By the late fifties, rock and roll had begun to move away from the raw immediacy of its early stars and become a vehicle for the banal contrivances of camera friendly faces singing songs about teenage romance. It had barely established itself, yet rock and roll was losing its rebellious edge and drifting into the abyss, becoming nothing more then a catchphrase for corporate-sponsored teen music with a beat.
Rock and Roll had lost many of it's first Rock and Rollers. Chuck Berry would go to prison for violating the Mann Act, transporting a women across state lines for an immoral act. Little Richard gave up rock and roll for the ministry. Jerry Lee Lewis would be caught up in a scandal in which he he married his thirteen year old cousin. Elvis Presley was drafted into the army. Carl Perkins was injured in a car crash and would lose his momentum
Rock and Roll would then lose many of it's second generation
too. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson aka the
Big Bopper would all die in a plane crash which Don McLean would
immortalized in the song "The Day the Music Died."
Eddie Cochran would die and Gene Vincent was seriously injured in
a car crash while doing a tour of Great Britain. Most
important in it's death was the establishment of American
Bandstand. It's promotion power allowed it to pass by
the early rock and roll with a watered down Philadelphia sound
which was more resembled the style of singers of the early
fifties.
Another unfortunate development was the resegregation that began
to take place. Previously, rock and roll had made tremendous
headway in breaking down the barriers between the races. By the
end of the decade, this would be a memory, and the industry would
regress to business as usual. Pat Boone, Debby Reynolds, and Tab
Hunter all had #1 hits in 1957 with no crossover appeal, while
only "safe" black acts like Johnny Mathis and Sam Cooke
had #1 hits, with tame, lukewarm performances.
More disturbingly, the influence of R&B had on rock and roll
and doo wop all but disappear, with Tin Pan Alley and country
music becoming the major sources of new material. All was not
lost, however, to the most die-hard-rock-and-roll fan had
it was disheartening to see rock and roll fall prey to the
corporate machinations and manipulated anarchy formula.
"The Darkest Hour Is Just Before the
Dawn"
From "Dedicated To the One I Love" by The
Shirelles
Across the ocean in Britain things were much different. British youth had followed rock and roll from its beginnings and from a distance that allowed them a clearer view of the music. England was not saturated with around the clock radio. There exposure came from the few singles shipped from America and limited programming on the government controlled BBC. This limited availability contributed to an excitement, much like young white Americans had discovered late at night with their radios listening to R&B stations in rock's earliest days.
While Americas turned to a lighter pop, teen idols and the Twist, the British kept there taste for authentic rock and roll and R&B. A new generation of British bands - the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Animals, Kinks, etc. began reshaping the music in their own image and make England the rock capital of the world.
The British Invasion of 1964 brought America's music - reinvented and revitalized - home, a a new generation of rock fans were born. Rock now entered what is now known as its Classic Era.