The History of Rock Music in 500 Songs

In black gospel, the use of melisma was how you conveyed emotion. These days, that style is what people now think of as good or infressive singing. In the 1950s, there was a stream of black singers who came out of the gospel tradition and introduced its techniques into pop music. We're going to talk about a record that's been widely credited as the first soul record, but which was released as rock and roll. Don't be surprised to find soul, funk, hip-hop, country or any other genre that has influenced rock turning up in this series.