A Brief Overview of the Blues and Its Influence on Early Rock (Part 2)

Early rock and roll began to appear in the 1950s. When listening to some of the artists of that period, such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley, it is fairly easy to hear the influence of the blues. When the Beatles and a few other groups came along in the early 1960s, they introduced an entirely new and innovative sound. Rock began moving in new directions and no longer sounded so clearly like the blues.

Below are some clear examples of how the blues influenced early rock. First is a clip of Joe Turner singing "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in 1954. The style in which it is performed is called rhythm and blues (note that sometimes the term rhythm and blues refers today to the music of artists like Kanye West and other contemporary performers, though the similarities among these different artists are few). Rhythm and blues of the 1940s and 1950s featured electric guitars, drum sets, and jazz saxophones (think BB King). However, the structure of the songs they performed followed the early blues format. Hence, they were generally 12-bars in length and used the I-IV-V chords. The patterning of the lyrics were also heavily influenced by the early blues as well.

View Joe Turner's 1954 performance of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and try to listen for all the influences of the blues, such as the patterning of the lyrics as well as the I-IV-V chords.

Link

In 1956, Elvis Presley performed "Shake, Rattle and Roll." Note the similarities and differences. It is still recognizable as the same song. However, Presley speeds up the tempo, alters the lyrics and uses different instruments in the band. Presley is also more lively and animated than Turner was in the previous video clip. All of this combined to appeal to a white audience. Radio DJs promoted the new music to a white audience and the name got changed to rock and roll rather than rhythm and blues. Joe Turner's version of the song could be considered the first or one of the first rock songs to come along. However, the music was marketed to a limited audience. It did not become popular until white audiences grasped it. One can also look at early rap. It remained an underground music until white audiences embraced it.

https://vimeo.com/33955893 Link: Elvis Presley performing Shake, Rattle and Roll (1956)

Lastly, the influence of the blues I-IV-V chords in contemporary pop music is huge. Pop music (think Michael Jackson) is a sub-genre within the broader category of popular music. Have a look at the following video clip. Here, Axis of Awesome demonstrates how these three chords and the addition of a fourth chord (the VI chord) have been used over and over again in countless numbers of pop tunes. The only thing that differentiates one of these pop tunes (that uses these same four chords or the I-V-VI-IV chords) from another is the melody. Note that melodies can be copyrighted, but chords are generally not. So in pop music, it is okay to copy someone's chords, but not somebody else's melody). How many songs can you recognize from the video clip?

The Axis of Awesome: 4 Chords Official Music Video