The basis of Berry’s rhythm was an alternation of guitar chords comparable to the “alley” piano style of the Coaster’s “Searchin’ ”, but the effect was complicated by frequent lead guitar figures and by a piano that seemed to be played almost regardless of the melody taken by the singer and the rest of the musicians.

The bands were judged partly on their ability to generate intense excitement at the end of a dance. For this, they needed at least one saxophonist who could blow hard and long at fast rocking tempos, and at least one singer who could match him, with a clear strong delivery.

Little Richard was one of very few singers who became more expressive with meaningless sounds and disconnected phrases and images than he was with properly constructed songs.

an insistence on rigorous standards of judgment and taste in a relativist culture; a preference for the uncommercialized, unadvertised small bands rather than name bands; the development of a private language and then a flight from it when the private language (the same is true of other aspects of private style) is taken over by the majority group;

In rhythm and blues, the soloists were generally more “selfish”, concerned to express their own feelings, depending on the rest of the band to keep the beat going and the volume up while they blew their hearts out and their heads off. In jazz, there was usually more interplay between musicians, more exploration into melody and harmony, less relianc

This was mostly crass stuff, impressive for its single–minded pursuit of the lowest common denominator, but generally lacking any originality which could be traced through to later records as any kind of “influence”.

by the early fifties, adolescents really seemed to consider themselves a “new breed” of some kind.

Although he gave the impression of being as frantic and emotionally involved as Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis was one of the most controlled, self-conscious rock ’n’ roll singers, and introduced a sophisticated technique of varying the emotional pitch of his fast songs, building to intense peaks and then slackening off, dropping his voice to a wh

“It’s Only Make Believe”, and his gasping, end-of-the-world vocal seemed to bring an end to the era of innocence that had opened with “Young Love”. Now the message was, we can’t dupe them any more: People see us everywhere They think that you really care But myself I can’t deceive I know it’s only make believe