Although people will debate when the Rock Era began (it certainly had its roots in blues and R&B before that), the marriage of those two styles resulted in the first rock & roll #1 song on May 14, 1953, when Bill Haley & The Comets took "(We're Gonna') Rock Around The Clock" to the top.
Certainly, there were examples of rock & roll before that--Haley and his group, in fact, released "Shake, Rattle & Roll" as their first single. And "Rock Around The Clock" itself was first released on April 12, 1954. But "an era" in this sense is not defined by "a musical period containing songs of a certain type"; rather, the style must dominate the period for it to be called an era. Thus, even though examples of rock & roll were certainly there before Haley's seminal record, "Rock Around The Clock" was the first rock & roll song to be the most popular song of all. This is why that date of May 14, 1955 is generally referred to as the beginning of the Rock Era that has lasted to this day. It is the date that "Rock Around The Clock" reached #1 (it went nowhere when first released in 1954.)
Peter Ford, son of actor Glenn Ford, tells an interesting story of his involvement in the beginning of the Rock Era.
When Inside The Rock Era will bring back the popular Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* next year to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of this amazing music, we will kick it off on March 25, which is the date generally regarded as the release date of the movie The Blackboard Jungle (CNN and IMBd confirm this.) The Oscar-nominated film was the first to feature a rock & roll song, which also happens to be "Rock Around The Clock". Inside The Rock Era will feature approximately 10 songs per day from March 25 through May 14, with The #1 Song of All-Time* presented on the day that "Rock Around The Clock" hit #1.
We should mention that there is some fluidity in the rankings. We developed a highly complex, copyrighted* mathematical formula that ranks the songs, and because of its many factors, the exact ranking of songs can change on a daily basis. So we ourselves won't even know until the day before the special begins what the actual rankings will be. What we do know is that they are songs that you, the public, have indicated you love, whether it be your requests to radio station, your stated preference in music surveys, or your purchase of 45's, digital singles, 8-tracks, LP's, or CD's.
We realize that this grand special is over a year away. To entice you and promote the much-larger Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, Inside The Rock Era will feature The Top 100 Songs of the 60's* later this year. You'll hear the best songs of the decade by your favorite artists, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Association, Tommy James & the Shondells, the Monkees, and many, many more.
It's a lot to look forward to!
Certainly, there were examples of rock & roll before that--Haley and his group, in fact, released "Shake, Rattle & Roll" as their first single. And "Rock Around The Clock" itself was first released on April 12, 1954. But "an era" in this sense is not defined by "a musical period containing songs of a certain type"; rather, the style must dominate the period for it to be called an era. Thus, even though examples of rock & roll were certainly there before Haley's seminal record, "Rock Around The Clock" was the first rock & roll song to be the most popular song of all. This is why that date of May 14, 1955 is generally referred to as the beginning of the Rock Era that has lasted to this day. It is the date that "Rock Around The Clock" reached #1 (it went nowhere when first released in 1954.)
Peter Ford, son of actor Glenn Ford, tells an interesting story of his involvement in the beginning of the Rock Era.
When Inside The Rock Era will bring back the popular Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era* next year to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of this amazing music, we will kick it off on March 25, which is the date generally regarded as the release date of the movie The Blackboard Jungle (CNN and IMBd confirm this.) The Oscar-nominated film was the first to feature a rock & roll song, which also happens to be "Rock Around The Clock". Inside The Rock Era will feature approximately 10 songs per day from March 25 through May 14, with The #1 Song of All-Time* presented on the day that "Rock Around The Clock" hit #1.
We should mention that there is some fluidity in the rankings. We developed a highly complex, copyrighted* mathematical formula that ranks the songs, and because of its many factors, the exact ranking of songs can change on a daily basis. So we ourselves won't even know until the day before the special begins what the actual rankings will be. What we do know is that they are songs that you, the public, have indicated you love, whether it be your requests to radio station, your stated preference in music surveys, or your purchase of 45's, digital singles, 8-tracks, LP's, or CD's.
We realize that this grand special is over a year away. To entice you and promote the much-larger Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*, Inside The Rock Era will feature The Top 100 Songs of the 60's* later this year. You'll hear the best songs of the decade by your favorite artists, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Association, Tommy James & the Shondells, the Monkees, and many, many more.
It's a lot to look forward to!
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