The History of Rock

Rosen, Steven. The History of Rock. 2009. 32p. ISBN 978-0-7787-3823-7. Available at 781.66 ROS on the library shelves.

Rock and roll music evolved out of country music and blues music as the young adults who grew up at the end of the Second World War began to hunt for a sound all of their own. The mixing of these two types of music, combined with the use of electric guitars and bass allowed Bill Haley and His Comets to record (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock, the first rock and roll song.

Over the next decades, rock and roll adapted to a new generation of young people, first giving us Elvis and his gyrations then the Beatles and the Rolling Stones before morphing into a fight against the system with punk and grunge. Metal bands appeared, singing about love, and post grunge era bands sang about social problems.

This short book is a concise history of rock and roll, and clearly explains the changes in society that affected the music played. Fans of music will enjoy this short introduciton.