THIS IS AMERICA - Rock and Roll History, Part 1

THIS IS AMERICA - Rock and Roll History, Part 1
By Shelley Gollust

Broadcast: Monday, March 29, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. This is Ray Freeman, with Rich Kleinfeldt. Today we begin the story of the first fifty years of rock and roll.

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VOICE TWO:

Rock and roll combines many kinds of American music -- country music, folk music, church music, work songs, blues¹ and jazz. Rock and roll developed in the early nineteen-fifties from a kind of music called rhythm and blues. Black singers and musicians performed rhythm and blues. At first, this music was popular only with African-Americans.

VOICE ONE:

But, during the early nineteen-fifties, the popularity² of rhythm and blues music spread. It became very popular among white young people. They listened to this music on radio stations that broadcast across the country late at night. Some teenagers began buying rhythm and blues records as a form of rebellion³. This music was very different from the music that was popular with their parents.

The music was exciting. It had a very strong rhythm and beat. Some of the songs were about sex.

Some adults strongly objected to rhythm and blues music. They did not think young people should listen to it.

VOICE TWO:

Alan Freed had a radio show in Cleveland, Ohio in the early nineteen-fifties. He is said to be the first person to use the expression "rock and roll" to describe rhythm and blues music. Alan Freed was one of the first to play rock and roll music on his radio show. And he organized the first rock and roll concert in Cleveland in nineteen-fifty-two.

Songs by black performers like Fats Domino and Little Richard soon became popular with white teenagers. These singers recorded their records in the southern city of New Orleans, Louisiana.

VOICE ONE:

 
Elvis Presley
Many experts believe that rock and roll music was born in the southern city of Memphis, Tennessee. Sam Phillips was a white record producer there. He produced records by local black musicians. One day, an eighteen-year-old truck driver came to his studio to record a song for his mother. The young man was Elvis Presley. Phillips produced Presley's first real record in nineteen-fifty-four. Many experts consider it to be the first rock and roll song. It is called "That's All Right."

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VOICE TWO:

Experts say another song is important in the history of rock and roll. Bill Haley and his Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in nineteen-fifty-four. It was not popular at first. Then it was used in a movie about rebellious⁴ teenagers, called "The Blackboard Jungle." The movie caused a lot of debate. It also made the song a huge hit. "Rock Around the Clock" became a song of teenage rebellion.

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VOICE ONE:

 
Jerry Lee Lewis
Many other rock and roll singers became popular in the nineteen-fifties. They included Buddy⁵ Holly⁶, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Each performer created his own kind of rock and roll. Chuck Berry's music was a mixture of country and rhythm and blues. In nineteen-fifty-five, his song "Maybellene" was one of the most popular songs in the country.

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VOICE TWO:

In the nineteen-sixties, black music and musicians became recognized as an important part of the music industry in America. This was because a company in Detroit, Michigan, called Motown Records produced some of the most popular songs in American music. Berry Gordy started Motown Records. He was the first person to present black music so it appealed to both blacks and whites. One of Motown's most successful groups was the Supremes, led by Diana Ross. Here is one of their hits, "Come See About Me."

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VOICE ONE:

A different kind of rock and roll music was developing in Southern California. Five young men from Los Angeles formed a group called the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson wrote, performed, and produced the group's records. The Beach Boys' songs had complex music and simple words. The words were about the local teenage culture. The group sang about riding surfboards on the ocean waves. One of their most popular songs was "Surfin' USA."

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VOICE TWO:

 
Bob Dylan
It was also in the nineteen-sixties that rock and roll music began to change. The words became as important as the music. Bob Dylan began writing songs that many young people considered to be poetry. Dylan was influenced by folk singers and songwriters like Woody Guthrie. Dylan's early songs concerned serious social issues. He wrote about war and racial injustice⁷.

Some of his songs were used as protest songs for the anti-war and civil rights movements in America. Later, Dylan wrote more personal songs. Here is one of his most popular songs, "Mister Tambourine⁸ Man."

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-sixty-four, a new rock and roll group from England invaded America. Some say the Beatles' music shook America like an earthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll music forever.

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Caty Weaver⁹ and Lawan Davis. I'm Ray Freeman. Next week, Rich Kleinfeldt and I continue the story of rock and roll on THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English.

Visitors to America can learn more at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Or visit, on the Internet, rockhall -- one word, rockhall.com.

We leave you now with one of my favorite rock and roll hits from nineteen-sixty-one. Ray Charles sings, "Hit the Road Jack¹⁰."

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1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

3 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

4 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

5 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

6 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

7 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

8 tambourine   

n.铃鼓，手鼓

参考例句：

• A stew without an onion is like a dance without a tambourine.烧菜没有洋葱就像跳舞没有手鼓。
• He is really good at playing tambourine.他很擅长演奏铃鼓。

9 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。