[78-L] Subject: Re: Birth of Rock 'n' Roll

[Steven C. Barr]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cary Ginell" <soundthink at live.com>
> But I still believe what Margaret reminds us of, the notion that rocking 
> R&B, early rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, and rockabilly are four different kinds 
> of music from the 1950s. Instead of trying to find the "first" rock 'n' 
> roll record from our vantage point 50-60 years away, what was the first 
> act or group referred to as rock 'n' roll by those from that time? If this 
> means bringing Alan Freed into the picture, OK. When he first used the 
> term, what record did he apply it to? We should bear in mind, of course, 
> that Freed didn't invent the term. It had been on records several decades 
> before Freed used it (a Boswell Sisters Brunswick comes to mind), but in 
> the context of the 1950s, who was the first artist to be called a rock 'n' 
> roll artist or group?
>
The Boswell's' tune is about a ship "rocking and rolling" on the ocean! 
Other than that,
the phrase was an early euphemism for sex...!

Steven C. Barr