Rock and roll
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll), is an American genre of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and became popular in the early 1950s, and quickly spread to the rest of the world. It later spawned the various sub-genres of what is now called simply 'rock', usually accompanied by lyrics.
The social effects of rock and roll have been worldwide and massive. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have helped the cause of the civil rights movement because both African American teens and white American teens enjoyed the music. It also birthed many other rock influenced styles. Progressive, alternative, punk, and heavy metal are just a few of the genres that sprang forth in the wake of Rock and Roll.
Dance styles
From its early-1950s inception through the early 1960s, rock and roll music spawned new dance crazes. Teenagers found the irregular rhythm of the backbeat especially suited to reviving the jitterbug dancing of the big-band era. "Sock-hops," gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched Dick Clark's American Bandstand to keep up on the latest dance and fashion styles. From the mid-1960s on, as "rock and roll" yielded gradually to "rock," later dance genres followed, starting with the twist, and leading up to funk, disco, house and techno.
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