1. Rosetta Tharpe clip

2. The Term “Rock and Roll” and Alan Freed

1. Coined by Alan Freed, although mentioned by many different songs.  Started his show in Cleveland Ohio in July 1951, originally called the “Moondog Rock n’ Roll House Party” on a Cleveland AM station from 1 1:15 PM -2:30 AM Saturdays

2. Was playing R & B for white kids, but called it Rock and Roll so the parents wouldn’t know any better.  Ironically, Rock and Roll is a black term for sex.

3. Staged the First Rock and Roll concert in Cleveland in 1952.  The “Moondog Coronation ball”.  Sold 10,000 tickets and 6,000 more people couldn’t get in.  Police shut it down after the first act.

4. Moved his show to New York City in WINS in September 1954.  He was sued by a blind street musician named “Moondog” so he changed the name, using his own.

5. in 1957 ABC-TV gave Freed his own nationally-televised rock & roll show, but an episode on which Frankie Lymon danced with a white girl enraged ABC's Southern affiliates and the show was cancelled.

6. Kept promoting rock concerts, and kept getting in trouble with riots.  Was arrested for “Inciting to riot” in 1958 when he told a crowd “The Police don’t want you to have fun!”  The charges were dropped later.

7. WINS failed to renew Freed's contract. This incident forced him into into bankruptcy and would just be the beginning of Freed's legal problems.  Freed moved to WABC radio, and also hosted a locally televised dance show. In 1959 the U.S. House Oversight Committee, at the urging of ASCAP, began to look into deejays who took gifts from record companies in return for playing their records on their shows. Though a number of deejays and program directors were caught in the scandal, the committee decide to focus on Freed.  Freed's broadcasts alliances quickly deserted him. In 1959, WABC in New York asked him to sign a statement confirming that he had never accepted payola. Freed refused "on principle" to sign and was fired.  On Feb 8, 1960 a New York Grand Jury began looking into commercial information in the recording industry and on May 19, 1960 eight men  were charged with receiving $116,580 in illegal gratuities. This probe would lead to Freed being charged with income tax evasion by the IRS.  What’s odd was that payola wasn’t illegal.

8. Freed was the only deejay subpoenaed by the Oversight Committee and refused to testify despite being given immunity. Trial began December, 1962 and ended with Freed pleading  guilty to 29 counts of commercial bribery. Though he only received a $300 fine and 6 months suspended sentence his career would be over.  He worked at a few smaller stations, was indicted on Tax evasion, and drank himself to death in 1965.   (Video Clip:  Disc 1, Ep. 1, Chapter 22)

3.   Dick Clark

1. Born in 1929. Started working in Radio at 17, eventually became a DJ

2. Took over American Bandstand in 1956 when the previous host got a DWI.

3. Bandstand was on a Philadelphia TV station, but picked up nationally by ABC in 1957.  Ran Daily through 1963, then weekly until 1987.

4. Was also investigated in the Payola scandal on 1959, but got let off and called a “Fine Young Man” by the committee.  Had major investments in Rock and Roll:

1. 33 different companies with ties to rock music, including publishers, record pressing plants, and 3 different Philadelphia record labels.  He also owed song copyrights, and managed Duane Eddy, who was featured on Bandstand many times.  He was allowed to divest his interests and walk away.  He’s now worth over 300 million dollars.

4.   Video Clip: Payola. Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 15

5.  Three basic styles of early rock

1. Mainstream : R & B/ Gospel based.  Often blues form.  Shouting singing style.  Main example is Little Richard.  Heaviest style.  Famous examples of 12 bar blues:

1. Elvis Presley : Hound Dog, Hard-Headed Woman, I got Stung, Jailhouse Rock, Teddy Bear.

2. Little Richard: Jenny Jenny, Lucillle, Tutti Frutti, Long Tall Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly.

3. Chuck Berry: School Days, Johnny B. Goode, most others.

4. Fats Domino “Ain’t that a shame”, Buddy Holly “ Oh Boy” Jerry Lee Lewis “ Whole lotta shakin’ going on”   Ray Charles “What’d I say”

2. Rockabilly:   Closer to Country and western.  More likely to be white artists.  Born in Memphis at Sun Records.  Famous Examples:

1. Bill Haley: Rock around the Clock, Shake, Rattle, and Roll.

2. Elvis Presley: That’s alright Mama. All Shook up, Don’t be Cruel

3. Jerry Lee Louis: Whole lotta shakin’ going on, Great Balls of fire

4. Buddy Holly “ Maybe baby, Peggy Sue, Not Fade Away, That’ll be the Day, Oh Boy.

5. Carl Perkins “ Blue Suade Shoes” Gene Vincent “Be-Bop-a-Lula”

3. White Soft Rock:   Usually Rock style songs, but slower, quieter, safer!  Good for the “Slow Dance”.  Can’t dance to Tutti Frutti for four hours!  Famous Examples:

1. Elvis Presley: Love Me Tender, I Want you I need You I Love You, Are You Lonesome tonight?

2. Pat Boone:   Everything.  Made his whole career being the clean cut alterative to Rock singers. (Video Clip:  Disc 1, Ep. 1, Chapter 23)

3. Lyrics, just for fun:

4.                             Little Richard “Tutti Frutti”

I got a gal, named Daisy,

She almost drives me crazy (2x)

She knows how to love me ,

Yes indeed

Boy you don't know,

What she's doing to me

 

1.                   Pat Boone “Tutti Frutti”

I got a gal, her name's Daisy

She almost drives me crazy (2x)

She's a real gone cookie

Yes, sir-ree

But pretty little Susie

Is The gal for me                                                                  

 

4. Black Soft Rock:   Evolved from Doo-Wop.  Groups like the Platters, The Coasters, Frankie Lymon.

6. The Major Artists

1. Bill Haley (video clip:  Disc 1, Ep.1 Chapter 24)

1. Originally a C  and W singer from Detroit.  Born in 1927, which made older.  Band was called Bill Haley and the Saddlemen.  Tried to cross over to Rock and Roll with first single “Crazy man, Crazy.”  1954 had “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”, Originally by Big Joe Turner.  Same year was “Rock around the Clock”, also a cover by Sonny Dae.

2. Had the funny curl in his hair to try and hide his blind eye.  

3. Faded away after a few more hits.  Made a huge tour of England, and remained popular in Latin America, Europe, and England.  Died in 1981.

2. Elvis Presley (Video Clip: Disc 1, Ep. 1, Chapter 25)

1. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935.  Twin Brother died at Birth.  Moved to Memphis in 1948.  Family was very poor, and Elvis listened to R & B, Pop, and C & W.

2. Aged ten, he made his first public performance in a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. Dressed as a cowboy, the young Elvis stood on a chair to reach the microphone and sang Red Foley's "Old Shep". He came second.

3. Signed a contract with Sun Records in July 1954.  First single was “That’s alright mama” by arthur Crudup, blues singer, backed with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” by Bill Monroe, a C & W standard.  Did 5 singles for Sun, and was named “Billboard top up-and-coming C&W artist” in a disc jockey poll in 1955.  Had several regional hits, although some white radio stations refused to play his records because they assumed he was half black. (Audio clip:  That’s All Right, both versions)

4. Colonel Tom Parker took over Elvis at the end of 1955, and left sun records to go record for RCA Victor.  RCA bought Elvis for 40,000, outbidding Atlantic which had offered 25,000.  First single for RCA was “Heartbreak Hotel” on Jan 27, 1956.  First Album, Elvis Presley, was released on March 23rd, 1956.  Hound dog was a song he picked up from a Vegas Lounge act.  Originally by Big Mama Thorton (Audio clip “Hound Dog” Video Clip: Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 4, 6)

5. Elvis on Ed Sullivan. Only shown from the waist up.  Never the less, Sullivan liked him and said "This is a real decent, fine boy. We've never had a pleasanter experience on our show with a big name than we've had with you... you're thoroughly all right."   (Video Clip Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 7 and 8)

6. Made first movie in 1956, Love me tender.  Made three more in the next two years.

7. From here on, Elvis had tons of hits until he was drafted. into the army in 1958.  Started taking pills in the army as well.  He was released in 1960 and started his movie career, and made 33 films in the next 16 years.  He stopped perfoming live between 1962 and 1968 and focused on movies, mostly bad.

8. Comeback special in 1968.   (Youtube Clip)

9. by the time he died, Elvis had sold 500 million records!  He was very versatile, recording Country, Rock, R and B, and gospel.  Elvis won three grammys, all for Gospel songs.  He was exceedingly polite.  The biggest star in Rock and Roll.  Never wrote any songs, but produced every single one of his albums.

10. Elvis changed as he got older, and was more commerical and popish.  Many critics criticized him, but he survived and moved rock into a more acceptable form of music.  Many of the other great rock stars didn’t change at all.

3. Little Richard (Video Clip: Disc 1, Ep. 1, Chapter 21)

1. Born Richard Penniman in 1932, in Macon, Georgia.  Third of Twelve children.  Grew up in a religious household.  Family sang Gospel and travelled as the Penniman singers. Performed as a “Healer” at the age of ten.  Sang With Rosetta Thape at 13.  Left home at 14 and travelled as a performer with Blues Bands and a travelling Medicine show.  Returned home after his father was killed outside a bar.

2. Started recording in 1951, but had no sucess until he was signed to Specality records in 1955.  Was signed as a blues singer and was going to be marketed against BB King and Ray Charles, but during a break at a recording sessions started playing his version of Tutti Frutti (original lyrics “Tutti Frutti, Good Booty) and the producer heard it and recorded it.

3. Had a string of hits between 1955-57, including "Long Tall Sally", "Rip It Up". "The Girl Can't Help It", "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Jenny, Jenny", "Good Golly, Miss Molly", and "Keep A Knockin'".   Wrote all his own songs.

4. Quit Rock music in 1957, claiming he had had a vision of his own Damnation.  He recorded Gospel albums and toured the gospel circuit.  He didn’t do any of his rock songs.   He also went to bible college and got married.

5. Made comeback in 1962 with a tour of England.   One of his opening acts was the Beatles.  In 1963 The Rolling Stones opened.  In 1964, Jimi Hendrix was his guitar player.  Hendrix said later “ I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice.”

6. Contined to tour through out the 60’s and 70’s, went back to the church in 1977.  Has gone back and forth since, and has continued to put out albums from time to time.

4. Chuck Berry (video Clip: Disc 1 Ep.1, Chapter 20)

1. Born in St. Louis in 1926.  Sang in Church choir as a child.  Didn’t grow up as poor as many performers, but still spent three years in reform school as a teenager.  Started performing in 1953 in blues clubs with Johnnie Johnson.  Also had an interest in Country music, which was the most popular music in St. Louis.  Quote "Curiosity provoked me to lay a lot of our country stuff on our predominantly black audience and some of our black audience began whispering 'who is that black hillbilly at the Cosmo?' After they laughed at me a few times they began requesting the hillbilly stuff and enjoyed dancing to it."

2.  Signed to Chess Records.  His first hit was a old country song called “Ida red” By Bob Wills which was rewritten as “Maybelline” by Berry and Leonard Chess.  Alan Freed agreed to promote the song if he got a songwriting credit.  It became a number one hit.

3.  Berry had many big hits from then on, including Roll Over Beethoven, Johnny B Goode, and about 10 others.  ( chuck Berry Youtube clip..Maybe)

4. Went to jail for violating the Mann Act. It banned the interstate transport of females for “immoral purposes”. Its primary stated intent was to address prostitution and immorality. The act is better known as the Mann Act, after James Robert Mann, an American lawmaker.  In December 1959, after scoring a string of hit songs and while touring often, Berry had legal problems after he invited a 14-year-old Apache waitress whom he met in Mexico to work as a hat check girl at Berry's Club Bandstand, his nightclub in St. Louis. After being fired from the club, the girl was arrested on a prostitution charge and Berry was arrested under the Mann Act. Berry was convicted, fined $5,000 and sentenced to five years in prison. Got out in 1963, and had a few more hits, including No Particular place to go, and You never can tell.

5.  Wrote all his own songs and was a more advanced lyricist than many.  (Lyric clip)

6. Race relations, and chuck berry, Little RIchard (video Clip: Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 1, 2, 3.)

5. Buddy Holly (Video Clip: Disc 1, Ep.2 Chapter 10, 11)

1. Born in 1936 in Lubbock Texas

2. Wrote all his own songs.  Formed the Crickets in 1956, had big hits throughout 1957 and 1958.  Broke up the crickets in 1958 and formed a new band.  Was going to a new softer sound when he was killed in Feburary 1959 airplane crash with Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper.  Waylon Jennings almost got on the plane.

6. Jerry Lee Louis (Video Clip: Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 9)

1. Born in 1935 in Louisianna.  Grew up playing piano with his cousin, Jimmy Swaggart.  Kicked out of Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas for playing secular rock music at a talent show.  Started playing the club circuit in the south.

2. Signed to Sun Records in 1956.  Had his first hit, “whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on”, in 1957. Known as “the Killer” for his performance style.

3. in December 1957, married his 13 year old second cousin Myra, while he was still married to his second wife.  This was discovered by the english press in 1958 when he took her on tour.  He was blackballed by the industry and never  really recovered, although he did have one or two more hits.  He had gone back to playing clubs for 100 night at one point.  He switched to Country Music in the late 60’s and had 10 #1 hits and lots of chart sucess.  he still performs.

7.   Video Clip: Payola. Disc 1, Ep. 2, Chapter 15