The History of the Term “Rock and Roll,” Part 2
Late to the party? Start with Part 1.
“Rock and roll” was originally an Africa-American euphemism for sex. With the rise of rhythm and blues and jazz in the early 20th century, the term inevitably made its way into music in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
The big breakthrough came when a New Orleans songwriter named Roy Brown wrote something he called “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” which he then gave to a blues singer named Wynonie Harris.
On December 28, 1947, he recorded the song. By mid-1948, it was a major hit on jukeboxes and on radio stations that played this so-called “race music.” It was so popular that it inspired a ton of new recordings, all using the words “rock” and “roll” in either the title or the lyrics.
That’s fine–but that still isn’t the end of the story.
