History of Rock and Roll Exam
#1(100% Accurate)
What is Tin Pan Alley? - ANSWERProfessional songwriters who wrote songs for Vaudeville, Broadway
musicals, and Hollywood movies.
What are 3 characteristics of Tin Pan Alley style songs? - ANSWERSentimental lyrics, memorable
melodies, simple rhythms, moderate tempos, sophisticated harmonies & forms
What are 2 characteristics of crooning? - ANSWERintimate vocals and electronic microphone
Name 2 Pop Crooners. - ANSWERFrank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, & Perry Como
Who were The Majors? List 2. - ANSWERLargest, most profitable & most powerful record
companies / RCA Victor, Columbia, Capital, Mercury, & Decca
Describe "Indies" in the pre-rock era. - ANSWERSmall independent record companies that served
specialty & regional markets and promoted marginalized musical style (R&B and C&W).
What was the first Race record? - ANSWER"Crazy Blues" by Mamie Smith/1920/Okeh Records
Describe the blues. - ANSWERMost influential African-American musical style, developed in Deep
South by poor black workers living in extreme poverty & racial oppression.
Name 3 Blues styles. - ANSWERCountry Blues, Classic Blues, Jazz Blues, Jump Blues, Blues Crooners,
Urban-Electric Blues, Rock Blues
What are 3 characteristics of Mississippi Delta Blues? - ANSWERMoaning vocals, rhythmic guitar,
bottleneck slide technique, guitar riffs, 12-bar musical form, AAB text form
What is the Bottleneck Slide technique? - ANSWERUse of a broken bottleneck or metal tube slipped
over the finger to slide over strings on a guitar neck. This imitated a moaning & crying human voice.
What is a Riff? - ANSWERShort, repetitive melodic-rhythm phrase
Who was Robert Johnson? - ANSWER(1911-1938) Country Blues singer-guitarist who was born in the
Mississippi Delta, lead a mysterious life, and was rumored to have sold his soul to the Devil at a
crossroads. "Crossroads Blues"
Who was Muddy Waters? - ANSWER(1915-1983) Urban-Electric Blues singer-guitarist who was born
as McKinley Morganfield in the Mississippi Delta area. He moved to Chicago in the 1940s. "Hoochie
Coochie Man"
Who were Leonard & Phil Chess? - ANSWERLeonard and Phil Chess were known as the Chess Bros.
They opened Chess Records (1950-1969), which primarily recorded African-American R&B
performers.
What is stop-time? - ANSWERAccompaniment stops to highlight vocals.
What was the first Hillbilly record? - ANSWER"Old Log Cabin in the Lane" by Fiddlin' John
Carson/1923/Okeh Records
, What are the characteristics of Hillbilly music? Name 3. - ANSWERText-oriented songs which tell
stories, nasal twang, southern accent, simple melodies & straightforward rhythms, basic chords and
simple forms.
Name 3 C&W styles. - ANSWERCountry Crooners, Honky-Tonk, Cowboy Songs, Western Swing,
Bluegrass
Define Honky-Tonk - ANSWERBeer drinking music played at rowdy roadside C&W juke joints
featuring amplified instruments used to play over loud crouds. Songs often talked about real life
problems (divorce & alcoholism) or honky-tonkin' (bar hopping).
Name 2 Honky-Tonk Singers. - ANSWERHank Williams, Hank Thompson, Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell
Who was Hank Williams? - ANSWER(1923-1953) Considered one of the most significant C&W
performers, Hank Williams was a singer-songwriter with a brief tragic life who led to the myth of the
C&W singer as a hard-living rambler. Had 36 top 10 hits (1847-53) and set many C&W standards.
What are 3 trends in Early Rock? - ANSWERC&W-influenced rock (Rockabilly), R&B-influenced Rock
(Mainstream), and Pop-influenced Rock (Soft Rock).
Who was Alan Freed? - ANSWER(1922-1965) Alan Freed was a radio DJ in Cleveland & NYC who
played R&B records and promoted "Rock and Roll" shows. He coined the phrase "Rock and Roll".
Who was Bill Haley? - ANSWER(1926-1981) He was a singer-guitarist and professional C&W musician
who was born in Detroit. Despite the success of "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" (1954/Decca Records) he
was considered too old and too country to be a Rock superstar.
What was the first rock records to hit #1 on the Pop charts? - ANSWER"Shake, Rattle, and Roll"
written by Big Joe Turner, performed by Bill Haley and the Comets, released in 1954 by Decca
Records.
What is Rockabilly? - ANSWERC&W-influenced Rock also called Hillbilly Rock/white southerner
Rockers with C&W sound that covered R&B songs
What are 3 characteristics of Rockabilly? - ANSWER12-bar blues & AAB text forms, C&W vocal twang,
C&W string band with R&B instruments
Name 3 Rockabilly singers. - ANSWERElvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Bill Haley, Sonny
Burgess, Ray Harris, Roy Orbinson, Ricky Nelson, Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Everly Brother, Buddy
Holly
Describe Elvis Presley's early life. - ANSWERBorn in Tupelo, Mississippi, his family was extremely
poor. He listened to Gospel. Moved to Memphis in 1948 lived in public housing. Average student who
enjoyed singing covers.
What was the 1st record company Elvis signed with? - ANSWERSun Records (July 1954) owned by
Sam Phillips
What was Elvis's first single? - ANSWER"That's All Right" & "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
How many singles did Elvis release through Sun records? - ANSWER5 singles selling 30,000 copies
Who was Elvis's manager? - ANSWERCol. Tom Parker (1956)
What record company did Elvis sign with in 1956? - ANSWERRCA Victor
