British rock and roll
| British rock and roll | |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1950s, United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments |
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| Derivative forms | |
British rock and roll, or sometimes British rock 'n' roll, is a style of popular music based on American rock and roll, which emerged in the late 1950s and was popular until the arrival of beat music in 1962. It has generally been considered inferior to the American version of the genre, and made little international or lasting impact. However, it was important in establishing British youth and popular music culture and was a key factor in subsequent developments that led to the British Invasion of the mid-1960s. Since the 1960s, some stars of the genre, most notably Cliff Richard, have managed to sustain successful careers and there have been periodic revivals of this form of music.
In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture. It shared a common language, had been exposed to American culture through the stationing of American troops in the country, and, although not enjoying the same economic prosperity as the US, had many similar social developments, not least of which was the emergence of distinct youth leisure activities and sub-cultures. This was most evident in the rise of the Teddy Boys among working-class youths in London from about 1953, who adopted a version of the Edwardian styles of their grandfathers' generation. British audiences were accustomed to American popular music and British musicians had already been influenced by American musical styles, particularly in trad jazz, which also exposed some to the precursors of rock and roll, including boogie-woogie and the blues. From this emerged the skiffle craze in 1955, led by Lonnie Donegan, whose version of "Rock Island Line" reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Skiffle produced an Anglicised and largely amateur form of American folk song, chiefly notable for inspiring many individuals to take up music, among them many of the subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat performers, among them John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who first performed together in the Quarrymen skiffle group in 1957.
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