1. The Baby Boomer Generation Begins

3. The RnR Generation 76,000,000 youths life parallels history of RnR
Pre-WWII vs Post WWII “Youth” becomes important
Material/consumer culture

4. The RnR Generation
Technology plays a part Console vs Transistor radios
45 records- cheap, small, accessible
‘Boomers’ feel special fosters adventure, idealism, Pop music connected to “image”

5. Start of RnR?
African-American music= R&B (sexually appealing to teens)
Cleveland, OH - RnR Explodes Here! Alan Freed, DJ Leo Mintz, record store owner
Cleveland Arena hosts 1st RnR concerts The Moondog Coronation Ball ,000 show up for a 10,000 capacity event!

6. Who’s on 1st?…
Dewey Phillips plays Elvis on radio (1st time) “That’s Alright Mama”
Bill Haley & The Saddlemen “Rocket 88” (written by Sam Phillips, Ike Turner & Delta Rhythm Kings w/ Jackie Brentson)
Fats Domino “The Fatman”
Chuck Berry “Maybelline”
The Crew Cuts “Sh’Boom”

7. Who’s Who After 1956 Little Richard - “Tutti Frutti”
Fats Domino - “Blueberry Hill”
Jerry Lee Lewis - “Great Balls of Fire”
Carl Perkins - “Blue Suede Shoes”
Elvis Presley - “Blue Suede Shoes”
Johnny Cash - “Ring of Fire”
Bo Diddley - “Bo Diddley”
Les Paul - performer/inventor of 1st solid body electric guitar

8. Elvis Aaron Presley Jan 8, 1935 - Aug 16, 1977
Twin brother Jesse Garon Presley (stillborn)
1st recognition singing in 5th grade (10 yoa); receives 1st guitar following January
After HS, Sun Studio Records Studios owner Sam Phillips notices him!
July 5, records 3 songs w/ Scott Moore, Bill Black (I Love You Because, Blue Moon of Kentucky & That’s Alright Mama)
2 days later That’s Alright Mama played on radio - Audience LOVES it!!

9. Elvis Aaron Presley Jan 8, 1935 - Aug 16, 1977
Sept 25, st/last appearance on Grand Ol’ Opry
Louisiana Hayride (radio & later tv in ’55) “Pre-Bandstand” DJ Fontana becomes his drummer
Manager, “Col” Tom Parker
Col. Parker negotiates RCA to buy contract from Sun Studios for $35,000
National Star in ’56, appearing on Dorsey Bros’s Stage Show, Milton Berle Show, Steve Allen & Ed Sullivan shows

10. Elvis Aaron Presley Jan 8, 1935 - Aug 16, 1977
Col. Parker officially manager in 1956, earning 25%
1st films: Love Me Tender (Aug ’56) & Loving You (July ’57) - 1st crossover artist!
Anti-rock movement: “Elvis the Pelvis” Jan 6, last of 3 performances on Ed Sullivan shown only waist up
Dec ’57 - Draft notice, given deferment for King Creole
enters army March 24, 1958; gets leave to see mom discharged in Jan 1960

11. Elvis Aaron Presley Jan 8, 1935 - Aug 16, 1977
During service time: Col Parker keeps releasing singles
Meets Priscilla Beaulieau in Germany, marry May 1, child - Lisa Marie Presley b. Feb 1, 1968
Off stage played by self-doubt, poor management, dissatisfaction with life
Hooked on prescription drugs, becomes recluse late 60’s
End of life- babble incoherently on stage, rip pants, obese, collapse on stage
Maintains frantic tour schedule

12. Elvis Aaron Presley Jan 8, 1935 - Aug 16, 1977
In 1973, Col Parker negotiates deal with RCA for rights of Elvis’s masters - lump sum
After ’73, Parker earning nearly 50% commission Presley NOT getting royalties on anything prior to ’73
Mid-70’s facing financial disaster
June 26, last live performance (Indianapolis, IN)
Aug 16, gf, Ginger Alden discovers Elvis dead in the bathroom

13. Movies
Loving You - (somewhat biographical) - when a down to earth guy goes too high too fast Contains an album worth of songs Mom & Dad in audience
Jailhouse Rock - (semi-biographical plot) - brooding ex-con thrust into starlight of Hollywood

14. RnR splits
Rockabilly white Southern Guitar players slicked hair
Doo Wop groups of 3, 4, North “A cappella” named for silly background sounds The Platters Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters, Shangra-La’s

15. Anti-Rock Movement
Anti-Rock movement starts almost immediately w/ birth of RnR
People afraid RnR would ruin kids
Parents afraid they’d lose their music
sets up “1959” issues

16. 1959 - Rock n Roll Almost Dies
Elvis - Drafted into army
Jerry Lee Lewis - marries 13 y.o. cousin
Chuck Berry - jailed (violated of Mann Act)
Little Richard - Leaves RnR for Ministry
“Day the Music Died” - J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly die in plane crash

17. 1959 - Rock n Roll Almost Dies
Religious objections; TV land family values
J. Edgar Hoover (head of F.B.I.) - Blames RnR on the Russians (Communism)
Black Board Jungle - movie shows teens at their worst; relate juvenile delinquency, drugs, pre-marital sex to RnR
Payola Scandal (Alan Freed, Dick Clark)

18. Beat Culture of ‘50s Started by Jack Kerouac
underground culture into drugs, poetry readings
The “beatniks”
pre-cursor to 1960’s psychedelic movement

22.  What do you believe is the most significant factor in the electric guitar supplanting the piano as the dominant symbol of Rock and Roll?
Emblem of the Future: Compared to a piano, an electric guitar looks innovative, futuristic, and is able to create new sounds.
Performance Mobility: The high-energy performance that would come to be associated with acts from The Who and Jimi Hendrix to Nirvana and the White Stripes becomes possible.
Financial Accessibility: For a teenager in postwar America, an electric guitar is more affordable than a new piano.