Most important artists
Elvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor known as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.
He started as a singer in 1954, popularizing ‘rockability’.‘Heartbreak hotel’, his first single, was released in 1956 and became number one in the United States. After some other hits, he was seen as the lead singer of rock and roll.
Not only his songs but also his provocative dance moves, his style and his performances made him popular and controversial.
However, in 1958, he got into the military service, going on hiatus from live performances.
He died the 16th of August in 1977 from a heart attack (some people say it was because drugs).
He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of music, has sold more than 600 million records, and has won 3 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
William John Clifton Haley, known as Bill Haley, was an American rock and roll musician.
He started as a country artist but after recording ‘Rocket 88’ he changed his musical direction, becoming one of those artists that actually created rock and roll, with his band ‘Bill Haley and His Comets’.
The band was created in 1952 (becoming the first group of white musicians to play rock and roll) and lasted until Bill’s death in 1981. When he died, several bands under the name of Comets were created (saying that they were the continuation of Bill´s band). Nowadays 4 of those bands are still active.
Charles Edward Anderson Berry, known as Chuck Berry, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.He was also one of the creators of rock and roll and had a lot of influence in the creation of rock too (mostly his guitar solos).He began in his music career with the Johnnie Johnson Trio around 1953. However, he started his solo career in 1955 after releasing ‘Maybellene’.He was one of the first artists to be in the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ and has been included several times in the Rolling Stone list ‘Greatest of All Time’.
The Crickets is an American rock and roll band formed by Buddy Holly, Niki Sullivan, Jerry Allison and Joe Mauldin.
Their first released single ‘That´ll be the day’ peaked the number one of the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart.
This band was one of the most famous American bands in Great Britain, influencing therefore the creation of very important British bands such as The Beatles and Rolling Stones.
After Buddy Holly’s death they have continued their career and still do.
The Everly Brothers was an American rock and roll duo formed by Isaac Donald Everly and Phillip Everly (known as ‘Don’ the former and ‘Phil’ the latter), very influenced by country music.
They stayed together until mid-1970s when they pursued solo careers. Don was successful on US country charts at the beginning with his band ‘Dead Cowboys’ and Phillip saw success much later (1983) in UK charts with his album ‘Phillip Everly’.
They gave together with Terry Slater a concert in 1983 and after it they came back together as a duo. However, Phil died on the 3rd of January in 2014, putting an end to this famous duo.
Richard Wayne Penniman, known as ‘Little Richard’, is an American musician, songwriter and recording artist. He and his dynamic music marked the creation of rock and roll music.
He influenced not only rock music but also other genres such as pop, hip-hop and blues.
He did not only change music but a whole culture as well. In his songs, his lyrics had a lot to say and he was the first black artist that broke ‘the colour line’. He reached audiences from all races. Despite of the segregation, both black and white people attended his concerts.
He has influenced almost every genre of the 20th century and a lot of artists of the 21st century as well.
He was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. He started back in 1956 with his first single ‘Crazy Arms’. However, his first success came in 1957 with ‘Whole lotta shakin’ going on’.
He got married with her cousin and due to this scandal his following singles did not succeed as much as the previous ones.
He wanted to get his fame back and started to make more wild and energetic performances, becoming his album ‘Live at the Star Club’ one of the wildest and greatest rock and roll albums.
In 1968, he made a change and focused on country music, having more success.
He has a dozen gold records and has won several Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and has been included in the Rolling Stones list of ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’ and ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’.