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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. This is RayFreeman, with Rich Kleinfeldt. Today we begin the story of the firstfifty years of rock and roll.

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Rock and roll combines many kinds of American music -- countrymusic, folk music, church music, work songs, blues and jazz. Rockand roll developed in the early nineteen-fifties from a kind ofmusic called rhythm and blues. Black singers and musicians performedrhythm and blues. At first, this music was popular only withAfrican-Americans.

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But, during the early nineteen-fifties, the popularity of rhythmand blues music spread. It became very popular among white youngpeople. They listened to this music on radio stations that broadcastacross the country late at night. Some teenagers began buying rhythmand blues records as a form of rebellion. This music was verydifferent from the music that was popular with their parents.

The music was exciting. It had a very strong rhythm and beat.Some of the songs were about sex.

Some adults strongly objected to rhythm and blues music. They didnot think young people should listen to it.

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Alan Freed had a radio show in Cleveland, Ohio in the earlynineteen-fifties. He is said to be the first person to use theexpression "rock and roll" to describe rhythm and blues music. AlanFreed was one of the first to play rock and roll music on his radioshow. And he organized the first rock and roll concert in Clevelandin nineteen-fifty-two.

Songs by black performers like Fats Domino and Little Richardsoon became popular with white teenagers. These singers recordedtheir records in the southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

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ElvisPresley

Many experts believe that rock androll music was born in the southern city of Memphis, Tennessee. SamPhillips was a white record producer there. He produced records bylocal black musicians. One day, an eighteen-year-old truck drivercame to his studio to record a song for his mother. The young manwas Elvis Presley. Phillips produced Presley's first real record innineteen-fifty-four. Many experts consider it to be the first rockand roll song. It is called "That's All Right."

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Experts say another song is important in the history of rock androll. Bill Haley and his Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" innineteen-fifty-four. It was not popular at first. Then it was usedin a movie about rebellious teenagers, called "The BlackboardJungle." The movie caused a lot of debate. It also made the song ahuge hit. "Rock Around the Clock" became a song of teenagerebellion.

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Jerry LeeLewis

Many other rock and roll singersbecame popular in the nineteen-fifties. They included Buddy Holly,Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Each performer created his own kindof rock and roll. Chuck Berry's music was a mixture of country andrhythm and blues. In nineteen-fifty-five, his song "Maybellene" wasone of the most popular songs in the country.

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In the nineteen-sixties, black music and musicians becamerecognized as an important part of the music industry in America.This was because a company in Detroit, Michigan, called MotownRecords produced some of the most popular songs in American music.Berry Gordy started Motown Records. He was the first person topresent black music so it appealed to both blacks and whites. One ofMotown's most successful groups was the Supremes, led by Diana Ross.Here is one of their hits, "Come See About Me."

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A different kind of rock and roll music was developing inSouthern California. Five young men from Los Angeles formed a groupcalled the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson wrote, performed, and producedthe group's records. The Beach Boys' songs had complex music andsimple words. The words were about the local teenage culture. Thegroup sang about riding surfboards on the ocean waves. One of theirmost popular songs was "Surfin' USA."

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BobDylan

It was also in thenineteen-sixties that rock and roll music began to change. The wordsbecame as important as the music. Bob Dylan began writing songs thatmany young people considered to be poetry. Dylan was influenced byfolk singers and songwriters like Woody Guthrie. Dylan's early songsconcerned serious social issues. He wrote about war and racialinjustice.

Some of his songs were used as protest songs for the anti-war andcivil rights movements in America. Later, Dylan wrote more personalsongs. Here is one of his most popular songs, "Mister TambourineMan."

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In nineteen-sixty-four, a new rock and roll group from Englandinvaded America. Some say the Beatles' music shook America like anearthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll music forever.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by CatyWeaver and Lawan Davis. I'm Ray Freeman. Next week, Rich Kleinfeldtand I continue the story of rock and roll on THIS IS AMERICA, in VOASpecial English.

Visitors to America can learn more at the Rock and Roll Hall ofFame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Or visit, on the Internet,rockhall -- one word, rockhall.com.

We leave you now with one of my favorite rock and roll hits fromnineteen-sixty-one. Ray Charles sings, "Hit the Road Jack."

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