MUSIC 115 CA The Early Days of Rock and Roll Documentary Summary

Provide a one paragraph (4-5 sentences) summary of the documentary you watched. Include the key events from the artist(s)’s life and important songs. Also describe the artist(s)’s influence and importance. 

Welcome to Module 3!

In this module we will be exploring the early days of rock and roll. The term itself is somewhat controversial as to who first used it and when. However the term first came about the somewhat blurry history is that the music evolved gradually from the mixing of music we learned about in module 2. As a result it is hard to really pinpoint exactly when for instance music stopped being blues or country or R&B and became rock and roll. in fact it is still hard today at times to put labels on music because so often these genres overlap considerably. Nonetheless Alan Freed is generally credited as the person who popularized both the term rock and roll as well as the early artists of the genre. He was a radio host who championed the music only to get caught up in the famous scandal of the day called Payola. In this module you will learn about Alan Freed and the artists who made up the early days of Rock and Roll as well as the scandal that took him down. 

After you have watched the videos and done the readings for this week you can take the Module 3 Content Quiz. 

Content for Week 3 includes the following: 

Watch the documentary entitled “The Early Days of Rock and Roll” 

Read an article from Vice about the Payola scandal and watch the videos included in the article.

Choose one of the following additional documentaries embedded below to watch

Elvis Presley: The Searcher

Streetlight Harmonies

Chuck Berry: Rock Legends

Behind the Music: The Day the Music Died