The book puts the early years of the rock era into four stages. The first stage, from 1951-1955, rock and roll was code for rhythm and blues. Second stage, 1955-1957 rhythm and blues influenced songs by white performers. Third stage, 1957-1959 rock and roll emerged as a new kind of music. Fourth stage, 1959-1964 was the rise of rock and roll. As people from Africa and Europe immigrated to America, they brought their music and drum beats with them. The roots of rock and roll lay in the “race” and “hillbilly” music. Other influences included boogie-woogie, folk, bluegrass, jazz, gospel, and blues. The rock and roll phrase was a code word in blues songs for sexual intercourse. Defining the first rock and roll song is hard to analyze. The
