Dr. J's Blog
Rock and Roll History, News & Views
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Chapter 1 - We're Gonna Rock
“We’re Gonna Rock.” Ch 1 features the history of the term rock and roll along with some of the first recordings done in that style. It also highlights the overall importance of Michigan artists, and features John Lee Hooker as an example of a blues artist from the South who brought his music to Detroit because of the economic opportunities offered by Michigan’s auto industry.
Chapter 2 - Michigan Hillbillies
Hillbilly was the term commonly used during the 1930s, 40s, and early 50s to describe what we now called country music. The auto industry also attracted people from the Appalachian highlands to better paying jobs in the Motor City; and they brought their music with them. Ch 2 features recordings made in Detroit by The York Brothers, Joyce Songer, The Davis Sisters, and Roy Hall, the man who wrote “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”
Chapter 3 - Rocking Around The Clock
Chapter 3 takes a look at Alan Freed, the disc jockey who popularized the term ‘rock and roll,’ and Bill Haley who was born in Highland Park and went on to become one of the first artists to combine hillbilly music and rhythm & blues into what eventually became known as ‘rockabilly.’ Bill Haley and the Comets’ recording of “Rock Around The Clock” was the first rock and roll song to be used in a Hollywood movie, and the first recording in that style to reach # 1 on the national music charts.
Chapter 4 - Motor City Fever
The 1950s saw Detroit emerge as a hotbed of rhythm & blues music. Ch 4 features important recordings by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, The Diablos, Andre Williams, Little Willie John, and The Falcons, whose 1959 appearance on American Bandstand, made them the first Detroit vocal group to appear on the program. Ch 4 also features a rare television appearance of Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, an important influence for many of Motown’s future stars.
