Editing Rock and roll (section)

== Terminology ==
[[File:Birthplace of Rock 'N' Roll.jpg|thumb|Sign commemorating the role of [[Alan Freed]] and [[Cleveland]], Ohio, in the origins of rock and roll]]
The term "rock and roll" is defined by [[Greg Kot]] in ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as [[rock music]]".<ref name="kot-eb"/> The term is sometimes also used as [[synonymous]] with "rock music" and is defined as such in some dictionaries.<ref>{{cite web | title = Rock music | work = The American Heritage Dictionary | publisher = Bartleby.com | url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/R0279250.html | access-date = December 15, 2008 | archive-date = May 24, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090524012056/http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/R0279250.html | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Rock and roll | work = Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary | publisher = Merriam-Webster Online | url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rock%20and%20roll | access-date = December 15, 2008 | archive-date = April 27, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200427022831/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rock%20and%20roll | url-status = live }}</ref>

The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_UbAQAAIAAJ&q=rocking+and+rolling|title=The United Service Magazine|date=October 22, 2017|via=Google Books|access-date=November 19, 2020|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310165614/https://books.google.com/books?id=U_UbAQAAIAAJ&q=rocking+and+rolling|url-status=live}}</ref> but by the early 20th century was used both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals<ref name=hoy>{{cite web |url=http://www.hoyhoy.com/dawn_of_rock.htm |title=Morgan Wright's HoyHoy.com: The Dawn of Rock 'n Roll |publisher=Hoyhoy.com |date=May 2, 1954 |access-date=April 14, 2012 |archive-date=June 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624013348/http://hoyhoy.com/dawn_of_rock.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and as a sexual analogy. A retired [[Wales|Welsh]] seaman named William Fender can be heard singing the phrase "rock and roll" when describing a sexual encounter in his performance of the traditional song "[[The Baffled Knight]]" to the folklorist [[James Madison Carpenter]] in the early 1930s, which he would have learned at sea in the 1800s; the recording can be heard on the [[Vaughan Williams Memorial Library]] website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Baffled Knight, The (VWML Song Index SN17648)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/VWMLSongIndex/SN17648|access-date=2021-02-03|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310165729/https://www.vwml.org/record/VWMLSongIndex/SN17648|url-status=live}}</ref>

Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became widely popular. "[[Bosom of Abraham]]", an African-American [[spirituals|spiritual]] that was documented no later than 1867 (just after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]), uses the phrase "rock my soul" frequently in a religious sense; this song was later recorded by musicians from various genres, including various gospel musicians and groups (including [[The Jordanaires]]), [[Louis Armstrong]] (jazz/swing), [[Lonnie Donegan]] ([[skiffle]]), and [[Elvis Presley]] (rock and roll/pop/country).<ref name="AWG 1867">{{cite book|editor1-link=William Francis Allen|editor1-first = William Francis|editor1-last = Allen|editor2-link=Charles Pickard Ware|editor2-first = Charles Pickard|editor2-last= Ware|editor3-link= Lucy McKim Garrison|editor3-first = Lucy McKim|editor3-last = Garrison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHktAAAAMAAJ&q=bosom+of+abraham |title=Slave Songs of the United States|chapter= #94: Rock O' My Soul|page= 73|publisher= A. Simpson & Co|date= 1867}}</ref>  Blues singer [[Trixie Smith]] recorded [https://www.kunc.org/music/2013-11-09/trixie-smith-helped-give-us-the-term-rock-and-roll <nowiki>"My [Man] Rocks Me with One Steady Roll"</nowiki>]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-09 |title=Trixie Smith Helped Give Us The Term Rock And Roll |url=https://www.kunc.org/music/2013-11-09/trixie-smith-helped-give-us-the-term-rock-and-roll |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=KUNC |language= en}}</ref> in 1922. It was used in 1940s recordings and reviews of what became known as "[[rhythm and blues]]" music aimed at a black audience.<ref name="hoy" /> [[Huey "Piano" Smith]] credits [[Cha Cha Hogan]], a jump-blues shouter and comic in New Orleans, with popularizing the term in his 1950 song "My Walking Baby".<ref name="Wirt2014">{{cite book | last=Wirt | first=John | title=Huey "Piano" Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues | publisher=LSU Press | year=2014 | isbn= 978-0-8071-5297-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61i2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT75 | access-date=2023-06-27 | page=75}}</ref><ref name="JazzArchivist2015">{{cite journal |last1= Brock |first1= Jerry |date=2015 |title= Baby Doll Addendum and Mardi Gras '49 |url= https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A122157/datastream/PDF/view |journal= The Jazz Archivist: A Newsletter of the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archive |volume=28 |issue= |pages= |doi= |publisher= Tulane University Libraries |access-date=2023-06-27}}</ref>

[[File:Alan_Freed_1957.JPG|thumb|right|[[Alan Freed]] disc jockey who is credited with popularizing the term "rock and roll" in the 1950s, helping break down racial barriers.]]

In 1934, the song "Rock and Roll" by the [[Boswell Sisters]] appeared in the film ''[[Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round]]''. In 1942, before the concept of rock and roll had been defined, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine columnist [[Maurie Orodenker]] started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings such as "Rock Me" by [[Sister Rosetta Tharpe]]; her style on that recording was described as "rock-and-roll spiritual singing".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MAwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Rosetta+tharpe&pg=PT101 |title=Record Reviews |date=May 30, 1942 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=February 22, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=June 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601044236/https://books.google.com/books?id=MAwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Rosetta+tharpe&pg=PT101 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MAwEAAAAMBAJ&q=Rosetta+tharpe&pg=PT101 ''Billboard'', May 30, 1942], page 25. Other examples are in describing [[Vaughn Monroe]]'s "Coming Out Party" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=HwwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&pg=PT54 the issue of June 27, 1942, page 76] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430074303/https://books.google.com/books?id=HwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT54&lpg=PT54&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&source=bl&ots=dUpRjyrLKr&sig=OdCAOgvBtvWpSfBdJnBOWbBGKxw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=faeHUIHMDYTLhAehhoCYCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBjge|date=April 30, 2016}}; [[Count Basie]]'s "It's Sand, Man", in [https://books.google.com/books?id=OAwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&pg=PT62 the issue of October 3, 1942, page 63] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610145424/https://books.google.com/books?id=OAwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT62&lpg=PT62&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1942&source=bl&ots=8z5-VZ_8v2&sig=TZ7kcER2pGmGsux86CtvH3AJGHY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tKaHUODHNMKFhQejg4H4Dg&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBjgU|date=June 10, 2016}}; and [[Deryck Sampson]]'s "Kansas City Boogie-Woogie" in [https://books.google.com/books?id=RwwEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22rock-and-roll%22&pg=PT66 the issue of October 9, 1943, page 67] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629113948/https://books.google.com/books?id=RwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT66&lpg=PT66&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1943&source=bl&ots=XzXvW_I2Fc&sig=fGbWvxH_OcqGdA5kNAnhL8Tk9Hg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kKmHUMq8Es2FhQeXgoHoCw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22rock-and-roll%22&f=false|date=June 29, 2016}}.</ref> By 1943, the "Rock and Roll Inn" in [[Merchantville, New Jersey|South Merchantville, New Jersey]], was established as a music venue.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=YwwEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1943&pg=PT18 ''Billboard'', June 12, 1943] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511231357/https://books.google.com/books?id=YwwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT18&lpg=PT18&dq=%22rock-and-roll%22+1943&source=bl&ots=BmH_2BRc1J&sig=sbUT1QVjJNMo1pmBcIHMMwrM8Hc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GKiHUL6UBsqYhQfCzID4CA&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ |date=May 11, 2020 }}, page 19</ref> In 1951, [[Cleveland]], Ohio, disc jockey [[Alan Freed]] began playing this music style, and referring to it as "rock and roll"<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Freed |title=Alan Freed |date=March 4, 2018 |encyclopedia=Britannica |access-date=February 3, 2021 |quote=Alan Freed did not coin the phrase he popularized it and redefined it. Once slang for sex, it came to mean a new form of music. This music had been around for several years, but&nbsp;... |archive-date=February 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205212852/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Freed |url-status=live }}</ref> on his mainstream radio program, which popularized the phrase.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bordowitz|first=Hank|title=Turning Points in Rock and Roll|url=https://archive.org/details/turningpointsinr0000bord|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Citadel Press|location=New York |isbn=978-0-8065-2631-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/turningpointsinr0000bord/page/63 63]}}</ref>

Several sources suggest that Freed found the term, used as a synonym for sexual intercourse, on the record "[[Sixty Minute Man]]" by [[Billy Ward and his Dominoes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history-of-rock.com/freed.htm |title=Alan Freed |date=January 4, 2011 |work=History of Rock |access-date=January 28, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108124841/https://www.history-of-rock.com/freed.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/index.php/blog/395-ch-3-rockin-around-the-clock |title=Ch. 3 "Rockin' Around The Clock' |date=June 22, 2020 |work=Michigan Rock and Roll Legends |access-date=January 28, 2021 |quote=By the middle of the 20th century, the phrase 'rocking and rolling' was slang for sex in the black community but Freed liked the sound of it and felt the words could be used differently. |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125070350/https://michiganrockandrolllegends.com/index.php/blog/395-ch-3-rockin-around-the-clock |url-status=live }}</ref> The lyrics include the line, "I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long".<ref>{{cite book |last=Ennis |first=Philip |date=9 May 2012 |title=The History of American Pop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwJ4pa36cYkC&q=alan+freed+rock+n+roll+60+minute+man+dominoes+%22I+rock+%27em%2C+roll+%27em+all+night+long%22.&pg=PA18 |publisher=Greenhaven |page= 18 |isbn=978-1420506723 |access-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310165612/https://books.google.com/books?id=dwJ4pa36cYkC&q=alan+freed+rock+n+roll+60+minute+man+dominoes+%22I+rock+%27em%2C+roll+%27em+all+night+long%22.&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}</ref> Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source in interviews, and explained the term as follows: "Rock 'n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/alan-freed-dies|title=55 Years Ago: Rock 'n' Roll Fireball Alan Freed Dies |date=January 20, 2020 |work=Ultimate Classic Rock |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210201141742/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/alan-freed-dies|archive-date=February 1, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In discussing Alan Freed's contribution to the genre, two significant sources emphasized the importance of African-American rhythm and blues. Greg Harris, then the executive director of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, offered this comment to [[CNN]]: "Freed's role in breaking down racial barriers in American pop culture in the 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality 'at the vanguard' and made him 'a really important figure{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/03/showbiz/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-alan-freed/index.html |title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ousts DJ Alan Freed's ashes, adds Beyonce's leotards |date=August 4, 2014 |work=CNN |access-date=January 27, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201091038/https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/03/showbiz/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-alan-freed/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After Freed was honored with a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], the organization's Web site offered this comment: "He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://walkoffame.com/alan-freed/ |title=Alan Freed |date=May 27, 1991 |work=Walk of Fame |access-date=January 27, 2021 |quote= |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202011533/https://walkoffame.com/alan-freed/ |url-status=live |author1=Chad }}</ref>

Not often acknowledged in the history of rock and roll, [[Todd Storz]], the owner of radio station KOWH in [[Omaha]], Nebraska, was the first to adopt the [[Top 40]] format (in 1953), playing only the most popular records in rotation. His station, and the numerous others which adopted the concept, helped to promote the genre: by the mid 50s, the playlist included artists such as "[[Elvis Presley|Presley]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis|Lewis]], [[Bill Haley|Haley]], [[Chuck Berry|Berry]] and [[Fats Domino|Domino]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1992/06/28/from-hit-parade-to-top-40/4550deaf-6e31-4e99-bcbe-0c7378bf1cd3/ |title=From Hit Parade to Top 40 |date=June 28, 1992 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 4, 2021 |quote=in the mid- to late '50s with upstarts named Presley, Lewis, Haley, Berry and Domino |archive-date=June 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601044234/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1992/06/28/from-hit-parade-to-top-40/4550deaf-6e31-4e99-bcbe-0c7378bf1cd3/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Michael K |date=May 9, 2014 |title=The Emergence of Rock and Roll: Music and the Rise of American Youth Culture, Timeline |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWeLAwAAQBAJ&q=Rock%27n%27Roll++evolved+1940s+and+50s |location= |publisher=Routledge |page= |isbn=978-0415833134 |access-date=May 4, 2021 |archive-date=June 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601044214/https://books.google.com/books?id=QWeLAwAAQBAJ&q=Rock%27n%27Roll++evolved+1940s+and+50s |url-status=live }}</ref>