Introduction
Rock ‘n’ Roll music was a special sound that appeared as being regional, limited to the southern cities in America, and sometimes heard in the rural juke areas; it has tremendously matured, engrossing and being subjective to many conceivable styles from Gregorian cha and jazz to the African drumming.
Morrison, C., Holmes, T., & Holm-Hudson, K. (2006). Rock and Roll (1st ed.). American Popular Music.
Rock ‘n’ Roll has been America’s popular music typically played on electronically intensified instruments and also described by the obstinate deeply accentuated beat, simple phrases repetition, as well as the country, blues, and folk elements. The phrases of Rock ‘n’ Roll originated from the instruments, which amplified the forth and back movement as they were being played hence leading to rocking and sexuality-related themes, and simple phrases in the songs represented the rolling.
Larson, T. (1753). The Roots of Rock and Roll. In History of rock and roll with rhapsody (5th ed., pp. 1–26). Kendall Hunt Publishing. https://he.kendallhunt.com/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Kendall_Hunt/Content/Higher_Education/Uploads/LarsonRock_5e_Ch1.pdf
The phrase “Rock ‘n’ Roll” initially defined the way the ship moves on the ocean, but later was adopted by the early 20th century to define the spiritual enthusiasm of the black church rites as well as the sexual correlation. It should be noted that several swing, gospel, and blues recordings referred to the phrase. Research shows that the music combined a mixture of Rhythm and Blues, gospel, and Jazz music (Larson, 1753). In various ways, the origin of Rock ‘n’ Roll was the demonstration of the seismic change that was occurring in the cultural fabric. The seismic change involved a move from elitist to the working class, from an adult-centered community to one that focused on teenagers, as well as from the one in which art was characterized by the standards of the Europeans to totally American terms.
Hamilton, J. (2022). In words: What, exactly, is rock ‘n’ roll? UVA Today. https://news.virginia.edu/content/words-what-exactly-rock-n-roll
Rock ‘n’ Roll music was made in America during the late 1920s. The Afro-Americans used to live and interact with the whites during that time. The music by the Afro-Americans could usually be played on radios and broadcasted in the areas of; Buffalo, New York, Chicago, Memphis, and Detroit, and due to this, their music started being traded and interchanged by two cultures. Hamilton (2022, par. 3) states that the “rock ‘n’ roll” phrase was promoted by Alan Freed in the 1950s. He argues that in the broader sense, the term typically labeled music prevalent amongst youthful Americans that resulted from traditions assumed to be an abhorrence to the well-thought-of white Americans who were regarded as middle class. However, almost the heaviest breakthrough and takeover of Rock ‘n’ Roll was felt during the 1950s and 1960s. Thus, Rock ‘n’ Roll music was characterized by the use of loud sung lyrics, horns, and boogie beats in jazz-founded music.
Kotarba, J. A. (2002). Rock ‘N’ roll music as a timepiece. Symbolic Interaction, 25(3), 397-404. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2002.25.3.397
Studies show that the phrase Rock ‘n’ Roll originates from the movement of the ship on the water, given that it follows the back-and-forth movement of the water designates rocking, whereas steady ship movement denotes rolling (Kotarba, 2002). Rock ‘n’ Roll music involves the use of various amplified instruments such as guitars, thus involving betas which lead to the back-and-forth movement of the singers and the audience. The music is created for the teenage generation who consume music based on their values and tastes and originated from African-American music styles (Kotarba, 2002). Rock ‘n’ roll is a great indicator of histrionic changes happening in the cultural and social ecospheres of youths. Thus, Rock ‘n’ Roll music was very instrumental in establishing social class differences during the 1950s.
Finally, I believe the origins of the Rock ‘n’ Roll phrase to be from the various musical instruments such as; the amplified guitar and the boogie singing, which involved both elements of moving back and forth as well as dancing. For instance, research shows that the music combined amplified guitars and drums, which made it danceable and engaging (Morrison et al., 2006).
References
Hamilton, J. (2022). In words: What, exactly, is rock ‘n’ roll? UVA Today. https://news.virginia.edu/content/words-what-exactly-rock-n-roll
Kotarba, J. A. (2002). Rock ‘N’ roll music as a timepiece. Symbolic Interaction, 25(3), 397-404. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2002.25.3.397
Larson, T. (1753). The Roots of Rock and Roll. In History of rock and roll with rhapsody (5th ed., pp. 1–26). Kendall Hunt Publishing. https://he.kendallhunt.com/sites/default/files/uploadedFiles/Kendall_Hunt/Content/Higher_Education/Uploads/LarsonRock_5e_Ch1.pdf
Morrison, C., Holmes, T., & Holm-Hudson, K. (2006). Rock and Roll (1st ed.). American Popular Music.