The term is sometimes also used as synonymous with "rock music" and is defined as such in some dictionaries. The term "rock and roll" is defined by Greg Kot in Encyclopædia Britannica as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as rock music". Terminology Sign commemorating the role of Alan Freed and Cleveland, Ohio, in the origins of rock and roll Some people believe that the music had a positive influence on the civil rights movement, because both Black American and White American teenagers enjoyed it. It is often portrayed in movies, fan magazines, and on television. Rock and roll had a polarizing influence on lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. After the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars ("Fender bass") and drum kits became popular in classic rock. Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or more electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm) and a double bass (string bass). The beat is essentially a dance rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, almost always provided by a snare drum. These instruments were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s. In the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music, though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll." For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with the first definition. Īccording to journalist Greg Kot, "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until 1954. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and blues, boogie-woogie, electric blues, gospel, jump blues, as well as country music.
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, rock 'n' roll, rock 'n roll or rock n' roll with both Rs usually capitalized) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Late 1940s – early 1950s, Southern United States For other uses, see Rock and roll (disambiguation). For the general rock music genre, see Rock music. This article is about the 1950s style of music.