The 50s and the Birth of Rock and Roll - WLAC, Little Richard

The Birth of Rock and Roll - By the 50s the war was over, and the American public with the distraction of the war now gone, had become optimistic once again. But the youth of America, tired of their parent's generation of music, was looking for something new and they found it in something that would soon be known as Rock and Roll. African-American musicians had found that by tweaking the Rhythm and Blues that they played, they could make a white audience go wild. The city of New Orleans would play a key role in the birth of this new music.

White teenagers got their introduction to this music through radio stations like WLAC. WLAC broadcasting from Tennessee, originally intending to cater to an African-American audience, found that the station was more and more frequently listened to by white teenagers. WLAC was instrumental in the success of artists like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Ray Charles and countless other musicians like Little Richard. I have often contemplated the similarities between this era of radio and today's podcasting boom -- Independent radio personalities, introducing independent artists to an independent minded listening audience. On to some of the ground breaking artists of these times:

Little Richard - originally from Georgia, released his first big hit "Tutti Frutti"on Specialty Records in 1955 (recorded in New Orleans using Fats Domino's band). Some other notable hits where "Lucille," "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly." He made it possible for African-American artists to play in what was once exclusively white venues to a mixed race audience which angered a lot of people at the time. At the height of his popularity in 1957, Little Richard found religion and quit his career playing secular music. By the end of 1963, he would get back into playing secular music. Interestingly enough, Jimi Hendrix got his start playing guitar in Little Richard's band in 1964 and was once quoted as saying; "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice." 

Little Richard has always referred to himself as the “the architect of Rock and Roll,” and it is pretty safe to assume that this is not far from the truth. He was idolized by countless musicians including Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney just to mention a few. 

Little Richard performing "Lucielle"