Rock and Roll Mixtape

Playlist 

Zaiema Henderson

Dr. Harris

ENGL 2016-44378

November 28, 2023

Rock and Roll Mixtape

            The genre I picked for my mix tape is rock and roll. I choose this genre because I wanted to show how rock and roll was created and influenced from black people. The songs I choose for my mixtape are black artists that is known for rock and roll and today’s black artists that’s influenced by rock and roll. I will also explain the history of rock and roll from black artists, the artists that are known in rock and roll, and how today it influences artists.

            Rock and roll have been traced back as the 1920’s in Black music, when Trixie Smith recorded “My baby Rocks me with One Steady Roll” in 1922. Rock and Roll for African Americans is a mix of rhythms and blues with elements of swing, boogie-woogie, urban blues, Latin rhythms, and country (Maultsby, 2021). Artists like Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and other artists were among the first to transform the sound of rhythms and blues by introducing new musical elements. The rhythm, blues, and rock and roll songs of black artist influenced white people. Many white people were influenced and did covers from black artists in rock and roll by synthesizing the same rhythm and blues elements they use. Famous white artists like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Everly brothers were influenced by black artists in rock and roll. A black artist named Tom Wilson came up with the idea to add electric guitar, bass, and drums to Simon and Garfunkel’s acoustic track “The Sounds of Silence” it created the fusion of electric instruments and folk music that characterized a new sub-genre (Maultsby, 2021). Even though black artists created rock and roll, by the end of the 1960s, majority of artists and fans associated with rock and roll were white. The result of record labels and media decision-making linked musical genres to racial categories and that’s how rock and roll became known with white artists instead (Maultsby, 2021).

            One of the black artists I’ll be talking about that’s famous in rock and roll is Big Mama Thornton, Bo Diddley, and Jimi Hendrix. Big Mama Thornton is known as the Queen of Rock and Roll, and she’s known from her song “Hound Dog”. She influences rock and roll by helping shape the sound and style of “Texas-blues”, a blues sub-genre that includes swing and big band elements. Unfortunately, Elvis Presley re-record the song “Hound Dog”, and he got all of the attention form the song instead and that’s when he became “king of rock and roll” (Harding, 2020). The other artist I’m going to talk about is Bo Diddley and known as the “originator” of rock and roll. He’s known for the transition from blues to rock and roll and drove music into a new era with his rhythms and edgy guitar (Show, n.d.). The last artist I’ll be talking about is the famous Jimi Hendrix, and he is known for influencing rock and roll with his electric guitar. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as “arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history or rock music” (Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970), n.d.).

            Even today rock and roll still influences other genres and especially rap/hip hop black artists. Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd, Willow, Juice Wrld, Playboi Carti, and many other artists uses rock and roll as a big part of their music. They like to use electric guitars and other rock and rolls rhythms into their music. There’s a new genre called Opium and its music that contains to the rockstar lifestyle, and it’s highly influenced by rock and roll music and fashion. The artists that are part of this is Playboi Carti, Destroy Lonely, and Ken Carson. This shows that rock and roll played a big part in black people music back then and still is today.