking up a guitar at a

young age and being inspired by his brother to play, he taught himself how to play the blues at

first. At the time, he was not able to read sheet music, so he relied on his hearing to be able to

teach himself how to play the guitar.

His most famous band was originally named Triple Threat, and it was later changed to

Double Trouble after one of the members left the band.

Receiving a large range of fans, Vaughan and the band had even gotten recognition from

David Bowie, Mick Jagger, and Jackson Browne. David Bowie had even asked Vaughan to play

on one of his albums, Let’s Dance. Many of their albums had caught the attention of rock

stations and received awards and places on the rock charts. Stevie Ray Vaughan had gotten Best

New Talent and Best Electric Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine.

While the band was successful, Vaughan’s life had been the exact opposite. He had been

getting into drug and alcohol problems, but he later checked himself into rehab to improve his

health. He later go back with Double Trouble and played more shows, still maintaining their

fame.

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s life was short lived at 35 when he had died in a helicopter crash.

“After his death, October 3, 1991, was made the “Stevie Ray Vaughan Day” by Ann Richards,

who had been the Texas governor” (Stevie Ray Vaughan Biography). While his life was cut off

so unexpectedly, he still remains a legend to this day with tributes, albums, performances, and

many more things occurring in honor of him.

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Stevie Ray Vaughan wasn’t the only musician who took the 80’s away with their style of

rock and roll. Prince, an American musician, was also able to shock the 80’s with his approach

towards rock and roll.

Born originally as Prince Rogers Nelson and having a musician and a jazz singer for

parents, Prince had developed an interest in music at an early age. He had even taught himself

how to play the piano, the guitar, and the drums at a young age.

Due to his parent’s split and having to go in between each parent’s home, he later ran

away and lived with the Anderson family. Later in high school, he had formed his first band

named Grand Central, which would be later known as Champagne, with Andre Cymone and

Morris Day. It was long before he was signed with a record label in 1978.

His career later took off starting with hits such as “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “Little Red

Corvette,” and “Delirious.” In the 80’s, one of his greatest hits of his career, “Purple Rain,” had

emerged through. Along with the album, also named “Purple Rain,” his other hits, “When Doves

Cry,” “Take Me With U,” “I Would Die 4 U,” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” also landed high on the

charts and became some of the most popular songs of Prince’s musical career.

With music comes controversy, and that’s what “Darling Nikki” brought in Prince’s

“Purple Rain” album, but it still didn’t stop Prince from rising to the top with rock and roll, pop,

R&B, and other genres. “Purple Rain made Prince a superstar…” ("Prince Bio | Prince Career").

Towards the 90’s, Prince had changed up his approach towards music by including more music

genres and coming up with something new every time, even if he still got negative views and

controversial opinions about it.

Later on his career, Prince’s connection with the Warner Bros. was starting to experience

it’s own problems. Because of that, Prince would change his name to a symbol, and he even
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walked around with the word, “slave,” written on his face to express his view with Warner Bros.

and how his career was with that record label. Even after that, he still managed to create many

hits throughout the 80’s, 90’s, and even the 2000’s.

However, Prince had passed away this year on April 21st at Paisley Park. “To honor him,

many memorials were made, including thousands of mourners singing to “Purple Rain” in

downtown Minneapolis, where he was born, on the night of his death” (Prince Biography).

While many people are still mourning and making memorials for him, the majority of

people who knew Prince or was a fan of his still keep in mind that he was one of the most unique

and amazing artists to ever live.

If there was any band that was more known than people like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray

Vaughan, Elvis Presley, and more, it would be the one and only Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin consisted of four members: Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones,

and late John “Bonzo” Bonham. Starting off earlier as the Yardbirds, the band was able to throw

off a new taste in music, which was more metal, a lot more blues, and approaches towards music

that was more unique in a strange way.

Starting up in 1968, the band was on and off when it came to performance or even just

putting effort towards new music or the progress of the band itself. They were very successful

either way, but devastating events such as Jimmy Page’s 6 year old son dying, Robert Plant’s

parents getting severely injured in a car crash, and even the drummer, John Bonham, passing

away, a lot of motivation was lost working for albums and such.

There would be new albums here and there, but they would always reach the top of the

charts every time. While all the fame and accomplishments showered the bands, there were also

conspiracies that supernatural forces had a part in their success. One can only assume, but it was
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easy to because “Plant believed in psychic phenomena, and Page, whose interest in the occult

was well known, once resided in Boleskine House, the former house of infamous satanist

Aleister Crowley” (Led Zeppelin Biography). Not only were they suspected of supernatural

forces aiding them, but they have also been accused of stealing music from others. Robert Plant

and Jimmy Page had even admitted to it.

Even then, the conspiracies and accusations that they encountered hadn’t stopped their

music from being popular around the world. In the US, their records had been sold over 100

million times, and they are still well known today. There have been rumors of the band getting

back together and doing a show, but nothing has ever happened.

No matter what, Led Zeppelin will always be remembered as one of the greatest rock and

roll bands of all time. Their records and music have provided so much popularity that it is still

even popular today among younger generations, but they can only be remembered for so long.

So many artists/bands were able to emerge through the sound of rock and roll. There

were people like Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The Ramones, David Bowie, The Beatles, James

Brown, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and the list goes on.

Progressing into the 90’s, that was when more bands were getting heavier with their

genre of rock and roll, but still keeping that old taste tucked in as well. Famous bands during the

90’s were Green Day, Metallica, Foo Fighters, AC/DC, Tool, No Doubt, Soundgarden, 311,

Aerosmith, Creed, and plenty of more.

In the 2000’s, famous bands were My Chemical Romance, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin

Park, Queens of The Stone Age, Disturbed, System Of A Down, Slipknot, Papa Roach, Avenged

Sevenfold, Evanescence, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, Godsmack, and much more.
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Comparing the types of rock and tastes in music with different generations, it’s actually

very common that most people wouldn’t know a lot of the music that I, as a child, had grown up

listening to. It’s quite revealing to show how familiar people are with the older rock and roll

generation because what people listen to now is beyond different from what started in the 1900’s.

Even then, there are still many people who still keep rock and roll in their blood. I, for

example, had grown up listening to the older generation of rock and roll, so it’s harder for me to

adapt to today’s new music since I prefer the older generation of rock and roll. Every time I try

to listen to new music, I think of Prince’s “Musicology” lyric: “Don’t you miss the feeling music

gave you back in the day?” (Prince Lyrics).

No matter what, rock and roll will always find a way to make itself known because it’s

one of the greatest music genres to ever exist. As Alan Freed once said, “Let’s rock and roll!"
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