How 3 of the Most Popular Genres Got Their Names

We don’t often think about where words come from. We use them every day, never knowing who first uttered them. Take genres, for example. Who was the first person to coin “rock and roll” and who branded “the blues”? While these things developed over many years with many different people contributing–so it’s hard to pin down–you can learn how three of the most popular genres got their names, below.

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Rock and Roll

The term “rock and roll“, as we know it, was coined in the ’50s by a radio DJ, Alan Freed. Freed put a name to the burgeoning sound that was taking shape. Unlike country music (which most white, mainstream listeners were invested in), rock was rife with sexual energy. The sounds of Chuck Berry and Little Richard required a phrase that conveyed the same primal feeling. Enter “Rock and Roll”.

Like the genre itself, the term “rock and roll” derives from descriptors of black music in the ’20s and ’30s. The rhythmic quality of R&B during this era would fill dance floors. Freed took this and ran with it, labelling anything with groove after the movements it inspired. Even further back though, mariners since the 17th century have used “rocking and rolling” to describe the sway of a boat. It’s not hard to see how the term evolved from describing the motion of the ocean to invested crowds romping around the dance floor.

Jazz

The term “jazz” was first used in popular media by sports broadcasters. Any time a player would come out onto the field with no shortage of gumption, they would be described as having “a lot of jazz”. Those in the music sphere picked up the term in the early 1900s and started applying it to a new genre coming out of New Orleans and Chicago.

Despite the term catching on quickly with the jazz listening world, those in New Orleans were wary of it because of a dirty double meaning. “It was spelled ‘J-A-S-S.,’” jazz trailblazer, Eubie Blake, once said. “That was dirty, and if you knew what it was, you wouldn’t say it in front of ladies.”

Blues

The Blues have a long, storied history. The thought genre fully came to fruition in 1917 through juke joints in the American south, the term “Blues” has been around for much longer than that. In the 1600s, those suffering from alcohol withdrawal would be described as having the “blue devils”. Through the centuries, “blues” has been synonymous with feeling down and/or drinking too much. The latter was certainly true of the juke joints, and black Americans were still suffering under racist laws. Both of these factors led to branding the music coming out of such places as “the blues”, according to historians.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)