Editing Rock and roll (section)

=== Rockabilly ===
{{Main|Rockabilly}}
[[File:Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock.jpg|thumb|upright=0.95|alt=A black and white photograph of Elvis Presley standing between two sets of bars|[[Elvis Presley]] in a promotion shot for ''[[Jailhouse Rock (film)|Jailhouse Rock]]'' in 1957]]
"Rockabilly" usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid-1950s primarily by white singers such as [[Elvis Presley]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Johnny Cash]], and [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], who drew mainly on the country roots of the music.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=shows 7–8}}<ref name=AllmusicRbilly/> Presley was greatly influenced by and incorporated his style of music with that of some of the greatest Black musicians like BB King, Arthur Crudup and Fats Domino. His style of music combined with black influences created controversy during a turbulent time in history.<ref name=AllmusicRbilly>"Rock and Roll Pilgrims: Reflections on Ritual, Religiosity, and Race". {{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d187|label=Rockabilly|access-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref> Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as [[Fats Domino]] and [[Little Richard]],{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 6}} came out of the black [[rhythm and blues]] tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly".

Presley popularized rock and roll on a wider scale than any other single performer and by 1956, he had emerged as the singing sensation of the nation.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yRhBf_6L8B8C&dq=Elvis+Presley+popularized+rockabilly&pg=PA17 |last=Sagolla |first=Lisa Jo |date=2011 |title=Rock 'N' Roll Dances of the 1950s |series=The American Dance Floor |publisher=Greenwood |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=978-0-313-36556-0 |page=17}}</ref>

[[Bill Flagg]] who is a Connecticut resident, began referring to his mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music as rockabilly around 1953.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/12/granvilles_bill_flagg_pioneere.html|title=Granville's Bill Flagg pioneered rockabilly|work=masslive.com|access-date=2017-04-28|language=en-US|archive-date=June 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601044213/https://www.masslive.com/entertainment/2015/12/granvilles_bill_flagg_pioneere.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 1954, Presley recorded the regional hit "[[That's All Right]]" at Sam Phillips' [[Sun Studio]] in Memphis.<ref name=AllmusicElvis>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5175/biography|label=Elvis|access-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref> Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] recorded "Rock Around the Clock". Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie ''[[Blackboard Jungle]]'' a year later, it set the rock and roll boom in motion.{{sfn|Gilliland|1969|loc=show 5, show 55}} The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. "Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough success for the group; traditionally, the song has been seen as the major breakthrough for the rock and roll genre, as its immense popularity introduced the music to a global audience.<ref name=AllmusicHaley>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p4426/biography|label=Bill Haley|access-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref>

In 1956, the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like "[[Folsom Prison Blues]]" by [[Johnny Cash]], "[[Blue Suede Shoes]]" by Perkins, and the No. 1 hit "[[Heartbreak Hotel]]" by Presley.<ref name=AllmusicRbilly /> For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like [[Buddy Holly]], would be a major influence on [[British Invasion]] acts and particularly on the song writing of [[the Beatles]] and through them on the nature of later rock music.<ref>P. Humphries, ''The Complete Guide to the Music of The Beatles, Volume 2'' (Music Sales Group, 1998), p. 29.</ref>