Rock and roll began in the United States; the music was influenced by other cultures and musical traditions like gospel music, blues, country- and western, and folk music. ... I think that people would be interested in finding out what made the people like rock and roll, jazz, and the blues. ... The categories were rhythm and blues, pop, country and western. ... The type of music that he liked to sing was country, rhythm, blues, and gospel music. ... At that time Lewis's father mortgaged the family's house to buy him a piano, when Lewis was 15 he began performing. ...

• Word Count: 1729
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

All of the genres were collected under the catch-all term "dance," though there were distinct differences between dance-pop, hip-hop, house, and techno, among other subgenres. ... Early rock & roll drew from a variety of sources, primarily blues, R&B, and country, but also gospel, traditional pop, jazz, and folk. ... Evolving out of jump blues in the late '40s, R&B laid the groundwork for rock & roll. R&B kept the tempo and the drive of jump blues, but its instrumentation was sparer and the emphasis was on the song, not improvisation. It was blues chord changes played with an insistent ba...

• Word Count: 2063
• Approx Pages: 8