Episode 1: The Precursors

Welcome to Rock N Roll Archaeology! This is a reboot of Episode One: The Precursors, originally released October 15, 2015. We updated and improved it some, and re-released it on November 4, 2020. 

We begin in Times Square, late summer of 1945. The war is over. 

First up, the Baby Boom and a newly-discovered demographic, the white American teenager. 

This new cohort is huge, with unprecedented economic clout. Young, restless and affluent, and they want to get beyond the timid, conformist popular culture of 1950s America. 

“Race Records” (an outdated term for rhythm and blues records by African American musicians) become hugely popular with white teenagers. Drawn from the well of sorrow that is the Black American experience, this music has the edge and urgency--the authenticity--these kids are seeking. 

We meet our first hero - the musical genius Ray Charles - and our first anti-hero, the frenetic, fatally flawed DJ Alan Freed. 

We shine a light on two grassroots cultural movements that became important later: the Skiffle Craze in the United Kingdom and the Beat Poets of Urban America. 

1954 is an inflection point. On the musical front, Bill Haley released the first million-selling Rock N Roll record: “Rock Around The Clock.”   

That same year, big changes in the political landscape. The Brown v Board of Education decision; and Senator Joseph McCarthy was publically humiliated and discredited.

Freedom of Association and Freedom of Expression take a step forward. Paranoid politics and systemic racism are still very much with us in America, but in 1954 it got a little easier, became a little less risky, to be yourself and express yourself.

We head to the delivery room: Memphis Recording Service, where we meet the first Rock N Roll superstar, Elvis Presley, and tease Chapter Two.

Hosted and Produced by Christian Swain

Written By Richard Evans and Christian Swain

Sound Design by Jerry Danielsen

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SHOW NOTES & CREDITS:

Songs from Episode One

Pink Floyd: “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt 1” from The Wall, 1979 Harvest/EMI Records

The Who: “Sparks” from Tommy, 1969 Decca Records.

The Who: “My Generation” from The Who Sings My Generation, (American Release) 1966 Decca Records

Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters: “Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive” single released 1944, Decca Records

Billie Holiday: “Strange Fruit” 78 rpm single released 1939 on Commodore Records

Buddy Guy: “Damn Right I Got the Blues” from Damn Right I Got the Blues, released 1991, Silvertone Records

Ray Charles: “The Mess Around” single released 1953, Atlantic Records

Mama Don’t Wanna Skiffle no more, Huw Wheldon show, Jimmy Page, 1957

The Chords: “Sh Boom” single released 1954, Cat Records

The Penguins: “Earth Angel” single released 1956, Mercury Records

Big Joe Turner: “Shake, Rattle and Roll” single released 1954, Atlantic Records

Bill Haley and his Comets: “Rock Around the Clock” single released 1954, Decca Records

Sweet Honey in the Rock: “Ain’ Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” from Freedom Song, released 2000, Freedomsong Productions

Lou Lou Belle and Scotty, “I’m No Communist” single released 1952, Mercury Records

Elvis Presley: “That’s All Right” single released 1955, Sun Records

Books

Cohodas, Nadine (2005). Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records.

Cohn, Nik (1970). Wopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: Pop From the Beginning.

Galbraith, John Kenneth (1998). The Affluent Society, Fortieth Anniversary Edition.

Ginsberg, Alan (1955). Howl and Other Poems.

Greenfield, Robert (2012) The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun.

Guralnick, Peter (1995). Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley.

Mills, C. Wright (1951). White Collar: The American Middle Classes.

Morgan, Ted (2003). Reds: McCarthyism in Twentieth-Century America.

Pleasants, Henry (1966). The Great Singers: From the Dawn of Opera to Our Own Time.

Whyte, William H. (1956). The Organization Man.

Zinn, Howard (2005). A People’s History of the United States.

Movies and Television Shows

Volkswagen television commercial

Almost Famous, Directed by Cameron Crowe, 2000 Dreamworks Pictures

Ray, Directed by Taylor Hackford, 2004 Universal Pictures

Good Night and Good Luck, Directed by George Clooney, 2005 Warner Independent Pictures

Online Sources, by Topic in Order of Appearance

Invention of the Transistor:

http://www.computerhistory.org/semiconductor/timeline/1952-transistor-technology-education-and-licensing-begins.html

Invention of the 45-rpm record:

http://www.recordcollectorsguild.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=44&page=1

Affluent Society, Consumerism

Volkswagen ad, 1971,

Beat Poets:

http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets

Alan Freed:

http://www.alanfreed.com/on-the-air-audio-2/

http://www.alanfreed.com/biography/

Brown v Board of Education Decision:

http://www.civilrights.org/education/brown/

http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/get-involved/federal-court-activities/brown-board-education-re-enactment/history.aspx

McCarthyism:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/murrowmccarthy.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3650203/When-television-took-a-stand.html

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