The History of Rock 'n' Roll

It seemed like a sound from nowhere, boogie beats and bluesy voices lighting up the late-night radio dial with songs like "Shake, Rattle and Roll." They called it "race" music or "rhythm and blues." Around the world, kids tuned in - and began to imitate what they heard. It was the seedtime of a new kind of music: what we today call "rock 'n' roll." "Rock 'n' Roll Explodes" is a kaleidoscope of musical memories. In interviews with many of rock's brightest stars, from Little Richard and Mick Jagger to Bruce Springsteen and Bono of U2, key players recall songs and sounds that changed their lives. And in vintage clips capturing the first rock starts in their prim, savor the magic of the music, watching great Muddy Waters sing "Got My Mojo Working; guitar hero Chuck Berry perform "Maybellene" and Little Richard, eyes painted and pompadour piled high, stomp though "Tutti Frutti." Tina Turner remembers days of hard labor in the cotton fields - and nights dreaming of a music career. Boogie-woogie bandleader Louis Jordan appears in rare footage, as does Michael Jackson, in a riveting performance of "Billie Jean." And then there is Elvis Presley, the once and future King of Rock 'n' Roll, singing "Heartbreak Hotel" in 1956 - an image of timeless youth, the emblem of a cultural revolution. - Jim Miller

Disc Jockey Alan Freed was the first to call it "rock 'n' roll" - but it was Elvis Presley who gave the new music sex appeal. During the summer and fall of 1956, the Hillbilly Cat transformed old-fashioned rhythm and blues into a new kind of music, breaching the boundaries between country and blues, folk and pop, black and white. "Good Rockin' Tonight" recounts the glory days of rock's first golden age. In rare footage of legendary performances. Buddy Holly sings "Oh Boy", Little Richard wails "Lucille" and Jerry Lee Lewis pumps out a frenzied version of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". Dick Clark recalls the origins of American Bandstand and Fabian looks bacon his early fame. For a spell, rock was dominated by teen idols and countless dance crazes like the Twist, but as clips of Ben E. King and of Phil Spector's Ronettes remind us, there was still more to rock 'n' roll than cute white boys trying to be the next Elvis. That the imitators should keep on trying is no surprise. One need only look again at Presley's classic TV shows. This chronicle includes clips from his steamy version of "Hound Dog" on the Milton Berle Show in June 1965 and his stunning performances on The Ed Sullivan Show three months later. Here - as Bono of U2 puts it - is "the big bang:" rock's mythic moment of primal self-creation. - Jim Miller