Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, from a combination of African-American genres such as blues, boogie woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music, together with Western swing and country music. Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s, the genre did not acquire its name until the 1950s.

"Rock and roll" can refer either to the first wave of music that originated in the US in the 1950s prior to its development into "rock music", or more broadly to rock music and culture. For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with the first definition.

In the earliest rock and roll styles of the late 1940s and early 1950s, either the piano or saxophone was often the lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s. The beat is essentially a blues rhythm with an accentuated backbeat, the latter almost always provided by a snare drum. Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm), a string bass or (after the mid-1950s) an electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and white American teens enjoyed the music. It went on to spawn various genres, often without the initially characteristic backbeat, that are now more commonly called simply "rock music" or "rock".

Acrobatic Rock'n'Roll is a very athletic, competitive form of dance that originated from lindy hop. Unlike lindy hop, however, it is a choreographed dance designed for performance. It is danced by both couples and groups, either all-female or four to eight couples together. This is normally a very fast and physically demanding dance.

History

During the development of the musical genre rock and roll, dances to go with the music were also created. From swing, which came into being around 1920, Lindy Hop emerged, the first partner dance ever to feature acrobatic elements. Lindy Hop was modified around 1940 to suit faster music, creating the style known as boogie woogie.

A 1959 dance book describes "Rock 'n' Roll" as "performed without undue tension, the body and legs being flexible, so that there may be a physical rhythmic expression of co-ordination with the beats of music." "...a dance which leaves much scope for personal expression and interpretation in style, movement, rhythm, and even in the manner in which the figures are constructed." The basic rhythm is Quick, Quick, Slow, Slow. The Slow steps "will be taken first on to the ball of the foot, the heel then lowering".

1-2-3-4 Rock and Roll is an EP produced by British heavy metal band, Girlschool. It was released in 1983 by Bronze Records, in an attempt to boost the declining sales of the band and launch the upcoming new album Play Dirty. The title track was produced by Ramones' producers Ritchie Cordell and Glen Kolotkin, who completed with samples the recording process that the band refused to carry on. The same song was released by the American band Rail the same year.

"Tush" is a re-recording of the ZZ Top song the band already covered on Hit and Run, with Kim McAuliffe on vocals instead of Enid Williams. "Don't Call It Love" is also a re-recording of the song already present in the Wildlife EP and in the album Screaming Blue Murder. Both songs were produced by Chris Tsangarides. Bronze issued also a 7-inch single with a shorter version of the title track and without the song "Emergency".

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