Rock and roll exploded in 1954–55, when Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bill Haley fused the rhythm and blues of Black neighborhoods with the country of white farmers.
Rock and roll shocked conservative 1950s America: “wild” music, sexual dancing, racial crossover. But it became the soundtrack of a new generation that wanted freedom, fast cars, and love. Classic elements: boogie-woogie bass riffs, guitar solos, drums accenting beats 2 and 4, impassioned vocals. Rock and roll gave rise to 1960s rock, punk, and metal. In Soviet Ukraine of the 1960s rock and roll was effectively banned, yet young people listened to it on “bone records” — homemade discs cut into X-ray films.
