The Topic: Rock 'n Roll Music This project for Rock 'n Roll Music includes a collection of links to biographies of rock 'n roll musicians, bands, and other important figures in the history of rock 'n roll. So many good biography links were found that they have been organized and indexed on a separate Rock 'n Roll Biographies webpage. Visit it and find out more about the persons who made the 1950's and 1960's the golden age of rock 'n roll.   Easier - "Rock 'N Roll" is a type of music. It "shook things up" in the 1950s and 1960s. Many musical styles from around the world contributed to this new sound. Along with the African American influence, rock 'n roll also drew on the lyrical melodies of recent European immigrants and the country and western music of Texans.   First, the music became popular in small clubs and on the radio. Later, with the introduction of programs such as American Bandstand, teenagers could watch their favorite bands on television. Not everyone was excited about this music. Many parents didn't like the suggestive dancing, naughty lyrics, and loud, fast beat.   Harder - "Rock 'N Roll" is a musical genre whose 'golden age' is usually recognized as the decades of the 1950's and 1960's. This musical form had its beginnings in the blues tunes, gospel music, and jazz-influenced vocal music that became popular among African-American audiences after World War II. A new kind of blues, it featured electrically amplified guitars, harmonicas, and drummers that emphasized afterbeats. At the same time, black gospel music grew in popularity. These forms of black popular music were given the label rhythm and blues (R and B) and were played on big-city radio stations. Radio spread this music's appeal from black communities to towns throughout all of the United States. By the mid-1950's such performers as Little Richard, Joe Turner, and Chuck Berry were becoming popular with white audiences. Radio disc jockeys began calling their music rock 'n roll.   February 3, 1959 - The Day the Music Died from the Lexington Herald Leader http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/buddyholly/main.html 40-plus years ago, three rock 'n roll stars climbed into a small chartered plane in Mason City, Iowa, shortly before 1 a.m. As they say, the rest is history and many believe that Don McLean's American Pie is an anthem for that event. Related Websites: 2) American Pie http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1425/americanpie.htm 3) Buddy Holly Archive at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal http://www.lubbockmusic.com/buddyholly/index.shtml   Oldies Music: American Bandstand at About.com http://oldies.about.com/library/weekly/aa080899.htm Every afternoon, the familiar music of the theme song drifted from the televisions of thousands of teenage fans as they listened to the rock 'n' roll music they loved, watched "The Regulars" dance to the latest craze, and found out who the next teen idol was going to be.... all on American Bandstand . . . Other Bandstand Sites: 2) American Bandstand by C. Rich at Fifties Web http://www.fiftiesweb.com/bandstnd.htm 3) American Bandstand at Yesterdayland http://www.yesterdayland.com/popopedia/shows/saturday/sa1373.php 4) 'American Bandstand' and West Philadelphia http://www.upenn.edu/ccp/Ford/WPhila_AmerBandstand.html 5) Classic TV: American Bandstand at About.com http://classictv.about.com/cs/americanbandstand/ 6) Colored Reflections: The Fifties, American Bandstand http://www.coloredreflections.com/decades/Decade.cfm?Dec=1&Typ=3&Sty=1&SID=2   History of Rock and Roll http://www.history-of-rock.com/ This site explores the roots of rock. It follows the natural progression of styles beginning with the African musical traits brought here in 1619. These musical traditions were then fused with the European music of the colonists. It is also a story of American popular music that includes the plantation songs of Stephen Foster, the ragtime of Scott Joplin, and was followed by the blues, jazz, and jump bands. Other Related Sites: 2) History of Rock & Roll, Part I by H. Hepcat http://www.mjet.com/hepcat/history.htm 3) Rock and Roll History Online by G. Humphrey http://cfahs.org/rronline/ and http://www.englewood.k12.co.us/cfahs/rronline/ 4) Rock History http://www.rockhistory.cc/   Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum http://www.rockhall.com/ The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors the legendary performers, producers, songwriters, disc jockeys and others who have made rock and roll a force in our culture.   After visiting several of the rock 'n roll websites, complete one or more of the following activities:   Make a Rock 'n Roll Timeline. Make a timeline that includes the most important events in the history of rock 'n roll. You must decide when you think that rock 'n roll music first began and if and when its era ended. Then, pinpoint the significant events that occurred between those dates. Illustrate your timeline with pictures and drawings. Use the History of Rock and Roll and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for ideas.   Pick the Top 10 Performers of Rock 'n Roll. Put together a top-ten list of performers of rock 'n roll. Explain why each of your picks deserves to be included in this top-ten list. Create a poster that shows your choices for the top-ten award. Vote on your favorites as a class and put them in order down the hallway.   Create a Fictional Rock 'n Roll Performer. Tom Hanks created a fictional rock 'n roll group in the movie, 'That Thing You Do.' Now create your own fictional rock 'n roll performer. Draw a picture of your rock 'n roll star. Write a fictitious biography that details their musical career. Write a song for your group.   What Is Your Favorite Rock 'n Roll Song? Pick your favorite classic rock 'n roll song. See if you can find the lyrics at sites like Den's Oldies Lyrics or the International Lyrics Server. Looking at the lyrics of the song, analyze them as a piece of poetry. Explain their meaning or story.   Make a Map. Create a map of the United States. Identify the birthplaces and movement of your favorite rock and roll stars. Do you see any patterns?   Create a New Collection. Your mission is to select a person or group that you enjoy. Select your favorite songs to go on a "best of" CD. Create the CD cover including the song list and a front cover. Inside, write about why you like each song.   Dance! Along with Rock 'N Roll music, came a new wave of dances. Choose a favorite rock and roll song and create a new dance. Go to the dance page for ideas.   Debate "Today's" Rockers. Are there any new "Rock 'N Roll" bands or is the new music a different form? Take a stand on one side of the issue. Write an article for "Rolling Stone" magazine defending your position. Try another debate or discussion topic such as "Was there really a rock revolution?", "Why don't parents seem to like the same music as teenagers?", "Who's the greatest rocker of all time?".   Analyze Your Parents. What kind of music do your grandparents, parents, or older siblings listen to? Ask them about the music they enjoyed as teenagers. How is it like and different from the music you enjoy? Are any of them "rockers"? Share your musical experiences. Listen to their favorite songs and talk about their influence. Ask them to listen and discuss your music.   Websites By Kids For Kids Circuit Breakers History of Rock and Roll (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5944/ Some people just listen to it and they don't really know what is behind all of the music or how it came about. This site covers the major decades of rock and roll so a person can go through in time order.   Music: The Food that Feeds Our Souls (1998 Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/21342/ Read about the history of rock and roll, from the early blues-inspired music of the 50s, to the progressive art influenced styles of the 90s. A jukebox for listening to popular tunes, and artists' biographies round out the site.   Rock Emporium (1998 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/18015/ This site features the bands and individual artists who made their mark in this unique field of music. There are brief biographies of the artists and their bands, as well as links to other sites of interest. Rock Revolution (1998 Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/18249/resources/index.html?tqskip=1 Read about the history of rock, the different genres, artists, and great moments that have been defined by this music. Check out the essays and interviews.   More Rock and Roll Sites Bubblegum History! by D. Bangle http://www.mindspring.com/~doylex/bubblehistory.html This brief page provides an overview of the 'bubblegum' music genre.   Canadian Music Encycolopedia by J. Vernon & S. Vernon http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPages/home.html This database chronicles the history of 1,200 Canadian contemporary music artists from the 1950s to the present.   Changing the World: Rock 'n' Roll Culture and Ideology by D. N. Townsend http://www.dntownsend.com/Site/Rock/rcksum.htm This incomplete online text proceeds roughly along historical lines, discussing the evolution of the music and the culture and attempts to identify and explain the issues with which rock 'n' roll has been especially concerned.   Fifties Web by C. Rich http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fifties.htm This site includes information about the music of the Fifties decade.   Harmony Central http://www.harmony-central.com/ This site characterizes itself as the Internet resource for musicians and it has tons of guitar resources and links. Not-To-Be-Missed Section: 2) Guitar Tablature http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/tab.html Other Guitar Tablature Sites: 3) Guitar Tab Universe http://www.guitartabs.cc/   Den's Oldies Lyrics http://www.execpc.com/~suden/ Here you find a collection of song lyrics from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. Other Lyrics Sites: 2) International Lyrics Server http://www.lyrics.ch/index.htm 3) Lyrics Collection http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/paul/lyrics/   Oldies Music by R. Smith http://www.oldiesmusic.com/open.htm This site focuses on the music of the 50's, 60's and 70's with artist information, trivia, links, and more.   Rock and Roll at PBS http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/rocknroll/index.html This site has transcripts of interviews from the TV series plus biographies and more.    Rock and Roll History from WSHE http://www.cool100fm.com/onair/rrhistory.htm This site provides you with rock and roll trivia for the calendar date. Similar Websites: 2) This Day in Rock and Roll History http://www.arrowfm.com/cgi/history.pl 3) This Week in Rock and Roll http://www.classicbands.com/history.html   Rockabilly Hall of Fame http://www.rockabillyhall.com/home.html This site contains biographies of rockabilly artists and numerous links to other related sites.   Rolling Stone http://www.Rollingstone.com/ This is the online site for the magazine of the same name. This site contains some of the articles from the current issues plus archived articles from previous editions.   Stax Museum of American Soul Music http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/index2.cfm This online museum is about the Stax recording studio of Memphis, Tennessee. In 15 years Stax placed over 167 hit songs in the top 100 on the pop charts and an astounding 243 hits in the top 100 rhythm and blues charts.   We'll Always Remember by J. Lang http://www.hotshotdigital.com/tribute.html This rock obituary site pays tribute to deceased rock stars.   Websites For Teachers Programs for Teachers from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Grades 7-12) http://www.rockhall.com/programs/plans.asp Check out this large set of lesson plans that uses the history of Rock and Roll to teach lessons that span the curriculum and give insight into the significance of the role Rock and Roll has played in the evolution of American society.   Where Did Rock and Roll Come From? from AskEric Lessons http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Arts/Music/MUS0203.html The student will use specialized music reference sources to locate information about the origins of rock and roll.    rock and roll music surf guitar Fender amplifier drums music chords Stratocaster soul music British invasion acid rock guitar hippies western swing rhythm & blues country music jazz music boogie-woogie doo wop folk music surf music Motown payola 'day the music died' 'cover version' vinyl 45 rpm blues classic rock drum solo rockabilly big band / swing pop music band dance singer-songwriter       Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 7/01.