Rock and Roll at 50 A History in Pictures

Here are 50 years of Rock Roll, from Chuck Berry to the Beatles to Beck, with an introduction by Dick Clark. On March 21, 1952, rock roll was forged in fire as Alan Freeds Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland ended up in a riot when frenzied fans stormed the arena. There was a new sound and it caused an entirely new reaction: loud, passionate, no-holds-barred, Katie-bar-the-door.This was rock roll, and even as things were getting out of hand in Cleveland, a producer named Sam Phillips was debuting his Sun record label in Memphis, the future launching pad for Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and, of course, the King, Elvis Presley. In the 1960s came the Beatles. Bob Dylan counseled Dont Look Back, and rock never did, as the music defined the times: the Whos My Generation, the Rolling Stones Street Fighting Man, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Youngs Woodstock.Today, rock lives on, and not just in reunions of KISS and Yes, nor in age-defying gigs by Aerosmith. It has seeped into our culture and into the new music. It changed America then, and, at 50, it continues to do so.Sullivan, Robert is the author of 'Rock and Roll at 50 A History in Pictures' with ISBN 9781929049493 and ISBN 1929049498.