Johnny B. Goode

Chuck Berry is considered to be one of the pioneers of rock and roll.  Berry, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, is described as being the “poet laureate” of rock and roll.  He was born out of R&B and country and gave it identity.  Basically, he refined rhythm and blues into the elements that made rock and roll one of individuality.

His perfectly matched lyrics and music helped shape rock and roll for decades, and his works have been covered by other great rock and roll artists such as Electric Light Orchestra, The Rolling Stones, and the Beatles.  His songs were aimed for teenagers, the intended targets of the rock and roll genre.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states, “In all essential ways, he understood the power of rock and roll – how it worked, what it was about and who it was for.”

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"Johnny B. Goode" was released in early 1958 under the label of Chess, but was written by Chuck years earlier in 1955.  A recording of the song was on the Voyager Golden Record, a record that was placed on the Voyager spacecraft as a representation of rock and roll music.

Rock Around the Clock

Rock and Roll was a major turning point in the music industry. New artists like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent helped pave the road to the biggest genre of music ever known to this point. The genre was created with influences of blues and country, along with technological advances such as the electric guitar, amplifier, microphone, and the 45 rpm record. This was also around the time the transistor radio was invented, and car radios became more popular, as well. This meant listening to music anywhere became a lot easier and more practical. It was also the first time teenagers could have music of their own, so rock and roll immediately became the coolest genre, thanks to the younger generation.

The year was 1955 when rock and roll really took off. “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets is said to be the starting point of rock and roll.

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With this post, the next few days will be all about the first pioneers of rock and roll, so all of the artists will be from 1955-1958.  Bill Haley & His Comets weren't really considered to be pioneers of rock music.  The hit song (which went on to be the theme song of the television show Happy Days) was more of a starting point for the new genre about to take over America.