Mason Hamar
MUS 1013
Sarah Weisbrod
Critical Essay A
Music has been slowly evolving with humans for hundreds of years, but in the 20th century, Rock and Roll loudly and suddenly burst onto the stage. Rock and Roll, originating from rhythm and blues, has its roots in African and African American culture. With the integration of African Americans into white society starting in the mid-19th century, their music came with them. Musical elements and artists from other groups began meshing with the genre until it developed a new and original style and sound of music. Social interactions and relations between different groups in the United States helped contribute to the music’s distinct sound, part of which can be shown by James Johnson’s novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.
Rock and roll’s distinct sound can be traced back to the amalgam of cultural and religious influences in its predecessor - R&B, which was influenced by racial relations of the early-mid 20th century. Early rock and R&B, instrumentally, consisted of pianos, guitars, drums, and bass, along with brass and woodwind instruments like trumpets and saxophones. Most R&B was produced and sung by black artists, and their songs tended to have elements from Latin America, such as maracas, and the Church in them. Most of the instruments were of European and some Latin origin, but the musical style and lyrics were entirely Black. While not all of the elements and instruments came from black artists or culture, interactions with other groups and
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The music offers insight into how different groups and cultures interacted in the United States and that in turn can explain the music’s unique sound and popularity. While the genre no longer reflects racial relations in the US today, that message still exists in other forms of music, such as rap, soul, etc., created by artists all over the