Celebrating 60 years of Rock music. Update: 1959.

60 YEARS OF

ROCK

(1955-2015)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JULY 9, 1955

-“Rock Around The Clock” reaches #1 

1956

-Elvis becomes rock 'n roll's first major star.

 

1957 
-Buddy Holly & The Crickets: rock's prototype group.
 










1958
-Jerry Lee Lewis' career is damaged when he marries his teen cousin.

 

  







1959

-Buddy Holly dies in a plane crash with Ritchie Valens & Big Bopper 
- Ray Charles brings gospel to secular music & creates soul.

 

February 3, 1959 has been immortalized as 'the day the music died'. A tragic plane crash in a cornfield in Iowa ended the lives of rock 'n roll artists Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
Other rock artists experienced other difficulties in 1959. Chuck Berry was on trial for transporting a minor across state lines for immoral purposes. This hampered his career. Jerry Lee Lewis' popularity dwindled after his scandalous marriage. Elvis Presley was in the army. Influential DJ Alan Freed was being investigated for payola. Even  The Platters are arrested in a hotel room. Rock's biggest forces faced hindrances. 
In the meantime, there was a folk music revival thanks to The Kingston Trio. Ray Charles brought his church roots into secular music and created the soul genre with "What'd I Say".

   

Lloyd Price; The Flamingos