It is pretty clear, especially after having read up on early rock and roll in the book, that white music basically has jazz and early black music to thank for it’s evolution and success. The fact that white kids were mystefied and enchanted by this wild music gave it the foundation that it needed to really spread and begin changing. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if black music had not been accepted in the way that it was. What if more conservative, old-fashioned whites had simply refused to stand for the wild new sound playing across America? What if Bill Haley’s cover of “Rocket 88″ had completely overshadowed the original version, or if he never covered it at all? What I’m getting at is that I really can’t begin to imagine where pop music would be today if not for the acceptance, albeit sometimes reluctant, of popular black music.
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