The rise of Rock and Roll in the mid-1950s can be attributed to many different changes in the social structure

of the time. For the purpose of this essay, a look at one specific musical style that developed in early Rock and Roll, Rockabilly, will be analysed. This essay will analyse two Rhythm and Blues pieces and their Rockabilly cover versions: Elvis Hound Dog, its original by Big Mama Thornton and Bill Haley and the Comets Shake, Rattle and Roll and its original by Joe Turner. Using these pieces, this essay will examine the development of Rockabilly through the merging of Country and Rhythm and Blues and how this merger appropriated Rhythm and Blues for a white audience, in turn starting the musical boom of Rock and Roll. Rockabilly, the retroactively named genre that is defined as a hybrid of blues and country1, is considered the earliest style of white rock and roll2. The genre adapted various styles from both Country and Blues. It started with the strong backbeat of Country but loosened it using techniques such as the Habanera Rhythm to allow for Blues syncopation. A stronger emphasis on drums and less emphasis on improvisation coupled with a shift away from brass instruments, allowed Rockabilly to become the best of both worlds: a black based music genre that was influenced enough by white music to be acceptable on the white music charts. Artists such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets were able to find great success in the mid-1950s by using Rockabilly as a way to facilitate a white audience clamouring for black music3. They did this by covering black Rhythm and Blues tracks and adding their own Country influences. Shake, Rattle and Roll, recorded by Joe Turner in 1954, is performed with an upbeat tempo and is structured using the 12 bar blues, a feature used heavily in black Rhythm and Blues music4. The instrumentation consists of two saxophones, a piano that plays a near continuous riff throughout the piece and simple drumming with a snare that plays every offbeat. Along with claps from Turner, an acoustic bass plays a walking bass line that the piano follows. Turners vocals, that sit front and centre, are smooth yet projected and forceful. Hound Dog, recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1953, is also structured using the 12 bar blues but is performed at a slower tempo. Comprised of a clean electric guitar, an acoustic bass that plays a walking bass line, a simple drumbeat and a clapping rhythm section, the instrumentation plays tightly against Thorntons raspy and free flowing vocals. These two pieces are a good representation of Rhythm and Blues in the early to mid 1950s and using these two examples, some clear distinctions can been seen between the originals and their white counterparts.

1 Brewer, R. The Use of Habanera Rhythm in Rockabilly Music. American Music. 1999. 17, 3. pp. 300-317 2 Brewer, R. 1999. 3 While not their intended purpose, this is one of the main reasons they became so popular. 4 Stuessy, J. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1990.

The vocals of both Thornton and Turner share a raspy, bold texture that penetrates their recordings and places them at the front and centre of their respective pieces. Using a harsh vocal is a traditional Blues trait5 and was mimicked by Coon Shouters6 (White Americans who specialised in excited black vocal performances in the early 20th Century). Early Rhythm and Blues tended to manipulate the lyrics for their rhythmic properties7. In Hound Dog, Thornton plays with the phrasing of the lyrics and changes her emphasis between verses. This improvisation8 allows for flexibility in the melody that creates a sense of looseness over the steady accompaniment. Contrasting this is Shake, Rattle and Roll, where Turner keeps a strict adherence to the beat and employs tight phrasing. What Turner does instead, is slur his words together. This again links to the manipulation of Rhythm and Blues lyrics and became such a frequently used technique that Rhythm and Blues was sometimes described as incomprehensible9. Turner uses his slurring as a way to create a flow through each verse, allowing him to keep to the beat while still creating a feeling of improvisation. Elvis and Bill Haley and the Comets covers use two different styles of adaptation for their vocals. Elvis, who was signed to Sun Records due to his ability to Coon Shout, displays that ability in Hound Dog. His shouting and extension of syllables during different phrases are a clear attempt to adapt the Blues vocal style. While his voice is reminiscent of the Blues style, Elvis is still influenced by his white, southern upbringing as he removes all improvisational aspects that made the original so quintessentially Blues and sticks closely to the beat instead. Similarly, Bill Halley also sticks very close to the beat in Shake, Rattle and Roll, making sure to repeat the same phrasing for each verse. This can be attributed to Turners original adherence to the beat, therefore allowing Haley to retain the same melodic phrasing. Haleys adaption of Turners vocals incorporates his history as a yodeller10 and country singer by cleaning up the timbre of the vocal sound and pronouncing each word clearly, removing any evidence of Blues slurring. This is important, as Bill Haleys vocals were much closer to the norm for white musicians in the early 20th Century. White covers of black musicians that occurred previous to Rock and Rolls boom and even after Elvis became popular generally cleaned the timbre of the vocals to appeal to a white audience. Elvis rise to fame can be attributed to his retention of the black sound in his

5 Stuessy, J. 1990. 6 Saffle, M. The Musical Characteristics of Elvis Presley. 2009.

<http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_7135/elvis.pdf/>
7 McCourt, T. Bright Lights, Big City: A Brief History of Rhythm and Blues, 1945 -1957 in Scheurer, T.E (ed.),

American Popular Music: Readings from the Popular Press Volume II: The Age of Rock, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Ohio, 1989, pp. 46-62.
8 Fairchild, C. The medium and materials of popular music: Hound Dog.turntabilism and muzak as situated

musical practices. Popular Music. 2008. pp. 96-116.

music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=13813.

vocals and his choice to retain the illiterate aspects of the lyrics in his early covers. An aspect that both Elvis and Bill Haley and the Comets both changed dramatically is the lyrics. Blues has a history of incorporating deep innuendo throughout the lyrics, using metaphors to sing about sexualized content that wasnt appropriate for the general public of the time. Thorntons Hound Dog uses the metaphor of a dog to represent a sleazy man that she is kicking out of her home. Elvis, who adapted this song from a white Las Vegas show act by Freddy Bell and the Bell Boys11, changes the tone of the song completely. The cover utilises only one verse and chorus that is repeated multiple times. The lyrics are changed from Thorntons original of Snoopin round my door to Cryin all the time and I can see through that to That was just a lie. These changes made the innuendo and intended meaning of Thorntons original meaningless. Elvis wasnt really talking about a girl but was also not really talking about a dog. Bill Haley and the Comets adaption of Shake, Rattle and Roll removes any trace of the explicit lyrics found in Turners original. Turner used Shake, Rattle and Roll as a slang term for sex. This term was common in Rhythm and Blues and its prevalent use in black culture was the genesis for the term Rock N Roll. Turners lyrics use metaphor to describe a story of an unhappy husband cheating on his wife with a younger woman. He talks of seeing through dresses and peeping on barely legal girls12. Bill Haley and the Comets remove any and all reference to sex, debauchery and cheating. Instead, Bill Haley and the Comets focus on the unhappy relationship side of the lyrics. They change Sun comes shining through to Hair done up so nice and Till you aint no child no more to I can tell that you dont love me no more. These changes made the term Shake, Rattle and Roll redundant in the context of Bill Haley and the Comets cover. When comparing the instrumentation between the originals and the covers of Hound Dog and Shake, Rattle and Roll, there isnt a large difference to be found. Instead, what Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the Comets have changed are the way that certain instruments are performed and their prevalence in the pieces. In Big Mama Thorntons original Hound Dog, the drums play an important part and strongly connect the song to its Blues roots. The drummer focuses on the toms and rims, which are played off beat, and the snare drum is used very sparingly. This use of off beat drumming caused the whole piece to be anchored by the handclaps performed by the rhythm section. In Elvis cover, the drums became one of the identifying features of the piece. The drums focus on the snare and have been described as machine gun13 like in their fervour. While in Thorntons original, the drums stayed restrained to the back of the ensemble,
11 Fink R. Elvis Everywhere: Musicology and Popular Music Studies at the Twilight of the Canon. American

Music, 1998. 16, 2. pp. 135-174.

Elvis cover placed the snare drum front and centre for the bridge between the verse and the chorus. While Bill Haley and the Comets drumming in their cover stays relatively the same, a change that does occur is the sound of the saxophones and their use compared to Turners original. In the original, the saxophone starts quite subdued and acts as a bridge between each line of the verse before becoming more intricate and pronounced as the song continues before breaking into a loud, improvised solo. In Bill Haley and the Comets cover, the saxophones have been brought forward in the ensemble but have been stripped of any intricacy that was found in the original. The saxophones are loud and honking and only play as a bridge between each line of verse. While the songs form allows for the solo to remain in the piece, it has been strictly structured to revisit the chorus instead of being improvised like Thurstons original. One major addition to Bill Haley and the Comets cover is the inclusion of a resonator guitar. The resonator guitar, which was generally played by Haley himself, was strummed quickly, creating a perpetual beat for the whole song which allowed the drums to accent every offbeat. The resonator guitar is an addition from Haleys Country and Honkey Tonk roots where a guitar was usually an important part of the ensemble. This addition is significant, as Turners original doesnt include a guitar. By Bill Haley and the Comets using one in their cover, it provides a clear example of how Rockabilly started to fuse these two styles or Country and Rhythm and Blues together. One fundamental Rhythm and Blues trait that survives in both Elvis Presleys and Bill Haley and the Comets covers is the use of the Habanera Rhythm. The Habanera Rhythm is the simplest form of rhythms that derive from Latin Jazz. The rhythm is constructed from multiples of a basic durational unit, grouped unequally so that the accents fall irregularly in a one-or two-bar pattern14. Interestingly, the Habanera Rhythm is not present in either Thorntons or Turners originals. A possible reason for its inclusion in the covers is that both covers are produced at a higher tempo and needed an interesting, yet driving force throughout the piece. In Hound Dog, Elvis simplification of the electric guitar and bass line created the Habanera Rhythm with the hand-clapping falling into this rhythm as well. The electric guitar riffs that play beneath both the verse and the chorus accent notes on the first, fourth and seventh beats. The acoustic bass also plays the Habanera Rhythm but displays elements of white influence. The bass line puts straight quarter notes into syncopated patterns and shows the white, Country music inflection that influences the cover. In Shake, Rattle and Roll, Bill Haley and the Comets present the Habanera Rhythm in the honking saxophone section that plays between each line of the verse. Again, this rhythm accents the notes on the first, fourth and seventh beats. Unlike Elvis cover, the saxophone section is the only instrument playing the Habanera Rhythm.

14 Brewer, R. 1999.

When looking at the differences and similarities between Rhythm and Blues and Country, the development of Rockabilly or really any type of music, the analysis has to span further than just the instrumental aspects of the pieces. At the time that both versions of Shake, Rattle and Roll and Thorntons version of Hound Dog were recorded, the recording process was still only able to facilitate a single take of a recording due to the cost of masters. This restriction, especially for black artists who werent seen as viable for cross genre promotion, had a great impact on the way that the pieces were recorded. As well as this, small aesthetic styles emerge due to the way that the piece was recorded. Big Mama Thorntons recording of Hound Dog retains its improvisatory nature due to the restriction on the recording. The piece was probably discussed and rehearsed before recording but essentially, the piece is recorded as if it were a live performance. Thornton interacting with the rest of the ensemble exemplifies the live nature of the recording. She calls out to the players during the piece and audibly reacts to the solos. Joe Turners Shake, Rattle and Roll also retains this element of improvisation and a feeling of a live performance. While Shake, Rattle and Roll is much more structured than Hound Dog, the slurring of Turners voice and the way he projects it is very similar to if he were performing it live. There is very little editing work done to the track and the saxophones, at points, can be heard as if they are being played at the back of a room (which they probably were). Bill Haley and the Comets cover of Shake, Rattle and Roll, while still being recorded when multiple takes were too expensive, have had some post editing effects added to it. Bill Haley and the backup vocalists have had reverb added to their voices, which creates the feeling of being in a larger room than they probably were when they were recorded. As well as this, the individual instruments sound as if they have been levelled so that each section is heard at their appropriate level and get louder or softer when needed. Examples of this are the backup vocals during the chorus compared to the solo or the saxophone during the solo compared to the rest of the piece. When Elvis Presley recorded his cover of Hound Dog, he was one of the first artists to take advantage of the new magnetic tape. Where once a recording was to expensive to be repeated multiple times, now Elvis was able to do a session, listen back to the recording and then decide whether he wanted to use it or re-do the take. This was possible due to the tape and its inexpensive ability to be wiped over. Hound Dog became famous for being recorded thirty-one times before Elvis was happy with the end result15 and when comparing his live performance to the published record, the shift in tone is clear. Elvis live performances of Hound Dog were energetic and wild. He played with the rhythm and the ensemble was a lot looser. The recording of Hound Dog is the
15The New York Sessions 1956, Elvispresleymusic.com.au, retrieved 5 June 2012,

http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/elvis_presley_new_york_sessions.html

opposite of this. While still energetic, Elvis vocal is a lot more focused and the ensemble is much tighter, following a strict rhythm. This can be attributed to the repeated takes. By continually playing the same piece over and over, the ensemble fell into a specific groove, pushing them away from the free flowing nature of their stage act. While the way that the pieces were recorded arent directly related to the way that Rockabilly merged Country with Rhythm and Blues, the evidence presented above shows that the white musicians who covered black music tended to have better production values which, as Rock and Roll developed, became an integral part of the process. Shake, Rattle and Roll and Hound Dog are two examples of the different ways that Rockabilly merged and appropriated the loose and improvisational Rhythm and Blues with the structured and clean styles of Country music. While the instrumentation of both original and cover ensembles remain relatively close, it is the rhythmic performance and toned down lyrical content that made Rockabilly so accessible to a white audience who were still in the midst of racial segregation.

Bibliography Bill Haley and the Saddlemen , Hillbilly-Music.com, retrieved 5 June, 2012, http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=13813. Brewer, R. The Use of Habanera Rhythm in Rockabilly Music. American Music. 1999. 17, 3. pp. 300-317 Fairchild, C. The medium and materials of popular music: Hound Dog.turntabilism and muzak as situated musical practices. Popular Music. 2008. pp. 96-116. Fink R. Elvis Everywhere: Musicology and Popular Music Studies at the Twilight of the Canon. American Music, 1998. 16, 2. pp. 135-174. McCourt, T. Bright Lights, Big City: A Brief History of Rhythm and Blues, 19451957 in Scheurer, T.E (ed.), American Popular Music: Readings from the Popular Press Volume II: The Age of Rock, Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Ohio, 1989, pp. 46-62. Saffle, M. The Musical Characteristics of Elvis Presley. 2009. <http://www.edb.gov.hk/FileManager/EN/Content_7135/elvis.pdf/> Stuessy, J. Rock and Roll: Its History and Stylistic Development, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1990. The New York Sessions 1956, Elvispresleymusic.com.au, retrieved 5 June 2012, http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/elvis_presley_new_york_sessions.html