In the history of modern-day music, there has been various musical art forms that has generated much talk and controversy: ragtime, jazz, and swing, just to name a few.
But there is no doubt that Rock music has proven to be the most controversial as well as the most influential music in history. No other musical genre has generated so much attention and has caused so many waves in modern-day society than Rock music, a genre that has existed for nearly 60 years, going through various transformations.
The roots of Rock can be traced back to African American culture, mainly derived from the Deep South, which played a major part in the popularity of the genre. It was a combination of jazz and blues, uptempo, or sped up, with a fast, jumping beat, that just made people want to dance, even if they had never danced before or even knew how to dance. It's early influences dates at least to the 1920's.
Even back then it was beginning to cause controversy because of the subject matter of such music, which was often very unabashedly open and direct, with subjects as drinking, gambling and chasing women or fighting over them. Because these musical art forms, jazz, and especially blues was the innovation of Blacks, it was associated with the supposed lifestyles that most Whites assumed of African Americans in general of the time. Hence, it was labeled "Race Music", or so-called "Negro Music", or by other more stronger racist terms of the era.
By 1949, the music industry stopped calling it "Race Music", possibly because of America's changing postwar attitudes toward race and started using its new name "Rhythm and Blues", which was steadily beginning to replace Bebop, which was popularized a little after World War II.
By the early 1950's, Rhythm 'n' Blues was starting to be referred by another term "Rock 'n' Roll", which at the time had a sexual connotation, and which was music mainly well-known and played in the African American community, mainly in nightclubs and bars. Even though most White DJs were aware of the existence of Rock 'n' Roll, they wouldn't touch it because its contents and lyrics were considered shocking and offensive to the social mores of middle-class White America of that time. For instance, the songs sung by such early Rock 'n' Roll groups such as Billy Ward and the Dominoes "Sixty-Minute Man" and the Sultans "Lemon-Squeezing Daddy", was considered too strong for most 1951 ears to hear-mostly austere, pseudo-sophisticated whites-so it was banned from playing at mainly White-owned radio stations, because of its suggestive lyrics.
But it was being noticed by the producers of such music that a growing number of young people, notably teenagers, and particularly a growing number of White teenagers. was starting to get "turned on" to this "new" music. Thus the producers were considered smart enough to capitalize on a rapidly-growing new market.
One man who was primarily responsible for Rock 'n' Roll's growing influence was a young White disc jockey named Alan Freed. He has often been viewed by some as being the "Father of Rock 'n' Roll" because he was the first White disc jockey to openly play it unabashedly, much to the chagrin of middle-classed Whites and because he did much to promote its influence among their kids. He would play the authentic, popular Black Rock 'n' Roll songs of the day, which most White radio stations refused to play; they preferred to play the watered-down and "sanitized" versions sung by white "cover artists". He would stage live shows in which such African American singers and groups would perform their latest hits live, on such shows as "Alan Freed's Moondog Rock 'n' Roll Ball" later called "Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Party" and make them marketable and sellable to mainly White kids who could not buy such records in their neighborhoods because either they weren't sold or played or both.
Such legendary performers as The Moonglows, The Flamingoes, the Cadillacs, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley and the Comets, Laverne Baker and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers among many others helped immensely in making this music genre popular during its heyday. But no doubt Elvis Presley has been viewed by many to have played a major pivotal role in the explosion of this genre. In fact, it is hard to think of the history of Rock 'n' Roll without the influence of Elvis. In one night in 1956, he forever changed the way most people at the time perceived Rock 'n' Roll. He helped single-handedly to make it more sellable, more marketable than ever before, which was no small task for a young White performer in 1950's America to be singing and dancing to songs associated with "Negro Music".
By the late 1950's-early 1960's, the face of Rock Music was changing, especially with the advent of Motown, which at first was more doo-wop oriented but tended to lean toward a newer aspect of Rock music, called Soul, which had been popularized by such performers as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles. Singers such as Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Temptations and later in the decade, The Jackson Five.
White groups began to play an important role in Rock music. The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Animals and Freddy and The Dreamers among others defined what began to be known as the "British Invasion". But it was the Beatles that defined the 1960's itself; in fact they WERE the 1960's, as many of their songs, particularly in the late 60's, reflected the rapidly-changing attitudes and mores of the time. Beatles songs are probably the most-commonly known and played songs in recent decades.
The 1970's were further dominated by more White rockers, such as Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Aerosmith, Slave, Devo as well as many others. But it would be Disco that would ultimately define the decade. Who can forget such legendary performers as K.C. and The Sunshine Band, The Commodores and "The Queen of Disco", Donna Summer?
The 1980's and 1990's began to see even further radical changes in rock music, such as Punk Rock, Acid Rock, Gothic, Grunge and Alternative Rock. Yes, Rock music has indeed undergone numerous changes during its controversial existence. Whatever future changes it will make in the near future remains to be seen. But there is no question that Rock music has become the most powerful, influential music of our times.