Charlie Gillett

In the following selection from his book, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, Charlie Gillett details how the black musical style of rhythm and blues influenced the development of rock and roll. He explains that in the decade following World War II, rhythm and blues began to attract a white audience that was drawn to the music's beats and lyrics, with the disc jockey Alan Freed playing an important role in the music's growing popularity. White artists began to cover these songs and then write original material that both borrowed from black music and changed its character.