Listen to a curated playlist of the Tennessee studios, stars and hits that forged the early Rock 'n' Roll revolution.
rock 'n' roll
TN Rock 'n' Roll History
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It’s no wonder that the imagery associated with rock has to do with electricity and volume, as it became the force that fused all of Tennessee’s musical traditions—from gospel to country to blues to R&B—into one. Rock ‘n’ Roll was revolutionary because it represented fundamental changes that were happening in the country on many levels.
It happened thanks to technological advances such as amplification and new electric guitars, whose models had been
in the works since 1929. Most of all, it reflected the changing attitudes of the up-and-coming generation. With the dawn of radio in 1922, barriers of segregation were being overcome sonically, allowing white teens to hear the new blues and R&B records that were being released that were giving African Americans a voice to their experience, difficulties and dreams. This collision of worlds was made possible because of individual people as much as it was because of technologies. Among record store owners, disc jockeys, recording studio producers and musicians, there was a mutual respect present, in open platforms and shout outs, covers and collaborations. The bridge was being built long before Elvis came on the scene.
Electric guitars were brand new, and one of the first gospel R&B artists to share them with the world was a Black
guitar-playing, gospel-singing woman named Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She released her first song called “Rock Me” in 1938. It was tunes like these young Elvis would rush home from school to hear on the radio. Though Elvis is highly associated with Memphis because of Graceland, he was actually born in Mississippi. But it was his family’s move to Memphis that would shape his sound and provide him with the opportunity to share that with the world. When he arrived in Memphis, 13-year old Elvis found a few hang out spots, one of which was the local record shop called Poplar Tunes that was opened by two WWII army veterans. After coming back from the war, Joe Cuoghi and John Novarese considered opening a business with help from the new G.I. Bill. They first thought about a grocery. When they got their first arrival of bananas and...
