Early Rock n Roll

Bill Haley and the Comets were, I believe,
considered another country swing group. I'm not
sure who actually wrote or created "Rock Around
the Clock."

I know Alan Freed is given credit for giving the
first rock and roll concert in like 1952 -- though
I believe it closed down after just 1 song,
because that caused a riot.

But unless I'm mistaken, the actual artists
must have been still developing the genre,
since the true founders came after "Rock
Around the Clock."

They're 4 -- Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Jerry
Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

That's my opinion, anyway. Buddy Holly was
important of course but came a little bit
after those guys.

The general story is that they and others
created a revolution from about 1955 to 1958
that society could not handle.

So Elvis had to be drafted. While the in the
army he met and started dating a colonel's 14
year old daughter named Priscilla. His career
went in many phases after that, all great music,
but it's a valid argument that little of his
music was important rock and roll, after that.

Chuck Berry was convicted of violating the Mann
Act, which makes it a federal crime for a man
to travel across a state line with a woman not
his wife, for immoral purposes. That's the kind
of laws that they had in those quaint days. And
they could be enforced. He was caught with a
14 year old American Indian prostitute. He
spent a year in jail.

So his career was side-tracked until 1964,
when he finally had another hit and then
was resurrected by the popularity of new
stars such as The Beatles, who all gave him
credit in interviews.

Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin.
He eventually became a country star.

I'm not much sure about Little Richard. On the
surface he still appears a totally flaming
homosexual and in the 1950s would have been even
more outrageous. Yet his career has always
veered between singing rock and roll and
being a minister.

Buddy Holly died in a plane crash along with
Richie Valens and the Big Bopper -- the first
"day the music died" in that song.


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