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What Is Rock and Roll? (What Was?) Paperback – Illustrated, August 22, 2017

by Jim O'Connor (Author), Who HQ (Author), Gregory Copeland (Illustrator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 321 ratings
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Put on your dancing shoes and move to the music.

Rock and roll sprang from a combination of African-American genres, Western swing, and country music that exploded in post World War II America. Jim O'Connor explains what constitutes rock music, follows its history and sub-genres through famous musicians and groups, and shows how rock became so much more than just a style of music influencing fashion, language, and lifestyle.

This entry in the New York Times best-selling series contains eighty illustrations and sixteen pages of black and white photographs.
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    8 - 12 years
  2. Part of series
    What Was?
  3. Print length
    112 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    3 - 7
  6. Lexile measure
    940L
  7. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.27 x 7.63 inches
  8. Publisher
    Penguin Workshop
  9. Publication date
    August 22, 2017
  10. ISBN-10
    9780451533814
  11. ISBN-13
    978-0451533814
  12. See all details
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From the Publisher

WHO

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Varied Themes & Affinity Categories

Readers come in all kinds, so why shouldn't their history books? Who HQ books focus on critical themes explored in history, with titles highlighting important scientists, artists, writers, athletes, changemakers, and musicians. There's truly a book for every kind of interest.

Book Report-Friendly

Who HQ titles are incredibly accessible and are perfect for engaging reluctant readers inside and outside the classroom. Whether being read for leisure or critically explored in the classroom, the Who HQ series provides a myriad of formats and uses.

Connect With Family Over History

While books are written for middle-grade readers, their inviting and digestible package serves as the perfect go-to resource across the entire family. Learn facts you never knew and extend learning into your family from outside the classroom.

A New York Times Bestselling Series Trusted by Educators

Educators from across the country use Who HQ titles in their classrooms and libraries. Featured on reading lists during the school year and the summer season, teachers look to this series to support and engage students alongside their lesson plans and extended learning programs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim O'Connor is the author of What Was Pompeii?, What Was the Battle of Gettysburg?, and Who Is Bob Dylan?

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What Is Rock and Roll?
 

In August of 1953, an eighteen-year-old truck driver walked into a small building in Memphis, Tennessee. The neon signs in the windows read “Memphis Recording Service.” 
 
The young man was named Elvis Presley. He wanted to record two songs, “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” as a birthday present for his mother. The receptionist, Marion Keisker, was also the sound engineer that day. So she led Elvis into the studio and put him in front of the microphone.
 
Then she went into the tiny control room and recorded what he sang.
 
There was something about the yearning quality in Elvis Presley’s voice that intrigued her. So she decided to make a copy for her boss, Sam Phillips, to hear. 
 
That was the beginning of Elvis Presley’s career.
 
It was also a breakthrough for rock and roll.
 
 
Chapter 1: The Roots of Rock
 
 
Rock and roll is true made-in-the-USA music. But in the early 1950s, if you asked kids what rock music was, most of them wouldn’t have had a clue what you were talking about.
 
Rock music didn’t just spring up one day out of nowhere. Its sound owes a lot to the rhythm and blues (R&B) music of the 1940s and ’50s.
 
Rhythm and blues was the popular music of black Americans. The songs were exciting, with a strong, insistent beat. R&B music was completely different from what was played on radio stations for white audiences. Those stations played a mix of big band, jazz, and silly pop hits like “Doggie in the Window.” The music was safe and parent friendly.
 
Then white performers began covering popular black songs. (“Covering” means doing a new version of an older song.) Elvis Presley had a huge hit with “Hound Dog.” It had first been recorded by a black singer named Big Mama Thornton in 1952. 
 
Elvis rocketed to stardom in the mid-1950s. In large part he owed his success to a man named Sam Phillips. Sam grew up very poor in Florence, Alabama. He was white. But as a young boy he picked cotton in the fields alongside black laborers who sang while they worked. Sam loved their music.
 
Sam later moved to Memphis, Tennessee. There he opened a recording studio and started his own record company—Sun Records. He signed up many African American performers. Sam wanted to bring their music to white audiences.
 
Sam also let amateurs, black and white, record in his tiny studio. That’s how Elvis Presley got started. Sam believed Elvis had a special talent. So Sam got two musicians he knew, guitar player Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, to back up the young singer.
 
Often producers recorded a song in one or two takes. (A “take” is a single complete recording of a song.) This kept costs low. But Sam believed that singers—most of all, new singers—needed time to get it right. He would record the same song, or parts of a song, over and over.
 
Sam did the same thing with Elvis.
 
In 1954, Sam Phillips recorded Elvis, Scotty, and Bill playing the old blues song “That’s All Right” and a speeded-up cover of the country music classic “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” 
 
On August 5, 1954, Elvis performed the songs at an outdoor concert in Memphis. The show sold out. Neither Elvis nor his bandmates had ever been in front of such a huge crowd. They were very nervous.
 
In fact, Elvis was so nervous, his legs kept shaking and twitching while he sang. The crowd thought it was part of the act. Girls started screaming with excitement.
 
After that, Elvis kept on shaking and swinging his hips at every performance. Teenagers loved it, but their parents hated it.
 
Elvis went on to become the biggest rock star in the world. He had twenty-eight number-one singles and ten number-one albums. John Lennon of the Beatles once said, “Before Elvis there was nothing.” After Elvis, rock and roll was here to stay.
 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 045153381X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Workshop; Illustrated edition (August 22, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 112 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780451533814
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451533814
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 12 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.27 x 7.63 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 321 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
321 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

LuckyDucky
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential buy for my classroom!
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023
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One of my students LOVES Rock and Roll, specifically KISS. We have struggled to find a school/age appropriate book featuring KISS since day 1, but are extremely pleased to have stumbled on this book. My student uses this book every single day and flips back and forth between the KISS photos and the text. He looks forward to coming to school with this book and often tries to take it home with him. I plan on buying another for him to keep at home over the break. Thank you so much!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars It was cool
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2023
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It wascool
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AnthonyNYC
5.0 out of 5 stars We Must Teach the Children About Rock N' Roll - Pop Music is Destroying the World
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2020
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Ok, maybe pop music is not totally destroying the world, but - we must try to use Rock N' Roll to save the Children's SOULS! Seriously though it's a good little book with a nice round history of Rock Music, to include the Blues, Motown, and Jazz influences. I purchased this book for my niece and combined it with an MP3 player filled with music from the artists featured in the book, as well as my favorite modern stuff. BAM - I just gave you a gift idea!

Help educate the youth on some of the best music in the world!!! Save them from POP!
One person found this helpful
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Retired Soldier/Sailor.
5.0 out of 5 stars Far out! I went to a Jimi Hendrix concert in 1968. THIS is my only keepsake. . . .
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020
Verified Purchase
. . . . besides my memories.
I bought the one about NIXON,
and ten other pieces of history.
A friend wanted the Obama book,
and the Obama postcards as well.
We are BOTH happy with our stuff!
Highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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ava gulledge
5.0 out of 5 stars great reading for students and adults
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2019
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I have over 213 books. I enjoy reading about these people and places.
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Maria Fernanda Maluf
5.0 out of 5 stars Great to learn about the rock history and great bands
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2019
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My 10 years old daughter just loved it
2 people found this helpful
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Carla Poorman
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2018
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Kids love it!!
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Maureen Kenny
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2018
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love it!!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nancy
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for adult literacy practice
Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2021
Verified Purchase
I use books in this series for adult literacy coaching. My students enjoyed this book and the illustrations are amusing.
The vocabulary and the way it is developed over the chapters all but assures success. New words are presented and then are reinforced as they occur in later chapters.
It’s not easy to find grade 4 or 5 level reading materials for adults because, of course, they are aimed at children. These books are a great compromise because they are high interest but with manageable vocabulary.
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Oscar Rynderman
4.0 out of 5 stars Rock And Roll Bands
Reviewed in Australia on June 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
This was a great story to learn
about band in rock and roll.
It is cool to learn about Elvis Presley who really started it all.
And about the Beatles who went crazy!
It is interesting to learn that rock and roll started they only let white skinned people on the radio.
And about Dave Grohl who was in Nirvana, when the lead singer died Dave Grohl made his own band called the Foo Fighters.
It is a great book for all ages to learn about the band and singers in rock and roll.
Hope you people like the book.
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けいち
5.0 out of 5 stars 楽しめる多読教材です
Reviewed in Japan on August 19, 2018
Verified Purchase
これまで何度か英文多読に挑戦してきましたが、どうしても幼児向けの本や絵本には馴染めず挫折していました。
このシリーズも子供向けですが、自分が興味ある人物や出来事を扱っているので読んでいて楽しいです。
これまでBeatles、Steve jobsと読んできました。いずれも程よく知らないことが入っていて、面白いです。
個人差はあるでしょうが、だいたい一晩で読めるボリュームです。
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アマゾンカスタマー
4.0 out of 5 stars ロックの歴史がザッとわかる
Reviewed in Japan on January 22, 2020
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ロック大好きな英語学習者です。ロックの歴史の流れがつかみやすく、わかりやすく、おもしろく読めました。
やはり自分の好きなジャンルの本は英語でもグイグイ読めますね。英文も読みやすいですが、たまに難しい単語や専門用語もあるかな、と感じました。しかしながら、kindleならばすぐに単語の意味もわかるので大丈夫でした。

ロックファンの視点から見ると、まあまあバランスの取れている記述かなと思いましたが、個人的にパンクロックが好きなので、もう少しパンクについて記述してもらえたら良かったなとは思います。アメリカのパンクについては触れられていますが（ラモーンズ等）、イギリスのパンクにはまったく触れられておらず、ピストルズもクラッシュも出てきませんでした。子ども向けの本なので、あまり過激なバンド名は出せなかったのかもしれません。また、アメリカのパンクに関しても、パティ・スミスは名前だけでもいいから記述してほしかったです。
ジャンルでいえば、メタルやテクノロック（ヒップホップは出てくるのに！）についてもほとんど触れられていませんでした。しかし、ニルヴァーナ等のグランジは出てきます。
パンクやメタル、テクノが好きな人には、少々不服かもしれませんが、ロックのおおまかな歴史はわかりやすく良い本です。ああだ、こうだと言いたくなるのもまたロックのおもしろい側面です。

多くの子どもさんや大人の英語学習者の皆さんが本書に触れて、ぜひ洋楽の音源にも手を出していただいて、耳からの英語学習、音楽の楽しさを知ってもらい、多くの方々に、さらに豊かな世界が広がることを願っています。

追記です。クイーン及びフレディ・マーキュリーも出てきませんでした！
One person found this helpful
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りんこ
2.0 out of 5 stars 事前知識が必要
Reviewed in Japan on January 24, 2019
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このシリーズが好きで多読もかねて読んでいます。
ロックが好きですがあまり詳しくないので興味を広げたくて購入しました。

本作には人物名やバンド名がジャンジャン出てきますが、それらを事前に知っていないと文章を理解できても何のことやらわからず楽しめません。
このなかではさらっとしか触れていないので興味を持つことさえ難しかったです。
One person found this helpful
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