While it can be tough to pinpoint exactly when rock ‘n’ roll began as a genre of music, it’s not hard to tell where or from whom it was born. Emanating from the places where blues music ruled the roost, rock ‘n’ roll is a distinctly American genre of music that comes from the American Black South.
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The music, born in the 1940s and 1950s, is a direct descendant of blues, jazz, R&B, ragtime, gospel and boogie-woogie music. Since its salad days, however, it has become a multi-faceted, billion-dollar business with sub-genres galore and many a “rock star” hailing the music’s virtues.
But who were those folks who shaped the genre early on? To whom can the rock-loving public pay its utmost respects for creating, fostering, promulgating and carrying the musical style? Here are 10 artists who shaped the genre.
1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Born in Arkansas in 1915, Sister Rosetta was perhaps the first rock ‘n’ roll artist. Her gospel songs went electric with her signature devil-born guitar. One of the first to use distortion on her six-string, her proteges are the people all listed here below, in some way or another.
2. Chuck Berry
Born in 1926 in St. Louis, Chuck Berry popularized the genre in ways no one had before him. According to John Lennon, the genre should or at least could be renamed Chuck Berry. His songs like “Johnny B. Goode” helped turn the genre from gospel-inspired music to hip-shaking wonders.
3. Big Mama Thornton
Born in 1926 in Ariton, Alabama, Big Mama Thornton (who stood six feet tall) was the first artist to record the song, “Hound Dog,” which was later made famous by another artist, below. Thornton cut her version, which was written for her, in 1952.
4. Little Richard
Born in 1932 in Macon, Georgia, Little Richard kept the lively energy going thanks to songs like “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally.” His signature OOOOOoooooo inspired many in his wake, including the lead singers of the Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
5. Elvis Presley
The first artist to make rock ‘n’ roll a must-see and must-hear for mainstream America, Elvis Presley, born in 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, brought his hip-shaking, lip-quaking style to suburban audiences all over America and, later, around the globe. Of course, many say he was bringing Black music to white homes and while this is true, Elvis was also a groundbreaking performer in his own right. A magnet for attention no matter who was giving it.
6. The Beatles
The Beatles defined the 1960s and were part of the original British Invasion. Ironically, British rock bands were inspired by the Black American music that the culture at the time in the U.S. wasn’t ready to embrace. But England absorbed the rebellious nature of the music and spit back out iconic groups, beginning with the Beatles and including the Rolling Stones and others on this list. Today, many consider the Beatles, with its four distinct members, the greatest band of all time, rock or otherwise.
7. Bob Dylan
Perhaps the most influential artist of the 20th century and certainly one of the most important American songwriters of his time, Bob Dylan, born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, became famous for his folk-based songs, which often carried with them a message of protest or social uprising. But when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, he shook the world and angered many fans. But the result, more importantly, was songs like “Like a Rolling Stone,” which helped further popularize the genre while giving it a heady, even socially-important foundation.
8. Jimi Hendrix
If one man defines the electric guitar, it’s Jimi Hendrix. Very much in the genre of other blues players that went electric, like the great Buddy Guy, Hendrix, born in 1942 in Seattle, turned the instrument into a banshee and let it wail however it demanded. Forever atop the list of the world’s all-time best guitar players, Hendrix brought charisma and flare to the genre unlike any other. And he pushed the genre forward, ensuring there would be more sonic room beyond cuts like “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
9. Led Zeppelin
Post the mid-1960s an even bigger wave of rock bands grew. From the U.S. with outfits like the Doors to England with groups like The Who, The Kinks, Pink Floyd and the grandpappy of them all, Led Zeppelin. The biggest sounds, the hardest drums, the most sublime bass. And then there’s the lion-maned Robert Plant with his tight jeans and golden sunbeam voice. If any band embodies the “classic rock” sound that is beloved today it’s these fellas.
10. Heart
While Led Zeppelin gets all the credit, another group was right on their heels when it came to guitar and vocal prowess. Heart, which burst onto the scene in 1975 thanks to their debut album, Dreamboat Annie, boasts the power of groups like Led Zeppelin, but Heart also offers hope to prospective rockers who didn’t see themselves much in the genre. To this day, Heart is an example for all women rockers. The sister duo of Ann and Nancy Wilson helped pave the way for the Joan Jetts and Alanis Morissettes of the world. As well as other PNW rockers like Nirvana and Brandi Carlile.
(Photo by King Collection/Avalon/Getty Images)
