The First Rock and Roll Recording

Series produced by Jamie Dell'Apa

Caption: Tielman Brothers who did Elvis much better than Elvis Presley.
Tielman Brothers who did Elvis much better than Elvis Presley.  

Defining the first rock and roll song has been passionately argued about almost as much as the "other missing link," between primate and human. Both definitions rely on excluding complexity to create a simplistic linear progression. But culture (and protoplasm evolution) are infinitely more complex and beautiful than the crass commercialism of Elvis.

Every one of the 60,000 songs (and counting) played in this radio series is another point of audio evidence that countless musicians in vastly different countries using as many instrumentations, lyrics, chord progressions, sounds, etc. created limitless "first rock and roll" songs.

It wasn't the music that changed, it was us who changed. This show is about that shared experience of "us" as we accepted a style of creativity that came from a new-found confidence in bottom up governance, arts, literature, education, and consumers as the drivers of culture. We called it "rock and roll" but what actually changed was "us" as we gained confidence in democratic ideals after seeing the horrors of top down authoritarianism in WWII. The show turns the "first rock and roll record" argument on its head every week by presenting a couple hundred "musics you've never heard by musicians you've never heard of" rockers from the post WWII era and brings the listener to the conclusion that in music, "the only thing new is you."

The definition of "the first rock and roll recording" is as elusive as the "primate to human missing link" because we're asking the wrong question. Both emerged by chance from a nurturing environment and to look for a single record or protoplasm is to ignore great complexity in favor of finding a simple linear progression.

Every one of the 60,000 songs (and counting) played in this radio series is audio evidence from countless musicians from around the world using as many instrumentations, lyrics, chord progressions, sounds, etc. that are all counterfactuals for the "first rock and roll recordings." The "first rock and roll recording" isn't a simple historical progression, it is as unlimited as the artistic imaginations of uncounted musicians. Every week we find and present another 80 to 90 "first rock and roll" songs. You will hear in context what we all share - a cultural shift in the post WWII era where people across the world recognized and accepted a form of music that always existed. In hindsight, we called it, "rock and roll" but it had emerged in tens of thousands of songs, long before some the crass commercialism began marketing it as "rock and roll" Hide full description

The definition of "the first rock and roll recording" is as elusive as the "primate to human missing link" because we're asking the wrong question. Both emerged by chance from a nurturing environment and to look for a single record or protoplasm is to ignore great complexity in favor of finding a simple linear progression. Every one of the 60,000 songs (and counting) played in this radio series is audio evidence from countless musicians from around the world using as many instrumentations, lyrics, chord progressions, sounds, etc. that are all counterfactuals for the "first rock and roll recordings." The "first rock and roll recording" isn't a simple historical progression, it is as unlimited as the artistic imaginations of uncounted musicians. Every week we find and present... Show full description


1 Piece

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: The Pacifics (Australian Surf Band)
Music from the post WWII era when a new music emerged and caught fire in the US and around the world. At first it wasn't called rock and roll, it ...

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  • Added: Feb 26, 2021
  • Length: 02:57:13
  • Purchases: 2