Here are brief biographies of five of the most important
rock artists of the 1950's.Little Richard
He was born in Macon, Georgia in 1932 and he learned to sing gospel and
play the piano in a neighborhood church. He won a recording contract
with RCA after an audition in Atlanta in 1951 but his records did not sell
well at the time. In 1955 he mailed a demo to Specialty Records in Los
Angeles and backed by a rhythm section from New Orleans he created his
signature sound with "Tutti Frutti" selling 500,000 copies. Little Richard's
songs followed a predictable but effective format. They were almost always
up tempo, featured his distinctive falsetto, and a wild almost inhuman
scream just before the obligatory saxaphone solo. In 1957,
Little Richard walked away from his career and spent 7 years in religious
study. He had a great stage presence with a pencil thin mustache, leering
eyes, and a distinctive falsetto he often used.
Chuck Berry
Berry was born in St. Louis in 1926 and in his early years he worked as a
beautician as well as a musician. His songs often featured humorous lyrics
and the sound was similar to blues. In 1955 he recorded "Maybelline"
and with the support of dee-jay Alan Freed the song became a national hit.
Berry's guitar style, which often featured playing two notes at a time, was imitated by countless guitarists and groups
including the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, and Beatles. Compare his guitar
intro on "Johnny B. Goode" to the Beach Boys guitar intro on "Fun, Fun, Fun."
He was the consummate showman, too, incorporating his famous duck walk into
most of his performances.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Born in Ferriday, LA in 1935 Lewis was a professional musician by the age
of 15. In 1956 he set out to get a recording contract in Memphis with
Sun Records. At the end of a session there he did "Whole Lot of Shakin'
Goin' On" and he had his first million seller. In 1958 his career took a
nosedive as a result of his marriage to a 14 year-old second cousin.
The Everly Brothers
Don was born in 1937 and Phil in 1939. Their parents were country and
western musicians and the boys started performing with them when they were
still pre-teens. They came into their own with the recording "Bye, Bye
Love", a Boudleaux Bryant song in 1957. Their songs were distinguished by
their two-part vocal harmonies floating over tight instrumental
arrangements. The thematic material was always innocent love. They had
a number of Top Ten records between 1957-1962.
Buddy Holly
He hailed from the west Texas town of Lubbock where he was born in 1936.
Holly had 7 Top Forty records during his short career. As with the Everly
Brothers his music was country influenced and he came across as innocent and
sincere rather than sneering or menacing like some other early rockers. He
was one of the first white rockers to use mostly his own material, the first
to use strings on a rock recording, the first to overdub voices and guitars
in the studio, and he also popularized the Fender Stratocaster guitar. He
died at age 22 following a plane crash in Iowa.
