Rock and Roll Midterm Studyguide
girl groups
"Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles" example : The Crystals, The Blossoms, and The Ronettes ( Those three were recruited by Phil Spector), Martha and the Vandellas, The Velvelettes,The Marvelettes.
race records
"Race records were 78 rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans during the early 20th century, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. They primarily contained race music, comprising a variety of African American musical genres including blues, jazz, and gospel music, though comedy recordings were also produced. These records were, at the time, the majority of commercial recordings of African American artists in the US (very few African American artists were marketed to the "general audience"). Race records were marketed by Okeh Records,photo Emerson Records,photo Vocalion Records,photo Victor Talking Machine Company,photo and several other companies."
bluegrass
("Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of Appalachia.[1] It has mixed roots in Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English[2] traditional music, and also later influenced by the music of African-Americans[3] through incorporation of jazz elements.") "First generation Bluegrass musicians dominated the genre from its beginnings in the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s. This group generally consists of those who were playing during the "Golden Age" in the 1950s, including Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, the Stanley Brothers, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs"
Brown vs. Board of Education
(1954), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. This ruling paved the way for integration and was a major victory of the civil rights movement.[1]
rockabilly
(Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to early 1950s in the United States. It is a "blend of country & western and rhythm & blues" that... pointed the way to classic rock 'n' roll."[1] It has also been defined as "popular music combining features of rock 'n' roll and bluegrass." [2]) Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues. While there are notable exceptions, its origins lie primarily in the Southern United States.
Colonel Tom Parker
, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley.[1] Parker's management of Presley defined the role of masterminding talent management, which involved every facet of his life and was seen as central to the astonishing success of Presley's career. "The Colonel" displayed a ruthless devotion to his client's interests and took more than the traditional 10 percent of his earnings (reaching up to 50 percent by the end of Presley's life)
Wynonie "Blues" harris
... born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley among others.
Pete Seeger
... is an American folk singer. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists) that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement,
Nat "King" Cole
... known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer and musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. He was widely noted for his soft, baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. Vocal jazz, swing, traditional pop
Carter Family
...was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. Their recordings of songs such as "Wabash Cannonball", "Can the Circle Be Unbroken", "Wildwood Flower", "Keep On the Sunny Side" and "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" made them country standards.
Elvis Presley
...was an American singer, musician and actor. One of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll". Labels Sun, RCA Victor
baby boomers
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values. One feature of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before.
Radio DJ's
A disc jockey (abbreviated D.J. or DJ) is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" (sometimes spelled "disk", although this is now uncommon) referred to phonograph records, not the later compact discs.; Todd Storz was a disc jokkey who created top 40 radio programming.
boogie woogie
A style of piano music which orginated in black communities. Provided an important link between r n b and country music during postwar period. The pianist typically plays a repeated bass pattern with his left hand, down in the low range of the piano, while improvising polyrhythmic patterns in his right hand. Great boogie woogie pianists were pete johnson , Albert Ammons. Influenced R&B artists such as Louis Jorfan, little richard, fats domino, and jerry lee lewis.
teen idols
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged.The great success of young rock stars like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, film stars like James Dean and Sal Mineo in the 1950s, as well as the wider emergence of youth subcultures.Marketing of the teen idol generally focuses on the image.... The teen idol is structured to appeal to the pre-teen and young teen female pop audience member and children in general.
transitor radios
A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following their development in 1954 they became the most popular electronic communication device in history
Buddy Holly
American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll. His works and innovations inspired and influenced contemporary and later musicians, notably The Beatles, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Bob Dylan, Steve Winwood, and Eric Clapton
recording engineers
An audio engineer is concerned with the recording, manipulation, mixing and reproduction of sound. Many audio engineers creatively use technologies to produce sound for film, radio, television, music, electronic products and computer games.
Frankie Avalon
As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints. In 1959, "Venus" (5 weeks #1) and "Why" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Why" was the last #1 of the 1950s. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962
payola
BRIBES paid to radio DJs to promote their records.
civil rights
Between 1955 and 1968, acts of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience produced crisis situations between activists and government authorities. Federal, state, and local governments, businesses, and communities often had to respond immediately to these situations that highlighted the inequities faced by African Americans. Forms of protest and/or civil disobedience included boycotts such as the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56) in Alabama; "sit-ins"
Urban/Chicago blues
City or urban blues styles were more codified and elaborate as a performer was no longer within their local, immediate community and had to adapt to a larger, more varied audience's aesthetic. Boogie-woogie was another important style of 1930s and early 1940s urban blues. The Chicago blues is a form of blues music indigenous to Chicago, Illinois. Chicago blues has a more extended palette of notes than the standard six-note blues scale; often, notes from the major scale and dominant 9th chords are added, which gives the music a more of a "jazz feel" while remaining in the confines of the blues genre. Chicago blues is also known for its heavy rolling bass.
country and western
Country and western, the industry's new name for that what used to be called hillbilly music, mushroomed, in popularity after World War 2. Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjos, electric and acoustic guitars, fiddles, and harmonicas.
doo wop
Doo-wop (sometimes doo-wopp)[1] is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music developed in African American communities in the 1940s, achieving mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s.doo-wop features vocal group harmony with the musical qualities of many vocal parts, nonsense syllables, a simple beat, sometimes little or no instrumentation, and simple music and lyrics. It is ensemble single artists appearing with a backing group
Fabian
Fabian released a series of hit singles on Chancellor Records, including "I'm a Man", "Hound Dog Man", (US #9; UK #46),[2] "Turn Me Loose" (US #9), and his biggest hit, "Tiger", which reached #3 on the US charts. Other singles that charted included "String Along", "About This Thing Called Love" and "This Friendly World", which reached #12 on the US charts. At 15, he won the Silver Award as "The Promising Male Vocalist of 1958.
jump blues
First commercially successful category of r n b, flourished during and just after WW2. Generally made up of a rhytmic section and one or more horn players. Specialized in hard-winging party music, spiced with humorous lyrics and wild stage performances. The most successful jump band was the Tympany Five, led by Louis Jordan. (Jump blues is an up-tempo blues usually played by small groups and featuring horns. It was very popular in the 1940s, and the movement was a precursor to the arrival of rhythm and blues and rock and roll)
gospel
Gospel music is a music genre. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
Little Richard
He has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for over six decades. Penniman's most celebrated work dates from the mid 1950s where his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. His music also had a pivotal impact on the formation of other popular music genres, including soul and funk. Penniman influenced numerous singers and musicians across musical genres from rock to rap.
Sam Phillips
He was a producer, label owner, and talent scout throughout the 1940s and 1950s. He most notably founded Sun Studios and Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. Through Sun, Phillips discovered such recording talent as Howlin' Wolf, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. The height of his success culminated in his launching of Elvis Presley's career in 1954.
Pat Boone
He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. Christian, pop, country, rock and roll, patriotic. In the 1960s, he focused on gospel music and is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame
Hillbilly
Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas primarily in Appalachia but also parts of the Ozarks in the United States. Hillbilly music was at one time considered an acceptable label for what is now known as country music. The label, coined in 1925 by country pianist Al Hopkins,[3] persisted until the 1950s.
WDIA
In 1949 we see the inauguration of the first radio station dedicated exclusively to playing music for black audiences, in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring the popular blues musician and dj B.B. King.
cover versions
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song, usually by someone other than the original artist.
blanching of rock and roll
In the early 50's, as Rock and Roll took off commercially and was embraced by black and white American teenagers alike, a powerful, politically sanctioned racist backlash against the new art form was unleashed. Besides the fact that Rock and Roll was a decidedly African American art form, other complaints against it by the middle-aged white policy makers were the sexual overtones and foreign rhythms of Rock and Roll.
Brill Building
It is famous for housing music industry offices and studios where some of the most popular American music tunes were written. The building has been described[according to whom?] as "the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world. Located in NY.
Mann and Weil
Mann's first hit single as a writer was "She Say (Oom Dooby Doom)", a Top 20 song for The Diamonds in 1959. Mann co-wrote the song with Mike Anthony (Michael Logiudice). In 1961, Mann had his biggest hit to that time with "I Love How You Love Me", written with Larry Kolber and a No. 5 single for The Paris Sisters.
segregation
Racial segregation is separation of humans into racial groups in daily life.
Hank Williams
Regarded as one of the most significant country music artists. Genres: Country, Western, gospel, blues, honky-tonk, folk . In 1948 he released "Move it on Over," which became a hit, and also joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program. In 1949, he released a cover of "Lovesick Blues," which carried him into the mainstream of music
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and Blues. An African American musical genre emerging after world war 2. it consisted of a loose cluster of styles derived from black musical traditions, characterized by energetic and hard-swinging rhythms. At first performed exclusively by black musicians and aimed at black audiences, R&B came to replace the older category of "race records."
Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke, and on one recording as Dale Cook, was an American recording artist, singer-songwriter and entrepreneur. Cooke is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music[4] and is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music. Major hits like "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", and "Twistin' the Night Away" are some of his most popular songs
secularized gospel
Secularization or secularisation (see spelling differences) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward nonreligious (or irreligious) values and secular institutions. Secularized gospel = gospel unrelated to religious concepts/ideas.
Separate But Equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to remain equal.
skiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, and roots influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly associated with musician Lonnie Donegan and played a major part in beginning the careers of later eminent jazz, pop, blues, folk and rock musicians.
songwriters/performers
Songwriters were associated with publishing companies and wrote songs intended to appeal to the widest possible range of singers, in order to maximize publishing profits. Singers chose from the songs that were available and made their income from live performance.
soul
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States - where music such as that of the Motown, Atlantic and Stax labels was influential during the period of the civil rights movement. Brown James, Charles, Ray; Cooke, Sam; Franklin.
surf
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was especially popular from 1961 to 1966, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music. It has two major forms: largely instrumental surf rock, with an electric guitar or saxophone playing the main melody, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, and vocal surf pop, including both surf ballads and dance music, often with strong harmonies that are most associated with The Beach Boys
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP /ˈæskæp/) is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that protects its members' musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them accordingly.
The Chantays
The Chantays are an American surf rock band from the early 1960s, known for the hit instrumental, "Pipeline" (1963). Their music combined electronic keyboards and surf guitar, creating a unique ghostly sound
delta/country blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. The Mississippi Delta area is famous both for its fertile soil and its poverty. Guitar, harmonica and cigar box guitar are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar (usually on the steel guitar) being a hallmark of the style. The defining characteristic of Delta blues is instrumentation and an emphasis on rhythm and "bottleneck" slide. Country blues otherwise known as acoustic blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz.
The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. They are considered one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. The Funk Brothers played on Motown hits such as "My Girl", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Baby Love", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", "The Tears of a Clown", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave".
Library of Congress/Smithsonian
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, the de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus[2] in Culpeper, Virginia, it is one of the two largest libraries in the world by shelf space and number of books, the other being The British Library.
Diana Ross and the Supremes
The Supremes were an American female singing group and the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Most of their hits were written and produced by Motown's main songwriting and production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland.
The Surfaris
The Surfaris were an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A-side and "Wipe Out" on the B-side of a 45 RPM single.
The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group known for their success with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Known for their choreography, distinct harmonies, and flashy wardrobe, the group has been said to be as influential to R&B and soul as The Beatles are to pop and rock.[1]Three classic Temptations songs, "My Girl", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)", and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone",
Blackboard Jungle
The film marked the rock and roll revolution by featuring Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock",[2] initially a B-side, over the film's opening credits (with a lengthy drum solo introduction, unlike the originally released single), as well as in the first scene, in an instrumental version in the middle of the film, and at the close of the movie, establishing that song as an instant classic.
Top 40
The medium of radio played a critical role in the promotion of popular records of the era. Another attempt to control the uncertainty of the marketplace- was developed in the early 1950s by Todd Storz, a dj in Omaha, Nebraska.
producers
The rise of small independent record labels during and just after the war provided an outlet for performers who were ignored by the major record companies. The development of portable recorders made a big impact.
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Divided the role between songwriting and singing.
Alan Freed
also known as Moondog, was an American disc jockey.[1] He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s
The Drifters
are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed to serve as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter (of Billy Ward & the Dominoes) in 1953.
The Ventures
are an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Their instrumental virtuosity, experimentation with guitar effects, and unique sound laid the groundwork for innumerable groups, earning them the moniker "The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands"
The Coasters
are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood," their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller.[1] Although the Coasters originated outside of mainstream doo wop, their records were so frequently imitated that they became an important part of the doo wop legacy through the 1960s.
The Beach Boys
are an American rock band, formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Initially managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, the Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962.
The Crystals
are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961-1964 chart hits, including "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead singers, and were all produced by Phil Spector.
The Four Tops
are an American vocal quartet, whose repertoire has included doo-wop, jazz, soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, and showtunes. Founded in Detroit, Michigan as The Four Aims, lead singer Levi Stubbs. Among a number of groups who helped define the Motown Sound of the 1960s, including The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, The Temptations, and The Supremes, the Four Tops were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer; most groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. "I cant help myself"
The Who
are an English rock band formed in 1964. The release of their fourth album, Tommy, in 1969 was a major commercial and critical achievement, and subsequent live appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, along with the live album Live At Leeds transformed The Who's reputation from a hit-singles band into a critically acclaimed rock act.
The Rolling Stones
are an English rock band formed in London in 1962 who were in the vanguard of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the US from 1964-65 and an integral part of the counterculture of the 1960s. The Rolling Stones were also instrumental in making blues a major part of rock and roll, and of changing the international focus of blues culture to the more primitive blues. They were considered to be symbols of rebellious youth in their mid-1960s heyday, and were portrayed as the "Anti-Beatles"
The Hollies
are an English rock group formed by Allan Clarke and Graham Nash in the early 1960s. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and early 1970s. "Just One Look", "Look Through Any Window", "Bus Stop", "I Can't Let Go",
Stevie Wonder
best known works are singles such as "Superstition", "Sir Duke", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Genres Soul, pop, R&B, funk, jazz
Ben E. King
better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a US Top 10 hit in both 1961 and later in 1986 (when it was used as the theme to the film of the same name) and a number one hit in the UK in 1987, and as one of the principal lead singers of the R&B vocal group The Drifters.[2]
television
changes radio programming; influenced music shown on tv.
You send me
is a 1957 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke.
The locomotion
is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The song is notable for appearing in the American Top 5 three times - each time in a different decade
A Hard Day's Night
is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists. The film portrays a couple of days in the lives of the group. The film is considered to be one of the best and most influential musical films of all time.
Change is going to come
is a 1964 single by R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, written and first recorded in 1963 and released under the RCA Victor label shortly after his death in late 1964. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the 1960s' Civil Rights Movement.
My Girl
is a 1964 song recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label which became a number one hit in 1965. Written and produced by The Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, the song became the Temptations' first U.S. number-one single, and is today their signature song.
You Can't hurry Love
is a 1966 song originally recorded by The Supremes on the Motown label.
Dick Dale
is a Lebanese American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He pioneered the surf music style, drawing on Eastern musical scales and experimenting with reverberation. He worked closely with Fender to produce custom made amplifiers,[2] including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier. Precursor to Heavy metal
Cross Road Blues
is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic slide guitar. Although its lyrics do not contain any specific references, the song has been become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he supposedly sold his soul to devil in exchange for his musical talents
Boogie Chillin
is a blues song written by John Lee Hooker and recorded in 1948. It was Hooker's debut record release and became a No. 1 Billboard R&B chart hit in 1949. The guitar figure from "Boogie Chillen'" has been called "the riff that launched a million songs"
Hoochie Coochie Man
is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954 in Chicago. The song was a major hit upon its release, reaching #8 on Billboard magazine's Black Singles chart. The intro and verse to Muddy Water's version feature stop-time while the chorus features a refrain.[2] According to an account by Dave Van Ronk, Muddy Waters stated that the song is supposed to have a comic effect.[3]
Good Golly Miss Molly
is a hit rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1958 by the American musician Little Richard. The song, a 12-bar blues, was written by John Marascalco and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. Although it was first recorded by Little Richard, Blackwell produced another version by The Valiants, who imitated Little Richard, but sang the song even faster. Although the Valiants' version was released first, Little Richard had the hit, reaching #4.[1] Like all his early hits, it quickly became a rock 'n' roll standard and has subsequently been covered by hundreds of artists.
He's a rebel
is a pop/rock song by the girl group The Crystals, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1962. Written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector, it is considered one of the definitive examples of the Spector-produced girl group sound.
Choo Choo , Ch' Boogie
is a popular song written by Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, and Milt Gabler. The song was recorded in January 1946 by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. It topped the R&B charts for 18 weeks from August 1946, a record only equalled by one other hit, "The Honeydripper." The record was one of Jordan's biggest ever hits with both black and white audiences, peaking at number seven on the national chart [1] and provided an important link between blues and country music, foreshadowing the development of "rock and roll" a few years later.
He's so fine
is a recording by The Chiffons which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in the spring of 1963. One of the most instantly recognizable Golden Oldies with its doo-lang doo-lang doo-lang background vocal
Blue Suede Shoes
is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly (rock and roll) records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song was on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks, and spent 2 weeks in the No. 2 position.[1] Elvis Presley performed his version of the song three different times on national television. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran among many others.
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
is a song best known for the 1957 rock and roll/rockabilly hit version by Jerry Lee Lewis.
I want to Hold your hands
is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment.
I've got a woman
is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B/soul musician Ray Charles and released as a single in December 1954 on the Atlantic label as Atlantic 45-1050 b/w "Come Back Baby." Both sides later appeared on his 1957 album Ray Charles (subsequently reissued as Hallelujah I Love Her So).
Tutti Frutti
is a song co-written by Little Richard, which was recorded in 1955 and became his first major hit record. With its opening cry of "A-wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom!" (a verbal rendition of a drum pattern that Little Richard had imagined)[1] and its hard-driving sound and wild lyrics, it became not only a model for many future Little Richard songs, but also a model for rock and roll itself
Yesterday
is a song originally recorded by the Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. Although credited to "Lennon-McCartney", the song was written solely by Paul McCartney.
Surfin U.S.A
is a song performed by the Beach Boys featuring lyrics by Brian Wilson set to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen," written by Chuck Berry
Don't be Cruel
is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956.[1]
School Days
is a song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Chuck Berry, released by the Chess record label as a single in March 1957, and released on the LP After School Session two months later (see 1957 in music).[1]
Will you still love me tomorrow?
is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and originally recorded by The Shirelles. It has been recorded by many artists and was ranked among Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #126. The song is notable for being the first song by an all-girl group to reach #1 in the United States. The song is in AABA form.
Jailhouse rock
is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. The song was released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of Presley's motion picture, Jailhouse Rock.
Holland, Dozier, Holland
is a songwriting and production team made up of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian Holland and Eddie Holland. The trio wrote, arranged and produced many songs that helped define the Motown sound in the 1960s.
Hound Dog
is a twelve-bar blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton on August 13, 1952 in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in February 1953. "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at #1. It sold between 500,000 and 2 million copies.
Ed Sullivan Show
is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan.[1] It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows
Scotty Moore
is an American guitarist and recording engineer. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years.
Chuck Berry
is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956), "Rock and Roll Music" (1957) and "Johnny B. Goode" (1958), Chuck Berry refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive, with lyrics focusing on teen life and consumerism and utilizing guitar solos and showmanship that would be a major influence on subsequent rock music.[1] Lebel : Chess
The Gibson Company
is an American maker of guitars and other instruments, now based in Nashville, Tennessee. Orville Gibson founded the company in 1902 as "The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd." in Kalamazoo, Michigan to make mandolin-family instruments.[1] Gibson invented archtop guitars by constructing the same type of carved, arched tops used on violins.
The Four Freshmen
is an American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmonic jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires (Glenn Miller), The Pied Pipers (Tommy Dorsey), and The Mel-Tones (Artie Shaw), founded in the barbershop tradition. The Four Freshmen is considered a vocal band because the singers accompany themselves on guitar, horns, bass, and drums, among other instrumental configurations
Carol Kaye
is an American musician, best known as one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in history; Kaye was the bassist on many Phil Spector and Brian Wilson productions in the 1960s and 1970s. She played guitar on Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba" and is credited with the bass tracks on several Simon & Garfunkel hits and many film scores by Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifrin.
Connie Francis
is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw. Despite several severe interruptions in her career, she is still active as a recording and performing artist.
Berry Gordy
is an American record producer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.
Fats Domino
is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. Domino released five gold (million-copy-selling) records before 1955.[1] Domino also had 35 Top 40 American hits and has a music style based on traditional rhythm and blues ensembles of bass, piano, electric guitar, drums, and saxophone. Labels Imperial, ABC, Mercury, Broadmoor, Reprise, Sonet, Warner Bros. Records, Toot Toot
Jerry Lee Lewis
is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. He is known by the nickname "The Killer" and is often viewed as "rock & roll's first great wild man" An early pioneer of rock and roll music, in 1956 Lewis made his first recordings at Sun Records. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the South, but it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" that shot Lewis to fame worldwide.
Wanda Jackson
is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist who had success in the mid-1950s and '60s as one of the first popular female rockabilly singers and a pioneering rock and roll artist.[2] She is known to many as the Queen (or First Lady) of Rockabilly. hits between 1966 and 1973, including "Tears Will Be the Chaser for Your Wine", "A Woman Lives for Love" and "Fancy Satin Pillows
Chubby Checker
is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist". In September 2008 "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958, an honor it maintained for an August 2013 update of the list
Billboard
is an international news magazine devoted to music and the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis.
Please, Please Me
is the debut album by the English rock band the Beatles. Parlophone rush-released the album on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom to capitalise on the success of the singles "Please Please Me"
Please, mr Postman
is the debut single by The Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well
That's Alright
is the name of the first commercial single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. Presley's version was recorded on 5 July 1954,[1] and released on 19 July 1954 with "Blue Moon of Kentucky" as the B-side. It is #113 on the 2010 Rolling Stone magazine list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[2]
What I'd say
is the title of a song written by Robert Byrne and Will Robinson, and recorded by American country music artist Earl Thomas Conley. It was released in October 1988 as the third single from his album, The Heart of It All. "What I'd Say" was Earl Thomas Conley's seventeenth number one country single. The single went to number one on the U.S. and Canadian country chart's and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the U.S. country chart
Brenda Lee
known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis.[1] She is best known for her 1960 hit "I'm Sorry", and 1958's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", a US holiday standard for more than 50 years.
Muddy Waters
known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician who is considered the "father of modern Chicago blues". He was a major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s[3] and is ranked No. 17 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Brain Epstein
known as The Beatle-Making Prince of Pop was an English music entrepreneur, best known for having been the manager of the Beatles until his death in 1967.
Gladys Knight
known as the "Empress of Soul",[1][2] is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author. She is best known for the hits she recorded during the 1960s and 1970s, for both the Motown and Buddah Records labels, with her group Gladys Knight & the Pips
B.B. King
known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning the nickname "The King of Blues" introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed."
Roll Over Beethoven
s a 1956 hit single by Chuck Berry originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to replace classical music.
Twist and Shout
s a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally titled "Shake It Up, Baby" and recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by the Beatles with John Lennon on the lead vocals and originally released on their first album Please Please Me.
Rocket 88
s a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951 (accounts differ). The recording was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, who were actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm.
California Girls
s a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, featured on their ninth studio album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965). Written by band-members Brian Wilson (who conceived the song during an LSD trip) and Mike Love, the song features contrasting verse-chorus form. Upon its release as a single, "California Girls" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Maybelline
s a song recorded by Chuck Berry, adapted from the traditional fiddle tune "Ida Red" that tells the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance. It was released in July 1955 as a single on Chess Records of Chicago, Illinois.[1] It was Berry's first single release and his first hit
Spanish Harlem
s a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
The Twist
s a song that gave birth to the Twist dance craze. The song was written and originally released in early 1959[1] by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side (to "Teardrops on Your Letter") but his version was only a moderate 1960 hit, peaking at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] The song, and the dance the Twist, was popularized in 1960 when the song was covered by Chubby Checker.
crooners
sweet-voiced singers like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Nat "King" Cole, who used the microphone to create a sense of intimacy.
Little Douce Coup
the Beach Boys' fourth album, and third overall LP release in 1963. Little Deuce Coupe reached number four in the US during a 46-week chart stay and is certified platinum by the RIAA.
folk music
the music of "the people" ; associated with working-class, rural, southerners and their social and political struggles. Not expecting professional musicians; informal and noncommercial. Acoustic guitars were favored. Simple type of music; easy to learn. The early 1960s was a period of explosive growth for acoustic urban folk music. Appealing to college students.
John Lee Hooker
was a highly influential American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He developed a 'talking blues' style that became his trademark. Though similar to the early Delta blues, his music was metrically free. John Lee Hooker could be said to embody his own genre of the blues, often incorporating the boogie-woogie piano style and a driving rhythm into his blues guitar playing and singing. His best known songs include "Boogie Chillen'" (1948), "I'm in the Mood" (1951) and "Boom Boom" (1962), the first two reaching #1 on the Billboard R&B chart.
The Wrecking Crew
was a nickname coined by drummer Hal Blaine for a group of studio and session musicians that played anonymously on many records in Los Angeles, California during the 1960s. The crew backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history
Louie Jordan
was a pioneering American musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", he was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. Jordan regularly topped the R&B "race" charts, and was one of the first black recording artists to achieve a significant "crossover" in popularity into the mainstream; Band leader
Jackie Brenston
was an African-American R&B singer and saxophonist, who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the proto-rock and roll song "Rocket 88".
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" (1946),[1] "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.
Bo Diddley
was an American R&B vocalist, guitarist, songwriter. Influenced a lot of singers from his transition into rock. He introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged electric guitar sound on a wide-ranging catalog of songs, along with African rhythms and a signature beat (a simple five-accent clave rhythm) that remains a cornerstone of rock and pop
Willie Dixon
was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post-World War II sound of the Chicago blues most famous compositions includes "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "Little Red Rooster", "My Babe", "Spoonful" Leable : Chess
Robert Johnson
was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936-37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent. (Delta blues, Country blues) Johnson's records sold poorly during his lifetime. It was only after the reissue of his recordings in 1961 on the LP King of the Delta Blues Singers that his work reached a wider audience. Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues style.
Milton Berle Show
was an American comedian and actor. As the host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater (1948-55), he was the first major American television star[1] and was known to millions of viewers as "Uncle Miltie" and "Mr. Television" during TV's golden age.
Leo Fender
was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short. In January 1965, he sold the company to CBS and later founded two other musical instrument companies, Music Man and G&L Musical Instruments. The guitars, bass guitars, and amplifiers he designed from the 1940s on are still relevant: the Fender Telecaster (1950) was the first mass-produced solid body electric guitar
Les Paul
was an American jazz, country and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, which made the sound of rock and roll possible.[6] He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound),[7] delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention
Bill Monroe
was an American mandolinist who helped create the style of music known as bluegrass. The genre takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys", named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. He is often referred to as The Father of Bluegrass.[1]
American Bandstand
was an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC
Ike Turner
was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk. He is most popularly known for his 1960s work with his then wife, Tina Turner, in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. life. His first recording, "Rocket 88", with the Kings of Rhythm, credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", in 1951 is considered a contender for "first rock and roll song". Turner recorded for many of the key R&B record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, including Chess, Modern, Trumpet, Flair and Sue.
Chess brothers
was an American record company based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz recordings, released on several labels including Chess, Checker, Argo and Cadet. Formed and run by Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, the company produced and released many important singles and albums, which are now regarded as central to the rock music canon.
"Big Mama" Thornton
was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog" in 1952,[1] which became her biggest hit. It spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B charts in 1953[2] and sold almost two million copies.[3] However, her success was overshadowed three years later, when Elvis Presley recorded his more popular rendition of "Hound Dog". Songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were present at the recording,
Bill Haley and the Comets
was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.
Eddie Cochran
was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a lasting influence on rock music. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the late 1950s and early 1960s
Frankie Lymon
was an American rock and roll/rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, best known as the boy soprano lead singer of the New York City-based early rock and roll group, The Teenagers. The Teenagers' first single, 1956's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", was also their biggest hit.
Janis Martin
was an American rockabilly and country music singer. She was one of the few women working in the male-dominated rock and roll music field during the 1950s and one of country music's early female innovators. Martin was nicknamed the Female Elvis for her dance moves on stage, similar to those of Elvis Presley.
Carl Perkins
was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954. His best known song is "Blue Suede Shoes" Called "the King of Rockabilly", he was inducted into the Rock and Roll,
Frank Sinatra
was an American singer and film actor. Beginning his musical career in the swing era as the boy singer with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra found unprecedented success as a solo artist from the early to mid-1940s after being signed by Columbia Records in 1943. Sinatra left Capitol to found his own record label, Reprise Records in 1961
Jackie Wilson
was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was considered a master showman, one of the most dynamic and influential singers and performers in R&B and rock history.[1][2] Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957
Mary Wells
was an American singer who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s. Along with The Miracles, The Temptations, The Supremes, and the Four Tops, Wells was said to have been part of the charge in black music onto radio stations and record shelves of mainstream America, "bridging the color lines in music at the time. hit singles composed mainly by Smokey Robinson, including "Two Lovers" (1962), the Grammy-nominated "You Beat Me to the Punch" (1962) and her signature hit, "My Guy" (1964), she became recognized as "The Queen of Motown"
Richie Valens
was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted only eight months.[1] During this time, he had several hits, most notably "La Bamba", which was originally a Mexican folk song. Valens transformed the song into one with a rock rhythm and beat, and it became a hit in 1958,[2][3] making Valens a pioneer of the Spanish-speaking rock and roll movement.
Marvin Gaye
was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Gaye helped to shape the sound of Motown Records in the 1960s with a string of hits including "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and duet recordings with Mary Wells and Tammi Terrell, later earning the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
Johnny Cash
was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author[2] who was considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.[3][4] Although he is primarily remembered as a country icon, his songs and sound spanned other genres including rock and roll and rockabilly —especially early in his career—and blues, folk, and gospel. Cash was known for his deep, distinctive bass-baritone voice,[a][6] for the "boom-chicka-boom" sound of his Tennessee Three backing band; for a rebelliousness,[7][8] coupled with an increasingly somber and humble demeanor "Folsom Blue Prison"
Ray Charles
was an American singer-songwriter, musician and composer known as Ray Charles. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records.[2][3][4] He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums
Howlin' Wolf
was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. Burnett is commonly ranked among the leading performers in electric blues. , he was an imposing presence with one of the loudest and most memorable voices of all the "classic" 1950s Chicago blues singers. Label : Chess
Alan Lomax
was one of the great American field collectors of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a folklorist, ethnomusicologist, archivist, writer, scholar, political activist, oral historian, and film-maker. Lomax also produced recordings, concerts, and radio shows in the US and in England, which played an important role in both the American and British folk revivals of the 1940
good rockin' tonight
was originally a jump blues song released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown[1] and was covered by many other recording artists. The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, there's good rocking tonight!" The song anticipated elements of rock and roll music
Leiber and Stoller
were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Don't", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" (with Ben E. King), and "On Broadway" (with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil).
The Jackson Five
were a American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. Active from 1964 to 1990, the Jacksons played from a repertoire of R&B, soul, pop and (in the 1970s) disco. During their six-and-a-half-year Motown tenure, The Jackson 5 was one of the biggest pop-music acts of the 1970s,[1] and the band served as the launching pad for the solo careers of their lead singers Jermaine and Michael,
Them
were a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career.[1] The original five member band consisted of Morrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon. The group was marketed in the United States as part of the British Invasion
Jan and Dean
were a rock and roll duo, popular from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s. They were pioneers of the vocal "surf music" craze that was popularized by The Beach Boys. Among their most successful songs was "Surf City", which topped both the Billboard and Cashbox music charts in June 1963; "Drag City".
The Ronettes
were an American 1960s girl group from New York City. Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Spector's Philles Records in March 1963. "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up", and "Walking in the Rain," all of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Weavers
were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and sold millions of records at the height of their popularity. Their hard-driving string-band style inspired the commercial "folk boom" that followed them in the 1950s and 1960s
The Shirelles
were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early 1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston-Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McPherson), and Beverly Lee. They have been described as either the first African-American girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100, or the first girl group overall, with the song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow".
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
were an American rhythm and blues group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most influential and important groups in Pop and R&B Music history. he group began working with songwriter Berry Gordy, who helped to produce their first records for the End and Chess record labels before establishing Tamla Records in 1959 signing the Miracles as its first act. The group eventually scored the label's first million-selling hit record with "Shop Around" in 1960
The Animals
were an English band of the 1960s, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic No.1 hit single, "The House of the Rising Sun."
The Beatles
were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. the Beatles are the best-selling band in the United States, with 177 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.
The Kinks
were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock groups of the era.[1][2] Their music was influenced by a wide range of genres, including rhythm and blues, British music hall, folk and country
The Chiffons
were an all girl group originating from the Bronx area of New York in 1960. The group was named the Chiffons name when recording and releasing their first single, "He's So Fine," written by Ronald Mack, produced by the Tokens of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" fame, and released on the Laurie Records label.
The Marvelettes
were an all-girl group who achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. The group was the first major successful act of Motown Records after The Miracles and were its first significant successful girl group on the label's early years after the release of the number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.
The Contours
were one of the early African-American soul singing groups signed to Motown Records. The group is best known for its Billboard Top 10 hit, "Do You Love Me," a million-selling song that peaked twice in the Top 20.
Righteous Brothers
were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003. Their emotive vocal stylings were sometimes dubbed "blue-eyed soul".[1] Medley and Hatfield both possessed exceptional vocal talent, with range, control and tone that helped them create a strong and distinctive duet sound and also to perform as soloists.